Penns First Timer

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FollowTheBlueLines

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Joined
Oct 9, 2024
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11
Location
Montco
I'm planning on heading out to Bald Eagle SF early Saturday morning and staying the night to fish Penns for the first time. I reserved a primitive campsite near where Weikert Run dumps into the big crick. As of this morning, it looks like she's running at a little under 200cfs, and it's not looking like we're getting any rain this week. What kind of conditions should I be expecting?

I will be bringing along my 8'4 4WT med-action Maxcatch Premier and my new Gatti 6'6 5WT TA to hit some smaller stuff. I have a pretty good idea of which flies I will be bringing but would really appreciate some input from some you guys. Any advice for access in this area of the SF would also be greatly appreciated. Not opposed to hiking a good bit.
 
I just fished Penns last week on wednesday
Between Coburn and Ingleby.
Decent BWO hatch from 2 to 4, accounting for most of my success.
Also caught a few on beetles
The scenery is getting very nice now too
enjoy
 
Penns in the fall can be tricky. I'll be up that way this weekend as well, debating hitting penns or something else in the area. Wading can be a pain in the ***, the rocks/boulders are slick. Even in low water I use a staff.
 
I agree with the above, having focused my fished on Penns this fall - the creek is low, clear, and with the sun you will be in for some technical fishing compared to the last month. The slate drakes have tapered off, and I did not see many of the large October caddis. BWO were still coming off last week. You should be able to move some fish with streamers, and of course nymphs. Do not discount the shallow water. Fish are pre-spawn, I did not see any reds last weekend but they should be getting ready.
 
I was there Wednesday-Friday of last week. I did not land a fish other than one I snagged after he took an 18 Blue Quill Parachute. Missed one on a Deer Hair Winged Ant that I learned from the PA Trout Newsletter. I caught a couple in Big Poe on it. Small but beautiful browns. Saw some flies that seriously looked like sulphurs. Some tiny mayflies that I would guess are blue quills. Few tan caddis. Buddy got a couple on a dark olive buggers but generally they were less effective than usual.
 
FollowTheBlueLines said:
I'm planning on heading out to Bald Eagle SF early Saturday morning and staying the night to fish Penns for the first time. I reserved a primitive campsite near where Weikert Run dumps into the big crick. As of this morning, it looks like she's running at a little under 200cfs, and it's not looking like we're getting any rain this week. What kind of conditions should I be expecting?

I will be bringing along my 8'4 4WT med-action Maxcatch Premier and my new Gatti 6'6 5WT TA to hit some smaller stuff. I have a pretty good idea of which flies I will be bringing but would really appreciate some input from some you guys. Any advice for access in this area of the SF would also be greatly appreciated. Not opposed to hiking a good bit.
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From where you’re camping, IMO if you wanna fish Penns, your best bet is to park at the Cherry Run lot and hike the rail trail upstream. This puts you at the bottom of a 7 or 8 mile-ish roadless stretch. Poe Paddy SP is about halfway through that stretch, 3 or 4 miles upstream from the Cherry Run lot. All public land, no access issues through there. Even if it looks like there’s a lot of cars there, some are just hikers/bikers and you have several miles of water to spread out on.

You’ll want the big rod for Penns. Weikert is a good small stream, but it has a ton of rhodo and can be tough to fish. Cherry Run is decent too, but for small streams it gets fished pretty hard, and I’d expect other anglers on it if you get decent weather. Downside to having a parking lot for Penns right there.

Penns is low, but not super low. Find the heaviest water you can, the most active fish will probably be in it, or just off it. You’ll want to spend time fishing riffs and heavy runs. Fishing the slow/clear pools in low water is a pretty tough deal.
 
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Ashley63552 said:
That sounds like an exciting fishing trip you have planned at Bald Eagle SF! With the water running at around 200cfs and no rain in the forecast, you can expect the conditions to be quite good for fishing. Your gear sounds perfect for the trip, especially with the different rod options you're bringing along. As for flies, it's always good to have a variety like nymphs, dries, and streamers to cover different feeding patterns. Since you're open to hiking, exploring around Weikert Run and the big crick should provide some excellent fishing spots. Have a fantastic time out there!
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The first AI post on paflyfish.com?
 
Broodstock said:
I agree with the above, having focused my fished on Penns this fall - the creek is low, clear, and with the sun you will be in for some technical fishing compared to the last month. The slate drakes have tapered off, and I did not see many of the large October caddis. BWO were still coming off last week. You should be able to move some fish with streamers, and of course nymphs. Do not discount the shallow water. Fish are pre-spawn, I did not see any reds last weekend but they should be getting ready.
Click to expand...
 
Swattie87 said:
From where you’re camping, IMO if you wanna fish Penns, your best bet is to park at the Cherry Run lot and hike the rail trail upstream. This puts you at the bottom of a 7 or 8 mile-ish roadless stretch. Poe Paddy SP is about halfway through that stretch, 3 or 4 miles upstream from the Cherry Run lot. All public land, no access issues through there. Even if it looks like there’s a lot of cars there, some are just hikers/bikers and you have several miles of water to spread out on.

You’ll want the big rod for Penns. Weikert is a good small stream, but it has a ton of rhodo and can be tough to fish. Cherry Run is decent too, but for small streams it gets fished pretty hard, and I’d expect other anglers on it if you get decent weather. Downside to having a parking lot for Penns right there.

Penns is low, but not super low. Find the heaviest water you can, the most active fish will probably be in it, or just off it. You’ll want to spend time fishing riffs and heavy runs. Fishing the slow/clear pools in low water is a pretty tough deal.
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Awesome, thanks Swattie. I actually ended up switching my site to one over across the river on Old Mingle so Cherry Run will be the perfect entry point. It's looking like Sat. will be mostly cloudy now too. Fingers crossed I can get into some fish. I was in the SF for a short trip back in May but didn't have the confidence to get on Penns. Treaster treated me well that time..

Ashley63552 said:
That sounds like an exciting fishing trip you have planned at Bald Eagle SF! With the water running at around 200cfs and no rain in the forecast, you can expect the conditions to be quite good for fishing. Your gear sounds perfect for the trip, especially with the different rod options you're bringing along. As for flies, it's always good to have a variety like nymphs, dries, and streamers to cover different feeding patterns. Since you're open to hiking, exploring around Weikert Run and the big crick should provide some excellent fishing spots. Have a fantastic time out there!
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Now this... THIS is the advice I was looking for. How many days have you been out on Penns this year?
 
troutbert said:
The first AI post on paflyfish.com?
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Yes this is for sure AI spam. Interestingly there is not a link in the body of the text. A different forum that I moderate (woodworking related) has a new and pretty bad problem with AI spam. The posts follow the same pattern: a new account, with no post history make a response post in a thread. Usually the answer is somewhat accurate, but not exactly right. The first post might not have a link. Then subsequent posts contain links hidden with the title saying things like *here* or *read more* and then linking to crap websites, affiliate spam, etc.

It is very tough to moderate with automated tools.
 
Broodstock said:
Yes this is for sure AI spam. Interestingly there is not a link in the body of the text. A different forum that I moderate (woodworking related) has a new and pretty bad problem with AI spam. The posts follow the same pattern: a new account, with no post history make a response post in a thread. Usually the answer is somewhat accurate, but not exactly right. The first post might not have a link. Then subsequent posts contain links hidden with the title saying things like *here* or *read more* and then linking to crap websites, affiliate spam, etc.

It is very tough to moderate with automated tools.
Click to expand...

Yeah this one was pretty easy to figure out just from reading the reply... They basically took what I said and restated it in a different order offering zero new ideas. The 0 post history and brand new account sealed the deal. I also thought it was weird that they weren't trying to "sell" anything in the reply.
 
It’s a nightmare on the weekends right now. I was there before sunrise, had a few good hours and then the hordes showed up. Legitimately 15 anglers per mile. I caught 90% of my fish before 10am and then couldn’t find a stretch of water to fish
 
GunpowderAngler said:
It’s a nightmare on the weekends right now. I was there before sunrise, had a few good hours and then the hordes showed up. Legitimately 15 anglers per mile. I caught 90% of my fish before 10am and then couldn’t find a stretch of water to fish
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Ah man, that's discouraging. I wasn't expecting complete solitude, but also wasn't expecting a combat fishing scenario.

Guess I'll be heading out from SEPA at 3am instead of 4am like I had planned lol. Thanks for the heads up.
 
FollowTheBlueLines said:
Ah man, that's discouraging. I wasn't expecting complete solitude, but also wasn't expecting a combat fishing scenario.

Guess I'll be heading out from SEPA at 3am instead of 4am like I had planned lol. Thanks for the heads up.
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Not to disagree, there are for sure a lot of anglers out on PA's most famous creek. However, it is large water and you can walk for miles and miles. If you are in reasonable shape and can hike/wade with confidence you can get away from people to fish your own water. The level the creek is at also allows you to cross a lot easier, opening up more options to fish.
 
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