OTHER PA STREAMS
Jay Nichols-photo
Fishing Report on Conococheague: 08/29/17
I fished with Tyler for about six hours. The
water is in great shape. It was clear mid 60's. We hit the lower end around am and fished over a few tricos. Tyler
caught a few fall fish and three browns. As we moved around are fishing became nymph fishing. We hit various pools and
riffles and found plenty of trout. He picked up; an additional seven more beween 12 to 16 inches. I have many days left.
Fishing is fantastic. just been very busy to update stream reports..
LETORT
Out of all our South-Central PA streams, the Letort is by far the most famous. This is where terrestrial fishing began. The
brown trout of the Letort are extremely skittish. Patience, the ability to sneak about and the proper fly presentation are all needed
to be successful on the Letort. Brown trout populations continue to go up and down but still trout over 20" are present. Midges hatch
year round. Blue Winged Olives, black stoneflies, sulphurs and tricos hatch during their given times. Terrestrial fishing becomes
the norm over the summer months and good streamer techniques are a must for this legendary limestone creek.
Fishing Report on LETORT: 08/19/17
Steve
and I fished from daylight to around 10am. So we were on the water for about 4 hours. I had never been asked to go out
so early and I'm always up for anything stream related. He was interested to see if tossing around streamers and big terrestrials
would work. Well, sounded fun to me. So I put him on water that I knew trout were there, but it was up to them if they
were hungry or not. We fished and fished and ended up getting one around 13 inch on a streamer and two 9 and 14 inches on a
cricket. It was a fun adventure. Now time for a nap.
YELLOW BREECHES
Most anglers fish within the 1 mile "no-kill" stretch at the Allenberry. The regulation section is great but
some outstanding water can be found outside the special reg. section. In the "open water" one can find both streambred
browns and holdover trout without the crowded fishing. It is a stocked stream and stocked several times a year. The Yellow Breeches
has a wide diversity of hatching insects. Of all the insects, the "Breeches" heaviest hatches are the black caddis, olive-bodied tan
winged caddis, sulphurs and tricos. Some good Hendricksons and brown drake hatches can be fished over as well. The most famous
is the White Fly Hatch and lets not leave out the fantastic midge fishing. To round out the fishing, the Breeches is very well known
for its outstanding terrestrial fishing and toughest midge sipping trout around.
Fishing Report on Yellow Breeches:11/05/17
What
an amazing late fall day on the water. The steady drizzle and 45 degree air temperature did not stop Jim and Derrek from coming
down to fish. We were on the water from 8 to 3:30. It was clear and mid 40's. There was not much hatching-few midges
and some tiny BWO's. Derrek had never step foot in a stream before and Jim was new but more along than what he thought.
We had a bag up day fishing just a few nymphs patterns. The Mike's BH green caddis was killer again. Missed and lost a
few but got close to 12 rainbows and browns to net!
BIG SPRING
Big Spring Creek sure has come a long way since I first starting fishing it back when it was one
trophy trout per day. Now it is classified as a catch and release fly fishing only stretch of 1.1 miles; from 100 feet downstream
of the source (Big Spring) downstream to the Nealy Road Bridge. Below that is open regulated water. Still, it is nothing
like it was in its hay day when Vincent Marinaro walked the grassy banks of Big Spring. Much has been written about the rising
brook trout once found in Big Spring. These books describe a stream of miles and miles of rising brook trout, then came the
mills and then the final blow—a big hatchery at the headwaters.
Much has changed since the hatchery has been
shut down. Big Spring is now fishing much like a wild trout stream. Now one can find trout outside what was locally known
as the “ditch”. This once dead stream is now on the rebound. There is plenty of trout to be found within the catch and
release water and good angling below the project water. The stream is filled with some stream-bred rainbows and brown trout.
The past population of stream-bred brook trout is on the rebound. Thanks to some stockings of brook trout fingerlings, many
stream-bred brook trout have begun to appear within many reaches of the stream. Efforts have begun to restore the stream and
once again make it a world-class fishery.
Fishing Report on Big Spring: 01/21/18
Bill and his good buddy Sam came down to fish for the
day. We hit the stream at 7:30 under a rising sun and 41 degrees. We fished for about 6 hours and just a beautiful day.
It eventually reached 53 degrees. The water was clear and 52 with some midges hatching, followed by pods of rising trout.
The risers were the normal small rainbows. The guys tossed nymphs and an occasional streamer I had set up on a third rod.
We had a real good day. They landed close to 15 trout. It was a combination of 4 brook trout and rest were rainbows. most
of the trout were from 10 to two around 15 inches. I have plenty of time to get out. Look for that warm day.