Nominations for the Best Fly Fishing Town in Pennsylvania 2024

A recently resurrected topic has inspired me to explore the idea of the "Best Fly Fishing Town in Pennsylvania." This question was asked and a poll taken back in 2009, but it is time to see if it's time to crown a new town for the illustrious title.

I'm asking for nominations before I set up a poll to vote on the "Best Fly Fishing Town in Pennsylvania." Please feel free to post your favorite town and what makes it a special fly fishing town. Yes, it should be a town in Pennsylvania.

Some criteria for the best town could be:
Fly fishing streams
Nearby fly shops
Food options including restaurants, taverns, and bars
Overnight options for campgrounds, Airbnbs, or hotels
Travel distances to the town
or whatever inspires you for your favorite town

We will leave nominations open for a couple of weeks. Afterward, I will close the thread and tally up the top nominees. I will take the top five nominees and create a new thread with a poll to determine our winner.

Instructions: Post a reply to only this thread about the topic, include the Pennsylvania town at the top of your reply and reasons you might like to add for your reasoning. A reminder you must put a name in for nomination to count and only one nomination per person. Any towns nominated that are not in Pennsylvania will be deleted.

 

How much of a town do you need? Fishing the Little J with no cell recetption and the nearby tavern and fly shop is damn near perfect.

 

How much of a town do you need? Fishing the Little J with the nearby tavern and the fly shop is damn near perfect.

Well that depends on how busy Spruce Creek Tavern is, because if its a long wait for a table there isn't many other options without driving to Huntington.

 

How much of a town do you need? Fishing the Little J with no cell recetption and the nearby tavern and fly shop is damn near perfect.

Yes, it is. And the the Spruce Creek Tavern really is all you need. I think the atmosphere there makes it a pretty good choice for a fly fishing town.

The only check against it in my book is how many readily accessible trout waters are nearby. Yes, I know there are other options besides the Little J that the public can access, but the options are still far more limited there than they are in some other locations.

I like Spruce Creek, though. It is a great place and a wonderful place to fish.

 

I don't always want a hot meal and a cold beer at a restaurant after I fish, but when I do, I do.

I am also perfectly fine with packing peanut butter sandwiches and granola bars for the day.

Its all situational.

I once spent several days fishing the Susquehanna near Duncannon while camping. The fishing was great but dinner every night was Sheets MTO's and breakfast consisted of really scary Tom's breakfast sandwiches from a nearby Exxon.

It worked and I get that food is secondary to some, but there must be a reason I haven't done it since and didn't pick Duncannon and the environs as the "Best Fly Fishing Town in Pennsylvania... 😉

 

Yes, it is. And the the Spruce Creek Tavern really is all you need. I think the atmosphere there makes it a pretty good choice for a fly fishing town.

The only check against it in my book is how many readily accessible trout waters are nearby. Yes, I know there are other options besides the Little J that the public can access, but the options are still far more limited there than they are in some other locations.

I like Spruce Creek, though. It is a great place and a wonderful place to fish.

If you get the chance, try Bluegills in Alexandria. Only been twice for lunch but good food (wings, burger, club sandwich is all I had to date). Decent beer selection and full bar.

 

If you get the chance, try Bluegills in Alexandria. Only been twice for lunch but good food (wings, burger, club sandwich is all I had to date). Decent beer selection and full bar.

Yeah, I have been there many times when it was the Main Street. Since it has become Bluegills, however, I have never been there.

 

There's something to the Sheetz MTO meal on a fishing day that makes it complete, lol.

There are days I want a bar with some wings and beer too. But those are usually brookie excursions, where timing and staying out the extra hours is less serious. Like rabbit hunting in the hunting world, yeah its fun and has its own appeal but it doesn't carry the "serious" weight of like the buck opener.

When it's game time, big hatch season, you gotta get there before anything starts, you gotta stay and come out by flashlight. This means something da** it. Then the quick scarf down of cheap convenience store food just completes the scene, and any beer will be packed in because we don't got time for that s***. lol.

 

Another vote for Carlisle. In a half hour or less I can be in Big Spring, Yellow Breeches, Letort, Trindle Spring, Mountain Creek, Sherman’s Creek, or walk across the street to the Conodoguinet. Precision Fly Shop and TCO are both near by. Plenty of good places to eat around here, too.
Steve

 

Reedsville, PA

Okay, okay, I am biased. I am Miff-Co proud. I shouldn't even put this town out there, but COME ON.....IT'S A GEM.

It is right on the convergence of Kish, Honey, and Tea. It has small stores, a local dairy, a local coffee shop, an amazing restaurant (Revival), and small town charm nestled among the mountains. Plus, way, way less traffic than Bellefonte, State College, etc.


Closest fly shops are Fly Fisher's or TCO or Feathered Hook, though.

RIP to the Black Horse

 

RIP to the Black Horse

Wow, I actually forgot that bar existed. I have definitely consumed too many pints a few times in my life in there. I used to be a barfly.

 

Wow, I actually forgot that bar existed. I have definitely consumed too many pints a few times in my life in there. I used to be a barfly.

It was an easy circuit from there to the Milroy Hotel and back through the valley to the old Wilderness with the red satin roof that made you feel like you were on the wrong side of a coffin. : )

 

It was an easy circuit from there to the Milroy Hotel and back through the valley to the old Wilderness with the red satin roof that made you feel like you were on the wrong side of a coffin. : )

I think the Wilderness is currently for sale....maybe you should buy it and become the proprietor of the fine establishment.

I haven't been to the Wilderness in a long, long time.

 

I think the Wilderness is currently for sale....maybe you should buy it and become the proprietor of the fine establishment.

I haven't been to the Wilderness in a long, long time.

We had lunch there three weeks ago. I am looking forward to patio weather. We like to take the jeep over the DCNR roads.

 

I once spent several days fishing the Susquehanna near Duncannon while camping. The fishing was great but dinner every night was Sheets MTO's and breakfast consisted of really scary Tom's breakfast sandwiches from a nearby Exxon.

It worked and I get that food is secondary to some, but there must be a reason I haven't done it since and didn't pick Duncannon and the environs as the "Best Fly Fishing Town in Pennsylvania... 😉

Back when I used to fish for smallies, I'd stay at Riverfront Campground in Duncannon. John Cunningham owned/ran the place and provided whatever might be needed, fishing wise. The showers really sucked! 🙂
I'd go into Duncannon early and eat breakfast there. I forget the name of the restaurant in town, but their breakfasts were great! I don't know if it's even there anymore though. I'll have to get back up there sometime.

 

Back when I used to fish for smallies, I'd stay at Riverfront Campground in Duncannon. John Cunningham owned/ran the place and provided whatever might be needed, fishing wise. The showers really sucked! 🙂
I'd go into Duncannon early and eat breakfast there. I forget the name of the restaurant in town, but their breakfasts were great! I don't know if it's even there anymore though. I'll have to get back up there sometime.

That's probably where I stayed because you are right, the showers did SUCK!!

The nights we were there there was a wild group of folks camping that stayed up half the night making all kinds of noise and shooting off fireworks... 😳

We just sucked it up, drank a lot of beer and tired to create a pi$$ river heading in the direction of their campsite.

I don't know why we decided to have gas station convenience mart breakfast sandwiches, probably because the very first time I fished the Susquehanna for smallies we had breakfast at the Pilot "Travel Center" next to the Juniata.

THAT was the second scariest breakfast I ever ate after the 3 day old Tom's "sausage & egg" disasters we got at the Exxon station.

 

That's probably where I stayed because you are right, the showers did SUCK!!

The nights we were there there was a wild group of folks camping that stayed up half the night making all kinds of noise and shooting off fireworks... 😳

We just sucked it up, drank a lot of beer and tired to create a pi$$ river heading in the direction of their campsite.

Yep, that's the place! 🙂

 

To Bam and wildtrout2
You guys should have at least treated yourselves to one stop at the Red Rabbit!

 

Back when I used to fish for smallies, I'd stay at Riverfront Campground in Duncannon. John Cunningham owned/ran the place and provided whatever might be needed, fishing wise. The showers really sucked! 🙂
I'd go into Duncannon early and eat breakfast there. I forget the name of the restaurant in town, but their breakfasts were great! I don't know if it's even there anymore though. I'll have to get back up there sometime.

Dear wildtrout,


It must have been much nicer way back in the day. I stopped in there one time about 10 years ago to buy some crappie minnows to take my wife to Little Buffalo Lake to fish.

The minnows literally thanked me for rescuing them! I never bothered to go back it was that scuzzy. And anyone who knows me I can be pretty scuzzy myself, so for it to be bad enough for me to take note says something. 😉

Thankfully, for the last 5 years or so there has been a really nice bait, tackle and hunting store just outside the town of Newport on the way to Little Buffalo called Base Camp Outfitters. We stop there now when we head to Little Buffalo.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

To Bam and wildtrout2
You guys should have at least treated yourselves to one stop at the Red Rabbit!

I think I vaguely remember seeing that place. Isn't it just outside of Duncannon?

 

I think I vaguely remember seeing that place. Isn't it just ouside of Duncannon?

Yes, it's a pretty solid choice. Fries with bunny dust!