Fly Fishing and Bikes

[ahhofmeister]

Was planning on heading to spring creek this weekend. I have only been once but remember seeing a group coming up the paved trail at fisherman's paradise on bikes. So my question would be what advice do you guys have for using bikes in general and has anyone tried it in the state college area? I know it's vague just putting it out there to get excited for this weekend it's been awhile.
Thanks
Adam

 

[troutbert]

I live near there. Many people bike on the service road along Spring Creek in Spring Creek Canyon. But not many people combine biking and fishing in that section.

The reason is probably that it's only about 3 miles between the parking lot below the Benner Spring hatchery and the parking lot at Fishermans Paradise.

So to walk to the middle of the "canyon" is only about a 1 1/2 mile walk. It's easier to just walk it then to fool around with bikes and fishing gear and chaining up your bike, etc.

I think biking/fishing makes much more sense in places like the Yough, where there are long stretches (9 miles) between parking areas. Also Pine Creek and the Lehigh Gorge.

 

[jifigz]

I disagree with Troutbert on this one. Have your rod assembled and in hand and your waders and chest pack/sling pack on and ride. Then you can escape other anglers quicker, change spots easily, and cover more ground so fast. You can cover ground on a bicycle exponentially faster than a person on foot. By the time Troutbert walked 1.5 miles as in his example you could have had quite a bit of time fishing that same spot before he even arrived. Spring Creek is the perfect stream for a bike in my opinion.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

i've done it a couple of times and so have others. I agree with troutbert though, there really isn't much of an advantage in doing so. Its a bit clumsy, especially on the return trip. If you are looking to save your legs, especially on the way back, walk in/back in sneakers and carry your waders. Part of the reason is that I don't want to bike in wearing 500.00 waders and stress them.
If I were wet wading with minimal gear, I can see advantages of quick in and outs.

 

[ryansheehan]

I use a bike on the middle yough and north branch of the potomac quite a bit. It helps get away from crowds and gets me to access points faster where no cars are allowed. I have a vest that has a rod tube holder although I often ride with my rod assembled once I've wet a line. Make sure to have a spare tube and pump, learned that one the hard way. It's pretty straight forward.

 

[wildtrout2]

I've show this pic before, but I use this set-up to access a particular tributary to the Lehigh. It's a 3 mile trip one way, but it's worth the solitude.

 

[Swattie87]

What’s the yak for? ;-)

 

[wildtrout2]

Swattie87 wrote:
What’s the yak for? ;-)

It beats swimming. :-D

 

[dryflyguy]

I've bike fished the spring creek section. And kinda agree with troutbert. It's not really a long enough stretch to make it worth me hauling a bike up there (from Pittsburgh). But I guess if you live in the area, it would be more worthwhile.

I don't wear my waders while biking in. I carry them in paper boy baskets on the back of my back. And put them on when I reach the stretch I want to fish.
I strap my rod tube to the cross bar. Although newer bikes don't have them

 

[Swattie87]

wildtrout2 wrote:
It beats swimming. :-D

^Haha, I'll second that.

To actually answer the OP this time:

I’ve used a bike to aid with fishing on certain streams before, but not Spring. Agree with tb and a few of the others that’s it’s not really necessary there. Even in the “Canyon” section, it’s only roughly a 1.5 mile walk to the midpoint from either end, with plenty of good water closer than that. If you’re fishing a whole day in there, you could easily fish half or more of that section on foot anyway. That being said, there’s a nice trail right along it, and there’s no reason you couldn’t use a bike set up in there if you wanted to.

From recollection, I’ve used a bike set up in Pine and Lehigh Gorge’s, and along the Stony Valley Rail Trail in Dauphin/Lebanon Counties. But there’s plenty of other good spots in PA where you could. Beyond Spring, Penns between Poe Paddy and Cherry Run comes to mind, FBJR has a very nice trail along a good portion of it, and there’s a ton of WW streams that have a similar set up.

I typically just bike with my boots, waders, and pack on. I haven’t noticed any issues with my waders from doing it (hiking and small stream fishing I'm sure is far rougher on them than biking a few miles), but that said, I typically still use my cheapo “backup” pair when doing this just to be safe. I bungee a 4 pc rod tube to the frame of the bike and put it together once I get to my first destination. For short distances after that I’ll ride from spot to spot with the rod assembled but anything over a mile or so, I disassemble it. I like doing it, and should do it more. Adds a different twist to the adventure for the day once in a while.

 

[wildtrout2]

wildtrout2 wrote:
I actually use my mountain bike fairly often to get to secluded streams, usually to travel along RR tracks and long stretches of SGL roads that are not open to vehicles.

 

[Hook_Jaw]

I used to bike penns on the old train track path a lot when the water lowered and wanted get between holes fast.

 

[tomitrout]

By the time Troutbert walked 1.5 miles as in his example you could have had quite a bit of time fishing that same spot before he even arrived. Spring Creek is the perfect stream for a bike in my opinion.

So many ways to skin this cat....the timing argument is an interesting one and needs to be looked at as a whole, imo. While you might beat him to the hole on a bike if you both leave the trailhead at the same time, you're not accounting for the extra time to load up the bike at the house, unload the bike at the parking spot, load it back up when finished and unload it again back at the house. Factor all of that in and the hiker could be well down the path before you even saddle up. Then add in stashing and locking up the bike streamside, etc....transit time may be quicker, but the additional hassle might make it a wash and not worth the bother.

Also when fishing if using the bike to leap frog holes, can be great if fishing one easy to access hole and then another. But if scrambling up and down the bank, backtracking to the bike if you're covering more than just one small spot at a time, etc....you might not be saving all that much time vs just staying on the water and walking from spot to spot.

For a short stretch like the Spring Canyon, I'd rather walk in, but if up on Pine or the Lehigh with potentially an hour+ approach on foot, a bike with a basket to haul the waders and gear in can make sense. I wouldn't recommend pedaling in your waders though, I've usually only used the bike for access if wet wading.

 

[SurfCowboyXX]

You can carry a small cooler of beer on the bike as well as a nice lunch.

 

[Nymph-wristed]

All those guys got DUI's...

I would love to bike the Pine Creek, even the Lehigh River, gorges!

 

[MKern]

I wouldn't bike because it's another piece of gear to worry about. Plus I fish the water back up. Seems like a waste of time to walk out of the water, get on a bike, peddle for a few feet, walk back to the creek, and fish.

 

[ryansheehan]

Logged many hours on my bike, always in waders, never an issue. In fact I seem to do alot more damage to my waders when hiking.