Letort-what do I NEED TO KNOW?

[sipe]

So after putting the archery stuff away, I'm now fully invested in getting back on the water. I'm kinda new to FF but have 2 seasons under my belt. I can cast with some proficiency. I generally nymph a tandem rig under an indicator. I would like to expand my repertoire of streams and techniques.

I'd like to fish the Letort in the next couple weeks. I've scanned some previous threads about the limestoner but I've never been there. I have fished a couple spots on the breeches and once at Big Spring (which frankly was a disaster...wading and sediment??).

What do I need to know to have a fun day at Letort? I assume scuds/sow bugs to start? Midges this time of year? Wading? Access?

Thanks for any info to get me started. If generally not ask for such HELP BEFORE JUST SCOUTING MYSELF, but I read several threads that mentioned sinkholes, sediment, posted water etc.

Thank you!!!

 

[klingy]

First thing to keep in mind when fishing the letort is to keep your expectations in-check. I think it took me 5 times out to have any luck at all. You could write a book on how to fish it (oh wait...). Here's a few tips that I've learned while fishing it.

1) move slowly and stay as far back from the stream as you can.

2) don't (try to) wade. Seriously, don't do it.

3) for every fish that you do see, there are 10 more that you cant see.

4) fish the edges of the weeds and undercut banks

5) don't be afraid to throw big flies (sculpin, streamers, etc)

6) watch your step on the banks. Be ok with the idea of falling in a hole.

7) take time to observe before you move into a new stretch.

Theres a lot more to know, but most of it just comes with fishing the stream. Just enjoy the experience, even if you get the skunk.

 

[Fishidiot]

Sipe,
Cold weather is your friend. The meadows will be frozen and easier to walk on. Nevertheless, there are many spring seeps and these are still soft. The meadows this time of year are straw colored - keep an eye out for bright green spots, that's where it's soft. Bring a wading staff to probe the soft areas. Trust me, even if you don't wade, a wading staff is very helpful along Letort.
Cloudy days usually fish best. Scuds and cress bugs are go-to flies but don't forget some small BWOs as well.
Good luck with your trip.

 

[SBecker]

It's the Devil.

 

[zenherper]

SBecker wrote:
It's the Devil.

This was pretty much my experience.

 

[Squaretail]

I've fallen in love with it like few other streams. Many (and I mean many) times I've gone there and got skunked or just one or two to hand knowing full well I could've caught many fish somewhere else. Only to do the same thing the very next day.
Shes a ***** of a stream, but I always did like taming shrews. When you finally get them to love you, its the best of love.
Patience, observance, and most of all stealth. If they see you, its over. For the better fish anyway and most of the small ones.
Big BWO's right around the corner.

 

[osprey]

Dan........that reminds me of a Slim Pickens line from "Blazing Saddles" which i better not repeat on here........well said and true.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

What to expect-getting your arse kicked.

Go with the expectation of seeing one of the most beautifuly, most legendary streams in the world. Go with the mindset of taking in the lore and history of it all. Fish are a bonus. What everyone else said is right on, can't really add to it. All I can say is, when I finally got there, I didn't expect to catch fish, and all I could think the whole time I was there was, "I can't believe I'm standing here!"

 

[barbless]

per Gene Macri, "Go on a cloudy day."

 

[Stagger_Lee]

Opened this thread and did some research on the stream .. looks beautiful tho I will stay away for a few more years.

Is it the beauty or difficulty that make it one of the most legendary fishing streams in the world? What is the history behind it that makes it so legendary?

Thanks

 

[Fishidiot]

Stagger_Lee wrote:
Is it the beauty or difficulty that make it one of the most legendary fishing streams in the world? What is the history behind it that makes it so legendary?
Thanks

Both the stream's beauty and difficulty are part of its mystique. However, the difficulty part is a larger chunk of the reputation. The Letort's history is long, large and complex. Entire books and fly fishing techniques were pioneered on Letort, mostly in the period from about 1945-1980. Many of the best known FFers in PA during those years honed their methods and observations on this stream by watching trout rises and experimenting with different flies and presentations. Among the best known of these famous fishermen would be Vince Marinaro, Charlie Fox, Ed Koch, Ed Shenk, (along with a squad of other dedicated anglers - All the fellas I've listed are deceased now except Shenk).

FFers tend to speak of Letort in hushed tones of great reverence - and rightfully so. Still, it's worth remembering, that it's just a trout stream. Don't be discouraged about paying Letort a visit. It's a great PA trout fishing pilgrimage.

 

[McSneek]

I guess "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." I would say the Letort is unique in its pastoral setting and as a true spring creek there are things about it that are beautiful like the large cress beds but considering the mostly suburban setting it flows through these days I think it is far more about the legend and difficulty than beauty. It doesn't compare to the mountain settings some of the other well known streams in PA flow though.

I would have loved to have seen and fished this stream back in its heyday when Fox, Koch, Marinaro and others fished it almost daily during the season.

No one should feel intimidated or unworthy to fish this stream. Go for no other reason than to experience something unique and to perhaps immerse yourself a little bit in fly fishing history.

(And try to avoid wading at all costs, and go on a cloudy day, and be ready to take the skunk!)

 

[DGC]

In addition to what has been said the strain of brown in the Heritage section is special.

 

[afishinado]

The Letort is a stream a lot of history and much written about it back in "the day." I do wish that some folks with foresight (and some political pull) would have preserved it a little better by allowing a decent riparian zone in some sections where development was allowed right up to the bank.

It is unique, but as FI said, from the angler's perspective, it's just a trout stream. Nearly all anglers have difficulty with the slow currents and weed beds, but there are plenty of trout in it to fish for....give it a try....just watch your step.

 

[midgeman]

Sipe,

Klingys advice is really good, in fact nearly perfect. I would only reiterate that bwo's are certainly going to bring the fish up from 9-2 depending on the day. Some can be quite large, while others are small (20-24's). Ive noticed that the trout will ignore the large bwos(16-18's) and eat the little bwos. I guess they taste better??? I've had most of my dry fly success on the letort by spotting rising fish from a distance. I then try to position myself above the fish a good 30-60 feet. This involves moving slow and crawling. I've found that its easier to battle the numerous swirling flows while drifting a dry into a feeding lane from above the rising fish. I use a leader that is at least 6x and 12 feet long with two dries. Two dries causes the flies to do a switch back across the surface which will trigger strikes. Do not cast repetitively over a rising fish. Slowly retreive your line and wait a minute. Limit your false casting, if none at all. Do this and you will catch fish within the next month on bwo's on the letort.

 

[Chooch]

I have fished the Letort a lot and for a long time. Klingy nails the best advice so I do not want to be redundant. The one thing I would really hammer on is going slow. The biggest problem I see with LeTort rookies is the speed with which they try to fish it. I was sitting on the Bonny Brook bridge talking with a friend who lives right there one afternoon. I was planning on fishing but a car arrived and two guys proceeded to walk up to the water I was planning on fishing. I didn't mind as I fished the LeTort nearly every day at this point in my life. They returned after covering the water in about 30 minutes tops. The same stretch they covered, about 30 yards give or take, would take me at least 2 hours to cover. The worst part was I knew the stretch would be dead now for awhile because of their approach.

 

[JackM]

I always try to fish Letort when I pass through H'burg. It is a very unique stream for PA. The best time to catch trout is when they are rising, but good luck figuring out when that will be. This is the just the perspective of an occasional passerby, so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[steveo]

After you get frustrated upstream try the lower end near the mouth. I have not been out there in a few years but from what I remember the fish were easier there.

 

[Chooch]

steveo wrote:
After you get frustrated upstream try the lower end near the mouth. I have not been out there in a few years but from what I remember the fish were easier there.

I don't think the fish are that much easier to catch as much as it is a little easier to fish. Although that has changed a little. In my opinion it is for a couple reasons. First, that area is not fished as much as the upper water. Second, it is not quite as choked as the upper water, which is the part that is changing. It seems the lower water is getting more choked with weeds and resembling the upper water more. Third, hatches and bugs on the lower water seem to be more predictable and heavier. I have always thought Sulfurs and Olives were better on the lower water. Add in that the lower water has a nice trike hatch and the meadow areas have tons of hoppers. I think this combination have made the trout in the lower water more apt to feed on the surface in comparison to the fish on the upper water which are more rooters and subsurface feeders.

 

[pcray1231]

I too am an occasional passer by. IMO, it's special because it's the epitome of a stream type.

In your mind, when you picture a freestoner, you picture a brawling, rocky, fast stream complete with waterfalls, plunge pools, and the like, with lots of smallish aggressive fish. When you picture a limestoner, you picture a pastoral setting. Lush green vegetation, weed beds, slow water with neither riffles nor pools, not overly affected by rain or drought. Constant water temps, constant flow, etc. Rather than fall down a gradient, the water is "pushed" by upwelling springs at the headwaters, and runs flat. Soil is silty and soft. Water is full of life and there are plenty of BIG fish, leisurely sipping small insects, occasionally refusing even naturals because a leg wasn't bent right or something.

But very few streams of either type fit their model perfectly. Most limestones have some freestone character, and vice versa. The Letort does fit it's model, it made the model. When you think of a limestoner, you are thinking of the Letort, and when you see other limestoners, you are comparing it to the Letort to gauge it's "limestonyness". And part of that is it's history, it's the one that was written about over and over, then talked about by the readers and fishers alike, and those descriptions formed that image in our heads, even those of us who have never actually seen it. So actually seeing it then becomes a special experience, like we've been familiar with it for years.

And tactics to fish a stream like that are very different than they are on the brawling freestoner. Slow, complicated currents with fussy, well fed fish, which see you easily due to a glassy surface. That challenge is why it was written about so much, and used to perfect flies and tactics.