The Letort Spring Run then........and now?

[outsider]

I haven't fished the Letort since the mid 90's, so I wonder how it compares to decades ago.

I was introduced to the Letort in the early 70's by my ex brother in law. He was a member of the Letort regulars (Charlie Fox, Vince Marinaro, etc.) They ate breakfast at a market in Carlisle, talked about fly fishing, patterns, etc.

I fell in love with the Letort at first sight. Dave showed me the ropes and I caught on pretty quickly. Stealth was the order of the day. Observe, be patient, approach with caution, and the game was on.

I developed a penchant for starting on the right hand branch - a lefties dream. Watch for rooting fish (loved seeing their tails out of the water), and time your cast. We targeted bigger browns that were rooting. I was fascinating to watch them move up into the "weed beds" (cress and elodea), shake their heads, then drift back to pick up the cress bugs and freshwater shrimp. Drop a cress bug in front of them, watch for the gills to flare, then set the hook and hang on. And dismal days meant olive hatches.

It was also fascinating to sit on the bench behind Charlie's daughter's house and chat with him.

And there were few angler to disturb the fish at that time. How does this experience compare to today?

 

[DanL]

I cannot answer the question in your last sentence, but I envy your experiences. I bought the Marinaro books and also the George Harvey books and I love reading about the history of Pennsylvania fly fishing. It's 2 to 3 hours to get to good fly fishing for me but the times I get out to central PA, I know it's something special.

I've yet to fish the LeTort but I can't wait to make it out there some time and get it off the bucket list.

 

[Fishidiot]

The Letort is a bit different in some ways, but not much - some folks feel it is better, others worse.
I'm in the camp that thinks it is, generally, better.

I think if you re-visit the upper Letort you will find it much as it was when you fished it. That section has changed little since I started fishing it over thirty years ago. The fish still root in the weeds and olives still hatch. Fox's benches have crumbled but the giant sycamore is still there. There still are not many anglers on Letort. The forest surrounding the meadows has matured a bit but the overall feel is largely unchanged. We still rake Charlie's spawning beds.

The big difference between now and the 70s is you have the entire lower Letort that has opened up since the sewage treatment plant was moved in the early 80s. The entire stream from the FFO to the mouth was declared Class A about a decade ago and many of the regulars these days prefer the lower section.

You'll have to come back and spend some time on Letort if you can. Shoot me a PM if you'd like to discuss.
Dave

 

[outsider]

Dave, I would like to fish there again, just like I want to fish Slate Run again, but there is a caveat - I'd need a side-kick. Yes, a bucket-list thing. The old Outsider ain't exactly in good health these days. But if you ever want to get together, pm me. I'd love it. Have a few good stories to tell about the "old days". Gotta catch one more good brown from the Letort.

Kirk

 

[pete41]

I crossed over once in the 90's on a visit back east. Haven't fished it since the 60's.....far and away the most memorable Penn's woods stream I fished and I fished all of the name streams then.... use to dream about winning the Irish sweepstakes and buying up the part from fox's place to the headwaters. It would have been mine,all mine..evil lurks you know where.