Top 10 Trout Streams in PA (only name brands)

[CRB]

How dare the common man set foot on such a holy place as the Coburn Access Area.

Have you considered Spruce? Lots of private water where the unwashed aren’t welcome. I’ve heard Donnie Beaver bathes twice a day.

And the water from the mouth of Spruce Creek to the big 180* turn after the Norfolk Southern RR tunnel on the Little J. 👍👍😉

 

[Traveling Trout Co]

what video are you working on now?

what video are you working on now?

Stroudsburg PA, Manchester VT, Cumberland MD, and Culpepper VA I'm actively editing. Hopefully Coudersport PA, Ithaca NY, Erie PA, and Bennington VT also coming up.

 

[BradFromPotter]

what video are you working on now?

Stroudsburg PA, Manchester VT, Cumberland MD, and Culpepper VA I'm actively editing. Hopefully Coudersport PA, Ithaca NY, Erie PA, and Bennington VT also coming up.

Why Coudersport?

 

[bringthepain]

How dare the common man set foot on such a holy place as the Coburn Access Area.

Have you considered Spruce? Lots of private water where the unwashed aren’t welcome. I’ve heard Donnie Beaver bathes twice a day.

Thats pretty funny coming from you guy

 

[Cznymph]

Thats pretty funny coming from you guy

Is it now?

Public land is just that, public. If they don’t want to share with the “unwashed masses”, they can purchase their own land. I strongly support the rights of private property owners.

Until then they might have to suffer fishing next to a dude in Froggtogg waders instead of Simms or Orvis.

 

[jifigz]

Is it now?

Public land is just that, public. If they don’t want to share with the “unwashed masses”, they can purchase their own land. I strongly support the rights of private property owners.

Until then they might have to suffer fishing next to a dude in Froggtogg waders instead of Simms or Orvis.

I've owned about 5 pairs of Frogg Toggs waders. I have never owned a pair of Simms or Orvis waders. I fish on private property, and I fish on state owned property. I love public land, but I also like private landowners willing to allow me to access their streams. Furthermore, I also like private landowners who give me a refusal. Am I bummed out? Yes, but it is theirs.

What is the point of my post? I don't know if there is one. I just like fishing, and I am grateful that our state has a lot of public property, and I am grateful to those landowners who are generous and allow me to fish their waters. Spring is getting closer with each passing day.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

what video are you working on now?

Stroudsburg PA, Manchester VT, Cumberland MD, and Culpepper VA I'm actively editing. Hopefully Coudersport PA, Ithaca NY, Erie PA, and Bennington VT also coming up.

I have some spots near Bennington if your interested.

 

[Wild_Trouter]

Why Coudersport?

Rainbow Paradise Trout Farm 😂🤙

 

[Swattie87]

Rainbow Paradise Trout Farm 😂🤙

Coudersport is a cool town. If I’m heading up that way and we’re hoteling as opposed to renting a cabin, I generally prefer Wellsboro though. Better hotels, better restaurants, etc. But I enjoy a drive through Coudy when I’m up. Galeton too…Brick House has Perry’s.

 

[Cznymph]

Rainbow Paradise Trout Farm 😂🤙

The ole gill lice emporium.

 

[moodyblues]

Is it now?

Public land is just that, public. If they don’t want to share with the “unwashed masses”, they can purchase their own land. I strongly support the rights of private property owners.

Until then they might have to suffer fishing next to a dude in Froggtogg waders instead of Simms or Orvis.

Oh, the horror!

 

[rustbeltwilds]

Oh, the horror!

Call in the airstrike !

 

[Acristickid]

If you had to rank the top 10 trout streams in Pennsylvania (without spot burning small streams), what would your list look like? With the most extensive miles of rivers, creeks, and runs in the United States (aside from Alaska), we have many to choose from based on our unique topography of ridge and valley, glaciated plateaus, Poconos mountains, and various meandering hills.

My personal criteria for top trout streams in PA leans heavily toward wild/native trout, expansive public lands (and beautiful scenery) as well as access and quality/quantity of trout. Please allow me the caveat of combining a few streams and major stems/tributaries together in lieu of individual streams for some entries on this list.

Please know that I appreciate that there are dozens (if not hundreds) of wild/native trout streams in PA that regularly fish better than those well-known streams listed below. The small to medium sized streams which we hopefully will not mention in this thread may be better on a year to year basis than the heavy weights. With that said, the list below consists of the best known (albeit imperfect) list of best streams in PA, let's keep it classy.

#1 - Penns Creek
* Commentary: Just the best. Big Wild Browns. Lots of public access. Crowds at times, yes. However, with limestone influence and great scenery = #1.
#2 - Little Juniata
* Commentary: Similar to Penns. Big Wild Browns. Good public access. Crowds at times. Still, limestone influence, large sized stream (for PA) and killer trou'.
#3 - West Branch Delaware
* Probably the best pound for pound trout stream in PA, but loses points for being connected to NY. Lot's of drift boats daily also. With that said, best chance in PA for tailwater sized jumbo browns/rainbows and best big trou' wild trou' fishery in PA bar none.
#4 - Big Fishing Creek
* Maybe my favorite limestone influenced stream. Relatively lightly fished, impressive natural reproduction and sizes, as well as public access.
#5 - Spring Creek
* Although one of the best and most well renowned - heavily fished consistently and too popular (still an incredible fishery).
#6 - Pine Creek & Slate/Cedar Runs
* My personal favorite area. NC PA is surrounded by 100's of thousands of acres of state forest. Between stocked big streams like Pine and the wild/native Tribs., its the peak of trout fishing in my opinion (minus winter).
#7 - Elk/20mi. Creeks
* The steelhead runs are the most impressive and captivating trout fishing in PA each year (genuinely). With that said, it only last a few months. Love Erie Tribs. when they run, but nothing going on when they don't.
#8 - Lehigh River (and Tribs in Lehigh Gorge)
* Although people tell me the Lehigh has wild browns, I've only seen them a few times. With that said, the Lehigh in and around the Lehigh Gorge area has incredible (mostly) stocked trout fishing in the main stem with killer wild/native trout fishing in the Tribs. while being surrounded by the best scenery the Poconos have to offer.
#9 - Kettle Creek & Tribs.
* Aside from Pine Creek and Tribs., my favorite. So many Brookies. So much public land. The best space for brookies to thrive and survive in PA. Love it.
#10 - Yellow Breeches
* As a SC PA resident, YB has my heart. Yes, its a small stream. Yes, it has extensive stocking. Yes, it has interspersed private and public access. With all that said, it still has wild browns, tons of public access, and limestone influence.

Honorable Mention: Alleghany River, Brodhead Creek, Clarion River + E/W Branches, Youghiogheny River, etc.

is it your first season?

 

[DaveKile]

Secret stream locations are dead.

While my view may not align with everyone, I have thought about this topic a lot. In fact, I have reflected quite a bit on the potential consequences of naming locations and the role of the Stream Reports Forum.

Historically, many popular books have been written over the decades, sharing fly fishing locations. Riding around with one or more books by Meck or Landis, along with a Delorme PA Atlas, was the norm for any angler exploring new waters. That’s exactly what I did in the ’80s and even the ’90s. Magazines, newspapers, and monthly printed journals found in fly shops were common sources of information. In those early years, there was little official information available from the state—until they began publishing stocking reports in a PDF format in the early 2000s.

At that time, there were probably fewer than a dozen printed media outlets available to Pennsylvania anglers, and they all focused on the same 50 to 100 streams. You can pick up any of those older books and see what I mean. Beyond printed materials, word of mouth from other anglers was another way to learn where to fish. But let’s be honest—anglers have never been very good at keeping secrets.

With the digital age post-2000s, we now have a firehose of information on where to fish. As print media has declined, the list of outlets and stream locations has expanded far beyond the concentrated information of the 1980s. The state publishes online maps of Stocked Streams, Class A Wild Trout Streams, Wilderness Streams, and more. These resources not only provide stream names but also GPS coordinates for hundreds of fishing locations. Add in all the blogs, YouTube channels, Facebook groups, Instagram posts, fly shop reports, forums, and more, and you have literally hundreds of media outlets discussing what could be over a thousand streams in Pennsylvania. Plus, let’s not forget the tens of thousands of private messages exchanged between anglers daily.

Today I ride around with a GPS from Google Maps and pinned fly-fishing parking spots. I no longer worry about going to the stream, just which parking spot I’m looking to find.

We’ve reached the point where you can ask ChatGPT to provide a list of the Top 10 Fly Fishing Streams in Pennsylvania. The response will include stream names, counties, why they’re great, notable hatches, and the best access points. You can even ask for fly fishing locations within a specific county. If you inquire about Centre County, for example, the answer will be Spring Creek, Penns Creek, and Fishing Creek, —but don’t tell anyone.

There are no true secrets anymore—just locations that are a little off the beaten path, waiting to be explored. For 30 years, I have supported the idea of sharing information, and stream reports are one of the most helpful resources available. By the way, PAFF Stream Reports are as much a source for stream conditions, hatches, and historical data as anything else. I’ve never heard of buses full of anglers showing up at Valley Forge Park just because someone posted a stream report.

As for naming wilderness and brook trout streams, I have encouraged people to label them as “Unnamed” and list only the county. This is a guideline, not a rule. With the state publishing GPS coordinates for these streams, there’s no reason to lose your mind if someone names a brook trout stream in a forum. People don’t suddenly abandon their lawn-mowing duties and converge on a ten-foot-wide brookie stream 150 miles away just because someone mentioned “Laurel Run” in a discussion.

I believe the overwhelming amount of information available online still focuses primarily on the same 50 to 100 well-known streams, but it also makes it easier to identify secondary locations. Because of this, I don’t subscribe to the idea that spot-burning on the internet is ruining fly fishing. The information is ubiquitous and easily available to everyone.

 

[joebamboo]

Well said Dave. I have always said that there are no more "secret spots". I you have fished it, so have many others!

 

[Bamboozle]

 

[BradFromPotter]

Coudersport is a cool town. If I’m heading up that way and we’re hoteling as opposed to renting a cabin, I generally prefer Wellsboro though. Better hotels, better restaurants, etc. But I enjoy a drive through Coudy when I’m up. Galeton too…Brick House has Perry’s.

Coudy was a cool town at one time. Not now. Brick House has closed.

Have you been to the Wellsboro House?

 

[Swattie87]

Coudy was a cool town at one time. Not now. Brick House has closed.

Have you been to the Wellsboro House?

Closed for the season, or closed period? They always seemed to be doing a decent business between subs and ice cream. Bummer if so.

Yes to Wellsboro House. Great bacon cheeseburger and salt/pepper fries. One of our favorite spots in Wellsboro. We like the Gas Light for wings. Tony’s pizza is good too.

We really like the Barrel in Ansonia too, cheesesteak tossed in wing sauce is great, but when we’re staying in town we enjoy walking to dinner. Wellsboro House gets a stop pretty much every time we’re up.

Edit: Found a WH pic. November 2023. Didn’t realize it’s been that long since I was there. Need to remedy that.

 

[dudemanspecial]

Secret stream locations are dead.

While my view may not align with everyone, I have thought about this topic a lot. In fact, I have reflected quite a bit on the potential consequences of naming locations and the role of the Stream Reports Forum.

Historically, many popular books have been written over the decades, sharing fly fishing locations. Riding around with one or more books by Meck or Landis, along with a Delorme PA Atlas, was the norm for any angler exploring new waters. That’s exactly what I did in the ’80s and even the ’90s. Magazines, newspapers, and monthly printed journals found in fly shops were common sources of information. In those early years, there was little official information available from the state—until they began publishing stocking reports in a PDF format in the early 2000s.

At that time, there were probably fewer than a dozen printed media outlets available to Pennsylvania anglers, and they all focused on the same 50 to 100 streams. You can pick up any of those older books and see what I mean. Beyond printed materials, word of mouth from other anglers was another way to learn where to fish. But let’s be honest—anglers have never been very good at keeping secrets.

With the digital age post-2000s, we now have a firehose of information on where to fish. As print media has declined, the list of outlets and stream locations has expanded far beyond the concentrated information of the 1980s. The state publishes online maps of Stocked Streams, Class A Wild Trout Streams, Wilderness Streams, and more. These resources not only provide stream names but also GPS coordinates for hundreds of fishing locations. Add in all the blogs, YouTube channels, Facebook groups, Instagram posts, fly shop reports, forums, and more, and you have literally hundreds of media outlets discussing what could be over a thousand streams in Pennsylvania. Plus, let’s not forget the tens of thousands of private messages exchanged between anglers daily.

Today I ride around with a GPS from Google Maps and pinned fly-fishing parking spots. I no longer worry about going to the stream, just which parking spot I’m looking to find.

We’ve reached the point where you can ask ChatGPT to provide a list of the Top 10 Fly Fishing Streams in Pennsylvania. The response will include stream names, counties, why they’re great, notable hatches, and the best access points. You can even ask for fly fishing locations within a specific county. If you inquire about Centre County, for example, the answer will be Spring Creek, Penns Creek, and Fishing Creek, —but don’t tell anyone.

There are no true secrets anymore—just locations that are a little off the beaten path, waiting to be explored. For 30 years, I have supported the idea of sharing information, and stream reports are one of the most helpful resources available. By the way, PAFF Stream Reports are as much a source for stream conditions, hatches, and historical data as anything else. I’ve never heard of buses full of anglers showing up at Valley Forge Park just because someone posted a stream report.

As for naming wilderness and brook trout streams, I have encouraged people to label them as “Unnamed” and list only the county. This is a guideline, not a rule. With the state publishing GPS coordinates for these streams, there’s no reason to lose your mind if someone names a brook trout stream in a forum. People don’t suddenly abandon their lawn-mowing duties and converge on a ten-foot-wide brookie stream 150 miles away just because someone mentioned “Laurel Run” in a discussion.

I believe the overwhelming amount of information available online still focuses primarily on the same 50 to 100 well-known streams, but it also makes it easier to identify secondary locations. Because of this, I don’t subscribe to the idea that spot-burning on the internet is ruining fly fishing. The information is ubiquitous and easily available to everyone.

Im going to reply to this, as I assume it is in reference to my comments.

I agree with you on many of your points. No, hoards of people aren't going to rush to a stream that is in the middle of nowhere in an area with no cell phone service and very little commodities around just because it is mentioned here. The reason I got upset is that the OP, who has a questionable history of fishing for information, actually went out of their way to mention to keep it name brand fisheries. Then, somehow the thread took a turn into discussing waterways that are mostly undiscussed, definitely not name brand, and from an area that is pretty near and dear to me. I just imagine myself showing up there this spring and seeing 1 or 2 anglers with go pros strapped to their heads and a microphone clipped to their Howler bros vest and the thought of that is disheartening to me. It actually already happened with a different channel doing a video in the same area and yes, I started seeing more traffic around there after that. It wasn't so much of "hey don’t talk about my creek", it was more of, "seriously, this area is coming up in this guys thread of all places?"

I just cant help but look at Traveling Trout Co's threads and seeing a guy that is playing the forum here like a fiddle.

To add, I also think that putting the names of these streams and areas here absolutely have more weight that most other places they are mentioned. If I see 5 or 6 creeks in an area on the PFBC maps, the first thing I do is search here for information to see if they have been mentioned here.

 

[FarmerDave]

Dear Dave,

On a side note, how many mine acid impaired streams, otherwise known as Schitt Cricks, are there in PA?

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

We had one of those where I grew up, but we called it turd run.