SC pa visit

A

AkDan76

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Oct 27, 2014
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Hey gang,

Well after a pile of reading on here as a guest I'm registered as a member, looking forward to offering what little I can which after reading here I have to say isn't all that much, there's some serious sticks on the site !!! I've been a fly tier for 21 years and am in the beginnings of building bamboo rods.

I'll be down nov 12- 2 dec and have a pile of time during the week. I have one stop with a rod maker I'm looking forward to visiting with. The weekends are packed with people coming in from out of town like myself, an a host of other family and friend festivities. It's going to be a blast as usual!!!

I'd like to visit the letort, big springs, yellow breaches, Antietam during the week. I'll be staying in Hanover near the codorus as well... Any tips on flies? Or any other waterways I shouldn't pass up?

I typically hunt when I visit but decided Pa is hopefully a better trout state than what I have access to for turkeys and deer ;)! After reading this site, and a pile of digging on line and also picking up Charles Mecks books, I'm pretty excited!

I'm tying down to 24's, a number of midges, bwo's, SJW's, waiting on yarn for some walts, scuds/cress bugs, pts, copper johns etc...anything I'm missing I shouldn't leave home without? I know it is likely going to be cold so don't expect much on top other than maybe bwo's and I'm sure the never ending midges. I need to get some more nymphs cranked out yet, that's next on the list. I have a bunch of pts down to 24 along up to 14's. Lets face it grayling are just not that picky lol.

Is there any stops you'd recommend a non local check out? Fly shops within reasonable distance from hanover area, I'm quickly learning about the history of it all.

I best get back to the bench, 24 bwo's are in the works. I will say this. Alaska will seriously spoil a fly tyer, and for that matter fly fishing in general lol! in 20 years I've only had to hit 20's once. Just finding hooks that small is a feat unto itself! 7 and 8 x? Good luck getting that around these parts! Most guys cringe at 5x and tying 16s....spoiled!

Thanks for the great forum and posting a pile of information, I'm on brain overload lol.

Thanks again Dave for letting me become a member as well!

Dan Williams
North Pole
Alaska
 

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Welcome aboard,Dan. GG
 
New here too AK. Welcome.

Cant help you out too much on the SE streams you mention. Others here will soon chime in and surely get you pointed in the right direction.

My guess is your standard generic nymphs as you are tying would be a good starting point. Fish are not all that selective then (of course when you are here they will only take the one fly you dont have).

Spare your eyes, I never found really small stuff (20-24) all that necessary in winter, (14-18) is plenty. 16's being the bread and butter. Best advice is deep and slow in calmer waters.

PA is not AK but we make due. Enjoy your stay.
 
The flies you mentioned will pretty much cover the waterways you listed, but make sure bring some streamers along as well (sculpin patterns, wooly buggers, etc.). Fall is "prime time" for streamer fishing and you don't want to get caught without some "meat". Depending on the weather, you may catch some topwater activity in the form of BWO's or midges. A warmer day can spur that on, but generally speaking you'll want to stick to a sub-surface attack. Some generic nymph patterns such as "frenchies" will also produce on many streams.

As far as what creeks to hit, one area you didn't mention would be the State College area. There is an abundance of top-notch waterways there (Spring, Penn's, Big Fishing Creek, etc.) and it's an easy drive from the Hanover area. I'm not sure where Antietam is (Maryland?), but the others you mentioned are "must do" streams (Letort, Big Spring, etc.). Another stream you may want to add to your list would be Falling Spring which is just outside of Chambersburg. That's only an hour trip from the Hanover area and it's well worth a visit. By all accounts, it's a tough stream, but it does produce some nice fish.
 
Hi Dan - welcome to our online community.

There's a lot of water in SCPA and much that is searchable on this site. It's too big an area with too many options to descibe in a single thread. I'll add three tips however (FWIW):
1. If it were me, I'd skip Antietam Creek. There is a local FFO on the section of this stream in PA and (I believe) it has rec'd its fall stocking but there are many wild trout streams closer to Hanover that may treat you better if you prefer wild to stocked trout.
2. Add terrestrials to your fly list. Local creeks are currently low and fish are still looking up (I did very well on beetles last week). Although your visit is in late autumn, in my experience, terrestrials produce trout very well in late autumn around here.
3. Of course, watch for spawners. You can still trout fish (and should, IMO), but Nov is prime spawning time for wild brown trout in this part of the state so take what you consider appropriate measures.
Good luck with your trip!
DaveW
 
And a green weenie. By all means, don't forget green weenies!!! :-D
 
Welcome to the Jungle!
 
Hi and welcome,

Yes scuds, cress bugs, generic nymphs (pheasant tail), midges, bwo's and sculpins are all you should need.

If I was you I would focus on the limestoners. By then it should be cold and those streams will fish well. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the replies! Greatly appreciated!

I did tie up some foam beetles in 14's and some 16 parachute black ants. Thought was to use the beetles as indicators if needed...are they too big on their own?

Streamers are coming, just picked up some more goodies. Royally stinks not having a really dedicated fly shop around here....

I'll have to do more research on what ones are limestoners vs non but thank you for the advice! I'd guess the water temps are more consistent in limestoners than?

what size are you going on the scuds? I tied up some Czech's for weight for the double rigs, the cress/sow bugs are weighted as well, I have some unweighted as well.

I have the weenies and walts on the list to come. Waiting on the yarn for the walts. The gal who answered (craft shop out west) immediately knew what I was doing with it LOL! Profiling haha.

Back to the bench for a bit lol.....
 
AkDan76 wrote:
Thought was to use the beetles as indicators if needed...are they too big on their own?

I'd guess the water temps are more consistent in limestoners than?

what size are you going on the scuds?
Click to expand...

Beetles as indicators are always a good idea (drop a Zebra Midge below 'em - works all year on tough fish). I like my beetles about the size of a pinkie fingernail - fairly large but this works better as an indicator.

Yes, temps are more consistent on limestoners - colder in summer and warmer in winter.

Scuds are small around here; I like #16 and #18 and colors range from the gray to olive spectrum, but mostly olive.
 
Thanks Fish!

If I went by my pinkie nails, I'd be in the 22 range, bad nail biting habit since I was a kid LOL!

I have a few more Rats to finish tonight...than on to the scudmania! I have enough midges to get me through my next visit next spring!
 
Don't forget stonefly nymphs. They can be decent sized year-round since they have a 2-3 year life cycle. Most of the streams you've listed have golden stones.
 
It doesn't hurt to have some big attractors such as # 12 stimulators and royal wulffs. Check out Michaux State Forest Streams, they have some nice populations of trout na they are closer to Hanover than the spring creeks.
 
All of the flies mentioned so far should serve you well on the Codorus, especially scuds and midges. I sent you a PM with my contact info if you'd like more info on fishing there. Enjoy your stay.
 
You mentioned yarn for WW. Just use dubbing.

Dubbing on a hook is the greatest fly ever tied.
 
If you are in Hanover codorus creek is a good spot to try any branches really and just use an elk hair caddis still working well for me. Used a light tan elk hair with a copper john dropper about 2 foot down and hammered rainbows and browns on tuesday
 
Beaver Creek, Boonesboro MD has a nice fly shop and nice fishing, but it is MD and you would need to get another license. I sent you a PM.
 
I did real good with a Griffiths gnat on Codorus Sat.at Brown Rd. What's nice about Codorus is that the water flow is always nice being a tailwater stream. The trophy section in Porters that is.
 
On the mention of the State College area, (which I would take over the famous SC PA streams any day) as a tourist to our streams please be mindful of aquatic hitchikers. I'm sure you're aware of this in a touristy place such as Alaska.

Spring Creek has New Zealand Mudsnails present. Though I don't fish them, I thought some MD streams may have didymo.

The PFBC site has methods listed to clean your gear.
 
As to the post above but to the OP:

Personally I like the Scpa spring creeks over the state college area. Just my preference as I love the true spring creeks. However, there is something to be said for his sentiments.
State College has better hatches and fish populations.

If you have the time, I would try hitting
The letort
Big spring
Falling spring
Spring creek
Penns creek
Little juniata.

Please let us know how you make out. I hope you catch a 25" or bigger letort brown. Good luck!
 
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