Finally hacked Valley Creek 20+ inches

I don't take pictures of fish any more so if I am inclined to care about the size of something I catch, I lay it along my rod with the tail at the butt cap.

If the snout doesn't go past the reel seat or cork grip I never mention it...

If it ends past the grip and beyond the logo or inscription, I make note and check it later with a tape measure I have back at the car.

If I plan to talk about my catch with anyone I know I'll add 2" - 4" to the actual measurement... 😉
 
dudemanspecial said:
I rarely use it, only if i get a bigun, which is never.
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I’ve got 20” and 24” marks on my net. Measuring a fish seems silly but it doesn’t hurt to do a quick check against those milestones if it’s truly big. My point was just that 20” number (a “whiskey” if you’re a troutbitten reader) gets thrown around a lot and I don’t think a lot of people understand just how big a 20” brown trout really is. I’ve caught and seen plenty of people catch fish on the Delaware that you’d swear were 20+ and when they were taped…they were 17”
 
Nocktavius said:
I’ve got 20” and 24” marks on my net. Measuring a fish seems silly but it doesn’t hurt to do a quick check against those milestones if it’s truly big. My point was just that 20” number (a “whiskey” if you’re a troutbitten reader) gets thrown around a lot and I don’t think a lot of people understand just how big a 20” brown trout really is
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Exactly. If I think I caught an 18" or larger fish, I don't want to kid myself.
 
I
Nocktavius said:
I’ve got 20” and 24” marks on my net. Measuring a fish seems silly but it doesn’t hurt to do a quick check against those milestones if it’s truly big. My point was just that 20” number (a “whiskey” if you’re a troutbitten reader) gets thrown around a lot and I don’t think a lot of people understand just how big a 20” brown trout really is
Click to expand...

I know people who don't measure but are always telling me about all of the 15" - 17" trout they are constantly catching on streams where something 10" - 12" is more the norm. I'll casually mention that they need to look a ruler once in awhile to see if their recollections are accurate.

It gets even better when they hold their fingers or hands apart to show me how big it was and I pop out a ruler and their fingers are only 10" apart. 😉
 
In regards to Valley getting spot burned....

I can't say for certain because I don't necessarily remember the posts, but I can imagine some of the angst came from SEPA locals who at one time had the place to themselves which isn't necessarily a bad reason for getting upset.

I guessing that because I grew up in Delco with its dearth of quality trout fishing. In addition, as hard as it might be to believe today, I never knew about Valley Creek & the wild trout until I was long gone from the area.

Since becoming enlightened I only fished it a few times, mainly because it is not worth the drive for me based on where I live and the opportunities closer to home.

However, IF I still called Delco home and Valley was my favorite & the best option I had without driving long distances and fighting traffic to get to other places...

I'd be pissed too...

Conversely, I get annoyed when MY local or favorite streams get a bunch of attention even though like Valley, they are hardly secrets.

Bottom line, it's all relative...

Former Delco boy signing off. 🙂
 
Similar to the native/invasive issue more recently, it wasn’t what was being said so much as it was how it was being said, and how frequently it was being said. And generally being directed at relatively new, excited FFing anglers. There was a kinder, and likely more effective way to package the messaging.
 
Mentioning any creek or river by name is largely unnecessary. Yes we do it all the time, but sometimes at least it’s worthwhile stopping and thinking about your intended (and more importantly your unintended) audience. I’ve tried to do it less, because it sucks seeing out of state plates in your hole
 
I don't think the mentioning the name of creek, especially out of the context of a fishing report is the worst transgression, it is elaborating on the conquest that hypes the "hole."
 
Nocktavius said:
That’s a great fish especially on Valley but unless ya taped it and that’s just a bad angle ive got a tough time believing that thing runs 20+”. Looks like a solid 16”-17” to me
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Not to take anything away from the OP because a 16-17 inch fish on Valley is a huge accomplishment 👍
 
Nocktavius said:
I’ve got 20” and 24” marks on my net. Measuring a fish seems silly but it doesn’t hurt to do a quick check against those milestones if it’s truly big. My point was just that 20” number (a “whiskey” if you’re a troutbitten reader) gets thrown around a lot and I don’t think a lot of people understand just how big a 20” brown trout really is. I’ve caught and seen plenty of people catch fish on the Delaware that you’d swear were 20+ and when they were taped…they were 17”
Click to expand...

To your point, this fish I posted earlier in the month was only 21 inches. A 20 inch fish is a huge fish and social media is full of 17-inch 20s.... If the OP taped it, then just a bad pic, which you can see below happens 😉

20240426_132842-COLLAGE.jpg
 
Why would anybody drive 3 hours round trip to catch little fish when there is a pristine little gem loaded with little fish right in the back yard. Unless you want to fish for the smallest fish PA has to offer, there are many more anglers on the fabled trout waters of PA then I’ve seen on Valley.

That is a nice Valley Creek Brown trout. In fact it’s a nice fish regardless of how far the drive was.
 
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poopdeck said:
Why would anybody drive 3 hours round trip to catch little fish when there is a pristine little gem loaded with little fish right in the back yard. Unless you want to fish for the smallest fish PA has to offer, there are many more anglers on the fabled trout waters of PA then I’ve seen on Valley.

That is a nice Valley Creek Brown trout. In fact it’s a nice fish regardless of how far the drive was.
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Great point. I've had plenty of times where a long drive didn't pan out but the 20 minute drive to VC did. Yes its pressured, but honestly that's part of the fun/challenge.
 
Different strokes. Probably a good thing, or we’d all be on Valley. For me it’s less about the fish, and more about the setting.

I drive far further than 3 hours round trip to fish on the weekends, when I can. Less recently with kids happening. But I’d rather bank my “fishing points” with my wife for a full day somewhere that interests me even if it means fishing less often.
 
Dabandfly96 said:
Finally hacked valley creek after a handful of visits. 20+ incher in the rain. Biggest rush I’ve had fishing in a while
https://ibb.co/8XySVBZ
https://ibb.co/4YhZpZw
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That’s an awesome fish ! Congrats. I’ve fished there a few times with spinners but don’t recall catching anything over 10”. Being a southeast resident I’m grateful for any trout stream around here that can support wild fish. Especially with the problems that creek sees. You never know if that sink hole in KOP is going to open up and drain it to hollow earth. LOL.
 
Nice fish but I'm a little disturbed after clicking on the link. The message below the photo was from bet MGM with the number for gambling problems. I don't gamble not even with milk one day past the 'sell by' date. Am I living a secret life that I'm unaware of?
 
krayfish2 said:
Nice fish but I'm a little disturbed after clicking on the link. The message below the photo was from bet MGM with the number for gambling problems. I don't gamble not even with milk one day past the 'sell by' date. Am I living a secret life that I'm unaware of?
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Yes, you are. But don't tell yourself that. It's a secret.
 
Nocktavius said:
That’s a great fish especially on Valley but unless ya taped it and that’s just a bad angle ive got a tough time believing that thing runs 20+”. Looks like a solid 16”-17” to me
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I taped it at 22 inches but I always do -1 because the tape has about an inch of no marking
Nymph-wristed said:
Not to take anything away from the OP because a 16-17 inch fish on Valley is a huge accomplishment 👍
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i taped it at 21 inches! I always just round down and add a + online. But to my friends it was 26’ 😉
 
Nymph-wristed said:
To your point, this fish I posted earlier in the month was only 21 inches. A 20 inch fish is a huge fish and social media is full of 17-inch 20s.... If the OP taped it, then just a bad pic, which you can see below happens 😉

20240426_132842-COLLAGE.jpg
Click to expand...
Beautiful fish! Net pics can really be deceiving! I was afraid to hold mine because he was trying to kick my *** and flopping haha
 
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