Fly Fishing for Wild Brook Trout in the Poconos

I drove to the Poconos on the last day of April, ready to catch some wild brook trout. There are a number of wild brook trout streams in the Poconos; a quick glance at the PA Fish and Boat Commission website will reveal a list of them, by county, if you're interested. Because I grew up there, I know of a few that are not marked by the state (the joys of local knowledge). When I fish the Poconos for wild trout, I typically employ a 15-mile loop that covers six streams (Marshalls Creek, Mud Run, Poplar Run, Mill Creek, Rattlesnake Creek, and Devils Hole Creek). On the aforementioned late April day, I hit up the middle four of that list.

Mud Run
Mud Run is the "tailwater" of Snow Hill Dam. If you hike down from the Dam, the stream will start to cascade down big sandstone outcroppings. At this point, wild brookies begin to populate the water. It's not really a technical run, and there isn't much riparian vegetation in the way. That being said, I caught three wild brook trout on a small wooly bugger streamer. I also found starflower, fringed polygala, miterwort, marsh marigold, and some late hepatica.

Poplar Run
One of my favorite Pennsylvania wild trout streams, Poplar Run is located a few miles away from Mud Run, and contains a mix of wild brown and wild brook trout. During my time there, however, I caught all brooks (six of them, to be exact). I'm not sure where the browns were hiding; wild trout streams are unpredictable like that. Anyone who ventures to Poplar should consider wearing formidable protective gear. Brambles cover the banks, and hiking the Run is quite difficult.

Mill Creek
Mill Creek meanders through the village of Mountainhome, and also maintains a mixed brown/brook population. In fact, the only wild tiger trout (brown-brook hybrid) I've ever caught came out of the Mill. I was running short on time and the clouds were beginning to look ominous, so I left after nabbing a wild brown near the State Gameland border. Even though these streams are so close together, I always seem to run out of time!

Rattlesnake Creek
This small wild creek is a short three mile drive from Mill Creek, and is surrounded by Gamelands. For safety reasons, wear an orange hat, at least, and be aware of the various hunting seasons. As the rain started to fall, I caught a gorgeous wild brook trout on a wooly bugger (I mean, look at the picture; it's perfect), tossed it back in the creek, and ran back to the car.

In the end, I landed 11 wild trout. Not exactly a great fishing day, but I managed to add four rivers to my list.

Image #1 - Mud Run waterfall
Image #2 - Mud Run wild brook trout
Image #3 - Mill Creek wild brown trout
Image #4 - Rattlesnake Creek wild brook trout
Video Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH2bu_CsQUY

Overall Total: 59

River Breakdown:
McMichaels Creek - 10 (5 Stocked Brook, 5 Stocked Rainbow)
Paulinskill River - 7 (7 Stocked Brook)
Poplar Run - 6 (6 Wild Brook)
Rockaway Creek - 6 (5 Wild Brown, 1 Wild Brook)
Teetertown Brook - 5 (5 Wild Brook)
Penns Creek - 4 (4 Wild Brown)
Sevenmile Creek - 4 (3 Wild Rainbow, 1 Steelhead)
Mud Run - 3 (3 Wild Brook)
Brodhead Creek - 2 (2 Stocked Rainbow)
Bushkill Creek (Pike County) - 2 (2 Stocked Brown)
Musconetcong River - 2 (2 Stocked Brook)
Raritan River, South Branch - 2 (2 Stocked Brown)
Bushkill Creek (Northampton County) - 1 (1 Stocked Rainbow)
Little Brook -1 (1 Wild Brook)
Marshalls Creek - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Mill Creek - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Rattlesnake Creek - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Twentymile Creek - 1 (1 Steelhead)

Species Breakdown:
Brook Trout - 32
Wild - 18
Stocked - 14

Brown Trout - 14
Wild - 10
Stocked - 4

Rainbow Trout - 13
Stocked - 8
Wild - 3
Steelhead - 2

Wild Trout - 31
Stocked Trout - 26
Lake Erie Trout - 2

Trout 15+ inches - 3

Fly Breakdown:
Bead-head Black Wooly Bugger, size 14 - 11 (11 Wild Brook)
Bead-head Olive Wooly Bugger, size 14 - 8 (5 Wild Brown, 3 Wild Brook)
Bead-head Black Wooly Bugger, size 10 - 7 (4 Stocked Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brook, 1 Stocked Brown)
Bead-head Pheasant Tail Nymph, size 14 - 5 (3 Wild Rainbow, 2 Steelhead, 1 Stocked Brown)
Bead-head Red Wooly Bugger, size 14 - 3 (3 Wild Brook)
Bead-head Black Wooly Bugger, size 8 - 2 (2 Stocked Brook)
Bead-head Golden Stonefly Nymph, size 10 - 1 (1 Steelhead)
Bead-head Green Wooly Bugger, size 10 - 1 (1 Stocked Brown)
Black Caddis, size 16 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Tan Caddis, size 16 - 1 (1 Stocked Brown)

Angling Breakdown:
Fly Fishing Rod - 40 (17 Wild Brook, 6 Wild Brown, 4 Stocked Brook, 4 Stocked Brown, 4 Stocked Rainbow, 3 Wild Rainbow, 2 Steelhead Rainbow)
Spinning Rod - 19 (10 Stocked Brook, 4 Stocked Rainbow, 4 Wild Brown, 1 Wild Brook)

State Breakdown:
Pennsylvania - 36
New Jersey - 23

Fly Fishing for Wild Trout in New Jersey

For those of you unfamiliar with the Garden State, you should know that it maintains incredible geological diversity. In the south, the acidic Pine Barrens are home to rare species of fish, flowers, animals, and Devils. The east coast of the state forms part of the Atlantic seaboard, and boasts beautiful beaches, wonderful bird migrations (especially at Cape May), and Snooki's hair. The western part of the state, however, is part of the Delaware River/Delaware Bay watershed, and features plenty of bald eagles, osprey, and peregrine falcon. But the part of the state I most like to fly fish is located north of Interstate 78 and west of Interstate 287. This section of New Jersey is situated in the foothills and mountains of the Appalachians, and contains enough elevation and cooler temperatures to keep wild trout alive year-round.

A few weeks ago, I fished a number of these wild trout streams, as well as the special regulation area of the Musconetcong at Point Mountain. I first went to Rockaway Creek, one of the few wild brown trout streams in NJ. It was a beautiful April day, I caught 6 wild trout on a small wooly bugger streamer, and Jackie found some jack-in-the-pulpit flowers. We next moved on to Teetertown Brook, a wild brook trout stream located a few miles away. It began to rain, so Jackie stayed in the car while I landed 5 more wild fish. At the end of the ride, I stopped briefly at Hickory Run and Little Brook, catching one wild brook out of the latter stream. A few days later, we drove to the Musconetcong. I caught two stocked brook trout in about 45 minutes before it started down-pouring.

It was nice to catch some wild trout on the fly so early in the season.

Image #1 - Jack-in-the-pulpit
Image #2 - Wild brown from Rockaway Creek

Overall Total: 48

River Breakdown:
McMichaels Creek - 10 (5 Stocked Brook, 5 Stocked Rainbow)
Paulinskill River - 7 (7 Stocked Brook)
Rockaway Creek - 6 (5 Wild Brown, 1 Wild Brook)
Teetertown Brook - (5 Wild Brook)
Penns Creek - 4 (4 Wild Brown)
Sevenmile Creek -4 (3 Wild Rainbow, 1 Steelhead)
Brodhead Creek - 2 (2 Stocked Rainbow)
Bushkill Creek (Pike County) - 2 (2 Stocked Brown)
Musconetcong River - 2 (2 Stocked Brook)
Raritan River, South Branch - 2 (2 Stocked Brown)
Bushkill Creek (Northampton County) - 1 (1 Stocked Rainbow)
Little Brook -1 (1 Wild Brook)
Marshalls Creek - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Twentymile Creek - 1 (1 Steelhead)

Species Breakdown:
Brook Trout - 22
Stocked - 14
Wild - 8

Rainbow Trout - 13
Stocked - 8
Wild - 3
Steelhead - 2

Brown Trout - 13
Wild - 9
Stocked - 4

Stocked Trout - 26
Wild Trout - 20
Lake Erie Trout - 2

Trout 15+ inches - 3

Fly Breakdown:
Bead-head Black Wooly Bugger, size 10 - 7 (4 Stocked Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brook, 1 Stocked Brown)
Bead-head Olive Wooly Bugger, size 14 - 7 (5 Wild Brown, 2 Wild Brook)
Bead-head Pheasant Tail Nymph, size 14 - 5 (3 Wild Rainbow, 2 Steelhead, 1 Stocked Brown)
Bead-head Black Wooly Bugger, size 14 - 3 (3 Wild Brook)
Bead-head Red Wooly Bugger, size 14 - 3 (3 Wild Brook)
Bead-head Black Wooly Bugger, size 8 - 2 (2 Stocked Brook)
Bead-head Golden Stonefly Nymph, size 10 - 1 (1 Steelhead)
Bead-head Green Wooly Bugger, size 10 - 1 (1 Stocked Brown)
Black Caddis, size 16 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Tan Caddis, size 16 - 1 (1 Stocked Brown)

Angling Breakdown:
Fly Fishing Rod - 31 (8 Wild Brook, 6 Wild Brown, 4 Stocked Brook, 4 Stocked Brown, 4 Stocked Rainbow, 3 Wild Rainbow, 2 Steelhead Rainbow)
Spinning Rod - 17 (10 Stocked Brook, 4 Stocked Rainbow, 3 Wild Brown)

State Breakdown:
Pennsylvania - 25
New Jersey - 23

Fly Fishing the Poconos on Pennsylvania's Opening Day

Despite the annoyances that accompany it, I couldn't resist joining the masses for the official beginning of Pennsylvania's stocked trout season. Like I mentioned in my post about New Jersey's Opening Day, there's something to the festivity, to the aggravation, and to the spectacle that surrounds the annual nascence of trout "season." Most fly fishermen know why I placed quotation marks around "season" - trout, especially wild trout, can be caught by enterprising anglers year round. But there's only one Opening Day, and I was going to be there.

Appropriately enough, I started on one of my home streams, the Brodhead Creek. Stroud Township's Brodhead Greenway Project has made great strides toward opening up most of the Brodhead's public waters, and I began around 8 AM at one of the town's parks. It had rained a lot the night before (the tornado-like winds I faced at Penns Creek whipped over the entire state) and the water was running high. A lot of the fishermen and fisherwomen I saw were struggling to deal with the rising current. I threw on a big bead-head wooly bugger streamer and cast it directly into a raging rapids section. By swinging the fly back and forth through the fast water, I eventually convinced a solid rainbow trout to strike. A solid battle ensued, and I was "on the board" early in the day. I caught one more fish at the Brodhead, and I changed rivers.

I drove into the town of Stroudsburg, and parked along Lower Main Street. I walked back over the levee and fished the McMichaels Creek. The spot was loaded with people, as the adjacent image makes clear, but I found some room and took in 10 trout. It was wonderfully fun, even if it was like taking candy from a baby. It had been a few years since I caught a fish out of the McMichaels, so I was glad to have spent a few minutes there. Had I stayed longer, I have no doubt I would have caught over two dozen fish.

The Bushkill Creek was my next stop. The Resica Falls Boy Scout Reservation is fly fishing only, catch-and-release. This means the river is open all year, but I decided to hit it up on Opening Day anyway. It's truly a beautiful place: towering hemlocks, a random waterfall, fast rapids, long pools, a bald eagle, and late flowering skunk cabbage were some of the highlights. I only caught two fish, both stocked browns, but I also found sessile-leaved bellwort and some other interesting flowers. And, because of the rain, a small tributary turned into a spectacular waterfall.

On my way back to South Jersey, I stopped briefly in Stockertown and fished the "other" Bushkill Creek. I was exhausted, but I managed to pull out one little stocked rainbow that had survived the day's onslaught. That brought the total for the day up to 15, in 4 rivers. I made it back to Blackwood late, but I was quite content. I had survived another Opening Day marathon.

Image #1 - Stocked rainbow from the Brodhead Creek
Image #2 - Flowering skunk cabbage, such a strange plant
Image #3 - Twelve guys fishing one hole...ahh Opening Day madness
Image #4 - Only a trickle in the summertime, this tributary turned into a beautiful waterfall

Overall Total: 34

River Breakdown:

McMichaels Creek – 10 (5 Stocked Brook, 5 Stocked Rainbow)
Paulinskill River - 7 (7 Stocked Brook)
Penns Creek - 4 (4 Wild Brown)
Sevenmile Creek - 4 (3 Wild Rainbow, 1 Steelhead)

Brodhead Creek – 2 (2 Stocked Rainbow)

Bushkill Creek (Pike County) – 2 (2 Stocked Brown)
Raritan River, South Branch - 2 (2 Stocked Browns)

Bushkill Creek (Northampton County) – 1 (1 Stocked Rainbow)
Marshalls Creek - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Twentymile Creek - 1 (1 Steelhead)

Species Breakdown:
Brook Trout - 13
Stocked - 12
Wild – 1

Rainbow Trout – 13

Stocked - 8
Wild - 3
Steelhead - 2

Brown Trout – 8

Stocked – 4
Wild - 4


Stocked Trout - 24
Wild Trout - 8
Lake Erie Trout - 2

Trout 15+ Inches: 3


Fly Breakdown:

Bead-head Black Wooly Bugger, size 10 – 7 (4 Stocked Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brook, 1 Stocked Brown)
Bead-head Pheasant Tail Nymph, size 14 - 5 (3 Wild Rainbow, 2 Steelhead, 1 Stocked Brown)
Bead-head Golden Stonefly Nymph, size 10 - 1 (1 Steelhead)

Bead-head Green Wooly Bugger, size 10 – 1 (1 Stocked Brown)
Bead-head Olive Wooly Bugger, size 14 - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Black Caddis, size 16 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Tan Caddis, size 16 - 1 (1 Stocked Brown)

Angling Breakdown:
Spinning Rod - 17 (10 Stocked Brook, 4 Stocked Rainbow, 3 Wild Brown)
Fly Fishing Rod - 17 (4 Stocked Brown, 4 Stocked Rainbow, 3 Wild Rainbow, 2 Steelhead Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brook, 1 Wild Brook, 1 Wild Brown)


State Breakdown:
Pennsylvania – 25
New Jersey – 9