Help me catch my first fish -- Loyalsock Creek/World's End State Park

[Philosofish]

Heading up to World's End state park mid-July. Anyone got any recommendations for what to bring so that I can snag my first fish? I've come up empty all my attempts to fly fish, I'm hoping this is the time!

I guess Loyalsock Creek is the place to go at World's End. Help me land my first fish, I'm open to all advice (except to hang up my waders!)

Appreciate it!

 

[dryflyguy]

Well, if you really don't want to snag - or even dredge one - I would recommend terrestials. Try ants and beetles - at least until you see if anything is hatching

 

[ryguyfi]

Tie on a foam beetle, then tie on about 12-18 inches of tippet, then a small nymph like a sz 18-20 pheasant tail. If that doesn't catch fish then it's a tough day.

 

[Philosofish]

Thanks for the responses guys. Any recommendations on where to pick up some terrestrials?

What do you think of this foam beetle from Cabela's ("Hi-Vis Foam Beetle):

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0030342311098a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntk=Product_liberal&QueryText=foam+beetle&sort=all&Go.y=0&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23&Go.x=0

Would that fit the bill? If so, which size should I get?

 

[dryflyguy]

I catch lots of fish on #14 and #16 crowe beetles, which are tied with deer hair. Just my personal preference. But the foam ones work nice too, and are more durable.

 

[Fishidiot]

Philo,
I'm not esp familiar with World's End SP but the Loyalsock is a fairly famous trout stream. However, mid-July is tough trout fishing and I'd imagine the L-sock would be warm by then and trout fishing very tough. You mention you want to catch a fish....How bout fishin for something other than trout? If you fish some of the bigger waters such as the lower L-sock or West Branch Susquehanna you can catch smallmouth bass. Get a handful of poppers and Wooly Buggers and fish these waters in the evening and you should catch plenty of bass. If your heart is set on trout, I'd second the advice to fish terrestrials. Hit the L-sock early in the morning when it's cool and fish the pools close to shore or, better yet, find a small, cold tributary and fish up the small stream.
Good luck with your trip.

 

[jayL]

I agree with fishidiot. Finding trout could be tough. I went to world's end in early fall a few years ago and ended up leaving. Beautiful place, but there was no water in the stream!

 

[Philosofish]

fishidiot,

Looks like I'll be up there July 9-11. I already have the campsite reserved so I am going to do the best I can with this situation.

I hope there is still water! This isn't quite early Fall though.

I ordered a bunch of terrestrials, per your guys' recommendations. I'll be sure to give a full report when I get back.

If anyone's got any further recommendations or knows of any little honey holes around World's End, I'm all ears!

Also, fishidiot, or anyone else who knows, how far down the l-sock do I need to go before I hit bass water? What time of day is best?

Thanks!

 

[dryflyguy]

I've never fished loyalsock.
But a stream thermometer will tell you where the bass water is.
Temps near 70 and higher are too warm for trout.
And if it's similar to kettle and pine creeks, there will likely be bass
- and fallfish - in most of the stocked stretches of creek now.
And that's OK - those fish will take terrestials also.
You will likely find trout closer to the streams headwaters

 

[Fishidiot]

What Dryflyguy said.
Generally speaking, warm water trout streams (esp big ones like the L-sock) will have bass in the trout sections by summer time. As a general rule, bigger bass are usually more common in the lower sections of the stream so further downstream might be better. Smallmouth bass also tend to avoid very shallow riffles, although trout like riffles in summer. Slower, deeper water is usually better for bass. Bridges are hotspots in summer - cast to the shady spots under 'em. You can fish for bass all day but often in summer the best fishing is in the evening once the sun starts to set.

 

[MKern]

If the stocked fish are gone you won't catch anything.

However, the sock has a huge population of wild browns. The problem is they are very smart and weary. Night time would be the only shot at them. I have swam the sock (with goggles) and spotted fish around 30" (yes thirty). They hang out in undercut banks which get over-looked by most people.

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

I went to Worlds End last June and caught some nice trout there, including a few rainbows that I'm convinced may have been wild, if not they were the finest examples of larger rainbows I've caught about anywhere.

I had good success on black, brown and green buggers. I fished in some deep pools, the water up there is super clear this time of year. At the swimming area in the park you can see the bottom in 15ft. or more of water. If we continue to have dry weather I believe fishing will be tough but pinpointing fish may be easier.

For some reason I believe most people fish the stream some 30 miles downstream of the park, however I suggest fishing upstream of the park try hiking in a few miles in the area where 220 intersects the stream or if you're feeling adventurous try to find a way to hike in near Lopez and give us a report.

I found the fishing to be good and the water was plenty cold from the park upstream. I also hooked several fish that snapped me off, my guess is they were those elusive trophies that elude me and haunt my dreams.

 

[Padraic]

I Just want to jump on the band wagon and recommend fishing the tribs. Many, many, many of the tribs are prime wild brookie streams. They will be very wary, but also very hungry. If you can go out after a rain, it would be your best bet. If not, evening and morning is a good time.

 

[afishinado]

What Pad said.....

Here's a map of wild trout streams:

http://146.186.163.133/preview/map.ashx?layer=980

Zoom in on the World's End SP area. Many streams are on the map run through State Forest Lands and are open to fishing.

Also good advice about AM/PM fishing. Get out of the 9 to 5 rut, you're on vacation! How 'bout the 5 - 9 shift: 5am to 9am & 5pm to 9pm and kick back during the day. And the best part is brookies (if you don't spook them) will just jump all over your dry flies.

Beautiful area. Have fun.

 

[Squaretail]

Agree and agree. If you're looking for your first and can stay somewhat out of site, the little creeks that you normally would suspect to hold nothing but minnows will get you a native brookie most likely. Even if you can see an entire 4ft by 6ft pocket and see nothing, cast anyway and they'll come darting out from under even the smallest of rocks and hit your offering.
But only if they dont know you're there.

 

[sight_nymph_17109]

Just looked at the flows.... Loyalsock is at 89 cfs and the norm is around 200 cfs. You may be forced to get in tribs to find trout. Muncy is another stream that isn't too far from Worlds End.

You should find some ok bassin' anywhere from Loyalsockville down.

 

[jayL]

I'd bet that muncy has little water in it as well.

 

[sight_nymph_17109]

look at the USGS map. most streams are hurting for rain.

 

[Philosofish]

Just looked at the flows.... Loyalsock is at 89 cfs and the norm is around 200 cfs. You may be forced to get in tribs to find trout. Muncy is another stream that isn't too far from Worlds End.

You should find some ok bassin' anywhere from Loyalsockville down.

First, thanks for all the advice everyone. I am printing out all your recommendations and I'm bringing them with me in case I forget something.

I hope it isn't as bad as you say, sight_nymph. Loyalsockville is about a 40 minute drive from Worlds End, from what Google Maps tells me. Not too interested in driving that far from camp if I don't have to. I was hoping to have some luck within 20-30 minutes. I will do it though to catch a fish, worse comes to worse. Whereabouts in Loyalsockville is a good place to drop your line in?

As for the flows, does 89 CFS mean there's pretty much no water? Does that mean the trout swim to elsewhere or something? I would think there'd still be some of those elusive wild trout. I am up for bassing though if I have to.

 

[sight_nymph_17109]

Philosofish,

I'm no expert on that area and have only fished it a couple of times. I'm thinking I was above Loyalsockville in the special reg water and the flows were close to 500 cfs. At 89 cfs, you should be able to cross just about everywhere / anywhere. I was thinking that down toward town it would be larger, deeper and warmer giving you the best chance to find some bigger bass.

I'd say head to the river with a mix of flies. Look for where deeper holes are or where feeder streams add some cold water. Fish those areas and you should find trout. Slowly walk the pools in the feeders and you'll find brookies. Toss buggers and crayfish in the big river and you'll catch fish. Some bass, some trout or maybe something else. Watch you step up there. You may see a rattler or two.

Let us know how you make out.