Prospector
Well-known member
Kettle Creek would be my only addition to the original list.
larkmark
Member
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2019
- Messages
- 876
Kettle has great hatches and it is a lot of fun until it starts to dawn on you that they are all stocked fish. Not that there's anything wrong with stocked fish of course. The upper part has a few little wild ones as long as a hot dog if that's your thing. I traveled the state using Charles Mecks book and a Gazetteer in the 80's and 90's. Fished a lot of the so called famous waters and many small lesser known ones. With a few exceptions I wouldn't bother with the must fish streams anymore. Seems like everyone must fish them all the time. Talking trout here of course.
J
JeffK
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2006
- Messages
- 1,300
Just want to second Great Lakes smallmouth spawning runs. It is something not familiar to many people and catching giant lake smallmouth in a stream/river is a blast.
Famous trout streams, especially the limestoners, get plenty of press.
Famous trout streams, especially the limestoners, get plenty of press.
M
maxima12
Active member
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2009
- Messages
- 1,378
Rock Run, Roaring Branch, In Ralston Pa. When you drive the roads and look way below, know i was there! All of it!
As i think about it, i was lucky! When i think of the times of friends gone now that i took along, What a memory! I can not thank you enough for following me and can not praise you enough for your friendship. What a fishing journey!
Many say i fished it, i may say i fished it all.
So with that in mind, before i am gone, lets put one together.
As i think about it, i was lucky! When i think of the times of friends gone now that i took along, What a memory! I can not thank you enough for following me and can not praise you enough for your friendship. What a fishing journey!
Many say i fished it, i may say i fished it all.
So with that in mind, before i am gone, lets put one together.
Tigereye
Well-known member
@Baron
For targeting lake smallmouths. Many years ago I would visit friends in NY for SM fishing in Lake Ontario. There was a submerged rock island that we would anchor over and catch 2-5 lb SM till your arm hurt. We fished in 8 feet of water. They dunked minnows hooked through the lips or crayfish ( they called them crabs) hooked in the tail using spinning gear. I used heavily weighted dumbell eyed clausser in white, silver and emerald for a minnow imitation ( shiner to be exact) and a clausser in olive and a hint of brown or crayfish. The crayfish in lake Ontario are green.
From our anchored position, I would just drop the fly over the side and let it sink till it hit bottom. (~8 ft) . I was using straight
6 lb mono leader about 12 ft. The fly line/leader attachment would be about 1 foot from tip of rod when lure hit bottom and me sitting in boat. Thus a built in depth finder. I was using an 9 ft rod 5 wt.
From there I would jig the clausser like you would on a party boat for flounder or blues. This method was just as effective as my friends who were using bait.
There was no casting. Basically jigging with a fly rod. The fly line played no part. Funny that was in the 80s and things have come full circle with leader theory.
For targeting lake smallmouths. Many years ago I would visit friends in NY for SM fishing in Lake Ontario. There was a submerged rock island that we would anchor over and catch 2-5 lb SM till your arm hurt. We fished in 8 feet of water. They dunked minnows hooked through the lips or crayfish ( they called them crabs) hooked in the tail using spinning gear. I used heavily weighted dumbell eyed clausser in white, silver and emerald for a minnow imitation ( shiner to be exact) and a clausser in olive and a hint of brown or crayfish. The crayfish in lake Ontario are green.
From our anchored position, I would just drop the fly over the side and let it sink till it hit bottom. (~8 ft) . I was using straight
6 lb mono leader about 12 ft. The fly line/leader attachment would be about 1 foot from tip of rod when lure hit bottom and me sitting in boat. Thus a built in depth finder. I was using an 9 ft rod 5 wt.
From there I would jig the clausser like you would on a party boat for flounder or blues. This method was just as effective as my friends who were using bait.
There was no casting. Basically jigging with a fly rod. The fly line played no part. Funny that was in the 80s and things have come full circle with leader theory.
J
JeffK
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2006
- Messages
- 1,300
Poconos had earlier fly fishing than the Catskills (Delaware drainage at least) since they are closer to the cities and railroads went through there earlier to get to the coal country. Beaverkill and Delaware drainage streams were farther, the Hudson tribs like Catskill Ck are closer, but not as famous)
The Poconos were deforested pretty early for tanneries and timbers for mines. Early clubs in PA bought property along the streams and deforestion drove the brookies out so it didn't matter if you owned along the stream. Many clubs moved north to Catskills and made sure they either bought more land or lobbied to get state forests for the drainage. Some conservation lessons were learned from the PA experience. Brodhead and larger streams came back in a couple of generations since farming and industry didn't really take off in the Poconos. However, now the wild trout were likely to be browns than brookies.
Another thing that made Catskill fishing so famous is that for years the sporting press was located in NYC and most of the writers fished the Catskills as their home waters. PA didn't get as much good press.
By the way the colonial Allen home (sporting lodge) on the Little Lehigh is named Trout Hall, so trout fishing goes way back in Lehigh Valley as well.
The Poconos were deforested pretty early for tanneries and timbers for mines. Early clubs in PA bought property along the streams and deforestion drove the brookies out so it didn't matter if you owned along the stream. Many clubs moved north to Catskills and made sure they either bought more land or lobbied to get state forests for the drainage. Some conservation lessons were learned from the PA experience. Brodhead and larger streams came back in a couple of generations since farming and industry didn't really take off in the Poconos. However, now the wild trout were likely to be browns than brookies.
Another thing that made Catskill fishing so famous is that for years the sporting press was located in NYC and most of the writers fished the Catskills as their home waters. PA didn't get as much good press.
By the way the colonial Allen home (sporting lodge) on the Little Lehigh is named Trout Hall, so trout fishing goes way back in Lehigh Valley as well.
