Wills Creek Parking

[silfeid]

I've been studying up on Wills Creek a bit, and liking what I see of it. It's also big enough, and well known enough, that I hope no one on here will feel that their favorite spot is getting burned, etc.

My understanding is that the streambed is public, so an angler has the right to be along the stream up to the ordinary high water mark, and there are sections (near Glencoe, for instance) that have State Game Lands adjoining them, allowing for fully legal access to the stream. I know the going up Wills can be rugged, given what I see on satellite imagery, but I'm a rock-hopping mountain goat who relishes that kind of thing, so I'm not worried about my ability to stay below the high water mark as long as water levels aren't problematically high.

My only problem is where to park legally and/or without issues while fishing? I don't see anything from satellite imagery of Glencoe that looks too promising, and the parking areas indicated on the map of SGL 082 are so far from any fishing opportunities that I would only use them as an absolute last resort. I have pretty much the same question regarding Fairhope, although there I think I can identify a spot or two that might work.

I also saw a thread on here from 2017 in which someone mentions that the RR had locked the gates to access roads due to theft/vandalism issues (I think I can see one of these gates on the satellite images of Glencoe), which is honestly fine by me - I am happy enough to walk for an hour before I start casting if it means I'll have solitude and better fishing. Was wondering if anybody could confirm or deny that this is still the case re: locked gates six years later, though.

I live in Pittsburgh, so it's about a 2-hour drive for me - I'm trying to get out to new waters this spring, and am willing to drive a bit further, but it makes scouting stuff like this out in person kinda tough, so any advice would be appreciated. As always, I'm C&R only, leave-no-trace, so I won't leave the fishery any worse than I found it. Thanks in advance.

 

[HopBack]

I've been studying up on Wills Creek a bit, and liking what I see of it. It's also big enough, and well known enough, that I hope no one on here will feel that their favorite spot is getting burned, etc.

My understanding is that the streambed is public, so an angler has the right to be along the stream up to the ordinary high water mark, and there are sections (near Glencoe, for instance) that have State Game Lands adjoining them, allowing for fully legal access to the stream. I know the going up Wills can be rugged, given what I see on satellite imagery, but I'm a rock-hopping mountain goat who relishes that kind of thing, so I'm not worried about my ability to stay below the high water mark as long as water levels aren't problematically high.

My only problem is where to park legally and/or without issues while fishing? I don't see anything from satellite imagery of Glencoe that looks too promising, and the parking areas indicated on the map of SGL 082 are so far from any fishing opportunities that I would only use them as an absolute last resort. I have pretty much the same question regarding Fairhope, although there I think I can identify a spot or two that might work.

I also saw a thread on here from 2017 in which someone mentions that the RR had locked the gates to access roads due to theft/vandalism issues (I think I can see one of these gates on the satellite images of Glencoe), which is honestly fine by me - I am happy enough to walk for an hour before I start casting if it means I'll have solitude and better fishing. Was wondering if anybody could confirm or deny that this is still the case re: locked gates six years later, though.

I live in Pittsburgh, so it's about a 2-hour drive for me - I'm trying to get out to new waters this spring, and am willing to drive a bit further, but it makes scouting stuff like this out in person kinda tough, so any advice would be appreciated. As always, I'm C&R only, leave-no-trace, so I won't leave the fishery any worse than I found it. Thanks in advance.

I don’t have anything to add about wills creek but your notion of the stream bed being public is incorrect. The only way this would be true is if the stream in question was ruled in court and proven to be historically navigable.

A lot of people have this assumption and it has been heavily discussed in the forum. Use the search function and see what people have said.

 

[silfeid]

I don’t have anything to add about wills creek but your notion of the stream bed being public is incorrect. The only way this would be true is if the stream in question was ruled in court and proven to be historically navigable.

A lot of people have this assumption and it has been heavily discussed in the forum. Use the search function and see what people have said.

Okey-doke. I would still like to receive some input on parking if anyone has any knowledge there, rather than this thread being taken over by legal discussion.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

Worse case scenario, find a spot to pull off along the road in the gamelands and hang a bag out of you window.

 

[Millsertime]

Worse case scenario, find a spot to pull off along the road in the gamelands and hang a bag out of you window.

I've done this so many times on Interstate 80....Little do they know I'm just lazy and prefer to drop down to the creek vs hike 3 miles from a normal parking spot.

 

[Swattie87]

Check the SGL maps, and park on, and fish the stretches that are on SGL. There’s a good bit of stream, especially upstream of Glencoe, that is on SGL. That’s the easy answer.

Further down, between Fairhope and Hyndman, is privately owned, but is STW and most of that water is not posted and open to fishing. Plenty of pulloffs along the road in that stretch.

 

[silfeid]

Worse case scenario, find a spot to pull off along the road in the gamelands and hang a bag out of you window.

Yeah, I was thinking that this might be possible on Philson road, just not sure if there's anywhere along that road where you can do it without blocking the road. Good chance there are some pull-offs on that stretch though.

 

[silfeid]

Check the SGL maps, and park on, and fish the stretches that are on SGL. There’s a good bit of stream, especially upstream of Glencoe, that is on SGL. That’s the easy answer.

Further down, between Fairhope and Hyndman, is privately owned, but is STW and most of that water is not posted and open to fishing. Plenty of pulloffs along the road in that stretch.

Thank you for the info on the stretch between Fairhope and Hyndman - I was assuming that some public access was allowed, given the degree of stocking, and the confirmation of at least some worry-free access is nice, given the drive to get out there.

 

[troutbert]

If you go there opening day, you can find out where people typically park.

But after a while you can also learn to just see those spots, even later in the season. They are usually just wide pulloffs along the road.

Important advice: Never block a lane, even if it's a very faint "field lane" that is rarely used. Be sure not to block landowner's access to a field or patch of woods.

 

[flyguyfishing]

Hillbilly Haven has delicious wings especially their ‘house’ sauce.

Go explore. Have fun. You’ll find somewhere to park.

 

[Tucker733]

Roads run pretty consistently along the stream from ~2miles down stream from Glencoe upstream to the headwaters and from Fairhope to the MD Line, except for the remote sections between Glencoe and Fairhope. Avoid accessing or parking where there are posted signs and avoid using the railroad bed to drive on or parking in front of the yellow railroad gates and you shouldn’t have any issues.

I live just over the hill and fish it consistently and have never had issues, but people have with CSX and some old access (really just parking vs stream access) has been lost as discussed in the other thread about closing that access.

 

[salmonoid]

Okey-doke. I would still like to receive some input on parking if anyone has any knowledge there, rather than this thread being taken over by legal discussion.

It's not being taken over by legal discussion, but when you preface your post with a legal inaccuracy, it's good to make note of that, as one of your assumptions for access is false.

It's like most STW - some areas are posted but have the Fishing Permitted, Walk-in only signs up. I'd be most concerned in areas where you have to cross the railroad or use the trail that parallels the railroad and is probably on their ground. Depending on how grumpy they are about enforcing No Trespassing, that would be my primary concern.