Getting away from the crowds

[HopBack]

I arrived at one of my favorite local streams today only to find cars lined up and down the road and people fishing elbow to elbow like it was opening day. I knew the PFBC stocked on Friday but this is certainly the most pressure I’ve ever seen on this stream. Maybe the high waters kept people away on opening day and they are just now getting started on their season 🤷‍♂️.

At any rate I put plan B into action and headed upstream of the circus and out of the stocking area. This stream has a decent population of wild browns and that’s ultimately what I was after anyway.

I fished for about 3 hrs and never encountered another angler much less any boot prints. Zero bug activity but had excellent action with a dry dropper rig. (Deer hair and foam caddis on top and PT nymph on the bottom)

Called it a day after landing 17 wild brown trout and 3 stocked rainbows and I’m sure I had a much better time fishing where I did vs staying with the crowd.

 

[Mike]

For quite a while I have thought that part of that stream within the stocked portion has had a good chance of now supporting a Class A equivalent population based on improvements seen downstream. If searching for a potential Class A population within an existing stocked trout section (or above) after decades of vegetation maturation, etc, that would be a stream that would have real potential…enough to make a survey worthwhile.

 

[HopBack]

For quite a while I have thought that part of that stream within the stocked portion has had a good chance of now supporting a Class A equivalent population based on improvements seen downstream. If searching for a potential Class A population within an existing stocked trout section (or above) after decades of vegetation maturation, etc, that would be a stream that would have real potential…enough to make a survey worthwhile.

I caught 4 year classes of browns today. Major factors holding it back are flooding and lack of habitat in the section I was fishing. Fishable areas are very nice but you often have to skip over some frog water to get to more fish. Downstream in the gorge has fantastic habitat and was getting really good before the major flood. I haven’t fished it in years but I’m due to hit it soon. We’ll see how it goes.

 

[Kyle]

nice day out. nice fish

 

[Mike]

I caught 4 year classes of browns today. Major factors holding it back are flooding and lack of habitat in the section I was fishing. Fishable areas are very nice but you often have to skip over some frog water to get to more fish. Downstream in the gorge has fantastic habitat and was getting really good before the major flood. I haven’t fished it in years but I’m due to hit it soon. We’ll see how it goes.

Long stretches of featureless, shallow water would kill any Class A potential. The downstream stretch has that problem too plus it gets somewhat warm or it used to down there. Tack on the much wider avg width, which drives up the hectarage, and habitat problems combined with wider width kills Class A potential.

 

[StreamBottom]

Wild browns for the win!!

Definitely take them over crowds and stockers.

Thanks for the TR
🍻

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

Where is this? I've looked all over PA for that big rock in the background.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

No boot track is the key to finding untouched fish. GG

 

[Andrwhite610]

It’s funny I fished a stream near my house a few times this weekend. The deep “holes” were surround by spin anglers trying to force feed the stocked fish with no success. But literally just feet away wild browns were going nuts feeding in the riffles. I was getting great action drifting a dry dropper through the riffles while holding my 1.5 year old son in one arm and casting with the other arm.😂

Sometimes you don’t even have to go far. They are hiding in plain sight from the people that don’t know any better.

 

[wildtrout2]

Your son either wants to pet that trout, or he's saying that's close enough. Nice brown.

With wild browns like that, you have to wonder why that stream gets stocked at all.

 

[Mike]

Where is this? I've looked all over PA for that big rock in the background.

That rock says more than you apparently realize.

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

That rock says more than you apparently realize.

I figured as much, judging by your recognition of the location.

 

[Andrwhite610]

Your son either wants to pet that trout, or he's saying that's close enough. Nice brown.

With wild browns like that, you have to wonder why that stream gets stocked at all.

Shortly after that pic he bonked it and I dropped it back in the creek haha.

And I often wonder that about almost all of the creeks I fish. This one in particular was stocked for a kids rodeo.

 

[Mike]

Wildtrout 2: To partially answer your question, if the creek you asked about is the the creek that I suspect, Class A stretches are not stocked by the PFBC.