Wissahickon Creek.

The Wissahickon Creek Valley has a rather rich history.

Before European settlers arrived in the 1600s, the Lenni-Lenape Indian tribe fished the large sweeping holes and tumbling riffle sections of Wissahickon Creek, taking big native browns up over the steep banks of the creek valley to camp where a cherry-wood fire crackled. But those serene trips the Lenni-Lenapes took searching for the perfect brown were short lived due to the growing industrial atmosphere settlers brought with them from Europe.

By the 1800s, not only were there mills dotting the banks of the creek valley, but also many other industrial institutions such as taverns and roadhouses made accessible by the Wissahickon turnpike in the early 1800s (Friends of the Wissahickon).

Luckily the Fairmount Park Commission acquired 1,800 acres of the Wissahickon Valley in 1868 and most historic structures were left merely as dams or foundations (Friends of the Wissahickon)--many of which can be seen while fishing along the creek's 7-mile meander through Wissahickon Valley Park.


Paralleling the creek is Forbidden Drive, which was once the Wissahickon turnpike. No automobiles are allowed on the dirt path now, which provides great access to the creek throughout the entire park. On one of my Wissahickon excursions I fished by mountain bike, which is a great way to cover a lot of water as opposed to being on foot.

I have already experienced two hatches on the creek out of the 5 days I spent fishing it in early and mid-April. Small sulphurs matched up nicely for a dry, and any small beadheads (copper johns, pheseant tails, and hare's ear patterns) work well underneath the surface.

It's important to fish the Wissahickon early in the season because the water warms quickly. Many sections of the creek have a minimal canopy overhead and receive good exposure to sunlight, so finding deep holes and undercuts, as well as the fast riffles later in the season, will constantly be the most productive approach.

Aside from always being reminded of the beautiful landscape every time I fish the creek valley, I still haven't found that last Lenni-Lenape footprint hiding somewhere in the sandy creek bottom that I know has yet to wash away. Reminding me that fishing is a never ending endeavor.

Ridley Creek.

Ridley Creek, located off of Route 1 in Delaware County, is an excellent southeast Pennsylvania trout stream. Within Ridley Creek State Park, from Sycamore Mills Dam to the mouth of Dismal Run (a tributary into Ridley Creek) is a catch and release/fly fishing only section spanning 0.6 miles.



There are some great holes to fish on the fly fishing only section of the stream with plenty of structure favorable to trout. As the creek snakes its way through this stretch(section 3 of the stream), it takes several hard turns that create deep pools and undercuts in a few steep banks. In some pools large blow-downs offer current breaks behind which trout can congregate. A few large boulders are also present in the wider portions of the stream, providing another type of structure anlgers can focus on.

There are also many riffle runs as well that piggy back over loose slack water sections on the stream. These areas offer the opportunity to float a dry or work a nymph through the faster sections.



Because trails follow the stream along its entire journey throughout the park, it's possible to sight fish on the higher banks over the stream in order to locate specific holes that trout are holding in. With water temperatures not much higher than 40 degrees right now in mid-April, trout still seem to be in a winter lie mode, which means that getting small beadhead nymphs as close as possible to the bottom of the streambed is vital for producing strikes. Once the weather consistently begins heating up, those riffle sections will hopefully light on fire and anglers will finally be able to break a sweat.

Trout Season Opening Day 2007--The Little Schuylkill River.

For the first time in state history, the 2007 Pennsylvania trout season began two weeks earlier than the rest of the state in the 18 county region of southeast Pa. We took advantage of the head start, as well as the weather, and headed out to the Little Schuylkill River in Schuylkill County in search of the bigger stockies that the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission promised Pa anglers this year.



The overcast conditions were excellent, and stream flow was at a perfect height as well (some holes between 4 and 5 feet). We fished section 7 of the Little Schuylkill, which spans from the creek's mouth into the Schuylkill River upstream 1.1 miles. This specific stretch runs parallel to Route 61 and is characterized mainly by fast riffles and deep runs. Current breaks were provided by large boulders and deep cuts under channels in the stream bed where trout could congregate for a rest from the swift water (on the section we fished, there was virtually no blowdowns or deep bank undercuts). Keying on those structures that were availalbe though was one of my main focuses in fishing this stretch of the Little Schuylkill. In other words, the closer I got to the bottom, the better.






For most of the day I used a beadhead Hare's Ear nymph pattern--trying to imagine it working through the cuts of the stream bed past the waiting eyes of a bomber brown. Mike Hronich and John Zeiler (pictured above), two very good friends of mine and diehard Pa anglers, fished live bait (red worms and waxies), which proved to be much more effective than my not-so-enticing flies.



Here's Hronich with a 16-inch tiger trout he landed only after about 20 minutes of fishing. Mike definately got off to a good start, and then earned bragging rights for the day about 45 minutes after his first fish by pulling in this beautiful rainbow.





From what I've seen on the first and second days, and judging by the two fish that Mike landed, trout are definately bigger in overall size compared to last year. Not surpisingly, the Fish and Boat Commission kept their promise as they said they would--that promise of course driven by the desires of anlgers across the state who agreed that bigger is better through public feedback to PBFC.

I didn't have the chance to speak with many anglers on the first day simply because, aside from our fishing outfit on the creek, there were only two other fly fishermen about 200 yards downstream from me. Which, as most anglers would agree, was rather nice. And even though Zeiler and I couldn't hook into any, I think we still might have Hronich beat on the overall career count of fish caught. Which, as most anlgers would also certainly agree, is the only statistic that really matters anyway.