Where to go for wild browns.

[sixfootfenwick]

I have never confirmed it myself but the conewago from gretna to old hershey road i have heard reports of the odd trout being caught suspected of being wild but its pretty rare from what i have heard. There is one natural repro stream coming into the conewago in colebrook. Its prob not what your looking for but if you live right there near the E town hershey border and cant drive far might be worth investigating in winter cause its right under your nose. Odds are good you won’t find trout though. Pretty sure gretna lake being flushed like toilet every winter is a big impairment for all aquatic life in that stream.

That stream on the NR list, the tributary, I've tried it twice and never turned up a trout there. Doesn't mean they aren't but I never did.
As long as you mean the one in the woods off the trail.

Above colebrook is a small stream that runs down into the game commission property and makes the small pond. It goes under 117. It has some wild trout but they aren't browns . It also isn't a pleasure to fish by any means.

 

[Fish Sticks]

The farm above home depot in down town lebanon where the quittie comes out of the earth proablt has natural repro. But theres usually 4 cows standing into

They are in there but in such low numbers to nearly be nill.
The Quitte does not come to mind when I think of a wild brown trout stream.

Snitz is a good creek to get arrested on. Same with those areas of Bachman and Beck.

oh yea those quittie tribs besides snitz and upper beck are exclusivey private i should have mentioned that I would not suggest fishing them just was mentioning them as likley source of the rare transient quittie stream born fish.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Manada is one with natural repro of brown trout but not really a high quality fishery but their in there. Rumors of brookies on the base land but ya can’t fish that high up. It gets stocked a lot too in lower to middle sections 🤢

 

[JeffP]

Beck's is interesting. Anyone fish it? I seem to remember the lowest stretch being open. I think I missed a stocker there in 2 brief trips. I would think Quitty Trout would run up it. I remember talking to a guy once who said it used to be stocked and the trout would get huge. Bachman where it crosses 322 looks freestone but must get a boost somewhere on the way to the Quitty. I remember crossing a bridge closer to the mouth, and it looked nice.

 

[sixfootfenwick]

Beck's is interesting. Anyone fish it? I seem to remember the lowest stretch being open. I think I missed a stocker there in 2 brief trips. I would think Quitty Trout would run up it. I remember talking to a guy once who said it used to be stocked and the trout would get huge. Bachman where it crosses 322 looks freestone but must get a boost somewhere on the way to the Quitty. I remember crossing a bridge closer to the mouth, and it looked nice.

I actually got permission for beck once. It is a weedy weedy little stream. I didn't turn up or see a trout. It certainly looks like they should be there though.

 

[sixfootfenwick]

Beck's is interesting. Anyone fish it? I seem to remember the lowest stretch being open. I think I missed a stocker there in 2 brief trips. I would think Quitty Trout would run up it. I remember talking to a guy once who said it used to be stocked and the trout would get huge. Bachman where it crosses 322 looks freestone but must get a boost somewhere on the way to the Quitty. I remember crossing a bridge closer to the mouth, and it looked nice.

I actually got permission for beck once. It is a weedy weedy little stream. I didn't turn up or see a trout. It certainly looks like they should be there though

The farm above home depot in down town lebanon where the quittie comes out of the earth proablt has natural repro. But theres usually 4 cows standing into

oh yea those quittie tribs besides snitz and upper beck are exclusivey private i should have mentioned that I would not suggest fishing them just was mentioning them as likley source of the rare transient quittie stream born fish.

Snitz Creek in the upper end has a crazy lady that doesn't take kindly to fisherman, you can read about her on the forum. 😂

 

[Fish Sticks]

Becks has sunoco canisters burried in the soil leaching toxic benzene into the stream and I don’t think sunoco has to date been required to clean that up but couod be wront inhaven’t follwed up on that in a few years. Bachman has massive springs above 322. I have toured a private property up there with a hatchery that has built a hatchery around them. Even kilinger has Trout in believe. Beck has a farm on 322 with a trout harchery built into it as well with a big spring coming out from under a barn. Even becks headwaters up in gretna have springs. Almost bought a house up there with 5 springs on the property that form a trib to beck.

 

[Swattie87]

Snitz is surprisingly good, but not a ton of open water to fish. Squatch and I were once tossed out of the (unposted) meadow below the ball field/school bus depot in Cornwall. There’s a large spring that enters the stream in that meadow. There’s both Brookies and Browns above that, but it’s only like a 200 yard stretch you can fish in the park there. Not really worth it, unless just looking for a quick stop. And it’s pretty small and brushy up there.

Have driven over the other Quittie tribs mentioned and had the same thoughts, but have no idea where you can legally access them, and have never fished them. They certainly look limestone and fishy though.

Spring Creek (Hershey one, Swatara trib) is absolutely full of Brown Trout (see PFBC survey data), but is nearly completely posted and/or running through Hershey Park property.

The Furnace Hills (Leb/Lanc border) are mostly Browns where there’s fish, but there’s some Brookies too. River Hills (Lanc and York Co. sides) are Browns.

 

[Mike]

I've fished almost all the trout streams on the Nat. reproduction list in York. All your statements are true. They do.
But I didn't even think of those because they aren't as close as you think.

Consider. If in Etown you are 45 minutes Carlisle.
Etown to Otter Creek in York County 48 minutes.
You can be on a superior trout stream compared to that one in the same amount of time. Same thing with the Codorus etc....

Of course this is a frustrating and different type of stream. If you are looking for easier fish, forest setting, go elsewhere. If you are looking for a good fish population with a possibility of larger specimens, go to Carlisle. Closest thing to that is Spring Creek in Harrisburg, it's why I thought of it. However in the Carlisle area, you are close to 3 very good trout streams.

From Elizabethtown to Pine Grove Furnace is 50 minutes. Mountain Creek is an interesting and beautiful stream and of course the Breeches isn't far from there, which is also superior to the York County Streams. Most of which, are about the same amount of time to get to or longer.
You can even be on Clark's Creek in 45 minutes.


Not that the York County ones are bad, it's just something to consider, they aren't as close to Etown as it may seem.

Elizabethtown is in the weird no man's land of being not far from many things while also not being close to many things at the same time. It's very hard to describe but having lived there I understand it. Some of it is the river. Not many bridges cross the river and going over and south into York takes a bit. Going north is highway traffic that can be a nightmare pending on the day and time. Going to the East to the interior of Lancaster County generally isn't worth the time to fish.
Etown to Brickerville (Hammer Creek) even takes 30 minutes, Best option besides Spring Creek within 40 minutes.


283 to the Turnpike going West gets you farther, quicker and on superior waters than it may seem compared to the other options.

All I can tell you from an avid York Co angler’s (and local TU member) viewpoint is his quote after witnessing a day of our electrofishing in the Codorus: “I don’t know why I go over to the Breeches to fish.”

I don’t have a dog in this hunt. Just pointing out the only comparison that I ever heard.

 

[jsb95]

Someone from DFTU went there and saw a guy netting entire holes with lead lined sane nets lol! No idea how it keeps any fish in it but it does. They prob just go under those huge R4 bolders when the net comes scraping along

They said something to him and apparently it got REALLY hostile

I fished HBG Spring about 2 years ago. January, snow on the ground, so was surprised when I encountered another fisherman coming downstream. He had a bucket and a broken down spin rod in his backpack. Friendly enough at first.

Come to discover while working upstream of him, he’d set weighted gill nets, maybe 60 feet long each, through each hole. I got so pissed, I ripped them out and walked downstream and confronted the man (which I probably shouldn’t have done). There were already some juvenile ST in the nets. I pulled out my phone to capture his illegal activity and things escalated to the point where he said he had a gun and reached into his backpack. Still have the video if I can find it. At that point, I booked it and called 911. The cops came to the 7 sense garden area, and went looking for the man.

Suffice to say, I haven’t been back since. But it is a fun stream if you’re up for an adventure lol.

I reported it to DFTU and wonder if that’s the story you’re referencing. I sort of hope so, otherwise there’s folks out there regularly gill netting the creek…

 

[Fish Sticks]

I fished HBG Spring about 2 years ago. January, snow on the ground, so was surprised when I encountered another fisherman coming downstream. He had a bucket and a broken down spin rod in his backpack. Friendly enough at first.

Come to discover while working upstream of him, he’d set weighted gill nets, maybe 60 feet long each, through each hole. I got so pissed, I ripped them out and walked downstream and confronted the man (which I probably shouldn’t have done). There were already some juvenile ST in the nets. I pulled out my phone to capture his illegal activity and things escalated to the point where he said he had a gun and reached into his backpack. Still have the video if I can find it. At that point, I booked it and called 911. The cops came to the 7 sense garden area, and went looking for the man.

Suffice to say, I haven’t been back since. But it is a fun stream if you’re up for an adventure lol.

I reported it to DFTU and wonder if that’s the story you’re referencing. I sort of hope so, otherwise there’s folks out there regularly gill netting the creek…

You found ST in Hburg spring!?!?! No wayyyyyy thats crazy

 

[Fish Sticks]

I fished HBG Spring about 2 years ago. January, snow on the ground, so was surprised when I encountered another fisherman coming downstream. He had a bucket and a broken down spin rod in his backpack. Friendly enough at first.

Come to discover while working upstream of him, he’d set weighted gill nets, maybe 60 feet long each, through each hole. I got so pissed, I ripped them out and walked downstream and confronted the man (which I probably shouldn’t have done). There were already some juvenile ST in the nets. I pulled out my phone to capture his illegal activity and things escalated to the point where he said he had a gun and reached into his backpack. Still have the video if I can find it. At that point, I booked it and called 911. The cops came to the 7 sense garden area, and went looking for the man.

Suffice to say, I haven’t been back since. But it is a fun stream if you’re up for an adventure lol.

I reported it to DFTU and wonder if that’s the story you’re referencing. I sort of hope so, otherwise there’s folks out there regularly gill netting the creek…

Yea thats deff the story i heard. Jesus christ i did jot know about the ripping them out part you got balls man lol people tbete are jo stranger to homicide

 

[jsb95]

Yea thats deff the story i heard. Jesus christ i did jot know about the ripping them out part you got balls man lol people tbete are jo stranger to homicide

I originally tried to approach the guy from an education standpoint. He spoke broken English and thought it might be a cultural thing. Where I’m originally from in Florida, there’s a big issue with cultural understanding of C&R, slot limits and poaching, particularly among certain ethnic/ cultural groups that only see Fishing as a form of sustenance.

Was originally friendly about it, but he wanted the gill nets back. I said I was gonna take them and trash them. That’s when things went south. He actually charged at me to get the nets back, and I threw them at him, and that’s when I knew it was time to go lol

 

[Fish Sticks]

I originally tried to approach the guy from an education standpoint. He spoke broken English and thought it might be a cultural thing. Where I’m originally from in Florida, there’s a big issue with cultural understanding of C&R, slot limits and poaching, particularly among certain ethnic/ cultural groups that only see Fishing as a form of sustenance.

Was originally friendly about it, but he wanted the gill nets back. I said I was gonna take them and trash them. That’s when things went south. He actually charged at me to get the nets back, and I threw them at him, and that’s when I knew it was time to go lol

Yea sounds like a situation to leave if i ever heard one. He turned up some brook trout in his nets you said?

 

[jsb95]

Yea sounds like a situation to leave if i ever heard one. He turned up some brook trout in his nets you said?

No, brown trout. My bad

 

[Wild_Trouter]

You found ST in Hburg spring!?!?! No wayyyyyy thats crazy

I fished HBG Spring in late 90s and early-mid 2000s. I once caught a brook trout around 10" below the 5 Senses Garden Area but it obviously came from the river. I agree w/most statements about this place. I no longer fish it because I don't like fishing places where I KNOW I have to pack...it takes away from the relaxation part of the experience. I've encountered homeless, the mentally ill, and obvious drug-dealers and gang bangers back there all hanging out at different times and places back there. Really not worth it, but the fish are definitely there. It's amazing what challenging environments brown trout can thrive in, and Spring is such a place.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

Why report illegal use of gill nets to a TU chapter and not to the PFBC law enforcement folks who have legal jurisdiction over the activity?

 

[wildtrout2]

It's amazing what challenging environments brown trout can thrive in, and Spring is such a place.

The Elkhorn in WV is a classic example. If they can thrive with human waste being flushed directly into the stream, along with all the other trash, they can survive/thrive anywhere.

 

[jsb95]

Why report illegal use of gill nets to a TU chapter and not to the PFBC law enforcement folks who have legal jurisdiction over the activity?

I called TU to get in touch with the local PFBC folks. They knew the right folks and did relay the message.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Yea it’ll suprise you. My biggest out of daulphin,skook, lebanon county brook trout comes downstream of a malfunctioning septic, cow s***, people emptying their coal burning stoves into the river, and 7ft high crumbling dirt cliffs.