What Creek gave YOU the best Stocked Trout Experience?

About 2000 years ago, I read an an article in the PA Angler magazine titled, "My Dyberry" (attached below).

As a clueless, suburban former Philadelphia angler, I was memorized with this story and thoughts of "far away" and exotic places in PA like the mystical "Dyberry Creek" and I never forgot the article.

Fast forward to the mid 2000's and a now much more worldly & experienced Bamboozle decided to "experience" the Dyberry I read about those many years ago. I emailed the PA Angler & Boater Magazine and asked if they could provide me with a copy of that article. The PFBC obliged and I was super excited to realize my dream and include MY Dyberry in an upcoming Pocono fishing trip...

When we arrived, I dashed upstream to the upper end of Section 03 so I could have as much of the secluded parts of this special stream to fish alone. My two buddies stayed further downstream, right by the Dug Road bridge.

The stream was beautiful and I fished intensely on pretty much ALL of Section 03 of "MY Dyberry...

And got skunked... 😳

To make matters worse, my two buddies who fished right by the Dug Road bridge (where probably most of the stockers were dumped) did great... 😡

I hate the Dyberry Creek...
I remember that article!
 
Will be standing on the Dyberry on Saturday as is family tradition. Many great memories on that stream and one I am glad I have been able to fish often. Hoping to get a buddy on some stocked fish there rather than myself but for me, one of the best stocked trout experiences is a stream I will not name in Pike County. One section that is stocked is some of the fastest water that we at least still consider fishable. It was always neat to show up there halfway through opening day and still be able to catch a few fish that less-skilled anglers had walked past. It is still one of my favorite streams overall.
 
If you've fished one meat hole, you've fished them all. And they're fun every once in a while.
 
About 2000 years ago, I read an an article in the PA Angler magazine titled, "My Dyberry" (attached below).

As a clueless, suburban former Philadelphia angler, I was memorized with this story and thoughts of "far away" and exotic places in PA like the mystical "Dyberry Creek" and I never forgot the article.

Fast forward to the mid 2000's and a now much more worldly & experienced Bamboozle decided to "experience" the Dyberry I read about those many years ago. I emailed the PA Angler & Boater Magazine and asked if they could provide me with a copy of that article. The PFBC obliged and I was super excited to realize my dream and include MY Dyberry in an upcoming Pocono fishing trip...

When we arrived, I dashed upstream to the upper end of Section 03 so I could have as much of the secluded parts of this special stream to fish alone. My two buddies stayed further downstream, right by the Dug Road bridge.

The stream was beautiful and I fished intensely on pretty much ALL of Section 03 of "MY Dyberry...

And got skunked... 😳

To make matters worse, my two buddies who fished right by the Dug Road bridge (where probably most of the stockers were dumped) did great... 😡

I hate the Dyberry Creek...

Bam: Thanks for sharing that article, which seemed familiar to me. Well written in the old hook and bullet fashion once so popular. I queried the author, whose name was Gerhard A. Eastby from Newton, NJ. He was a professional writer who died in 2018.

In the late 80s through the nineties I fished Dyberry regularly when I had a cabin in Ararat, Susquehanna County. The author doesn’t mention them but We once hit a tremendous Memorial Day hatch of Green Drakes on the FFO reach of Dyberry. The fishing for stock fish and a few wilds was tremendous, one after another. Thanks for the memories. I haven’t been back there in over 25 years.
 
The Little Beaver near Enon Valley. I grew up near where this creek joins the Ohio river but never fished it further upstream for trout till my early 20's when a good friend took me with him. Another good friend also fished the same area. Both of them had fished there all there lives with their dads but didn't know each other till I introduced them streamside. We used to have a lot of fun fishing with the kids. Now we have all three fished there with our grandkids. The part near where I grew up is in Ohio, downstream from East Palestine. Haven't been there since the derailment.
 
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Not sure if it gets mentioned later on in this thread but I cant believe no one has said the Breaches, I get the luxury of fishing it all the time as its 5-10 minutes from my house in the Mechanicsburg area, but ive had plenty of days catching 20+ fish and caught my PB Pal of around 23-24 inches. With it not only being stocked by the Huntsdale hatchery but also YBACA there are always plenty of fish and often quality fish.
I agree with young trout bum, I know the Yellow Breeches may have lost a little luster over the years (especially the “run” out of Children’s Lake, which has been decimated due to renovations of the dam). However, for me, in the late ‘70’s, as a Marylander just getting into fly fishing, the Breeches was an exotic Mecca of trout fishing within a reasonable drive from my home. Between Big Hunting Creek in Thurmont, Md., and the Breeches, I have wonderful memories of of catching beautiful rainbows,browns and brookies on store bought flies, and then later, my own creations. While I currently value the pursuit of wild salmonids, I still enjoy catching some commercially raised creatures which fill the void when limited by time and geography.
 
I guess these guys would say Elk Creek in Erie County today.
Really guys? It’s the only day all year these tribs are closed. 😕
 

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That’s the day they stock brown trout for tomorrow’s opener. I think you can legally fish any of Erie County’s unstocked streams today. Walnut Creek for example.
If I am mistaken feel free to correct me.
 
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We have talked about some of these streams, but you are barking up the right tree for the big stocked trout watershed.

Lycoming Creek has provided some exceptional fishing days for me and portions of the delayed harvest/ Keystone section have some of the best habitat around of stocked special regs IMO.
I'm driving through there today and going to try Lycoming
 
My Fav is East Branch Clarion, it's stocked plus has some wild Browns and the once a year wild Brookie,some of the main branch river big Browns spawn and if flows are high enough they can get above the low head dam at the Paper mill and proceed upstream, I'd bet I only see another person fishing every 5 trips or so ,I love the seclusion and at times seems like it's mine and mine alone,can't quite under stand why maybe the occasional smell from the mill scares people out.but again I'm not there following the white truck as some do plus it's year round cold water and warm in the winter
 
Yellow Breeches at Allenberry. Picky fish. Helped establish the book Fishing the Midge. Lots of flyfishing people.
Fished regularly for several years during the 1970s. Was not crowded in the least. Lots of tennis playing and some people walking in the yards closer to the buildings.

(Ed Koch became a pain though when he started guiding and he would bring his clients wading right in front of other flyfishermen, and block any casting by anyone else. But that was when he still owned the tackle shop and had just published his book. It did well for him.)
 
In the late 80s-mid 90s:
Little Skuke/Tully DHALO
Clarks Creek- FFO

Full fledged wild trout snob since '96 🤙
I have a historical question for you. Was the Tully designated DHALO in the 80's and mid-90's? My only experience there was 2000 and later. My memory of that time is that the Tully was an artificial lures C&R designation, but only recently (~5-10 years ago) became DHALO? Did the Tully go DHALO, artificial lures C&R, then back to DHALO? Or is my memory (understandably) flawed? What do you remember?
 
About 2000 years ago, I read an an article in the PA Angler magazine titled, "My Dyberry" (attached below).

As a clueless, suburban former Philadelphia angler, I was memorized with this story and thoughts of "far away" and exotic places in PA like the mystical "Dyberry Creek" and I never forgot the article.

Fast forward to the mid 2000's and a now much more worldly & experienced Bamboozle decided to "experience" the Dyberry I read about those many years ago. I emailed the PA Angler & Boater Magazine and asked if they could provide me with a copy of that article. The PFBC obliged and I was super excited to realize my dream and include MY Dyberry in an upcoming Pocono fishing trip...

When we arrived, I dashed upstream to the upper end of Section 03 so I could have as much of the secluded parts of this special stream to fish alone. My two buddies stayed further downstream, right by the Dug Road bridge.

The stream was beautiful and I fished intensely on pretty much ALL of Section 03 of "MY Dyberry...

And got skunked... 😳

To make matters worse, my two buddies who fished right by the Dug Road bridge (where probably most of the stockers were dumped) did great... 😡

I hate the Dyberry Creek...
Remember the same article. I had the original magazine issue. We used to pass near it on the way to fish the upper Lackawaxen. Never stopped, my uncle fished it a few times and didn't like it, too muddy he said (he was a fan of riffles, runs, and pockets), consequently we passed it by. Somehow I never felt the need to revisit it.
 
a bit. I have a historical question for you. Was the Tully designated DHALO in the 80's and mid-90's? My only experience there was 2000 and later. My memory of that time is that the Tully was an artificial lures C&R designation, but only recently (~5-10 years ago) became DHALO? Did the Tully go DHALO, artificial lures C&R, then back to DHALO? Or is my memory (understandably) flawed? What do you remember?
The only special reg was DHALO and that was implemented in the first year that DHALO areas were created statewide as I recall. The reg on the Tully took effect in about the 1982 or 1983 period and was “large” fingerling stocked each fall, first with RT and then a few yrs later BT were mixed in, although the BT grew more slowly and survival lagged that of RT a bit. RT fingerling survival from fall to spring was initially 38% and was good for a number of years, but then declined substantially to appx 6-10% in the 1990’s. Stockings were then shifted to standard size hatchery trout…RT and BT. I think this was in the early 2000’s. The only other changes over the years were the designation as a Keystone Select DHALO Area, in the early years the shortening of DH Area by moving the lower limit from the jct of Broadcasting and Tulpehocken Rds upstream to the covered bridge, and a series of years in the 2000’s when the upper Section, now Section 06, was privately stocked with some RT fingerlings.
 
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Back in the mid to late 90s I loved spin/bait fishing North Branch of Slippery Rock creek with my uncle, we would limit out on a weekend day on stocked brook and brown. Occasionally you would hook into a larger holdover brown trout from the previous year. I know they still stock but I haven't been there in a long time, so not sure if it is still a quality fishery.

I always enjoyed fly fishing Big Sandy and Little Sandy Creek back in the day.
 
Kettle Creek will always hold a special place in my heart. Though I grew up fishing I just got into fly fishing ~6 years ago and struggled mightily for my first two seasons. Then my buddies and I booked a cabin out on Kettle on a whim in mid April and everything just seemed to click. Now we go out every year around the same time and always seem to catch a pile of fish
 
I like Ressica Falls (Bushkill). Plenty of tough pocket water for tight lining and some nice pools w decent hatches. Already mentioned but the Brodhead has given me some memorable dry fly days/eves. Both places can offer solitude if you hike a ways.
 
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