Penns Creek Sat. evening

[bdfish]

Fished Penns for a couple hours Saturday evening after a short rains storm. Bugs everywhere. Sulphers for sure, some BWO and maybe MB's. I suck at identifying bugs. Fished from 6-8 and with all the bugs only saw 2 fish rise and had no luck with dries. Managed 3 browns 14-16 inches on a flashback PT in the riffles. Water is moving pretty good and colored up nice. This was down stream a ways from Poe Paddy in the Special Regs area.

 

[3oh4]

Fished Penns Friday - very disappointed in what took place. Good flow but the sun came out in the early afternoon and screwed everything up. Caught four fish in my first run and one was a stud 18 inch male, but after that the sun was the issue I think. caught only two more browns until the evening hatch and for as many march browns and sulphurs that came off the fish rise was moderate. I thought the weather Saturday would help the cause but from what your telling me it didn't happen. The cold front must have put the fish off the feed probably???

 

[pcray1231]

Uh, you caught at least 6, perhaps more if you caught anything during the evening rise. Including 1 real nice one.

I mean, that's not a "best day ever" type day on Penns. But it's certainly a respectable day for that water. Not the type where I'd walk away with my head slung low.

It sounds to me like the early day, pre-storm, was very good, but the post storm evening wasn't anything special. Penns does that. Fish turn on, fish turn off. Penns is not where to go if you want consistency.

 

[bdfish]

That about sums it up. The temp dropped steadily over the two hours. Penns is certainly not the place to go for consistency but for the beauty of the area and the quality of fish (even if you only catch a few) is far above most places that I can get to. Living relatively close, I can be out my door and on the water in 45 minutes. Also, a better fisherman than me could have probably done better. I have been fly fishing for several years but don't get out nearly enough and am thankful to hook up even once on Penns Creek. For all it's troubles, it the place where I caught my two biggest fish, 18 inch Rainbow and 19 1/2 inch Brown, the same day out of the same hole last year.

 

[foxtrapper1972]

Yeah I was so bummed when I only caught 30 fish....several in the 18-20" range. The fishing just isn't as good as the videos I watch. I shot an 8 pt buck this season ...It will be good enough for the table but nothing to get excited about...It just does not live up to the level of the bucks I see on outdoor television. I'm disappointed.

 

[evw659]

I fished penns on Friday as well a little ways below coburn from 3 to 7pm. Water was a little dirty but at a pretty nice level. I started out prospecting with dries, but the fish seemed disinterested. I switchded to a light colered streamer, and moved a couple but no hookups. Nymphed the rest of the time and hooked some small fish but that was it. March browns were coming off sporadically.
dissappointed with at least 6 fish, one 18", out of penns?? You must have figured out something I havent, I've landed 3 browns in total in about my total of 5 trips to penns.

 

[3oh4]

- Foxtrapper what's your point? 2 out of my last 3 days on Penns would put any outdoor show to shame. I got to the stream around 1 pm Friday and landed 4 fish the first run I stepped into, I thought it was on again... Then they shutdown. Considering my last two trips to Penns I landed over 50 combined (that's an underestimate and I have pics of my better fish of its not believable) - I'd say the stream didn't fish well when 1000s of March Browns and a solid batch of sulphurs came off and the fish were not interested. There are so many fish in PA streams it's sickening. I envy the fish management and The fisherman's mentality of PA guys. You have it figured out. I know Penns is tough and I'm happy just to land a fish or two but when sulphurs and march Browns come off fish are retarded and there is no excuse not to catch a fair number of trout unless the weather/pressure system or water level is an issue. This weekend I think it was a weather issue.

I mean I've seen the toughest streams in America go from tough to bluegill fishing bc of sulphurs! Those bugs are special.

 

[evw659]

3oh4,
Im certainly not an expert on penns creek, but penns harbors pretty much every single macro that hatches in pa, and it has all of them in large numbers. some may argue, but the hatches there are probably the heaviest of any stream in pa, with the exception of the upper delaware system. So basically, during this time of year, there are so many bugs either hatching or drifting through the water column constantly that the fish can basically feed whenever they want. Thus you get this finicky feeding behavior. heavy emergences and spinnerfalls while the fish could care less. I have only ever seen this kind of behavior on penns creek and the upper delaware. and those streams have arguably the most diverse and heaviest hatches in pa.

 

[3oh4]

Agreed. maybe I'm just lucky... But I think feed / rise because of biological factors not bc they can feed whenever. There's a reason the whole stream shuts down or goes crazy at the same time from 8 inch fish to 18s. No different than when fish get stocked weekly into certain streams that they always go to the same pools and runs. Fish are programmed - just have to hope your there at the right time.

 

[pcray1231]

They're programmed, but I have seen huge hatches and nary a fish feeding. And I've seen them go crazy over a few bugs.

Just be thankful, as I've fished Penn's a lot, and the typical situation at this time of year is that you get about a half hour of good fishing right at the end of the day. You maybe pick up a fish or two nymphing while waiting for stuff to happen. Sulphur duns will start at like 8 p.m and not get much response until sunset. Just when you think about leaving cause it ain't gonna happen today is when you see a rise, then another, and it gradually works up to a crescendo right as it becomes too dark to see, and you're tossing flies to the general vicinity of rises you heard, not saw to try and save the day, while bugs are smacking you in the face. You're setting hooks on sound of rises, and finally, there's resistance, only to have it snap off. Son of a.... 6 fish is a good day.

But, yeah, it can sustain goodness for some time on rare occasions and this year seems to have had more than it's share of them. Low clearish water, low cloud cover/no sun, and early day hatches is a magic combination. You need all 3, and that's a very rare combination. Yes, I've seen it. I don't think I ever topped 50 in a day on Penn's, but I have been around 30ish. It's very rare. I've been skunked more than a few times too.

From the sounds of it, rain clouded up the water then the sun came out. Yup, that'll shut Penn's down, regardless of what the bugs do. Sun and Brown trout don't mix.

 

[evw659]

That's true, but which biological factors? I would think that an abundance of food would possibly be an input variable to the output of whatever biological function your dealing with.

 

[3oh4]

I mean why does every fish in a pool start on a certain bug and then 35 min later they all start on a different bug? Why would a fish eat a 24 midge instead of a 14 sulphur? I know they can feed at Penns all day but I don't think that's the reason they stop eating or start eating

 

[Swattie87]

3oh4 wrote:
I mean why does every fish in a pool start on a certain bug and then 35 min later they all start on a different bug? Why would a fish eat a 24 midge instead of a 14 sulphur? I know they can feed at Penns all day but I don't think that's the reason they stop eating or start eating

Because they can? When you go to the Chinese buffet do you just get Kung Pao, or do you make a sampler? Hehe.

My actual guess is based in calories expended vs. calories consumed theory. I would think they would key in on whatever bug at the time is most efficient in terms of how much energy must be expended to consume it vs. how much energy the Trout gets from consuming it. Depending on the bugs involved and the stage of hatch each is at, this can change on the fly, rapidly sometimes. Sometimes the action changes from the frog water to the riffs, given where certain bugs emerge/lay eggs/fall spent/etc.

At Penns, factor in the crazy variety of bugs hatching at once and it seems like you have picky fish when they're not eating the bug you're tossing, or the pool you're working all of a sudden turns off. Most likely they're still eating something somewhere though...just gotta figure it out. Admittedly, it's not easy.

This is why Spring fishes so much easier and more consistently IMO for example. There's good volume of bugs on Spring, just less bug variety. When the Sulphurs are on for instance, that's basically the only show in town and that's what they're eating. Relatively easy to figure out the bug, then you just gotta figure out what stage of the hatch they're eating. Also relatively easy once you know the bug. When the Sulphurs are on at Penns, so are the MB's, GD's, and who knows how many different kinds of caddis and other bugs, (to varying degrees) at the same time.

 

[McSneek]

If you pick the right stream and weather conditions to fish Penns Creek you can experience excellent fishing throughout the day. No need to relegate yourself to 1/2 hour as darkness descends. If you have the choice, get there on a cloudy day, maybe even one with a little drizzle.

 

[Hook_Jaw]

One 18 would of been good enough for me in a evening on Penns.

 

[evw659]

My actual guess is based in calories expended vs. calories consumed theory. I would think they would key in on whatever bug at the time is most efficient in terms of how much energy must be expended to consume it vs. how much energy the Trout gets from consuming it.

Swattie,
I'm inclined to follow this line of thinking as well, but I think there may be a deeper biological function at play sometimes. Im no expert, and i don't fish bug soup penns creek that much, but I have witnessed hundreds of 14 sulphurs drifting by like little sailboats on the little j unmolested while the fish aggressively chase sz 20 black caddis that are skittering about in small numbers. The cost benefit seems like a real loser for the fish in this case. Is this common? Maybe not, but I've seen it on more than a few occasions. As is the case with many things, it seems like the more you learn about this, the more you learn about all the things you don't know.

 

[3oh4]

Glad somebody is w me on this.

I'm going to go as far as some bugs taste better than others as well. Not that we will ever know but I'm sure it plays a part.

I mean why the heck would they key on a size 18 sulphur when 16s of the same exact bug is coming off??? That has nothing to do w calorie in-take.

 

[Hook_Jaw]

That's Penns Creek as the saying goes. that's all part of it being special.