Penn's, Kettle, Little J

[crs2006]

Heading to Poe Paddy for the first time in my life next week. How do Penn's, Kettle, and Little J fish this time of year?

Is there a streamer bite to speak of?

is it possible to fish any of these with an 11 footer?

Trying to figure out what the heck to pack.

Any tips appreciated.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[pcray1231]

I'll be there some next week too. Notice the jam nearby, and many people showing up early.

Penns is famous for throwing a few curve balls. But my expectation going in is to be hatch dependent, as it usually is in Mid-May. Fishing best with nymphs during hatches and spinners at dusk. March Browns primarily, but sulphers and Hendricksons are possibilities, and there's always a few caddis fluttering about. A rusty spinner in various sizes is tough to beat for that last hour of light and the half hour after that.

Right now it's low, and this week is supposed to be fairly dry. There are storms predicted on the weekend. So the weekend will play a large role regarding what happens next week.

Penns blows out fairly easily, and it stays up for a long time. That's it's curse. I love it like no other when it's on, but it's on only a small % of the time.

 

[crs2006]

Thats good info on the flows. I have a river by me that seems similar to Penn's, but it blows out for 24 hours and you could rip streamers through the lower river, and fish dries on the upper river the very next day.


I'm fishing with some friends who are native PA guys, so I'm sure they got it down, but I never like to look like I don't know what I am doing.

Didnt even notice the post about the Jam, good info there too

Thanks

 

[pcray1231]

Join us at the jam!

Keep in mind that Penns around the area of Poe Paddy is nearly 100% wild browns. Yeah, there are a smattering of wild brookies from the tribs, and some stockies that came down out of tribs or from way above, but they are a small minority.

Wild browns. Limestoner. Ridiculous number of bugs. Might be a little different than what you're used to.

In general, the fish are moody, rather than opportunistic. Well fed. There are long stretches of time when they simply aren't eating, and you'd swear there ain't a fish in the stream. Gotta learn their schedule and meet them on it, and reasonably match what they're eating naturally. In that sense, they're picky, in that if this fish is eating March Brown duns it will refuse a sulpher nymph.

But in my experiences, they aren't ultra-drag shy, nor are they going to refuse a fly because the color is a touch off or something. Not super fussy. If you have an approximate imitation of whatever they're eating, and they're actually eating, it can be quite good.

Be ready, cause it turns on and off like a light.

LONG, slow pools separated by stretches of heavy riff pocket water mostly. It's big water and there aren't fish everywhere. Like anywhere with wild fish, they tend to be in in current breaks, which is often closer to the bank than you were picturing. Stay out till after dark for a spinner fall, which will give away their location. If using subsurface stuff the next day, focus on those same types of places.

 

[pcray1231]

By the way, Spring and Big Fishing are within an hour. They recover after rains much more quickly. Just something to keep in mind, just in case the weekend storms do some real damage to conditions.

 

[Brownie101]

Check up on conditions here: http://www.thefeatheredhook.com
I fished Penns on April 26-27. It was my first time there. On Saturday (26) I only caught one fish all day, and most guys I talked to got skunked. There were bugs everywhere, and no risers. On Sunday it was nicer, and there were more risers. I did good on dries and high sticking small caddis larva in the fast riffles just fishing half the day. Your 11 footer should work on Penns, and should do great high sticking.

 

[afishinado]

It's really hard to predict anything, especially with Penns. It's almost always best to make a game-time decision about where and how to fish. As Pcray posted above, there are a lot of options in the area depending on weather, flows and hatches.

Check in on the site right before you leave and check out the shops in the area: The Feathered Hook, Fly-fishers Paradise, TCO, and Spruce Creek Outfitters (Little J).

I'm sure you'll have a great time. Good luck.

 

[icyguides]

I fished Fishing, spring, and penns this past weekend so i thought i'd let you know the conditions.

There was a pretty heavy grannom hatch on big fishing but the fish weren't doing anything. water temp was 47. My dad and i struck out there but my dad's friend got 3 on midges.

We moved on to spring creek, Spring creek was a little easier but still tough. Water was 54 and no real hatches at all. I ended pulling out 6 towards the end of the day on small midges and avoiding the skunk.

Sunday, we fished penns. it was cold and rainy and the water was 48. I caught 2- 1 on a stonefly and 1 on a partridge wet fly. Some grannoms were hatching but again, the fish weren't very active. My dad's friend caught 1 and my dad hooked one and lost it when it jumped immediately after hooking it. It was a nice weekend, but it still seems too early for good fishing. Water levels were good at all the places we fished.

 

[troutbert]

I think fishing will be good this weekend pretty much all over.

Re 11 footer. Sure, bring it along.

Re streamers. Sure, bring them along.

 

[Tups]

I fished Spring creek at the top of the canyon stretch on Friday May 2 in the late afternoon. I used a 10 foot 4 wt rod and a pair of soft hackles. I hooked about 20 fish, landing 8 browns in the space of 3 hours. They were really chasing wet flies. I saw midges and a few caddis in the air and one or two (what appeared to be) sulphurs, but not exactly a hatch event. Hard to explain why the fish were so active. I rarely fish this stream, and was surprised at the way those browns jumped.

 

[pcray1231]

It's almost always best to make a game-time decision about where and how to fish.

True. One of the problems with camping at Poe Paddy is that you're pretty much committed. Granted, if you're going to fish Penns, it's a spectacular place to be and a very pleasant area. But when Penns ain't at it's best (which is often), it's like a half hour on dirt roads just to get to where you can actually go in the direction you want to go. Heck, Coburn and Cherry Run are both only like 4 or 5 miles as the crow flies, if that far. But by road, it's like 45 minutes. It's not that the roads are that bad, they're dirt but "good dirt". You just have to go WAY around.

That's one reason I really like the jam location at 7 mountains. You can get into Poe Paddy in a half hour, which is reasonable. It's as short a trip to there as anywhere. But you're on the hard road. Spring Creek is only a half hour too. The Kish, Tea, Honey, etc. are less than that. The J is under an hour. BFC isn't ridiculous either. Nor are a bunch of little freestoners.

Not right on anything, but reasonably centralized to everything.

 

[geebee]

Tups wrote:
I fished Spring creek at the top of the canyon stretch on Friday May 2 in the late afternoon. I used a 10 foot 4 wt rod and a pair of soft hackles. I hooked about 20 fish, landing 8 browns in the space of 3 hours. They were really chasing wet flies. .....Hard to explain why the fish were so active.

fish eat 90% sub surface, so i'd not be that surprised.

what wets were you using ?

 

[sipe]

Best part about Penns...the fish are big and have shoulders.

 

[Tups]

Gee bee: They do indeed feed mostly subsurface which is why I like fishing soft hackles, but I was surprised at the high level of activity that particular afternoon. I cought most of them on my point fly - a size 14 "early brown," aka "winter brown," a traditional north country spider. I picked up one on the dropper, a 16 Bailie's black spider.

 

[crs2006]

"True. One of the problems with camping at Poe Paddy is that you're pretty much committed"

My buddy just got a 17 foot trailer so we are setting up base camp at Poe Paddy and plan to be adaptable.

I think I'm just going to bring the gun rack: a 6' 3wt dry fly rig, a 9' 5wt big bug/multi bug/bobber,shot,bug rig, a 9'8wt meat rig, and 11' 7wt Skagit rig.

Semper Paratus as our friends in the Coast Guard say.

 

[pcray1231]

Adaptable in what way?

Willing to move the trailer? Willing to leave the trailer and drive long distances? Or planning on hitting Penns regardless but willing to change tactics?

FWIW, you may very well get into dry flies on Penns, in fact, if water conditions stay good for it, I'd expect it and that you'll catch more on the dries than any other method.

Not to take away from the effectiveness of nymphs during hatches. But just preparing you for the idea that fishing may be a little more "hatch centric" than what you're used to. It's Penns Creek, running low, in mid-May.

But a 6 foot 3 wt has no place on Penns. Your 9 ft 5 wt will be the better dry fly tool there. Bring it anyway, it does have it's place on the little streams, just not Penns.

If a storm blows it out, tossing streamers can be effective. But just getting around begins to get tough. When high it's big and fast enough to make wading problematic. I tend to avoid it, I'd rather either fish smaller water or toss streamers in the likes of Spring and BFC. What I was saying about Poe Paddy being "committed" is that it's not really that far to other streams such as Spring and BFC, but it takes dang near an hour to get anywhere by car just due to the nature of the road-map in that region.

 

[geebee]

Tups wrote:
Gee bee: They do indeed feed mostly subsurface which is why I like fishing soft hackles, but I was surprised at the high level of activity that particular afternoon. I cought most of them on my point fly - a size 14 "early brown," aka "winter brown," a traditional north country spider. I picked up one on the dropper, a 16 Bailie's black spider.

thanks, a partridge and brown lives in my fly box in 12 and 16. i figure they have to be useful during MB emergence and tan caddis too.

i also dug some #12 brown Klinkhamers out that i forgot i had. quite likely to work too methinks - i could set up a 'cast' of MB dun, brown klink and a P&B.

that should cover em. ;-)

 

[crs2006]

We're going to leave the trailer, but you make a damn good point about the roads.

I figured the 3 would be good on small water not so much on penn's. I generally keep that sucker around just because its a blast to fish lol

where is the Jam relative to Poe Paddy?

 

[pcray1231]

In Poe Paddy, the small streams you have easy access to are:

Drumroll please:

Big Poe, Little Poe, Swift Run.

Big Poe = stocked in lower section, with a smattering of natives. Lake at Poe Valley SP. Above the lake it's a so-so wild brookie stream with some posting in places.

Little Poe = well, little. It has plenty of fish but they are mostly all dinks.

Swift Run = below average brookie stream, also very little.

As far as what I was saying about the roads, don't trust the maps. some roads are gated, others are very bad. Siglerville/Millheim Pike is the main drag in and out of that area. Then Penns Valley Rd runs the length of Big Poe Creek and takes you from the Pike to the State Parks. All of those roads are mostly dirt, but "good" dirt, meaning the main thing to contend with is some washboard surface. They are even paved in spots.

As far as distance, it's screwy. For instance, if you're at Poe Paddy, and want to go to Cherry Run (another good access point for Penns, and there are some good small streams around there), well, you look at a map, and it's only 3-4 miles as the crow flies. Well, it's about an hour to drive...

Coburn is only about 2 miles north, as the crow flies. 30+ minutes to drive.

It's not that you have to go that slow on those roads. It's just that there's no roads going from here to there, and you have to go WAY around.

The jam is at 7 mountains campground. It's on 322 WSW of Poe Paddy, where Sand Mountain Rd meets 322 at the peak of the mountains there. You can take Sand Mountain Rd to the Siglerville/Millheim Pike and into Poe Paddy, about 30 minutes. Meaning, by car, it's as close as anywhere. But it's also on the highway, meaning easier access to hard roads to go north to Spring Creek, west to the LJR, south to Kish/Tea/Honey, or get to a much larger number of small streams in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[PennKev]

At the time of this post, Penns flowing at 388cfs. This is just about ideal IMO. I would not call it "low".There is a bit of rain in the forecast for the next week or so. I would expect it to stay at a good fishing level, if not blow out between now and the jam due to a well placed storm.

Don't make it harder than it needs to be, if there are no rising fish, nymphs will work well. I find Penn's to be no more fickle than any other stream when it comes to nymphing. Fish faster water, runs and pockets and you will get into fish. Trying to match the hatches, even in the nymph form, is productive but don't over think it it. Getting down and getting good drifts will produce fish with your basics tried and true patterns, Hares ears, caddis larva and pupa, etc.

Kev