Fly Fishing Central Pennsylvania's Elk Creek and Penns Creek in mid-May

After spending a week in the Outer Banks, I returned to central Pennsylvania for my fiancee's graduation. Because of all the weekend festivities, I was only able to fish for a few hours. I nevertheless caught five fish: four at Elk Creek (three on a Panther Martin spinner, one on a copper john nymph) and one at Penns Creek (on a sulphur dun). Both fly-rod landed fish were beauties, and all were wild brown trout.

On my return to New Jersey, I stopped at the Brodhead Creek in the waning daylight. I didn't see any fish rise, nor any sign of trout. Fishing pressure really gets to the Brodhead. In addition, I fished Stony Brook here in Princeton on Wednesday night. The slow moving water was not conducive to fly fishing, and, because I only had an hour, I fished with my late grandfather's favorite style lure - a golden Rapala. I caught two sickly stocked rainbow trout.

I saw a number of wildflowers, including early dames rocket, soapwort, wild geranium, wild columbines, mayapple, pinxter flower, and plenty of tree flowers.


Image #1 - Stony Brook rainbow
Image #2 - Mayapple flower


Overall Total: 31

River Breakdown:

Elk Creek - 5 (5 Wild Brown)
Penns Creek - 5 (5 Wild Brown)
Spring Creek - 5 (4 Wild Rainbow, 1 Wild Brown)
Marshalls Creek - 4 (4 Wild Brook)
Stony Brook - 4 (4 Stocked Rainbow)
Paulinskill River - 4 (2 Stocked Brook, 2 Stocked Rainbow)
Fishing Creek - 3 (3 Wild Brown)
White Deer Creek - 1 (1 Stocked Brook)


Species Breakdown:

Brown Trout - 14
Wild - 14
Stocked - 0

Rainbow Trout - 10
Stocked - 6
Wild - 4

Brook Trout - 7
Wild - 4
Stocked - 3



Wild Trout - 22
Stocked Trout - 9


Trout 15+ Inches: 2


Fly Breakdown:
Olive wooly bugger, size 14 - 4 (4 Wild Brook)
Tan Caddis, size 14 - 4 (4 Wild Brown)
Black Caddis, size 14 - 2 (2 Wild Brown)
Green Weenie, size 14 - 2 (2 Wild Rainbow)
Bead-head Pheasant Tail Nymph, size 14 - 2 (2 Stocked Rainbow)
Bead-head Copper John Nymph, size 16 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Bead-head Green Weenie, size 14 - 1 (1 Stocked Brook)
Blue Quill, size 16 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Blue Winged Olive, size 18 - 1 (1 Wild Rainbow)
Golden Stonefly, size 8 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Scud, size 16 - 1 (1 Wild Rainbow)
Sulphur, size 14 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Sulphur, size 16 - 1 (1 Stocked Rainbow)


Angling Breakdown:

Fly Fishing Rod - 22 (10 Wild Brown, 4 Wild Brook, 4 Wild Rainbow, 3 Stocked Rainbow, 1 Stocked Brook)
Spinning Rod - 9 (4 Wild Brown, 2 Stocked Brook, 3 Stocked Rainbow)


State Breakdown:
Pennsylvania - 23
New Jersey - 8
New York - 0