Hammersley Fork Backpacking - Best Time of Year?

[Swattie87]

This is sooo true. That's why you want to do your best to fish it on a weekday.

As far as the rattlers go, like Swattie said, the Hammersley is where I've had the bulk of my encounters with them over the years. Also as mentioned, pay extra attention while walking through those ferns, they love that enviornment. Really, the only chance of a strike though, would be if you step on one. They are that docile. Those ferns still give the heebie-jeebies. 🙂

Salmonoid has a great picture of one he almost stepped on, tucked into tall ferns. Maybe he’ll see this and post it again. Not Hammersley, but a similar wilderness setting stream with a similar degree of remoteness from roads. (I’m not going to name it for obvious reasons, but I know it’s a stream and watershed you fish Jeff, and one we talk about often in PM’s. The one I said recently was my least favorite hike out of any stream I fish, due to the high ferns and lack of a reliable trail system. I’ve never seen a Rattler there, but that place gives me the creeps worse than Hammersley.)

 

[jifigz]

Salmonoid has a great picture of one he almost stepped on, tucked into tall ferns. Maybe he’ll see this and post it again. Not Hammersley, but a similar wilderness setting stream with a similar degree of remoteness from roads. (I’m not going to name it for obvious reasons, but I know it’s a stream and watershed you fish Jeff, and one we talk about often in PM’s. The one I said recently was my least favorite hike out of any stream I fish, due to the high ferns and lack of a reliable trail system. I’ve never seen a Rattler there, but that place gives me the creeps worse than Hammersley.)

Dude, I have nearly stepped on rattlers when walking the Mid-State Trail through Huntingdon/Mifflin Counties, the Eagleton Mine Camp Trail in Clinton County, the Old Logger's Path in Potter County, and just while bush whacking in Potter County. I generally don't see them while fishing, but HopBack and I ran into one in Perry County while searching for a stream, too. The one on the mid-state didn't rattle or do anything, and I would have stepped on it. I caught a glimpse of it at the very last second and somehow reacted and never touched it, but the snake never moved.

Encounters where I have seen them and been nowhere near stepping on them are so numerous that I can't even count.

 

[wildtrout2]

Dude, I have nearly stepped on rattlers when walking the Mid-State Trail through Huntingdon/Mifflin Counties, the Eagleton Mine Camp Trail in Clinton County, the Old Logger's Path in Potter County, and just while bush whacking in Potter County. I generally don't see them while fishing, but HopBack and I ran into one in Perry County while searching for a stream, too. The one on the mid-state didn't rattle or do anything, and I would have stepped on it. I caught a glimpse of it at the very last second and somehow reacted and never touched it, but the snake never moved.

Encounters where I have seen them and been nowhere near stepping on them are so numerous that I can't even count.

Of the rattlers I've encountered, only one rattled. I was going up a very steep powerline in Carbon county, which Swattie is more than familure with. I had hiked up and down this powerline no less than 40 times over the years, and always wondered why I'd never seen one, because it just looked like that kind of habitat.
Then, one day maybe four/five years ago, I was almost to the top of that line when I heard that unmistakable sound. I immediately stopped, just in time to see the tail end of a black phase slithering into the thick blueberry brush (IMO as bad as ferns). I would have stepped on him had he not rattled, because he was two feet in front of me.

This is one I came upon just above Cow Run on the Hammersley. It was a rare opportunity to get a good pic, because sightings are usually short lived.

Matt, I know the stream you mentioned earlier, it doesn't get much more remote than that!

 

[albatross]

The more aggressive Western variety. Scary!

 

[Swattie87]

View attachment 1641239121The more aggressive Western variety. Scary!

Yeah. I’ll stick to Timbers.

I’ve grown pretty fond of them and enjoy seeing them now. Don’t really get that super adrenaline rush anymore.

 

[Swattie87]

Of the rattlers I've encountered, only one rattled. I was going up a very steep powerline in Carbon county, which Swattie is more than familure with. I had hiked up and down this powerline no less than 40 times over the years, and always wondered why I'd never seen one, because it just looked like that kind of habitat.
Then, one day maybe four/five years ago, I was almost to the top of that line when I heard that unmistakable sound. I immediately stopped, just in time to see the tail end of a black phase slithering into the thick blueberry brush (IMO as bad as ferns). I would have stepped on him had he not rattled, because he was two feet in front of me.

This is one I came upon just above Cow Run on the Hammersley. It was a rare opportunity to get a good pic, because sightings are usually short lived.

Matt, I know the stream you mentioned earlier, it doesn't get much more remote than that!

That’s a good pic!

Yeah, I haven’t seen one on that power line…yet. But I keep a sharp eye, and take it slow. Definitely looks “snakey”.

 

[Broodstock]

Looking to take a trip into Hammersley Wild Area sometime this spring/early summer.

Been doing my research and planning the route on CalTopo, but wanted to get input from locals. I know this is a freestone and that water levels can vary pretty greatly. If I'm going to try to fish spots like the Bell Branch, Nelson Branch, Cow Run, and Upper Hammersley Fork (along the Susquehannock Trail System), is the 3rd week of June too late for decent water levels (assuming a "normal" water year)?

Being a born-and-raised west coaster with access to so much public land in the High Sierra, I find I have to get pretty deep into a trail to avoid seeing other folks. I don't want to stick around the trailhead.

The potential routes: https://caltopo.com/m/J1F647P

Did you build out the custom layers in caltopo with the pfbc stream classifications?

 

[dbargaehre]

I agree. I understand going out west offers beautiful trout fishing opportunities, but you couldn't fish all the great trout streams here in Pa in two lifetimes. Love it here!

The amount of water here is incredible. I’m in a trout desert on the Bucks/Montgomery county line but central PA is incredible! Even just driving 30-40 minutes west I can find good trout streams. I also love fishing up in hickory run area, Mud Run above Hawk falls is stunning and don’t usually see anyone else there. They like the class A section but I do better upstream.

 

[dbargaehre]

Agree with the others that late May/early June would be a good time to visit Hammersly. I'd also add that Quehanna is much nicer, IMO, and probably less likely to see people. A huge amount of trails in the area and underrated trout fishing.

As far as seeing other anglers, I've personally encountered another fisherman only once in probably 600 or so trips over the last dozen year years. I've skipped two or three streams because there was a car there in that time. PA may not have as much overall public land as Western states, but in my opinion it's much more usable land for my pursuits (backpacking and small stream trout fishing) than almost anywhere I've been.

I’ll check out your recommendation. I work for myself but unfortunately it’s still gotta be a weekend. Thank you!

 

[wildtrout2]

Did you build out the custom layers in caltopo with the pfbc stream classifications?

This was touched on in post #2.

 

[wildtrout2]

View attachment 1641239121The more aggressive Western variety. Scary!

That one looks poised to ruin somebody's day.

 

[Broodstock]

This was touched on in post #2.

I read post 2 and didn’t see anything related to building out custom layers in the caltopo gis. Perhaps my question is not clear, or my understanding of caltopo as a mapping tool is not fully realized.

 

[dbargaehre]

Agree with the others that late May/early June would be a good time to visit Hammersly. I'd also add that Quehanna is much nicer, IMO, and probably less likely to see people. A huge amount of trails in the area and underrated trout fishing.

As far as seeing other anglers, I've personally encountered another fisherman only once in probably 600 or so trips over the last dozen year years. I've skipped two or three streams because there was a car there in that time. PA may not have as much overall public land as Western states, but in my opinion it's much more usable land for my pursuits (backpacking and small stream trout fishing) than almost anywhere I've been.

I’ll check out your recommendation. I work for myself but unfortunately it’s still gotta be a weekend.

Timber rattlers are a very gentle snake, too. I have never had one strike at me, and I have almost stepped on them more than once in my life.

As someone who used to backpack a ton in PA, I would leave the bear-canister home though and hang your food in a dry bag using the PCT method. I prefer less weight over more.

BTW, that stream in your pics looks gorgeous.

The way I see it the snakes were there first. I’m a guest in their house…if I get bit, it’s on me.

In the more popular spots in the Sierra the bears have learned how to defeat most hang methods, unfortunately. We underestimate ursine cleverness, but they are quite clever when it comes to food. My brother was a wilderness guide in Yosemite and Zion for years; he has some pretty incredible stories about bears getting to hangs.

I don’t even own a bear bag because I’d rather do a can, and finding a proper tree in the higher parts of the Sierra can be a PITA 😆

I have a bearvault 450 and 475, they’re not too heavy and the extra functions they provide makes them worth the weight. Plus, habituated bears are the only really dangerous ones as far as black bears go. If you want a sad story about a habituated bear look up “Safeway Bear” on Google. All it takes is one calorie bomb for the bear, and they learn that people in the woods = food. A powerful incentive! It’s probably my Sierra lessons biasing me but I’d rather play it safe. Seen a few too many groups heading down the mountain early because a bear got their stash on night one.

 

[dbargaehre]

That one looks poised to ruin somebody's day.

As someone pointed out the western ones tend to be noisy. They’re not terribly territorial in California, but they’re quite loud. I ran into my fair share in the San Gabriel mountain streams near LA, and they warn you from quite a distance.

That said, they can definitely ruin days 😆 I nearly ran right into one crossing a quick flowing stream. It was telling me, but I couldn’t hear it over the sound of the water until I was nearly on top of it. It would have been a 2 mile hike back to the car so I’m glad it was forgiving enough!

 

[dbargaehre]

I read post 2 and didn’t see anything related to building out custom layers in the caltopo gis. Perhaps my question is not clear, or my understanding of caltopo as a mapping tool is not fully realized.

Use “add a line” and then theees a dropdown menu in the top left on which lines to follow. You can do OSM, USFS, hydrological, etc.

Caltopo is an awesome free mapping tool. I use it to plan all my trips then dump an XML to TopoMaps free app and download all the USFS maps on TopoMaps in my immediate area. I carry a printed map as a backup but the phone map and GPS are invaluable when trying to navigate cross-country in the High Sierra.

 

[dbargaehre]

BTW, that stream in your pics looks gorgeous.

that’s Lyell fork of the Tuolumne River from this year. (Yeah we call that a river in CA! Out here it’s barely a stream!) Full of brooks and browns although the native rainbows are there if you look hard enough. One of the more popular trails unfortunately. We looped down it our last day last year, the rest of the trip I think we saw 4 people total in 3 groups. Once we got down to Lyell fork it was a zoo.

Every year we run into some truly stunning mid-sized trout water. Much of the water is high-gradient and skinny, but still fantastic fishing. The other thing you learn is how to read & fish lakes, as that’s where the larger fish tend to be.

I’m presenting my trips at DVFF, Dame Juliana League, and Delco-Manning TU the next couple months if you’re in the SEPA area.

 

[wildtrout2]

I read post 2 and didn’t see anything related to building out custom layers in the caltopo gis. Perhaps my question is not clear, or my understanding of caltopo as a mapping tool is not fully realized.

I was referring to "with the pfbc stream classifications" part of the post. Post #2 mentioned the 2 tribs/streams plus the main stem of the HF that are worth fishing, that were touched on.

I actually caught a 9" native on Beech Bottom Run, another HF trib a long time ago, after a good rain. As was mentioned, if you can catch the tribs at the right time, they can be productive.