Sounds like a great day to me. Two hogs and several close ones is never a bad day. That 17 inchers doesn't look like he's been struggling for meals.

Great fishing days are on the horizon.....but we need more rain.

 

Sounds like a great day to me. Two hogs and several close ones is never a bad day. That 17 incher doesn't look like he's been struggling for meals.

Great fishing days are on the horizon.....but we need more rain.

Thanks! I very nearly bypassed the spot where the 17"er was. It was shallow against the bank but there was cover. Shows that a spot doesn't need to be deep to hold a big trout.

 

I remember one day in September, I caught 75-80 wild trout (I had a great day!!!)in around a 1/4 mile of an all tackle trout stream, I think it was 2 trout, 18" or bigger is the limit. This was 25+/- years ago, don't quote me on the limit!!! Still, I release them anyway. The water was deep, across from me, someone put a Tarzan swing and you could jump into the water.

Thanks for sharing!!! At least someone goes for fall trout. I would start to get excited in the fall, rather than in the spring time trout season.

 

I remember one day in September, I caught 75-80 wild trout (I had a great day!!!) in around a 1/4 mile of an all tackle trout stream, I think it was 2 trout, 18" or bigger is the limit. This was 25+/- years ago, don't quote me on the limit!!! Still, I release them anyway. The water was deep, across from me, someone put a Tarzan swing and you could jump into the water.

Thanks for sharing!!! At least someone goes for fall trout. I would start to get excited in the fall, rather than in the spring time trout season.

Back then, the regulations on the stream you were fishing was likely All Tackle Trophy Trout, so the limit during the regular season would have been two trout or at least 14". After Labor Day, the regulation changed to catch and release until Opening Day the next season. The size limit on the trophy regs sections changed to one 18" trout last year.

Thanks! Fall is my favorite time to fish for trout. The colors on the leaves and trout are beautiful.

 

The Big Swing
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With streams all over the state at a very low level, trout fishing options are extremely limited. I noticed that the flow at a very popular tailwater stream had increased and watched it carefully over several days. The releases from the dam are haphazard to say the least. The flow stayed high and with a forecast for cloudy skies, I was tempted to give it a try. That stream is extremely fickle. It gets a lot of pressure and there is so much food in it that the trout can be hard to fool. It is a long drive for me, so it is risky to go there. But that stream has big wild browns and is one of the few places one can catch large wild rainbows, so I decided to take a big swing and hoped it wouldn't be a swing and a miss.

I hadn’t been there in a few years and made sure to take my bike, which was stashed in the pre-dawn hours, then proceeded to my starting point. The flow was still up, but the there were few clouds in the sky. The day started with a spinner, but after 15 minutes with no action, it was removed in favor of a plug. The trial with that plug was short lived, as it was not getting down far enough in the swift flow, so I tied on a larger plug. A cast to a bush on the far bank elicited a strike. The trout somersaulted out of the water twice. The first fish of the day was a 12 ¾ inch wild brown. It took just under ½ hour to land my first trout. The water temperature was 55 degrees. About 15 minutes later, while pulling the plug through a small run against the bank, the lure stopped dead. My hookset was true, and a heavy trout was on the line. The brown made several runs, but soon tired. It measured 16 ¾ inches.

A few minutes later, another trout rushed in and grabbed the plug. I saw immediately that it was a rainbow and hoped it would eclipse the 16 inch standard I use for large trout. Unfortunately, it was just short, at 15 ¾ inches. Still, it was a beautiful trout. Wild rainbows are far superior to hatchery rainbows, in my opinion. First of all, they’re much warier. They don’t have the small, mushy mouth that many stocked rainbows have.

After releasing the trout, I spotted a very good looking spot across the river. After wading over about halfway, it was obvious that the depth and current was going to be too much, and it wasn’t worth the risk. The interest in the plug disappeared, and I tried a spinner. While pulling it through the tail of a large pool, a large brown ambushed it. I knew immediately that it was a hog. It measured 18 ½ inches.

A fly fisherman had slipped into the water ahead of me, and when he stopped to fish the run, I caught up to him. We talked for a few minutes and I asked if I could walk around him. He said, “By all means.” We wished each other good luck and I walked a long distance upstream, then waded back in. After losing a small trout, a nice brown smashed the spinner and bounded out of the water. It measured 15 inches.

Unfortunately, the cloudy forecast was completely wrong and the full sun was soon on the water. There was no action at all, not even follows. With two anglers ahead, I scaled the very steep bank and walked to where my bike was stashed, then rode to my vehicle. I tried two other spots, the first for about 45 minutes and the other for ½ hour, but only had one hit. Normally, I would have left in the mid-afternoon to travel to another stream, but with everything so low, it wasn’t an option.

My haul for the day was a mere five trout, my lowest outing of the year. Other anglers encountered did even worse than I did. Two trout exceeded 16 inches, with the largest at 18 ½ inches. Two others topped 15 inches. Though I caught some very nice trout, I had hoped to do much better, especially after driving so far and getting a hotel room which was nice but rather expensive. But it was nice to fish some different water and, on the way home, I saw a fiery sunset that was incredible. Unfortunately, I didn’t pull over and take a picture.

While fishing, I did come across something I'd never seen on a trout stream. More exercise for the trout perhaps?

There is some rain in the forecast, but my confidence in weather forecasts is almost none. The amount that is in the forecast isn’t anywhere near what is needed, but some is better than none.

 

Well you certainly had the quality, if not the quantity. I know you like your browns but that rainbow alone would have been worth the drive for me.
Forecast is not looking good for the near future.

 

Thanks. I'll agree on the quality of the trout caught. The size was good. I consider five trout to be a low number, even for there. I didn't expect to catch many trout, but thought I'd get more than I did.

Normally I do like to catch browns over rainbows, because I much prefer wild trout over hatchery trout. The vast majority of the browns I catch are wild, but all but a few of the rainbows I get each year are stocked. Wild rainbows are few and far between in PA and in the places in the state they do exist, they very rarely grow large. The rainbow I caught yesterday was the 2nd largest wild rainbow I've ever caught in PA. I've caught large wild rainbows in the western US and Canada. The habitat and conditions are much more suitable for rainbows to reproduce there than here. I know you've caught big wild McCloud strain rainbows out west as well. Hatchery rainbows can't compare to them.

I was very happy to catch that rainbow yesterday. The possibility of catching large wild rainbows, in addition to wild browns, is the reason I went there.

 

Another Low Water Trout Trip
​

The forecasts predicting rain for this week bring hope to all, but as often happens, the amount of rain initially predicted has been downgraded. It’s a decent amount of rain, but much more is needed. Cloudy skies were forecast yesterday, so I headed to a large stream despite it being low. As is my custom there, I locked my bike to a tree near my expected wade out point, then headed to my parking spot. When I last checked the forecast, there was no rain predicted until later, but after looking at the sky, I decided to put a rain jacket in my pack.

In the tail of a pool, a dinky 6 inch brown was the first trout of the day. Two casts later, a much larger trout piled into the spinner. It zoomed around the pool before coming in. The beauty was 15 inches.

Surprisingly, the riffle ahead yielded nothing. A long cast under an overhanging tree summoned a hefty trout from its lair. I knew immediately that a hog was on the line. When it came in, I was amazed how stunningly beautiful that trout was. Vivid red spots, deeply yellow, and fat! That trout must have weighed at least two lbs. It was 18 ¼ inches, which is an excellent size for that stream. Unfortunately, while reaching for my phone, it slipped off the hook. While I’m always happy for a successful release, it would have been great to get a picture of that beauty.

It had sprinkled on and off, but started to rain in earnest. I pulled the rain jacket from my pack and put it on. It was a heavy but short shower. Moving up the pool, there was little interest in the spinner, so it was removed in favor of a plug. After about 15 minutes of no action, I was ready to try something else, but a nice 14 ½ inch brown rolled up and nabbed the lure. So of course, the plug stayed on for a while longer. Unfortunately, there was no further interest in it and was ultimately removed. In a riffle at the head of a pool, browns of 8 and 12 ½ inches hit a spinner on back to back casts. A short time later, a medium sized brown hit and rid itself of the spinner in mid-air. It wouldn’t be the last one to do that on the day.

A small trout hit, leaped, and threw the spinner. Then, in a split, the first rainbow of the day struck. It was 12 inches and colorful. Further up the split, a 10 inch brown blasted the spinner, cleared the water, but this time, the lure held. A little later, a 9 ½ inch rainbow also broke the surface and again, the spinner held until my forceps removed it. After that, the action was slow for a long while. My next two trout were browns of 9 and 9 ½ inches. Two more trout hit and self-released, of course in mid-air. A 12 inch brown was next, followed by a colorful 9 inch rainbow. At the end of the angling hour, a double bounding 9 ¼ inch rainbow came to hand.

Along the edge, an 11 inch brown hit the spinner, and was followed a few casts later by a 9 inch rainbow, which jumped once. A 9 ½ inch brown came next, then a small trout hit and got off immediately. A deep, mucky stretch was ahead, so I waded out, walked around it, and then reentered the stream. A nice run which almost always gives up a trout or two yielded nothing. The lack of action continued which triggered thoughts of wading out, but there was a dandy spot ahead that I didn’t want to skip. My first two casts to that spot produced a two hopping 9 inch brown and a single leaping 10 inch brown. Two casts later, a long cast dropped into a pocket and was taken on the drop. After setting the hook, it was apparent that another big trout was on the line. It was another beauty, a 17 ½ inch male brown. Thankfully, this time I got a picture.

There was no action for a while, then a large brown followed the spinner but didn’t hit. The rest of the stretch conceded an 8 ½ inch rainbow, and browns of 11 ½ and 10 ½ inches. The rainbow and the 11 ½ incher each leaped once. Yet another trout hit and shed the spinner in the air. Though I considered going further, I wanted to try another section. I made the walk back to my bike, then rode to my car. I stashed the bike near where the car was parked, but after driving to the next section, I realized there was not enough time to fish anywhere close to where the bike was, so I drove back and put it on my bike rack, then returned to the stream.

After getting no interest in two different spinners, I tied on a plug. A small trout hit, popped out of the water, and coughed out the lure. A few casts later, another trout did the same thing. Several trout followed without hitting before a 9 inch brown grabbed the lure, jumped once, and unlike his two previous compatriots, stayed hooked. Several more trout followed but didn’t hit, so I tried a smaller version of that plug. It produced browns of 12 ½, 12, 11 ½, and 13 inches, along with rainbows of 12 and 11 ½ inches. Two other trout hit and got off. Though I wanted to keep going, I knew it was going to get dark soon, so I headed back to my vehicle.

Amazingly, I didn’t see another angler all day, though while riding back to my car, there was a car parked along the road that was surely a fisherman’s vehicle. The tally for the day was 30 trout. 22 were wild browns and the remainder was colorful stocked rainbows. In addition, quite a few trout leaped to their freedom. The day yielded two gorgeous big browns, as well as a near hog. I walked 5.5 miles.

My hope is that the rain received helps at least a little bit, and that we receive more after that very soon.

 

Nice trout!!!

Down here in Somerset County, it supposed to be a 1/4" of rain on Wednesday. It might rain on Thursday and Friday, but don't count on it.

 

Good action. More rain and cooler temps on the way.

 

Nice trout!!!

Down here in Somerset County, it supposed to be a 1/4" of rain on Wednesday. It might rain on Thursday and Friday, but don't count on it.

Thanks! I never count on anything when it comes to weather forecasts.

Good action. More rain and cooler temps on the way.

Thanks! Hoping for both, need a lot of rain.

 

Waiting for the Rain
​

Like many anglers, I’ve been hoping for significant rain, and finally, several areas of the state did get rain. What is amazing in looking at the stream flow gauges; is how quickly water levels fell after heavy rain. There is a stream that I’ve wanted to fish for some time, but haven’t simply because it’s been so low. When I went to bed on Thursday, the stream level was rising like yeast. When my alarm woke me up, the gauge showed it dropping fast. Upon arrival, it was too dark to see, but when it finally got light enough, the stream was cloudy, but fishable. After walking down the path, I waded in, but once in, wish I’d walked down further

Normally, the day starts with a spinner, but this time, it began with a small plug. After a few casts, a fish plowed into it. The way it was fighting told me it was a smallmouth bass, which turned out to be the case. It was around 11 inches. After a few more minutes, the plug was removed in favor of a spinner. Within a few casts, an 11 inch wild brown struck. A few casts later, a 10 ¾ inch brown was added. I whiffed on the hookset on the next strike, but next came a single bounding 12 inch brown. On the next cast, a gorgeous 15 inch brown was released.

I was thrilled with the start and thought I was going to have a big day. Surprisingly, the action slowed way down. The next half hour yielded only a small bass. Then a heavy brown rolled out and grabbed the spinner. It measured 17 ¼ inches. Two pictures of it are shown below.

The stream was clearing and the sun hit the water. Ahead were a pack of mergansers. The next two hours produced only 3 trout (11”, 12”, and 13”), along with three bass. One trout hit a plug, the others struck spinners. One bass was an absolute tank at 16 ½ inches. Over the next few hours, the action remained slow. After an 11 ½ inch brown hit a plug, the remaining trout in that stream were caught on spinners. The trout ranged from 9 ½ to 14 ½ inches. Two more bass were caught and released. As I approached where my vehicle was parked, I took the water temperature, which was 67. The WT at the start of the day was 64. With the higher WT, I waded out and drove to another stream and took the water temperature. It was 68, so I waded out without throwing a cast. Next, I drove to a nearby small stream, but there was a car already there. I wasn’t going to waste my time fishing behind another angler, so it was off to yet another stream. Amazingly, no other cars were there, so I waded in and took the water temperature, which was 65. The first hour had decent action, which six wild browns, which ranged from 9 to 13 ¼ inches. Once I hit the slower water, the action ceased. Only one trout hit in the deep water, and it leaped 2 feet and tossed the plug. After fishing several more spots, a nice trout blasted the spinner. My final trout of the day measured 15 ¼ inches.

After the fast start, the tally for the day was 24 wild browns and 7 bass. I thought with the rain raising the water level that the action would be faster. I think the rapidly rising and falling water had something to do with it. A lot of leaves fell during the day too. It was nice to fish there though, and the largest trout was a beauty. Two trout were between 15 and 16 inches. The big bass was fat. It would have been nice to get a picture, but it got off before I could extract my phone from my vest. I walked 4.8 miles on the day.

 

Nice story.!!!!

 

Nice story!!!!

Thanks! Heading into my favorite season of the year for trout fishing.

Hoping for more rain soon.

 

We had a nice rain today. It rained for 7 or 8 hours. We got about 1/4" of rain. We are about 2" for the month, Somerset County.

 

Your day was better than mine TT. That 17 incher looks pretty healthy. I think the vegetation sucked up alot of that rain. In extreme Northern Westmoreland County we are at 2.62 inches of rain for the month. We need more rain no doubt.

 

Your day was better than mine TT. That 17 incher looks pretty healthy. I think the vegetation sucked up a lot of that rain. In extreme Northern Westmoreland County we are at 2.62 inches of rain for the month. We need more rain no doubt.

Thanks! It was a very heavy brown and its weight surprised me. With the low water and warm weather, I figured the trout might be on the thin side. I think the extended dry weather is the reason there are more leaves down than usual.

 

Last Trip of the Month
​

It’s hard to believe that September is over already! For the first time this year, I fished with my friend and former work colleague Tim. He told me today was his first trout fishing outing of the year. I think I’d combust if I didn’t trout fish until the end of September!

The forecast called for partly cloudy skies but as usual the forecast was terribly wrong 🙁. There was fog on the stream early, but once the sun came out, we had full sun the rest of the day. My experience is that makes the trout in that stream extremely wary. Though we didn’t expect to catch many trout, we hoped to catch some big ones. Tim ended up catching 9 trout: 6 wild browns and 3 rainbows. His largest trout was a 14 ½ inch rainbow. I caught only 8 trout, all browns. All browns except one were wild. I managed to get three large trout (16”, 19”, and 16 ¾” as well as a 15 incher. Tim had two big trout follow but not hit. I felt bad that he didn’t get anything big. For the first time all year, not a single trout that I landed jumped. Tim had a trout jump to head height three times, but it got off.

Fishing in early morning fog (photo by Tim R.)
​

16 3/4 inch brown trout (photo by Tim R.)
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19 inch brown trout (photo by Tim R.)
​

We only walked 2.3 miles on the day, though it felt like more. That was due to having two cars, one near where we started and the other where we finished. We saw close to a dozen deer on the day. Tim also saw a mink on the bank.

 

Nice fishing!!!!

 

Thanks. A low number of trout, but did get some nice ones.

The fishing prospects for the rest of the week are not good. Low water, cold weather overnight, and bright sunshine. Hopefully, we get rain soon.

 

Afterwards, I stayed on the bank!!!

 

That river has lots of deep, unwadeable sections. It also has a lot of rounded rocks that are extremely slippery, and many are unstable due to periods of high flows.

 

I'll be honest and say my underguchies soon went brown when the water level went up.

 

Would have been more dangerous if you were wearing waders and they filled up with water.