Best brookie waters near SE PA?

Bamboozle said:
callmestu:

If it was me I'd cut my brookie fishing teeth at Hickory Run in Hickory Run State Park...

It's a little over an hour away from the Lansdale Interchange via the Turnpike, it's a pretty stream, not all hemmed in with rhododendron and has several easily accessed sections to explore. I fish it by wading upstream of Route 534 and from the bank below Route 534.

There are also several other brookie streams close by that you can explore by driving but a mile or two, plus Mud Run and two lakes if that is of interest.

If you go, have fun!
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Thanks! I fished Mud Run in January but didn't have any luck. That's on me more than the fish though. Any experience with Hawk Run? It's rated as a Class A brook trout stream.

vealboy said:
I live in Lansdale and fish to Poconos every week.Stay away from Hickory Run the park gets very crowded,its gotten really bad the past few years.I fished Hickory Run last sunday and when I left to come home it was very busy.You could try Choke Creek or Sand Spring Run in Pinchot SF,both have good pops of wild brooks.Also Ash Creek in SGL 135.All are under a 2 hr drive.If you want specific directions hit me with a PM
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Thanks, I was thinking Hickory Run may be crowded. Ash Creek looks promising, as does Fawn Run and Stony Creek. Any experience with either? It looks like there's access to Stony from the north via a SGL trail.
Swattie87 said:
It’s funny, I’ve seen a lot of Rattlers in PA, but never one in Carbon County. Though I know they’re there, and I know guys who have seen them on the streams I frequent up there.

To the OP…In a similar fashion to those older posts, I’m not trying to discourage anyone from fishing that area. Just know what you’re getting into, look hard at the topo maps. Some of those streams drop 1k feet in elevation/per stream mile. That equates to in stream navigation requiring at least some degree of climbing. And many of those streams are in gorges, where it’s next to impossible to climb out sideways. Your only options are to go up or down the stream channel, which isn’t easy at a 20% gradient. Just don’t underestimate what you’re getting into, and for your first Brookie outing I’d probably choose something a little easier to manage/less remote.
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Thanks Swattie, do you think one of the streams I mentioned above is a decent choice or are they pretty tough to access.

Appreciate all the help.
 
callmestu:

Maybe I'm lucky but I never experienced "crowding" on Hickory Run this time of year, (well after the last stocking).

Maybe the park is crowded but the stream BELOW the lake isn't exactly the type of steam I'd expect a lot of people to fish....

Hawk Run is fun too (betweek Hawk Falls and slightly above Route 534). I've fished that a bunch and never saw anyone...

Sand Spring Run is right there too. Nice water, not as good as Hickory Run and again, never saw a soul when I fished there.
 
Last years jam along Penns Creek. Creekside trail along broadwaters pool walking out after spinner fall.
20220522 211122
 
^ Venomous
 
callmestu said:
I'm still fairly new to fly fishing and the vast majority of my experience has been on Valley Creek so far. I have all day Sunday and was hoping to get some brook trout, as all I've caught so far are browns. I'm up for a 1.5-2 hour ride from the Lansdale area, any recommendations? If y'all don't want to give out stream names on here I understand, figured I'd give it a try though. I have a few in the Jim Thorpe area I was considering but saw a few older posts from Swattie87 recommending against fishing those solo. I have a Garmin inreach if that makes a difference for the more remote streams and I don't mind a hike.

Thanks!
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About 2 hours west of you, you get into the South Mountain area of Adams and Cumberland counties. There is a surprisingly healthy population of brookies in most of the "blue line" waters that dissect the mountain. Most of the area is public ( Michaux State Forest). Plenty of snakes in this area as well. Stay on your toes.
 
Andrwhite610 said:
are these snakes venomous or just chompers? Lol
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They’re all (the ones pictured in this thread anyway) Timber Rattlesnakes, which despite their supposed scarcity are the second most common snake I encounter in the woods of PA. Eastern Garter being the most common.

And you see plenty of Northern Watersnakes around water, but they’re generally not very far from water.

Timbers are highly venomous, but this is tempered some by their mild mannered personality. You’d literally have to step on one, or be messing with it to get bit. They typically just sit there, don’t rattle, and don’t seem to care at all that you’re there. Northern Watersnakes by comparison are pissers, and just have a bad attitude, but fortunately aren’t venomous.

The danger with Timbers is stepping on one you don’t see. Think tall grass, or ferns or the forest floor in the Summer. And most of the time in my experience they don’t rattle to warn you of their presence. Camo is their defense of choice.
 
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Seeing all these posts of rattlers makes me think I am not fishing in a wild enough area. I have only ever seen one rattler in my life. I was a kid and saw it sunbathing on a rock. This was around the Reed's Gap campground area. Never seen a copperhead either.

There's a story running around in my family about how my grandfather once beat a rattler to death with his wife's shoe. He then cooked it. My dad stated that it tasted like chicken. I will NOT be reenacting that bit of family history.

Snakes are cool. I new a guy that kept a black snake in his basement. Really good natural rodent control!
 
Swattie87 said:
They’re all (the ones pictured in this thread anyway) Timber Rattlesnakes, which despite their supposed scarcity are the second most common snake I encounter in the woods of PA. Eastern Garter being the most common.

And you see plenty of Northern Watersnakes around water, but they’re generally not very far from water.

Timbers are highly venomous, but this is tempered some by their mild mannered personality. You’d literally have to step on one, or be messing with it to get bit. They typically just sit there, don’t rattle, and don’t seem to care at all that you’re there. Northern Watersnakes by comparison are pissers, and just have a bad attitude, but fortunately aren’t venomous.

The danger with Timbers is stepping on one you don’t see. Think tall grass, or ferns or the forest floor in the Summer. And most of the time in my experience they don’t rattle to warn you of their presence. Camo is their defense of choice.
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I've only had two encounters where timber rattlers have rattled at me. One was while backpacking the Eagleton Mine Camp Trail. It was the tall ferns situation and if it wouldn't have rattled..... Well, I'm glad it rattled. The second was while backpacking the Old Logger's Path and I was up on a rocky outcrop more or less surrounded by rattlers. There were many snakes rattling. I counted at least 15 snakes.

Water snakes will bite ya. They won't think twice about it. They are aggressive. Timber rattlers seem very, very laid back.

My most common two snakes are garters and black rats/racers in the woods I'd say. But we do have lots of rattlers.
 
Yeah, most snakes I see are garters, water, black racers, and black rats. Rattlers come next.

I don't see milk snakes, hog nosed, or green snakes much though they are supposed to be common.
 
Milk snakes and Eastern hog nosed are very common. I see them a lot. I've only ever seen one smooth green snake in my life.
 
callmestu said:
I'm still fairly new to fly fishing and the vast majority of my experience has been on Valley Creek so far. I have all day Sunday and was hoping to get some brook trout, as all I've caught so far are browns. I'm up for a 1.5-2 hour ride from the Lansdale area, any recommendations? If y'all don't want to give out stream names on here I understand, figured I'd give it a try though. I have a few in the Jim Thorpe area I was considering but saw a few older posts from Swattie87 recommending against fishing those solo. I have a Garmin inreach if that makes a difference for the more remote streams and I don't mind a hike.

Thanks!
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Schuylkill County man. I know Lansdale well. You have a ton of options in Skuke and you'd be about an 1:15 hr drive with access to lots of great water.
 
My phone was showing me photos of past memories. This one was August 2016. Another yellow phase. I don't know where I was.
Screenshot 20230527 083349
 
Bamboozle said:
callmestu:

Maybe I'm lucky but I never experienced "crowding" on Hickory Run this time of year, (well after the last stocking).

Maybe the park is crowded but the stream BELOW the lake isn't exactly the type of steam I'd expect a lot of people to fish....

Hawk Run is fun too (betweek Hawk Falls and slightly above Route 534). I've fished that a bunch and never saw anyone...

Sand Spring Run is right there too. Nice water, not as good as Hickory Run and again, never saw a soul when I fished there.
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Thanks Bamboozle. I think Hickory Run SP sounds like my best bet to get started since I'll have a few options. I may start on Hawk Run, I have a 3wt I've been wanting to play around with.
Wild_Trouter said:
Schuylkill County man. I know Lansdale well. You have a ton of options in Skuke and you'd be about an 1:15 hr drive with access to lots of great water.
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I'm up at the offroad park in Pine Grove a few times a year, but that's about as much as I've seen of Schuylkill County. All the water I've seen nearby seems to be affected by mine runoff but again I haven't seen much outside of Rausch Creek.


I really appreciate all the feedback I've gotten on hear, y'all have been super helpful. If all goes well I'll update tomorrow with some brookie pics (hopefully!)
 
I highly recommend snake gaiters.
To me, they are more important than waders
 
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