2025 Fly Fishing Ambitions

jifigz

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Ladies and fellas, I said last year that this would be an annual post, so what are your fly fishing ambitions in 2025? My ambitions are rather simple, and they are this: to slow down and cast more dry flies on the water. I also want to explore a handful of new streams.

That's it. If I do both of those things, I'll be a happy camper.

How about all of yinz' folks?
 
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Well, I'm hoping take more time to fish and get back into the exploring new streams mindset. I've gotten used to only fishing the familiar streams.
 
Catch a native brook trout over 10 inches, which I failed to do last year. Also catch a few wild brown trout over 20 inches, if not that big at least a couple in the 17-19 range. I had one hooked with just a few days to go in 2024 but I lost it.

Also I plan to finally make it up to central pa and fish Penns, spring creek, etc. Maybe even make it up to kettle creek where I hopefully could catch one of those big brookies.
 
If you fish the upper reaches of Kettle, a 10" native is a very real possibility.
One of the nicest brookies of my life came from the upper Kettle Creek watershed. It ate an Elk Hair Caddis. I've had my fair share of difficult outings up there though, too. For brook trout, those fish can be rather selective.

That is all certified as Class A brown trout water too, I believe, but I have never caught a brownie from upper Kettle.
 
I’ve whittled down my “to do” list to exactly seven streams. I don’t have a count on how many total I’ve fished in PA. I have picture folders on my computer of nearly 300 streams, and there’s definitely some “one and done” streams I didn’t like and didn’t take any pictures of. My best guess is the total I’ve fished is somewhere around 400 streams or so.

It’s not a stationary target. Sometimes I get some new info on a stream that I previously ruled out for one reason or another, or sometimes new tracts of SF or SGL, or conservancy property, open up access to a stream that previously wasn’t accessible. But there’s a realistic chance that I’ll be “zeroed out” on new Trout streams to fish (in PA anyway) for the first time in my life sometime in 2025. Feels like an accomplishment in ways, and makes me sad in others. Not much uncharted left out there to explore.

The seven that are left are there for a reason. 3 are in the ANF area, 2 in NCPA, one in the Laurel Highlands, and one in NEPA. They’re all on public land, but they all have at least a moderate level of difficulty in terms of accessing, and a couple of them are definitely “difficult”. None of them are just park your vehicle, hop out and start fishing. They all will require a plan.

One in particular will probably rival the most work I’ve ever done to get to a stream in PA. And will likely need to be done near the Summer solstice to allow for max daylight to get in, fish, and get back out.
(It’s on SGL, so can’t camp that one.) Another will require an overnight backpacking trip to do effectively. And three others will require at least one night of car camping or hotel, due to the drive time required. It’s my goal to get to them all in 2025. I’m not fishing as much as I did before kids, but I think that’s a realistic goal to set.
 
One of the nicest brookies of my life came from the upper Kettle Creek watershed. It ate an Elk Hair Caddis. I've had my fair share of difficult outings up there though, too. For brook trout, those fish can be rather selective.

That is all certified as Class A brown trout water too, I believe, but I have never caught a brownie from upper Kettle.
I once caught a roughly 12" brown on Kettle, just above the Rt144/44 bridge at Oleona, but it was a stocker.
 
My goal is pretty much the same every year - to catch large fish on dry flies.
And have been pretty successful at it - especially since I retired 4 years ago.
Really nice to be able to fish when the getting is good.

I also try to explore a few new streams every year - and I did try about 5 new waters last year.
Even if things dont pan out very well, its still fun to do.

When I first started FFing, I can still remember checking out new waters that nobody else I fished with knew anything about - Spring, Fishing, and Penns creeks
Also Little J and Delaware Rivers

So glad I gave them a shot........
 
I’ve whittled down my “to do” list to exactly seven streams. I don’t have a count on how many total I’ve fished in PA. I have picture folders on my computer of nearly 300 streams, and there’s definitely some “one and done” streams I didn’t like and didn’t take any pictures of. My best guess is the total I’ve fished is somewhere around 400 streams or so.



One in particular will probably rival the most work I’ve ever done to get to a stream in PA. And will likely need to be done near the Summer solstice to allow for max daylight to get in, fish, and get back out.
(It’s on SGL, so can’t camp that one.)
I don't know of anyone who has fished that number of Pa streams, not even close. That's impressive!

Regarding the stream described above, the first stream that came to mind was B_ _ _ s Hollow. Odds are, I'm wrong. That might be SF and not SGL.
 
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I don't know of anyone who has fished that number of Pa streams, not even close. That's impressive!

Regarding the stream described above, the first stream that came to mind was B_ _ _ s Hollow. Odds are, I'm wrong. That might be SF and not SGL.

Not one of them. But I know that one. I’d say most are of a similar difficulty of access to that. One is significantly worse. I’ll send you a PM on that one.
 
Run more front plater sorties into PA waters! 🙂

Fish more, tune out, catch fish.
 
I’m hoping to figure out some spots where the big prespawn smallmouth bass hang in our local rivers and maybe get into a few of them this year.
 
South Platte River below Cheeseman Dam near Deckers should be high on you list. Think small 18s and 20s and your fish will be in the 18s and 20s
That's some of the recon I've been told. I'd like to incorporate some fishing with Denver sightseeing (Rockies game, etc.).
 
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