Fishing Near State College This Week

[mikeg126]

On Thursday I'll be heading out to fish the State College area. I have time with George Daniel on Friday (very excited about that) and will drive out Thursday early morning to fish either Little J or Spring Creek. Both are new water for me. Researching access for the Little J it looks like there are several areas available. I was looking at either Irish Flats or near the Barree Trail Head but I am open to other locations as well.

If I go to Spring Creek I was thinking Fisherman's Paradise (the little park off of Deer Creek Lane) or a little down stream where the walking bridge is located. Again I am open to other locations as well.

Thanks!

 

[dudemanspecial]

This is a good primer on Spring Creek access. This time of year with the low water you will find the best water below Fisherman's Paradise. The closer to Bellefonte / Milesburg the better.
A Home Water Love Affair: Fishing Spring Creek

The Little J is a similar story. The upper areas like Irish Flats will probably be pretty low. I would stick to the Baree trail head and down towards the mouth.

Let us know how your day with George goes!

 

[Nocktavius]

I’d probably ask George for an exact spot rec or two! He’s guiding you for the day, but tip well and I’m sure he’ll be happy to provide a few hot spots.

 

[TYoung]

It looks like central PA is getting some rain today. That should increase the flows and improve fishing conditions.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

I've fished both. I did Spring on 17 APR 2021 (SAT) and the Little J 18 APR 2021 (SUN). I didn't do so well on Spring as it is a technical stream with pressured wild trout. I did manage a 9 inch wild brown on a 16 caddis. The caddis was a light brown color., a variant picked up by the local TCO shop.

The J fished much better. I fished during a massive caddis hatch. There were so many bugs in the air I was eating more than the trout were!

 

[mikeg126]

This is a good primer on Spring Creek access. This time of year with the low water you will find the best water below Fisherman's Paradise. The closer to Bellefonte / Milesburg the better.
A Home Water Love Affair: Fishing Spring Creek

The Little J is a similar story. The upper areas like Irish Flats will probably be pretty low. I would stick to the Baree trail head and down towards the mouth.

Let us know how your day with George goes!

This is fantastic! If I do go to Spring I’m thinking about the Distillery or fisherman’s paradise sections.

If I go to Little J I was going to fish around D
Spruce or further down.

 

[discomidge]

We're getting some decent rain today and the streams should be in better shape for the next few days than they have been in months - good timing for your trip. FWIW I'd be on Penns or BFC if I could get out this week, but I'm headed down to the OBX.

Spring just doesn't do it for me, though I know I'm in the minority there. There are just too many good streams around here and to each his own, it's nice to have choices. I've been doing real well on Penns for the past couple weeks. The olive hatch wouldn't quit a couple days ago. Good times on top.

 

[Schaefer406]

On Thursday I'll be heading out to fish the State College area. I have time with George Daniel on Friday (very excited about that) and will drive out Thursday early morning to fish either Little J or Spring Creek. Both are new water for me. Researching access for the Little J it looks like there are several areas available. I was looking at either Irish Flats or near the Barree Trail Head but I am open to other locations as well.

If I go to Spring Creek I was thinking Fisherman's Paradise (the little park off of Deer Creek Lane) or a little down stream where the walking bridge is located. Again I am open to other locations as well.

Thanks!

Careful on the little J. I sprained my ankle pretty bad one time there after slipping on a rock and was left hobbling 2 miles back to my truck. If flows are above 300 CFS it gets sketchy IMO.

 

[mikeg126]

After talking with the TCO shop in State College, I think I am going to fish Spring Creek. I'd rather be fishing an easier stream tomorrow. The last thing I need is to get into difficult wading and screw something up for Friday.

 

[dudemanspecial]

After talking with the TCO shop in State College, I think I am going to fish Spring Creek. I'd rather be fishing an easier stream tomorrow. The last thing I need is to get into difficult wading and screw something up for Friday.

? Little J is only 120 cfs. That is not at all dangerous. In fact I stand by my earlier comments that I would avoid the upper parts of the river at that level (that is my personal preference on the water level there, others may not agree).

I mean compared to spring, the little J is more difficult in general, but in regards to the water level it's current level does not constitute difficult wading at all.

I am not trying to talk you out of Spring, just wondering what TCO said to turn you off on the LJR.

 

[mikeg126]

? Little J is only 120 cfs. That is not at all dangerous. In fact I stand by my earlier comments that I would avoid the upper parts of the river at that level (that is my personal preference on the water level there, others may not agree).

I mean compared to spring, the little J is more difficult in general, but in regards to the water level it's current level does not constitute difficult wading at all.

I am not trying to talk you out of Spring, just wondering what TCO said to turn you off on the LJR.

Basically they said given the choice Spring is easier wading than the Little J. But given the flow it seems the LJ would be fine. Their recommendation is to fish below Spruce if I go.

I guess Spring has more fish but smaller but it seems that may get more pressure.

Their recommendation for access at LJ was just above Spruce Creek above the United Methodist Church. How much of that is public access?

Also, I am too concerned about wading. I normally fish Yellow Creek, Savage and a lot of the Virginia freestone streams so I'm comfortable with slippery rocks....

 

[afishinado]

Basically they said given the choice Spring is easier wading than the Little J. But given the flow it seems the LJ would be fine. Their recommendation is to fish below Spruce if I go.

I guess Spring has more fish but smaller but it seems that may get more pressure.

Their recommendation for access at LJ was just above Spruce Creek above the United Methodist Church. How much of that is public access?

Also, I am too concerned about wading. I normally fish Yellow Creek, Savage and a lot of the Virginia freestone streams so I'm comfortable with slippery rocks....

If it were my choice, I would choose the LJ. The gage just above the confluence of Spruce Creek reads 112cfs, that's low. Wading should be easy. As far as access just above Spruce, it's pretty wide open, plenty of places to pull over, park and fish, Have a great time!

USGS Current Conditions for USGS 01558000 Little Juniata River at Spruce Creek, PA

 

[nymphingmaniac]

my opinion is similar to dudemanspecial.
It is iffy if the decent sized fish redistributed back to the upper portions of the J (eg Irish flats) yet. The temps are good, but we need more sustained higher water levels to get them back. It was a warm, rough summer on the J.
From Pemberton downstream would be a better choice.

The LJ has a lot of public access. no issues. The olives on the J are smaller than spring and have darker wings, almost black. Some sites report october caddis, but I have never seen a fishable hatch.

 

[Schaefer406]

After talking with the TCO shop in State College, I think I am going to fish Spring Creek. I'd rather be fishing an easier stream tomorrow. The last thing I need is to get into difficult wading and screw something up for Friday.

You should totally fish the j tomorrow. I was just saying if you go back during higher flows to be careful.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

Careful on the little J. I sprained my ankle pretty bad one time there after slipping on a rock and was left hobbling 2 miles back to my truck. If flows are above 300 CFS it gets sketchy IMO.

The one time I fished it (APR 18 2021) I had to ice skate across the bedrock with water almost coming over the top of my chest waders to get to the fish. Not sure what the flows were, probably normal, but the water was a little cool given it was Spring. My fishing partner told me she thought I was insane to go out there and that I could have drowned (not a real possibility). I laughed in 17 inch wild brownine.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

After talking with the TCO shop in State College, I think I am going to fish Spring Creek. I'd rather be fishing an easier stream tomorrow. The last thing I need is to get into difficult wading and screw something up for Friday.

Never let the difficulty of the wading dictate where you fish.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

I would also advise The Little J. The two days I fished Spring and the Little J I put more time in Spring and yielded only a 9 inch wild brown at the end of the day. The J produced substantially better and I got into several (I think 4) wild browns with a half hour of fishing. The fish ranged from 12 inches to the biggest fish, a 17 incher! There are definitely bigger trout in the Little J if that matters to you. I also think Spring gets more pressure but I can't say that is entirely true, but it felt that way when I went.

 

[Schaefer406]

Never let the difficulty of the wading dictate where you fish.

I hope that is sarcasm because that is a horrible piece of advice. I know someone who died while wade fishing who slipped and hit their head on a rock. Know your physical limitations and don't exceed them. In your other comment you said that it is "not a real possibility" that you could've drowned, please explain? I was a junior Olympic level swimmer who is still in phenomenal shape and I exercise caution every single trip.

 

[wildtrout2]

Never let the difficulty of the wading dictate where you fish.

As mentioned, this is very poor advice. Respect the power of water!

 

[Silent Ocelot]

I hope that is sarcasm because that is a horrible piece of advice. I know someone who died while wade fishing who slipped and hit their head on a rock. Know your physical limitations and don't exceed them. In your other comment you said that it is "not a real possibility" that you could've drowned, please explain? I was a junior Olympic level swimmer who is still in phenomenal shape and I exercise caution every single trip.

I was fishing a slow pool on bedrock. Had to almost tip toe to get to my spot. It was pretty sketchy but I had it under control (mostly) as I know how to wade creeks effectively. If I did slip I would have gotten drenched but nowhere near to the point of drowning. My fishing partner is a safety nut and gets sketched out about the slightest thing (I'm not against safety, use precautions as you see fit) and scolded me after I had fished. In this instance I think she was just butthurt that I got into fish. My response was a laugh as I had caught fish and she didn't. This of course did not help our relation as friends.