Help for a new fly angler

[SteveH83]

Hello all. I am new to fly fishing and started out on Sherman’s creek. I have since learned about the two mile stretch of Clark’s Creek that is fly fishing only. Since I am still very new to this, I could use some help on what flies I should be using right now. I have yet to learn to read what is emerging. Any help would be appreciated. I have not caught any trout as of yet but would really like too. Thanks

 

[salmo]

I have not fished Clark's for several years. I understand that Clark's has a bunch of downed trees making access and moving up and down stream difficult. I have fished it in July-August and found that terrestrials worked. I suspect that a green weenie will also work. The only hatches this time of year might be sporadic caddis and some very tiny BWOs. Good luck

 

[KeviR]

This is a difficult time of year to begin trout fishing. In the summer, many streams get pretty warm and the trout are stressed because the temps are out of their comfort zone. There are some streams that fish OK through the summer - mountain creeks, spring creeks and some tailwaters.
By the summer, there are not that many active hatches. Tricos are one. Other than that, you will want to focus on terrestrials - ants, beetles and grasshoppers. These are available to the trout all summer and into the fall. Ants are actually effective pretty much year round.
Have you considered bass fishing? It's great in the summer. It would allow you to learn casting/fishing techniques. And you're on the Susquehanna, which has great bass fishing.

 

[Dr.J 1952]

You don’t need to be able to read music to be a good guitar player. However , it is very helpful to know the notes on a guitar, relative keys and the names of chords. With that being said, with fly fishing, it is important to acquaint oneself with the stream he plans on fishing. There are books such as Charlie Meck’s “Pennsylvania Trout Streams and Their Hatches” which are very helpful. Most mayfly hatches come off within a week or two of the same time every year on average depending on the weather. Some hatches may come off earlier or later on some streams and few streams have all the mayfly hatches. Most streams that hold trout will have caddis. As the others said, summer is not the time for mayfly hatches. If any, it’s going to be early morning or late evening. There may be midges and caddis. Small nymphs and attractor patterns can work. There’s also sucker spawn, honey bugs, green weenies and squirmy worms ( the fake ones, that is). There’s also streamers. You should be able to find hatch charts online or at the websites of fly shops in the area you want to fish.

 

[laurelrun]

For what it's worth, I've managed to do well with Parachute Adams as a general attractor or dry dropper on Clarks if the fish are looking up. Otherwise I've done well with green weenies, san juan or squirmy worms, and ants. However I typically do not fish there in the height of the summer.

 

[Duriensbane]

Visited Clarks a bunch this past fall and winter, did really well with a black jig streamer (wilds) and white jig streamer (stockers). I know the C/R section is below the dam but i have no idea what the temps will be. There are sections of the creek that are impassable in the water due to hemlock logs, but there are areas to walk around them outside of it. If you were to go, be careful of where you step as not long into april i think, a friend showed me a picture of a decent rattle snake a guy got a picture of so they are there and this time of the year are very active. Personally like KeviR said, i would try out bass. Ive had a blast so far with both streamers and poppers. Could even throw on a chubby or a very large dry and fish them like trout.

The only gripe about Clarks is fish are not where youd think they would be, ive casted into areas that i was 100% sure there was a fish there, and nothing, randomly cast somewhere else and get slammed, so if temps are good, why not right?.

 

[krayfish2]

Agree that warm water is quite a bit easier (and fun) this time of year. The Susquehanna is closer and wide open. Learning how to properly cast there can only help you when trout come back into play. You need minimal gear and a couple of flies to be successful.

 

[poopdeck]

I’ll save you a lot of time. You only need a few basic flies to catch trout as well. We tend to over complicate the simple which translates to less fish caught and more time staring blankly into fly boxes. Hares ear, PT nymph, Al’s rat or RS2, Adams, Stewart’s spider, beetles, ants, hopper, and the heralded squirmy wormie should cover most situations. Put your hatch charts away and take a simple look around. If you’re not catching fish then get your fly deeper and pay closer attention to the line where it enters the water. It’s not rocket science unless you want it to be.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

This is a difficult time of year to begin trout fishing. In the summer, many streams get pretty warm and the trout are stressed because the temps are out of their comfort zone. There are some streams that fish OK through the summer - mountain creeks, spring creeks and some tailwaters.
By the summer, there are not that many active hatches. Tricos are one. Other than that, you will want to focus on terrestrials - ants, beetles and grasshoppers. These are available to the trout all summer and into the fall. Ants are actually effective pretty much year round.
Have you considered bass fishing? It's great in the summer. It would allow you to learn casting/fishing techniques. And you're on the Susquehanna, which has great bass fishing.

What Kevin wrote. My experience is that, for whatever reason, people who ask to be tutored on FF approach me late June-September. They can learn things and refine techniques, but they easily get discouraged and develop a bad impression of FF. The bass recommendation is a good one, but you'll have to make adjustments for trout later. Krayfish suggestion of fishing at wide open areas and keep it simple is excellent .