Little J Questions?

[PAFLYBOY]

Hello all, I was planning to make a trip to the Little J starting this coming Monday. I am planning to, primarily, swing soft hackle wet flies. I see that the flow is 146cfs and dropping with no rain in sight. Would you folks with experience on the creek consider that to be too low for decent fishing(especially swinging wets) or should I be able to find some decent riffles that would swing well at these levels? Or, would I be better off heading to Penns(476cfs and dropping?) I don't have experience on these creeks to know what a decent minimum flow is for safe fishing. I'm also not sure about the water temperatures although I'm hoping this spell of
cooler weather will render the temperatures safe for fishing! Finally, would anyone have recommendations for decent(but not too expensive!) lodging near either creek? Thanks in advance...

 

[Swattie87]

Both of those are fishable flows. 150 on the Little J is a little low, and 475 on Penns is a little high, respectively, but both can be fished at those levels. There may be less good swinging water on the Little J at that flow, but there will still be some. With little to no rain through mid-week forecasted, Penns may be the better bet for a several day trip if you’re only going to do one or the other. You’ll probably catch Penns in a window where it’s falling through its perfect range. Little J is already below that. If a wet few days were called for, I’d suggest the opposite. Both should still be fine temp wise next week, as long as you’re not too far downstream on Penns. (Stay above Weikert or so.)

If you’re staying for a few days, another thought is to fish both. They’re not that far apart, especially if you split the difference between them with where you stay...State College area is a good bet.

 

[PAFLYBOY]

Thanks for that info, Swattie. I may do just that...

 

[evw659]

Good advice from Swattie.
Penns is in fine shape and the ljr is low and likely very clear. Ljr will obviously still fish, but 140 cfs is low and the streches of prime wet fly water will be much shorter in length.
I was actually gonna fish the ljr tomorrow, but I'm considering just driving the extra hour and heading to Penns instead, especially since water temps should be good there.

 

[PAFLYBOY]

Thanks for the input, guys!