Pine Creek, floating

[buckspa]

Good Evening,
We are planning a May trip on Pine Creek, staying around Ansonia. We intend to float at least 2 days and fish some smaller streams other days.

Floating...any info on floating/access Galeton to Ansonia stretch would be appreciated. Is access an issue to put in/take out above the gorge?

Gorge/Canyon-15 or so miles Ansonia to Blackwell. Manageable in one full day float or split that in half and do Ansonia to Tiadaghton or Tiadaghton to Blackwell?

Any other tips/advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[beadhead2]

Make sure to stop at Big Meadows Fly Shop in Ansonia

 

[buckspa]

Will do, thanks. Any affiliation or reason for recommendation?

 

[lycoflyfisher]

Don't plan a full day float and stop at big meadow before you float as you will likely be there for a while! The tackle shack is another good local flyshop up there. There are a number of access points between Galeon and Ansonia. For floating advice for times, water conditions etc give Pine creek outfitters a call. They even have a shuttle service if you need it.

Float times are all dependent on flows and how much you intend to get out and wade fish

 

[Dave_W]

Sounds like a fun trip!
Would love to hear the details after you're done.

 

[turkey]

lycoflyfisher wrote:
and stop at big meadow before you float as you will likely be there for a while!

My patient wife has experienced this stop and still references the time I left her in the car for an hour at Bob's. It was a good time though. :-D

My advice is always to get a sandwich at Wolfe's. Hatches, trout, these things come and go but a sandwich from the General Store lasts a few minutes longer.

 

[troutbert]

I've boated from Ansonia to Blackwell a few times, and we always did it in one day.

But I think it would be fun to break it up into 2 days, and camp overnight at Tiadaghton.

And that way you'd have more time to fish.

 

[Swattie87]

There are plenty of access points Galeton to Ansonia. Just look for roads that approach or cross the stream. Folks along Upper Pine are generally pretty good about angler and boater access. Just don’t park in someone’s driveway or yard, and/or walk right by their house to get in. Or access or park along any posted properties, though there’s not much posting along that stretch.

Length of your desired floats all depends on flow, and how much time you can/want to spend to fishing. If Pine is high, say above 800 or 900 CFS at the Cedar Run gauge, it will be difficult to wade fish in most spots, and clearly you’ll float faster.

If it’s at a good fishing level (maybe 500-600ish CFS) you’ll spend more time fishing and probably want to break those stretches into shorter chunks. Roughly Gaines to the Darling Run (top of the Gorge) access would be good in that scenario, as would Darling Run to Tiadaghton, or Tiadaghton to Blackwell.

Be aware that the road down into Tiadaghton is horrendous when it’s wet, and it stays muddy for a long time after a rain. It’s heavily rutted and it’s pretty dicey (especially going downhill) when it’s muddy. It’s straight dirt (thick mud when wet) with no gravel overlay, and very steep. 4WD with good clearance and 4Lo for descending needed unless it’s been an abnormally dry Spring - In which case, you likely won’t have much water in Pine to float on. If it’s wet and you’re trailering your boats, I wouldn’t even think of trying to get a trailer down that road.

 

[buckspa]

Thank you, everyone. Info is awesome. Swattie, I appreciate the warning...we would not have known about the road.

 

[afishinado]

buckspa wrote:
Will do, thanks. Any affiliation or reason for recommendation?

"Sandfly" is on this site fairly regularly and owns "Big Meadows" fly shop in Ansonia. He may see this thread and chime in. If not, be sure to contact him for more info about your trip. Have a good time and post a report.

 

[Swattie87]

buckspa wrote:
Thank you, everyone. Info is awesome. Swattie, I appreciate the warning...we would not have known about the road.

You bet. Going up is usually fine if you have 4WD. On the way down there’s a point where it gets steeper and a lot muddier/rutted fairly quickly and seemingly all at once. Toward the bottom and around a left hand bend. I came upon the ruts and mud suddenly one time, wasn’t going fast, maybe 10 mph, but still was clenching wondering when I would stop sliding. Put it in 4Lo and crawled the rest of the way down. Now I know where that is and just stop and put it in 4Lo before I get there. Funny enough, when I got down to the lot at the rail trail that day there was an Acura FWD sedan down there. That had to be fun. :-o

 

[troutbert]

I went down there and back up in a front wheel drive sedan.

But I don't intend to do that again.

When I first driving back up the hill I started spinning, so had to back down to the bottom.

Then I got a faster run at it, and succeeded in making it up.

 

[Swattie87]

I was there in June 2019, and it seemed the road was regraded and in better shape at the time, relatively speaking. But I was there again in June 2020 and it was as bad as I’ve ever seen it. I think I’d just as soon bike in from Blackwell or Darling Run next time I want to fish the middle Gorge.

 

[dryflyguy]

I've floated the canyon several times - from Ansonia to Blackwell. 18 miles total, if I recall correctly.
With Tiadaughton being roughly the half way point.

As others have mentioned, if you hit things right, a day is not enough to fish the entire gorge.

I remember one late april trip, when the Hendricksons were hatching like crazy. And fish rising everywhere.
Catching so many fish, that I kinda forgot about time. Then I finally checked my watch, and saw that it was already after 6 pm.
And we were still only at Tiadaughton.

Even if we had made a bee line for the last nine miles, we still would have likely been floating out some in the dark.

Fortunately, we had met a nice fellow who had driven down there.
And offered us a ride around to Blackwell that night, so that we could keep fishing away to that tremendous hatch

 

[buckspa]

Thanks dryflyguy...any sketchy water or anything else to note in the canyon?

 

[dryflyguy]

I don't recall any dangerous rapids.
But have usually gone through there when the water was at a decent level for wading.

I do know that my favorite section is the lower half - between Tiadaughton and Blackwell.
There are some huge pools there that provide fantastic dry fly action.
A few of them are so large, that i've often spent a whole day fishing just one pool.
Moving up and down from the rapid to the tail out

 

[Swattie87]

There’s one decent (Class II-III) rapid IIRC between Darling Run and Tiadaghton. “Owassee Rapid” I believe it’s most frequently called. Plenty of info online about it and how to run and/or portage it.

 

[KELORGO]

Another option is to launch at Watrous Beach which is just inside of Tioga County before you hit Potter County traveling west on Route 6. This area offers public parking steps away from Pine Creek with a low gradient that makes it very easy to launch canoes/kayaks/rafts/tubes. When traveling west on Route 6 from Ansonia, look for Elk Run Road on your left. Take Elk Run Road and parallel Pine Creek with the creek on your right. When Elk Run Road turns right to go over Pine, stay straight on the little unpaved road that parallels Pine. This will dead end at Watrous Beach, right across the stream from where Elk Creek dumps into Pine. It's a pretty spot, and I caught the largest golden trout of my life there years ago.

If you float from Watrous down to Ansonia, you'll encounter many great fly fishing spots, probably see a nesting bald eagle just above the Rough Cut Lodge in Gaines, and will most definitely see spots along Pine where there are no camps or roads and you'll think you are out west.

 

[buckspa]

Sweet, thanks Kelorgo. We will be staying at Rough Cut Lodge so one idea was to take out there, right where we are staying. Sounds like Watrous Beach is a good put in option.

 

[BradFromPotter]

KELORGO wrote:
Another option is to launch at Watrous Beach which is just inside of Tioga County before you hit Potter County traveling west on Route 6. This area offers public parking steps away from Pine Creek with a low gradient that makes it very easy to launch canoes/kayaks/rafts/tubes. When traveling west on Route 6 from Ansonia, look for Elk Run Road on your left. Take Elk Run Road and parallel Pine Creek with the creek on your right. When Elk Run Road turns right to go over Pine, stay straight on the little unpaved road that parallels Pine. This will dead end at Watrous Beach, right across the stream from where Elk Creek dumps into Pine. It's a pretty spot, and I caught the largest golden trout of my life there years ago.

If you float from Watrous down to Ansonia, you'll encounter many great fly fishing spots, probably see a nesting bald eagle just above the Rough Cut Lodge in Gaines, and will most definitely see spots along Pine where there are no camps or roads and you'll think you are out west.

If you're going to float upper pine along rt 6 you should just start at the Mill St. bridge in Galeton. There is some fine water that you would have a hard time walking to.