Recommendations for a guided trip Christmas gift

[pwk5017]

Hello, im looking to poll the group for a gift for my younger brother. He lives on the coast in Jersey and i am here in Pittsburgh, which means we rarely fish together these days. I have a daughter that is almost turning 1, which further limits my days on the water to just about zero this year. With that said, i thought this Christmas i would book a trip with a guide for us to fish sometime in the Spring/Summer instead of getting him a knick knack. We have only gone on a few guided floats together, and all of them were fun and memorable days. The last one was last year on the Henry's Fork in idaho. It doesnt have to be fly fishing for trout, we used to routinely fish for smallies around Pittsburgh. The Yough would be the simplest choice, because he visits the rest of the family in Pittsburgh a few times a year and wouldnt require overnight accommodations. It's a beautiful float, but the Middle Yough is always so-so for me. The lower Yough is something we havent done from a boat before, and maybe i should give it another shot. I am just now starting to research trips in West Virginia too, but i trust the experiences of the forum members over random reviews on a guide's website. I appreciate any advice or shared experience, thanks.

Patrick

 

[ryansheehan]

Hello, im looking to poll the group for a gift for my younger brother. He lives on the coast in Jersey and i am here in Pittsburgh, which means we rarely fish together these days. I have a daughter that is almost turning 1, which further limits my days on the water to just about zero this year. With that said, i thought this Christmas i would book a trip with a guide for us to fish sometime in the Spring/Summer instead of getting him a knick knack. We have only gone on a few guided floats together, and all of them were fun and memorable days. The last one was last year on the Henry's Fork in idaho. It doesnt have to be fly fishing for trout, we used to routinely fish for smallies around Pittsburgh. The Yough would be the simplest choice, because he visits the rest of the family in Pittsburgh a few times a year and wouldnt require overnight accommodations. It's a beautiful float, but the Middle Yough is always so-so for me. The lower Yough is something we havent done from a boat before, and maybe i should give it another shot. I am just now starting to research trips in West Virginia too, but i trust the experiences of the forum members over random reviews on a guide's website. I appreciate any advice or shared experience, thanks.

Patrick

Delaware River!!

 

[JimNovo]

Delaware River!!

There are some excellent guides and places to stay up on the West Branch of the Delaware !

 

[krayfish2]

Trout on your side of the state, Yough is good. Maybe you hit it when it was off. Laurel Highlands is the most experienced. Below kinzua offers multi species options. Not sure who to tell you to look for.

If you want to come east, the Lehigh river is quite good and far more user friendly than the Delaware. Wild East outfitters is the best/ most experienced. You also have the upper Delaware on this side of the state. It's a lot more crowded and quite challenging fishing. Ken at the Baxter house, Marty or Adam from crosscurrents guide service and finally Bob, Bruce or Jeff from Delaware River Club.

Once you get into the later part of June, things shift more in favor of smallmouth. Right in the middle making it a fair drive for both of you.... Susquehanna and Juniata. Again, Wild East outfitters is probably your "go to" for the area.

 

[steveo]

Sky Blue Outfitters Guide Service – Fly Fishing Guide Service In Pennsylvania

www.skyblueoutfitters.com

Trips on Penns, Little J, Spring, Delaware, and more. I've been on a few of his trips. Awesome guiding, great food, excellent lodging.

 

[Swattie87]

Do you definitely want to float? If so, then Upper D., is probably the obvious choice. Lehigh River, Clarion River, and Yough are other viable Trout options. Pine Creek through the Canyon is nice too, though it gets skinny quick in Summer. Susky or lower J for Smallies.

If you’re not set on floating, for wade fishing in PA, honestly I’d skip the guide, and maybe go with a gift card for lodgings somewhere. State College area or NC PA somewhere maybe. For what you’d pay a guide, you could probably get two nights hotel for a weekend, with some leftover money for meals/gas. As long as you’re both reasonably proficient at FFing, and don’t want the guide for “lessons” or tips on techniques so to speak, a guide in PA isn’t really gonna help put you on fish any better than what you can research yourself. For the most part PA is not like out West where guides lease access to private stretches of streams. Just my thoughts.

If you’re gonna float, a guide is a great idea though.

 

[McSneek]

Another vote for the Upper Delaware if you want to float. It’s tough but a good guide will put you on plenty of fish. You’ll get your shots.

 

[caddisflyer]

Another vote for the Upper Delaware if you want to float. It’s tough but a good guide will put you on plenty of fish. You’ll get your shots.

Or at least you will have a scenic boat ride.

 

[DaveKile]

If you want to hit the Delaware speak to @krayfish2 he is a guide up on those waters. He doesn't promote it, but I have been out with him on the Delaware and he really knows a lot about those waters up there.

 

[krayfish2]

Do you definitely want to float? If so, then Upper D., is probably the obvious choice. Lehigh River, Clarion River, and Yough are other viable Trout options. Pine Creek through the Canyon is nice too, though it gets skinny quick in Summer. Susky or lower J for Smallies.

If you’re not set on floating, for wade fishing in PA, honestly I’d skip the guide, and maybe go with a gift card for lodgings somewhere. State College area or NC PA somewhere maybe. For what you’d pay a guide, you could probably get two nights hotel for a weekend, with some leftover money for meals/gas. As long as you’re both reasonably proficient at FFing, and don’t want the guide for “lessons” or tips on techniques so to speak, a guide in PA isn’t really gonna help put you on fish any better than what you can research yourself. For the most part PA is not like out West where guides lease access to private stretches of streams. Just my thoughts.

If you’re gonna float, a guide is a great idea though.

I have to go to Santa pictures for the kids but expect the Moab incoming after I get back this evening 😁

 

[Swattie87]

I have to go to Santa pictures for the kids but expect the Moab incoming after I get back this evening 😁

All good. I half expected it when typing that. I’ve had crappy experiences with crappy guides out West, namely lazy ones who didn’t listen to what I wanted to do from when I booked the trip. I wanted to fish small, remote water for Cutts, didn’t care whether it was public or private. When booking the trip I was told about a couple headwater streams a guide on their staff knew some people on and had access to. Great, I thought. I got taken to the big river right outside of town and we had to hopscotch other guided anglers all day over Rainbows that got pounded all day, and night. After a couple hours I spoke up and relayed this wasn’t what I wanted. He said we could switch spots but it would be 2 hours (there and back) of lost time driving at this point. I ended the day early, shortly after lunch, and went to the bar. I won’t ever book a guide again for a wading trip, I’ll figure it out on my own. It’s a lot to pay for a crappy experience, that’s all, and it turned me off to guides, for trips on foot anyway. And in PA you don’t have the private leased water issues with a few, well known exceptions maybe, but I don’t wanna fish those spots anyway.

For float trips, a good guide is 200% worth the price. I’m positive you and the other guides who post here, are in this category. You guys don’t post here to drum up business, you just love FFing and sharing knowledge and experiences - I’ve met most of you personally and know that.

I didn’t mean to imply that a guide couldn’t put you on fish wading. They would. And I’m sure they could help the techniques of even a pretty well versed angler, and if that’s what you want, then definitely worth the money. If you just want a couple nice days FFing in PA, with your brother, and don’t need a boat, a guide isn’t gonna help that experience much IMO.

 

[krayfish2]

All good. I half expected it when typing that. I’ve had crappy experiences with crappy guides out West, namely lazy ones who didn’t listen to what I wanted to do from when I booked the trip. I wanted to fish small, remote water for Cutts, didn’t care whether it was public or private. When booking the trip I was told about a couple headwater streams a guide on their staff knew some people on and had access to. Great, I thought. I got taken to the big river right outside of town and we had to hopscotch other guided anglers all day over Rainbows that got pounded all day, and night. After a couple hours I spoke up and relayed this wasn’t what I wanted. He said we could switch spots but it would be 2 hours (there and back) of lost time driving at this point. I ended the day early, shortly after lunch, and went to the bar. I won’t ever book a guide again for a wading trip, I’ll figure it out on my own. It’s a lot to pay for a crappy experience, that’s all, and it turned me off to guides, for trips on foot anyway. And in PA you don’t have the private leased water issues with a few, well known exceptions maybe, but I don’t wanna fish those spots anyway.

For float trips, a good guide is 200% worth the price. I’m positive you and the other guides who post here, are in this category. You guys don’t post here to drum up business, you just love FFing and sharing knowledge and experiences - I’ve met most of you personally and know that.

I didn’t mean to imply that a guide couldn’t put you on fish wading. They would. And I’m sure they could help the techniques of even a pretty well versed angler, and if that’s what you want, then definitely worth the money. If you just want a couple nice days FFing in PA, with your brother, and don’t need a boat, a guide isn’t gonna help that experience much IMO.

I know that you are self sufficient, like challenging yourself to unlock a stream and I enjoy reading your stories /photo series posts. I just took it that the OP was looking for a float trip and some posts were taking the angle of discouraging him. I'm sure you've had a bad experience with a woman at some point in your life AND I'm also guessing that Mrs Swattie is glad you didn't form the same opinion on women as you did guides 😉😁.

On the big waters I've mentioned, wading can be anywhere between good to outright dangerous. The flows on the systems change quite often and with little notice. Trying to wade the middle of the middle Yough at a strong flow is pretty sketchy without a lot of knowledge on flows and accessable areas for wading. At low to middle flows, the Lehigh is still brutal to walk around in. Many places you find fish are where it's 4'-6' deep one step off the bank. The Delaware appears gentle but the current is pushing more than you think. That guy Kevin with the vizsla avatar found out as he almost got swept into a riff while mid thigh deep.

Besides being able to safely move you around the river, the guide can help you apply techniques to make your day successful. While the fish on spring Creek may see a lot of pressure and allow you to cast up over them..... That won't cut it on the Delaware. That fish will stop feeding or move 75 ft away from you. I can probably count on one hand how many trout I've seen caught casting upstream to them in the last 10 years.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm the greatest guide or some kind of guru. I'm pretty blue collar, unfiltered but fun. I'm sure experiences with me have been amazing for some people and not great for others. Hopefully they walked away learning something, I know I did. If you would call me looking for remote brook trout walk-in guided trips, I wouldn't take the trip. I would refer you to someone who does do that. That sounds like what might have happened to you was a guy who didn't have interest or specialize in that and should have referred you.

I've told you before to come out some time and I'd give you my version of floating. I've had a lot of guys from this place go. 50% we're in over their heads and 50% fell in love with it. It's not for everyone but it's a hell of a way to spend the day.

 

[Swattie87]

I know that you are self sufficient, like challenging yourself to unlock a stream and I enjoy reading your stories /photo series posts. I just took it that the OP was looking for a float trip and some posts were taking the angle of discouraging him. I'm sure you've had a bad experience with a woman at some point in your life AND I'm also guessing that Mrs Swattie is glad you didn't form the same opinion on women as you did guides 😉😁.

On the big waters I've mentioned, wading can be anywhere between good to outright dangerous. The flows on the systems change quite often and with little notice. Trying to wade the middle of the middle Yough at a strong flow is pretty sketchy without a lot of knowledge on flows and accessable areas for wading. At low to middle flows, the Lehigh is still brutal to walk around in. Many places you find fish are where it's 4'-6' deep one step off the bank. The Delaware appears gentle but the current is pushing more than you think. That guy Kevin with the vizsla avatar found out as he almost got swept into a riff while mid thigh deep.

Besides being able to safely move you around the river, the guide can help you apply techniques to make your day successful. While the fish on spring Creek may see a lot of pressure and allow you to cast up over them..... That won't cut it on the Delaware. That fish will stop feeding or move 75 ft away from you. I can probably count on one hand how many trout I've seen caught casting upstream to them in the last 10 years.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm the greatest guide or some kind of guru. I'm pretty blue collar, unfiltered but fun. I'm sure experiences with me have been amazing for some people and not great for others. Hopefully they walked away learning something, I know I did. If you would call me looking for remote brook trout walk-in guided trips, I wouldn't take the trip. I would refer you to someone who does do that. That sounds like what might have happened to you was a guy who didn't have interest or specialize in that and should have referred you.

I've told you before to come out some time and I'd give you my version of floating. I've had a lot of guys from this place go. 50% we're in over their heads and 50% fell in love with it. It's not for everyone but it's a hell of a way to spend the day.

Agree. Top to bottom. I wasn’t trying to discourage the OP, just advising of other options when you’re talking about the kind of cash it takes to hire a guide. For a float on one of those big rivers, 100%, a guide is the right choice.

I probably wouldn’t try to wade the D, Yough, or Lehigh with or without a guide! I once about achieved liftoff trying to cross the Lehigh in a knee high tailout to get to a trib on the other side…at like 200 cfs or something. The gradient of those big rough rivers is deceiving. Penns or Little J is about as rough as I’m willing to go. But yeah, a guide could be helpful there, I agree.

You may very well be right in regard to my guide experience. A bad match. I’m sure he thinks I was a bad client. And I probably was/still am. Anyway, if on foot, I just learned the guide experience isn’t for me. A boat trip is different. Working on a MT trip with my brother who is much more a big river float guy. We’re figuring on a mix of floating big stuff, and smaller stuff on foot. Going to hire a guide for the floats and DIY the small stuff.

I’m sure we’d have a blast if we go out, good fishing or not.

 

[falcon]

Trout on your side of the state, Yough is good. Maybe you hit it when it was off. Laurel Highlands is the most experienced. Below kinzua offers multi species options. Not sure who to tell you to look for.

If you want to come east, the Lehigh river is quite good and far more user friendly than the Delaware. Wild East outfitters is the best/ most experienced. You also have the upper Delaware on this side of the state. It's a lot more crowded and quite challenging fishing. Ken at the Baxter house, Marty or Adam from crosscurrents guide service and finally Bob, Bruce or Jeff from Delaware River Club.

Once you get into the later part of June, things shift more in favor of smallmouth. Right in the middle making it a fair drive for both of you.... Susquehanna and Juniata. Again, Wild East outfitters is probably your "go to" for the area.

Not 100% sure but Bruce may be retired. A friend who hires Bruce exclusively fished with somebody else late last summer. Jeff mentioned something also. Good guide doing it for 30 years I beleive.

 

[krayfish2]

I think Ken from Baxter house is intense and very knowledgeable. Most people would finish the trip with a bunch of information for their next outting. I've seen a bunch of people out with or ran trips with Adam or Marty. They both struck me as being really really good with the client. If you are more laid back and want a smart dude, old school type and a character, Rinker. Over at DRC, would love to fish with Jeff some time. Now that you mention it, think I saw Bob with 2 guys and 2 setters in the boat. Thought it was kinda crowded but maybe he was out fishing with friends and not guiding any more.

Other guides I think would be great....Steve Tagert and John Miller

 

[falcon]

@krayfish2 Do you mean Bruce not Bob?

 

[lycoflyfisher]

If you are interested in a guide with float trips in Central to West Central PA checkout Hardway outdoors. Dan Collins is a younger guy but has been putting people on fish. Depending on style of fishing you want to do, earlier in the year the better.

 

[krayfish2]

@krayfish2 Do you mean Bruce not Bob?

Now I'm confused. Bob has white hair and Bruce has dark with beard. I may have had a beer or three last time I saw Bob/Bruce LoL

Ok, looked up pics. Bob is more reddish hair but I thought it was white....and Bruce is now grey but still has beard as far as I know. Does Bob have a doppelganger?

There's one really young, skinny guy I've seen a bunch in last 18 months. We've chatted while floating, I've waived him in to anchor right off my bow, etc. Seems like he's already pretty good and will probably be a hired gun in the next couple years. I'll have to get his name. He always recognizes me cuz of these damn dogs

 

[falcon]

Kray I am not sure but Bruce is grey. I never fished with him .... my friend used him alot. Good dude. Frankly all the experienced long time guides are excellent I tell people to ask the shops for who they recommend to match that person's experience and intensity. Some people are looney. I saw a guide leave with 2 people and then showed up at the fly shop 2 hours later. I asked what happened. Said ..... after a hour or so they said we had enough. They said Thanks they said they had a great time and tipped well. He mentioned they were poor casters and he tried to help them. They were happy and he was too. A real head scratcher.

 

[cuboodle]

Harmans cabins in WV they are a sponsor to this site and offer a discount, Nemacolin resort near PA MD boarder or Glenndorn up near Bradford top end high coin gift.