FFO sections

[mtelesha]

Fly Fishing Only sections should be gone. They give the wrong culture and presentation of our hobby. It should be inclusive and a choice and not some exclusive club. I hated that as a teenager when guys on the river treated me like trash because I was a teenager that fly fished. I did mostly nymphs and wets and those days most were dry fly purist.

Catch and Release and Delay Harvest are what we should designate areas. I prefer artifical only and delay harvest is a slot limit 12" to 15" but that's crazy to most fishermen and most delay harvest can't do hold overs but some can.

I never see spin fisherman on artifical only waters because it's just not as much fun to fish a spinner all day long. Most spin guys will sit down and talk with me and always say I have always wanted to learn.

 

[Mike]

Fly Fishing Only sections should be gone. They give the wrong culture and presentation of our hobby. It should be inclusive and a choice and not some exclusive club. I hated that as a teenager when guys on the river treated me like trash because I was a teenager that fly fished. I did mostly nymphs and wets and those days most were dry fly purist.

Catch and Release and Delay Harvest are what we should designate areas. I prefer artifical only and delay harvest is a slot limit 12" to 15" but that's crazy to most fishermen and most delay harvest can't do hold overs but some can.

I never see spin fisherman on artifical only waters because it's just not as much fun to fish a spinner all day long. Most spin guys will sit down and talk with me and always say I have always wanted to learn.

There is a dedicated segment within the fly fishing community that does not wish to loose that program. In the four individual cases that I know of where removal (conversion to DHALO) was considered, all were unsuccessful. With the liberalized C&R season outside of STW’s recently put in place for the extended season and normally closed preseason stocking period, FFO areas now seem less onerous to me, but they would not seem so if I lived farther from wild trout streams, so I still feel for the individuals in parts of the state where wild trout waters are scarce.

FFO remains a relict of the past when lure fishing was getting started in the USA and it was scientifically unknown what the C&R delayed mortality rates would be with lures. At that time FFO essentially represented the only known angling technique that had low delayed mortality rates. Now we know that lure and even tight line bait fishing techniques can have acceptably low angling mortality rates for C&R trout fisheries.

 

[caddisflyer]

There is a dedicated segment within the fly fishing community that does not wish to loose that program. In the four individual cases that I know of where removal (conversion to DHALO) was considered, all were unsuccessful. With the liberalized C&R season outside of STW’s recently put in place for the extended season and normally closed preseason stocking period, FFO areas now seem less onerous to me, but they would not seem so if I lived farther from wild trout streams, so I still feel for the individuals in parts of the state where wild trout waters are scarce.

FFO remains a relict of the past when lure fishing was getting started in the USA and it was scientifically unknown what the C&R delayed mortality rates would be with lures. At that time FFO essentially represented the only known angling technique that had low delayed mortality rates. Now we know that lure and even tight line bait fishing techniques can have acceptably low angling mortality rates for C&R trout fisheries.

When someone took me as a kid to a FFO section I was really excited. Just seeing guys flyfishing with all the special gear and cool casting methods made me want to learn it. I already had learned fishing with spinners and bait. The FFO areas just emphasized the difference. The FFO area seemed special. Plus we often saw and caught fish. I hope they keep the few we still have.

 

[Prospector]

I have stood for well over two hours fishing dries to a big fish that was actively feeding more than once. Fooling a fish that is well over twenty inches and that has been pressured a lot is a worthy challenge. Not everyone is about the numbers.

There is nothing wrong with believing one large fish is a good day. I think you actually agree with PennKev.

 

[Frederick V. C.]

I learned to fly fish many years ago on the FFO stretch of French Creek (Chester Co.) Back then you could buy flies and fishing supplies at the local hardware in Kimberton; now a Whole Foods btw. While I still have sentimental attachment to French, I haven't fished the FFO in many years. Lack of stream flow, sedimentation, and overcrowding are a few of the reasons.

While I still fish French, (when we actually have water) to me the only function (other than year round angling) the FFO serves is fooling anglers into believing they will have better opportunities there than in the open water. Found the same to be true on Ridley when I lived in Delco; plenty of fish that are easier to catch as well as a lot more water to fish outside the Regs area. White Clay is also nice outside the DHAOL areas.

 

[dryflyguy]

I learned to fly fish many years ago on the FFO stretch of French Creek (Chester Co.) Back then you could buy flies and fishing supplies at the local hardware in Kimberton; now a Whole Foods btw. While I still have sentimental attachment to French, I haven't fished the FFO in many years. Lack of stream flow, sedimentation, and overcrowding are a few of the reasons.

While I still fish French, (when we actually have water) to me the only function (other than year round angling) the FFO serves is fooling anglers into believing they will have better opportunities there than in the open water. Found the same to be true on Ridley when I lived in Delco; plenty of fish that are easier to catch as well as a lot more water to fish outside the Regs area. White Clay is also nice outside the DHAOL areas.

This is really true on Yellow Creek in Bedford county.

A few years back, the 17 year cicadas were on it.
The short FFO section was so packed, you couldn't get a place to park anywhere near it.
But the rest of the creek was relatively secluded.
With larger fish that were easier to catch

 

[dryflyguy]

I learned to FF on Kettle Creek.
And really enjoyed going to what was then called the "Fish for Fun" area.
Many fond memories of what seemed, at that time, to be a special place.

However, in reality, the fishing was usually better downstream in the open water

 

[Mike]

I learned to FF on Kettle Creek.
And really enjoyed going to what was then called the "Fish for Fun" area.
Many fond memories of what seemed, at that time, to be a special place.

However, in reality, the fishing was usually better downstream in the open water

It was more special at that time only because there was a substantial wild Brown Trout population in that special reg area. As the stream got worse over time, that population fizzled.

 

[dryflyguy]

It was more special at that time only because there was a substantial wild Brown Trout population in that special reg area. As the stream got worse over time, that population fizzled.

Yeah, I remember catching some decent size wild fish there - this was in the '80's.
And it went downhill shortly after

 

[troutbert]

It was more special at that time only because there was a substantial wild Brown Trout population in that special reg area. As the stream got worse over time, that population fizzled.

In what way did the stream get worse? What caused the decline? And about when did this happen?