Fall Migration

[paflyfisherman]

When do brown trout begin their fall migration in north east Pa?

 

[afishinado]

paflyfisherman wrote:
When do brown trout begin their fall migration in north east Pa?

No real major fall migration in NE PA. Trout may move into certain sections of the stream or tributaries with favorable spawning habitat.

In NE PA redds (spawning beds) usually begin to show up in October. The spawn continues into November and has ended sometime in December most years.

Anyone looking to fish in the fall should be aware of the redds and avoid disturbing the redds themselves and certainly any fish on them.

Hope that helps.

 

[Dave_W]

paflyfisherman wrote:
When do brown trout begin their fall migration in north east Pa?

Seasonal movement of BTs in PA is not well understood.

Local anglers who have some of the picture figured out are, understandably, tight lipped about what they know.

Speaking very broadly based on my own experience and not scientific source material: BT movement - we're talking miles within a watershed, not yards from riffles to deeper pools - starts in September with declining photoperiod and cooling water temps and continues until December during a post spawn period.
Fish can be moving both up and downstream during these periods. Where they're going to and from is pure conjecture on my part....but the fish are on the move.

Note Afishinado's comments about spawning redds.^

 

[Mike]

Penns is a stream where it has been well-documented scientifically that at least a portion of the population moves upstream or downstream as adults to reach the tribs where they spawn and then move back out into Penns at some point thereafter.

 

[Stenonema]

There are no short cuts to understanding the nuances of movement in any watershed. The guy who does is the one who has the reputation for always catching big fish. Dave W. hits it right.
I am glad to see interest in this topic. Very misunderstood indeed....

 

[Brown71]

The four streams where I consistently chase the bigger fish the movement can begin now through about early December. Usually, later is better, especially when we have a drier year.

This year though, with all the water available to them, I think movement could be anytime, with peak movement coming up in a few weeks to a month or more.

I fished Friday, Saturday and Sunday this weekend and definitely caught some fish I would consider migratory, although not huge.

 

[shadspoon]

In SE PA the dates Afish gave are pretty close for my favorite stream. And it is small so a "migration" is minimal. The peak is usually around Thanksgiving. And +1 on the comment about avoiding the redds. I don't fish at this time but I spend many hours walking the stream. If you are fishing you are usually not even aware of the "National Geographic's Show" going on in front of you. Pete

 

[paflyfisherman]

Thanks for the responses. I seems that every year I catch the largest browns in the fall.

 

[jifigz]

Autumn is the best time of year to catch the largest fish of any species. Plain and simple. If you aren't chasing smallies, walleyes, muskies, etc you are missing out in a big way too. But yes, this is also big brown trout time. I got into some nice browns the other day throwing some hefty size 2 4x long bunny strips.