Trout Week; Day 1

Trout Week 2012

Enough with "Shark Week".  That nonsense has no relevance to the majority of people throughout the continental United States, especially for Pennsylvanians.  So let's get to a real "week" that matters.  Trout Week.  Every day this week you can expect to find some of the best trout fishing coverage and advice for everything trout fishing in Pennsylvania.  So let the week begin with day 1.

Stream Name: Fishing Creek. (Aka: Big Fishing Creek)

Stream Location: Lamar, Clinton County.  

Features:Spring fed limestone stream.  The water temperature and level stay consistent all year.  The water clarity is also excellent.

Target Trout: Big Brown Trout

Weapon of choice: 5 foot ultra light with transparent fluorocarbon.  2 or 4 pound test would be ideal for how clear the water is, but 6 pound test may be your best bet with the size of the fish that inhabit this stream.

Bait/Lure/Fly: Rapala.  Specifically, use either the Original Floating Minnow or the Ultra Light Fineness Minnow.  The majority of my success came with natural representations, i.e. rainbow or brown trout patterns.

Section of Choice: Big Fishing Creek is a fairly long mountain stream beginning at the spring headwaters near the Tylersville Fish Culture Station (hatchery).  Big Fishing Creek meanders along Narrows Road to where it meets Little Fishing Creek in Lamar, eventually running into the Bald Eagle Creek.  The section where I have had the most success with catching larger Brown Trout on average runs from the Tylersville Hatchery down to Roachdale Lane.  This section also ensures you a more consistent water level throughout the later summer months, and is artificial lure only. 

X-tra Info: Big Fishing Creek was once the home to the Pennsylvania Brown Trout record pictured here.

Although this 34 inch 16 pound brown caught in 1977 is a freakishly large fish for this stream (and there is some speculation as to the integrity of this catch), you can expect to find larger than average browns.

Game and fish mag.com describes Fishing Creek as:
a creek that has yields other huge browns.  The majority of Fishing Creek is unstocked, providing ample wild brown trout fishing.  You can expect an average width of 45 to 50 feet with several deep pools that are 8 to 10 feet deep. Crayfish and a good population of slimy sculpins provide the main forage for brown trout.


TCO also describes Fishing Creek as an excellent limestone stream with freestone features. Fishing Creek has dense, diverse hatches and is loaded with wild brook & brown trout, along with an occasional rainbow. There's over 5 miles of regulated water with another 15 miles that sees far less pressure.
 

Big Fishing Creek Brown Trout. Clinton County, PA

Write this down!  Trout Week day 1 prize pack code: Bucking Browns  

You may need this code later in the week...