Fly fisherman often ponder, “What is the most effective fly ever invented? If I had to fish with one fly for the rest of my life, what would it be?” Well, I know what my answer would be. I’d choose the Woolly Bugger. Whether fishing for musky, bass, bluegills, steelhead, or trout, Woolly Buggers tied […]
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Recently, I had the opportunity to join a team of biologists from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) as they surveyed the headwaters of East Branch Tunungwant Creek in McKean County. Although the main stem was designated Class A wild trout waters back in the early 1990s, the tributaries that converge to create
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Looking at the Allegheny River near Pittsburgh, it’s hard to imagine that several hundred miles upstream, that same body of water is small enough to jump over. It’s rare that a river of that eventual magnitude has such modest beginnings. Take the Ohio River, for example, which is formed by the merging of the
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It’s not often that nobody complains about bugs in their hair, but that was the case on First Fork Sinnemahoning that evening. Huge clouds of Gray Fox mayflies floated in the twilight above the stream. They flitted and landed on my arms, got caught in my hair, and occasionally I even swallowed one. The
I’ll never forget our first night spent in a tent on the fringe of the Gettysburg battlefield. Around three in the morning, I heard a series of cannon-like booms in the distance and what sounded like screams. Not just any screams, though. These were screams of agony, and unlike any I’d ever heard before. I
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I first checked out the book The History of Fly-Fishing in Fifty Flies from the local library, but I enjoyed it so much that I bought my own copy. Fly fishing is both a nostalgic and an artistic pastime. Often, the flies we use are elevated above standard trout fare. As a result, a
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In a sport that values aesthetic beauty, fly fishermen have no shame when it comes to flies. Take salmon egg patterns, for instance, which are sometimes referred to as Glo Bugs in an attempt to make them sound more sophisticated. Or sucker spawn, which is a piece of yarn on a hook meant to represent
Three Flies to Use When Nobody’s Watching Read More »
The day started with a plan to fish East Branch of Tunungwant Creek. I’d read an article boasting the stream’s wild brown population, and like any self-respecting addict, I felt obligated to check it out. Unfortunately, I had my dog Charlie with me, and navigating a stream with brush crowding the banks all the
Kinzua Creek Delayed Harvest Read More »
I first laid eyes on beadhead flies in the mid-1990s and life changed forever. I’d read about them in a Fly Fisherman magazine article and soon began tying every nymph and streamer with gold beads. I caught fish, sometimes lots of fish, and I never looked at those traditional, bead-less flies the same again after
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The special regulation section of Yellow Breeches Creek behind the Allenberry Resort is legendary trout waters. It only seems appropriate that my first experience fishing there was during its most famous mayfly hatch, the White Fly. The White Fly occurs on numerous streams throughout the state but it’s perhaps the most consistent and predictable on
Discovering the White Fly Read More »