Penns Creek 4/19

[Swattie87]

And when you fell in and had to hang dry everything.

I don’t fully recall that, but believe you as I take at least a partial dunking on most Penns outings. So, it probably happened haha.

We were in that heavy water during the early afternoon, Rainbow Riff? So, it makes sense that I took at least a partial dive. I hate wading big water.

 

[mszoke1802]

do you guys have a spot on the creek that you pick to cross each time you go? I typically cross the creek just below the cabin after you come out of the tunnel but that can suck depending on flows. I've fished this creek a ton but each time I have to cross it my anxiety goes thru the roof. I'll be up there last week of April for my spring trip as well.

 

[jifigz]

do you guys have a spot on the creek that you pick to cross each time you go? I typically cross the creek just below the cabin after you come out of the tunnel but that can suck depending on flows. I've fished this creek a ton but each time I have to cross it my anxiety goes thru the roof. I'll be up there last week of April for my spring trip as well.

Why do you have to cross the creek? Why not pick the side of the stream you want BEFORE you start going down the banks and long Penns. Once your along the creek, you're going to find excellent water on both sides of the stream.

 

[Swattie87]

do you guys have a spot on the creek that you pick to cross each time you go? I typically cross the creek just below the cabin after you come out of the tunnel but that can suck depending on flows. I've fished this creek a ton but each time I have to cross it my anxiety goes thru the roof. I'll be up there last week of April for my spring trip as well.

Not really. The tail of the Broadwaters Pool (big long, straight, slow pool, pretty shallow in the tail at normal fishable flows, just below the tunnel) is probably about the easiest spot you’re gonna find from Poe Paddy to Cherry Run. But, the hiking on the south side of the creek there isn’t as easy as the superhighway rail trail on the north side, so I usually just walk that to closer to where I plan to fish, and cross in the best/safest spot I can find.

At normal fishable flows, say 400 cfs or less, it’s safely crossable in many taillouts of pools, look for those, and try to cross just upstream of where the current starts to pick up leading into the next riffle. 400-700 or so it still can be crossed, but you really gotta be choosy with your spots, especially at the higher end of that range. Above 700, and IMO you’re pretty much sticking to the side of the stream you start on.

Edit: The biggest issue IMO with wading in Penns is it’s filled with basketball to beach ball sized boulders. Too big and too numerous in many spots to avoid having to step on/around them, but too small to get any kind of secure footing on. Try to find areas, if possible, with less of those and more cobble. Again the taillouts of pools are probably your best bet.

Edit 2.0: Most of my falls come from stepping on medium sized boulders (like the size that are in Penns) that are ever so slightly sloping away from you. Enough to make you fall when you step on them and your lead foot starts to slide forward and away from you, but not sloped enough so that from above the water you can easily notice and think “don’t step here.” Try as best you can to avoid that scenario, easier said than done, admittedly. And don’t move your second foot, until you’re certain your lead foot is in a secure spot. Only move one leg at a time.

 

[afishinado]

At normal fishable flows, say 400 cfs or less, it’s safely crossable in many taillouts of pools, look for those, and try to cross just upstream of where the current starts to pick up leading into the next riffle. 400-700 or so it still can be crossed, but you really gotta be choosy with your spots, especially at the higher end of that range. Above 700, and IMO you’re pretty much sticking to the side of the stream you start on.

Yow!!......crossing Penns at 700cfs

Is this you!! >

 

[Swattie87]

Yow!!......crossing Penns at 700cfs

Is this you!! >

Yeah, that might be a little high. But I’ve done it. Probably only a few spots where it can be safely done. But in reality, there’s no need. Plenty of fishy spots you can get to from one bank without ever crossing it.

It’s a continuum in that range. Nearly all taillouts are crossable at 400 for a wader of average competence. I consider myself to be that, at best. As you get closer to 700 more and more options disappear until you’re not able to cross safely anywhere.

FWIW I won’t bother with Penns, even if bugs are popping, above 700. And I prefer to not be bothered with it above 500. But I have my weaknesses. And reports of rising fish are one of them.

 

[Nocktavius]

The number of people who refuse to fish it above 500 cfs is the exact reason I like those flows!

Crossed it 2x at >950 cfs last Monday. Gotta know your spots and be a little careful but the worst that's gonna happen is a little dipsy doo. Gotta risk it for the biscuit.

As far as sticking to and picking a side, there are numerous reasons why crossing a river makes good sense. It can be to avoid glare, get better positioning with respect to current and avoiding excessive mending, getting out of a bad crosswind, shortening your cast to a point where you can actually control the drifts, or better streamside access/paths on one side than the other, less vegetation to get stuck in on one side than the other, private property on 1 side, and Lord only knows what else. Also, in the higher flows, the fish are on the banks primarily anyway, so you need to be out in the middle to target them unless you want to be alternately untangling your flies from trees and casting to the same fish for hours at a time.

Plus aggressive wading is good exercise to offset all the IPAs I drink.

 

[Swattie87]

I will add, I’m a little bolder in late May for Sulphurs, than I am in early April for Hendricksons…water and air is warmer and there’s less (hypothermic) danger in the event of a spill. You get wet in early April and at best it’s a long walk back to your vehicle for your spare set of clothes, and waders, assuming you packed them. Otherwise, that’s a day ender. In late May with air temps often in the 70’s or better during the day, it’s just more so the danger associated with the actual falling.

 

[jifigz]

The number of people who refuse to fish it above 500 cfs is the exact reason I like those flows!

Crossed it 2x at >950 cfs last Monday. Gotta know your spots and be a little careful but the worst that's gonna happen is a little dipsy doo. Gotta risk it for the biscuit.

As far as sticking to and picking a side, there are numerous reasons why crossing a river makes good sense. It can be to avoid glare, get better positioning with respect to current and avoiding excessive mending, getting out of a bad crosswind, shortening your cast to a point where you can actually control the drifts, or better streamside access/paths on one side than the other, less vegetation to get stuck in on one side than the other, private property on 1 side, and Lord only knows what else. Also, in the higher flows, the fish are on the banks primarily anyway, so you need to be out in the middle to target them unless you want to be alternately untangling your flies from trees and casting to the same fish for hours at a time.

Plus aggressive wading is good exercise to offset all the IPAs I drink.

I know that there are numerous reasons why one would want to cross a creek. I am a "ballsy" wader and have never been deterred by anywhere I have ever fished. I will always risk it and "push the envelope," but on this particular case and stream, there are a multitude of reasons you do not have to cross the creek. There are fish literally everywhere and good structure along both sides of the creek. If you can't go across, you just may have to go up or downstream.

If there is a glare then you can easily move up or downstream to rid yourself of the glare and let the topography shade you. If you can't get the drifts you want and the stream is not crossable, then you may just have to relocate to a different part of the stream.

Swattie gives good advice on crossing just below the Broadwaters, but there are a lot of places that you are able to cross under a lot of different flows. Everyone has different requirements on what they can safely cross.

And if you want to have easily wadable water and be able to cross the creek whenever you choose, there are easier, smaller streams that offer this if that is one of your requirements for a day on the water.

 

[mszoke1802]

Why do you have to cross the creek? Why not pick the side of the stream you want BEFORE you start going down the banks and long Penns. Once your along the creek, you're going to find excellent water on both sides of the stream.

sometimes the trail just ends and you either cross or go back. But I typically cross here, come to think of it I didn't cross it at all last spring, I think it was pushing a bit too much for me. and I'm well aware of those basketball and larger boulders in there. they can slick as heck too in my experiences. I never fish this creek w/o a wading staff and extra clothes/waders in the car. I've taken my fair share of dunks in penns to know it's chilly. I just move slow and steady. thanks for input.

 

[Swattie87]

sometimes the trail just ends and you either cross or go back. But I typically cross here, come to think of it I didn't cross it at all last spring, I think it was pushing a bit too much for me. and I'm well aware of those basketball and larger boulders in there. they can slick as heck too in my experiences. I never fish this creek w/o a wading staff and extra clothes/waders in the car. I've taken my fair share of dunks in penns to know it's chilly. I just move slow and steady. thanks for input.

If you’re nervous about crossing in the given conditions for when you’re there just stick to the rail trail (north) side of the stream after you go through the tunnel. 3+ miles of stream you’ll have access to explore from the north side. Plenty of times, even in lower or moderate flows where it could be safely crossed, I’ve never fully crossed it because there’s so much you can access from just one side to keep you busy.

Edit: I’ll add that if you employ the above technique, only staying on the north side below the tunnel, generally speaking, the areas with the best wading/fishing opportunities are going to be when the creek is running along the far (south) side of the valley. The heaviest current tends to flow and pile up along the bank closest to the foot of the ridge, and the opposite side will be where the calmer, shallower water is. Generally speaking. You can kind of get a good idea of what I mean by just studying the satellite maps available online for the area.

 

[pcray1231]

if fishing through the tunnel and down.

As swattie said, the tail of each pool offers a crossing at moderate flows. The pools are like a half mile long so there arent that many, lol, but there's a few. Middle riffle can also be crossed.

Penns is small enough that each pool still has a preferred fishing side for each riffle/pool. And as I think about it, it pretty much alternates pools as you go down. So high, uncrossable water cuts your options in half, and makes moving one pool twice as long of a walk, plus concentrates people in those pools.

Though in other sections its more consistent. Through the tunnel and up you pretty much wanna be on the far side (up to the road). If you dont cross the bridge and fish along the cabins and up you wanna mainly be on the close side, at least till the old bridge hole, above that you mainly wanna be on far side.

 

[Swattie87]

I call it the “Penns dance.” When you’re trying to cross somewhere you probably shouldn’t, and in flows higher than you probably should. One foot is anchored good, but you can’t find a secure spot for the life of you to get that second foot down. I’ve rotated a complete 360 degrees before, before punting and backtracking and trying somewhere else. Happen to anyone else? It’s probably pretty funny, if you’re not the guy doing the dance.

 

[wildtrout2]

The number of people who refuse to fish it above 500 cfs is the exact reason I like those flows!

Crossed it 2x at >950 cfs last Monday. Gotta know your spots and be a little careful but the worst that's gonna happen is a little dipsy doo. Gotta risk it for the biscuit.

I have to wonder if this thinking is what got the 55 year old fisherman on the Yough into an early grave? Is the bisquit really worth the risk?

 

[tjsingle]

I call it the “Penns dance.” When you’re trying to cross somewhere you probably shouldn’t, and in flows higher than you probably should. One foot is anchored good, but you can’t find a secure spot for the life of you to get that second foot down. I’ve rotated a complete 360 degrees before, before punting and backtracking and trying somewhere else. Happen to anyone else? It’s probably pretty funny, if you’re not the guy doing the dance.

Yes, more times than I'd like to admit.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

First time I ever fished Penns it was during green drake hatch. I found an open spot between Coburn and the tunnel and waded across a sketchy riffle to get a place to fish for the evening. I used a stick as a walking stick on the first trip. Fishing was good and I stayed until darkness, no flashlight and couldn't find my stick. I did the swattie Penns dance in the dark and Penns forever earned my respect.

 

[Nocktavius]

I have to wonder if this thinking is what got the 55 year old fisherman on the Yough into an early grave? Is the bisquit really worth the risk?

Probably. Come to think of it, with this rainy long term outlook it’s really looking too dangerous to wade any of the central PA rivers for the next 2-3 months. Everybody should probably stay away just to be extra safe

 

[jgish92]

I cross Penns at the same places religiously. The bridge below Coburn or the bridge up from Poe Paddy.

 

[JeffP]

I have to say I am a pretty aggressive wader. I have taken surprisingly few spill in Penns but most have come in the past couple years. The Swift Run section and Ingleby right around my friends cabin are toughest spots for me. Somehow I do okay in other spots. Heels, achilles, and left knee takes a pounding. Last June I really shouldn't have even been walking by the end of our trip. Every step and twist was really bad.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

I’ve enjoyed reading all of you guys banter going back and forth about wading and crossing Penns.

And for the record, I’m not the guy that some of you may have seen at the mouth of Big Poe last year near the end of April. He waded out to the middle of the Penns there and then waded right down the middle of the stream all the way through Love’s riffle, and maybe another hundred yards farther downstream before he got out. No wading staff, and he never fell in. The guy must have been an Olympic gymnast to have stayed upright through that water. I even watched him land a couple trout too.

Kinda reminded me of this dude that I saw a couple years ago who was fishing in this river.

For perspective (I know my phone camera doesn’t show it), this river flow Is several times more than Penns creek is, on average, and is probably 150 feet wide where I took this picture.

When I first saw this fisherman, the guy was wading right across the fast riffle at the head head of this long pool, about 100’ or so upstream - a place that’s so fast that most fisherman never wade out farther than 10 feet from shore.

Next, the dude waded right down the middle of the river (which is over the top of my waders, and don’t ask how I know that) until the guy ended up here, where I took this picture.

I regularly fish this place, and rarely go farther than a few feet beyond the large flat rock that you can see just under the water behind the fisherman. The water there is nearly to the top of my waders, and with my longest cast I can just reach the opposite shoreline In front of this fisherman.

I watched this fisherman fish there for well over an hour, and finally tired of watching so I went back to my truck and took a nap. Awhile later, I woke to a knock on my truck window. It was this dude who apologized for taking up most of the prime water while fishing there for much of the afternoon.

I said that no apology was needed, and that I wasn’t in any hurry to begin fishing. I probably had already started fishing that day at sunrise, and planned to fish until near dark that evening, as I had done for several weeks straight up to then.

The most surprising ending to this encounter was that this fisherman dude was not a guy, as I had thought all the time while watching, but was actually a middle aged woman. 😮 I never saw her catch a single fish that day. Nor did I tell her that the exact place she was standing probably held well over 100 large trout before she waded into the middle of the pool. 😊

And I’m sure you guys already know that some of the places mentioned where you cross Penns can also hold its best fish.