Newbie Brookie Expedition/Jam?

Swattie87 wrote:
GreenWeenie wrote:
Please just promise that after you do this trip, especially if you stumble upon some good wild trout streams that not everyone knows about that hold decent sized fish, you will post detailed stream reports complete with plenty of pictures, directions to parking areas, detailed trail maps, and GPS coordinates of all the honey holes.
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Unbelievable.

Mods - Any chance of a delete on this?...before this well intentioned thread gets destroyed.

GW - PM coming.
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That post sounds a just bit too sarcastic to be taken too seriously. Probably some wize-$#! just trying to stir the pot. Ignore them enough and they'll scurry away.
 
yes, I am going to scrurry away just like a salamander.
 
I didn't say anything about doing a brookie outing in the Spring. I just said that you have to be careful you don't get into the spawn.
 
This blows my mind. The "brooky" guys I know protect the secrecy of the spots like there 1st born sometimes even worse. I think idea of a brooky jam is hard 1 to pull off.
 
I've done it at the regular jam for several years!

It's not that hard to pull off. The main requirement is that you have to utilize a lot of groups on a lot of DIFFERENT streams. 3 or 4 people per group max, including 1 "leader". Each group a different stream.

That means you have to have enough experienced guys committed to match the number of newbies, that's probably the biggest organizational challenge right there. And it means you have to pick a location where there's a lot of streams relatively close, you don't want everyone fishing hours apart. Agree, NC is the ideal location.

It's probably best done as full day, with a base camp of a campground, so people can spend a night or two if they wish. Have the big group meet in the morning to split up, plan on allowing enough time to be organized and on the road by 10 a.m. or so. Can have an evening get together as well.
 
I'd be game for a NC or Central PA brookie jam; so long as you can split up into smaller groups, both regions would work quite well. Petticoat Junction might work as a location in NC PA, but I'd caution against fishing the big name streams like Slate and Cedar, on what would be termed a newbie brookie jam, as they are tough streams to fish. Quiet Oaks Campground outside Cross Fork was tossed around as a site for the Jam a year or two ago, and there was also a campground used for the Quill Gordon Jam this spring, near Galeton or Coudersport. And, for that matter, the State Forest lands provide ample free camping, so long as you don't need electric or non-primitive toilets..

I always try to make a NC PA run sometime in June or July, and would enjoy adding this element to a trip that is either usually solo or with one other partner.
 
Not organization or planning. Its the amount of people or traffic on the stream is what I'm talking about. You can't fish effectively on a small brooky stream with 3 guys on your shoulder. Ya just can't be stealthy enuff. And it's hard to teach with your guys 30 ft behind ya.
 
I'd be game for a NC or Central PA brookie jam; so long as you can split up into smaller groups, both regions would work quite well. Petticoat Junction might work as a location in NC PA, but I'd caution against fishing the big name streams like Slate and Cedar, on what would be termed a newbie brookie jam, as they are tough streams to fish. Quiet Oaks Campground outside Cross Fork was tossed around as a site for the Jam a year or two ago, and there was also a campground used for the Quill Gordon Jam this spring, near Galeton or Coudersport. And, for that matter, the State Forest lands provide ample free camping, so long as you don't need electric or non-primitive toilets..

I always try to make a NC PA run sometime in June or July, and would enjoy adding this element to a trip that is either usually solo or with one other partner.
 
Well, the Pine Creek Gorge certainly has some brookie streams. But if you truly wanna be in brookie "heaven", I'd suggest the Renovo/Kettle Creek area.

Better yet, encourage a few members to bring canoes. There's a number of streams that are best accessed via canoe. Would be a very enjoyable day.
 
this looks like it could be fun i would like to know more streams to fish and learn how to fish them better pocono stream would be closer for me but maybe would drive 2-3 hours if it would be good fishing.
 
Its the amount of people or traffic on the stream is what I'm talking about. You can't fish effectively on a small brooky stream with 3 guys on your shoulder. Ya just can't be stealthy enuff.
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B.S. It gets harder to keep things organized, but if the people are organized, you can do it successfully nomatter how many people you have. Stealth isn't any more of a problem with more people. Stealth is only required as you approach a hole, and nomatter how many you have, only 1 person is approaching a hole.

The problem is simple. Amount of time actually fishing. If you "take turns", then you got 1 guy fishing at a time, with everyone else standing around watching. That's fun, for a little while, but gets old pretty quick. If you go with the leapfrog method, then more people means the "jumps" are bigger, you end up spending more time walking than fishing. You also cover water too fast and usually run out of good water quickly.

For an event like this, 4 per stream is probably about max. So pick a place where you can send many groups to many different streams.
 
pcray1231 wrote:
[For an event like this, 4 per stream is probably about max. So pick a place where you can send many groups to many different streams.
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+1...I'd say 3 per stream is ideal, one leader, 2 Newbies, but 4 would work if need be. Any more, although possible, is just simply impractical.

The amount of interest we get next Spring will affect location. For a fairly small group, say 12 anglers total or less (so 3 or 4 groups out on different streams), there's a couple areas in the Poconos that would probably work ok.

Any more than that though and you probably need to move to the State College area, or even better, NC PA where there are more quality (and accessible) streams to spread out and send groups out on.

In any case, I think NC PA is the place to do this sort of thing...lots of public land, lots of the classic high gradient tiny Brookie streams, and even a few not so tiny ones. Once we set up a date in the Spring, and see who's interested we can put it up to a vote and go from there. I can tell ya now though, my vote will be for NC!
 
Agreed. The Pocono's has some spectacular streams, no doubt. The problem is that a lot are on private land, making the public ones rather spread out, and this would force people to drive significant distances from "home base". That's fine for fishing with some friends for a day, but not appropriate for a larger group trying to meet up at various times.

There are places in NC where there are dozens of good brookie streams within a 5 or 10 mile radius. That would be ideal for this kind of thing.

I'd be ok with the Pocono's. I'd be fine with Pine Creek valley. But if voting, my first choice would probably be somewhere around Renovo, and my second choice would be SE Potter Cty, where the headwaters of the 1st Fork, Pine, Allegheny, and Kettle all meet. Make it a month or so AFTER the main jam, after the super hatches on the big streams have died down and brookie fishing is coming into it's peak. Pick a willing campground as home base, allow people to make a weekend of it. Target Saturday as the main day, with an official meeting time at 9 a.m. or so. Half hour instructional session to explain tactics, then split groups and have everyone on their way by 10. Then have an evening get together for those who are staying the night.
 
I think that's a good basic outline Pat, very similar to what I had in mind.

If we're talking specifics within the NC, I'm more knowledgable on your second choice area (SE Potter/SW Tioga), but would be comfortable leading on a stream in the Renovo area as well...would just need some help on individual streams.
 
I'm more familiar with the SE Potter area too! I've always salivated over maps around the Renovo area, and it's a little farther south for the travelers.

Draw a box with corners at Karthaus, Lock Haven, Wellsboro, and Coudersport. I think anything within that box would do just fine. ;)
 
I say let's shelve the "Brookie Newbie Jam" idea until next Spring.
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Bump ...

We are 37 days out until the 1st day of spring.

Is there still interest in doing this?
 
+1 Pat, that would be the area, I know it fairly well, but troutbert knows it even better then I do.
 
No official date. It's been kind of "back-burnered" with all of the other Jams and newbie stuff going on. Definitely still possible if there's enough interest though. 6 months later I think just a "Brookie Expedition" may be the better title...meaning not just for newbies. Discuss, if there's enough interest, I'll talk to a few of the other Brookie regulars and see what we can come up with.
 
Im so in as long as a date works for me ... whatever date it may be. I will blow off the kids weekend soccer schedule for this excluding two, my daughters tourny day which Ill know shortly or june 22. Will travel so thats not an issue for me
 
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