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Post 20 Apr 2021, 07:18 • #1 
Sport
Joined: 06/27/14
Posts: 73
Location: US-NY
I have been on a major trout bender this season. I cannot seem to soak in enough cold flowing water to cure my trout fever. I am sure there are other corny lines I can come up with, but after 15 years of fly fishing and a stressful off season with work and Covid restrictions this Spring my mind is on trout.

I am planning on taking a long weekend next weekend to go for a camping/fishing trip. My first thought was Shenandoah, but I have done that a number of times with my son. While these trips were not strictly fishing trips as my son does not care for the sport, there were opportunities to fish, and I have sampled a few drainage's within the park. I do really enjoy blue lines, and Brook Trout, so I thought Allegheny National Forest might be a good destination.

This will be both my first solo camping trip, and my first dedicated fishing trip. It will be a shakedown run for a more extended Western trip in September.

I have done some map work, and have identified some attractive locations to both fish and camp. I am also looking for a fly shop that services the area that I can exchange purchase of material goods for some local information. I see that Oil Creek Outfitters is on the Western side of ANF, but they do not have a website. Does anyone have any recommendations on a fly shop in the area? Or perhaps other words of encouragement to help me plan for the trip?


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Post 20 Apr 2021, 09:14 • #2 
Master Guide
Joined: 04/12/18
Posts: 457
Take plenty of photos.

My first solo camping trip was also a fly fishing trip. It was a big success or big failure, depending on how you look at it, and certainly memorable. I didn't take a single photo for some strange reason and now regret that.


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Post 20 Apr 2021, 13:38 • #3 
Guide
Joined: 03/01/17
Posts: 115
Location: US-IL
I grew up in that Region and still have mixed feelings about it. Flyshops are few and far-between. There was one in St. Mary's but I'm not sure it still exists. There might be one in Warren now as well (for the Allegheny River below Kinzua Dam, the big local tailwater). I would suggest that you take lots of the basic fly tackle requirements as resupply may be difficult. There are many productive streams there, so-many that most will not be crowded. Ministers Creek is in the heart of it, as are the upper stretches of the Clarion River (there was/is a big, fly-fishing only stretch below Johnsonburg). Kinzua Creek is another scenic and usually productive destination, but again...it's been awhile since I've done any on-the-ground surveys. That whole area has been a "resistant" pocket of depression ever since I graduated from highschool back in the 1970s, and accordingly... it is a tough, hardscrabble existence for most of the denizens that remain. Subsistence hunting and fishing back there is not unknown and the local folks can be somewhat clannish. Access used to be easy and fruitful but that seems to have evolved a bit. Much more of the real estate there has been bought up by "Big City Folks" as the locals call them and posted, so approach with some caution. Within the National Forrest that shouldn't be an issue, but even basic supplies are relatively scarce there as well (things like gasoline stations and restaurants are not commonly encountered, plan accordingly. And...with COVID things might have gotten even more isolated as many small businesses have reportedly struggled). Marionville is seemingly the big resupply point for people using the core of the National Forrest. With all that said, it is still very beautiful country and should still be productive. A bit of planning and research before going should allow for an interesting adventure.


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Post 21 Apr 2021, 05:25 • #4 
Sport
Joined: 06/27/14
Posts: 73
Location: US-NY
lloyd3,

Thank you for this. Your perspective is very unique and helpful in building the strategy for the weekend. I will make sure to come into the area well stocked, and fueled, and your river suggestions can help me focus on finding water to fish.


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Post 21 Apr 2021, 10:16 • #5 
Guide
Joined: 03/01/17
Posts: 115
Location: US-IL
You're most welcome. There was a book I used extensively (a few years ago) to explore fishing options back there, so it may now be slightly out of date. "Trout Streams of Pennsylvania" by Doug Landis. My third edition copy was printed in 2000, so draw your own conclusions. It did a fairly good job of cataloging some of the more-productive water back there, with good maps and perhaps...even some local perspective as well (flies to use, parking options, etc.). I found it to be a reasonably good source of data for planning recon trips to distant streams (I was doing day trips from a base of operations in Kane, PA then.). Since that time, things will have likely changed a bit, even possibly for the better as it seems that Pennsylvania has, surprisingly, made some investments into repairing and even enhancing some of their trout waters back there. The Bennet's Branch of the Sinnemahoning was orange and dead when I went through Driftwood back in ~2002. It had been dead for over 100-years due to runoff from coal mining operations in it's headwaters. The acid mine drainage killed absolutely everything, all the way to the meeting of the stream with the east branch of the Susquehanna River near Renovo and beyond. I'm hearing that this stream is now recovering nicely, due to two big water treatment plants that deal with the primary point sources of the pollution. You'll have to let us know how it all goes. Pictures would be cool too. Watching the movie "Deliverance" should prepare you well for the trip you're about to take.


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Post 21 Apr 2021, 11:07 • #6 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/27/11
Posts: 387
Location: US-OH
I have a cabin up that way near the intersection of routes 219 and 6. Have been going up there since around 2008. 2 gas stations there. Cities of Kane and Bradford have anything you would probably need. There is a book called Keystone Fly Fishing that is good as well as the book by Dwight Landis. ANF map from USGS is nice too.Even if you don't catch much, you'll have unbeatable scenery and are unlikely to run into anyone else. That keeps me going back.


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Post 21 Apr 2021, 12:32 • #7 
Guide
Joined: 03/01/17
Posts: 115
Location: US-IL
Allegheny: Funny, that's where the State Police buy all their fuel. Have they added any flyshops back there since my last visit? There's a Walmart in Bradford and a sporting goods store there as well, but minimal flyfishing support that I saw. Things seem to look even grim-er ( if that's possible) every time I go back (lots of houses with the rooves caving in). Hopefully....things are improving?


Last edited by lloyd3 on 21 Apr 2021, 15:36, edited 1 time in total.

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Post 21 Apr 2021, 12:39 • #8 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/27/11
Posts: 387
Location: US-OH
There's a small, relatively new, place in Warren that carries some fly gear. They opened in July. There's also a Sportsmans Warehouse( I think that's the name of it ) in Bradford. Some fly gear. There isn't a fly only shop in the area anywhere. I'm not sure it could survive. There are more "necessity" places than 10 tears ago though. There's plenty of fishing in the area but not many pursue it.


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Post 21 Apr 2021, 16:08 • #9 
Guide
Joined: 03/01/17
Posts: 115
Location: US-IL
Too busy suffering from Ricketts....

All kidding aside, that's a hard place to make a living. Largely a subsistence economy and...still relatively uncrowded and beautiful because of it.

Also, for what it's worth, "Sportsman's Warehouse" is a big box sporting goods operation out here. The one in Bradford is (I believe) the Sportsman's Outlet and is located in a small strip mall of sorts. I've bought black-powder supplies there in the past for Christmas deer hunts (long story). They'll have a few flyfishing items, but I'd hate to count on getting tippets, bugs, and/or any leaders there. You can see it from the main highway through town (again, Route 219). There may also be a Dunham Sports operation in Bradford now as well. God only know what they will have. I have also recently seen info from one of my old Alma Maters (Pitt-Bradford) that Tunungwant Creek (known locally as "Tuna" creek) is now a catch and release stream. Pretty amazing, considering it was mostly full of raw sewage and trash back when I was domiciled there. Progress, progress....


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Post 21 Apr 2021, 16:22 • #10 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/27/11
Posts: 387
Location: US-OH
Yes. Sportsman's Outlet. There's plenty of smaller water like this in the area if you're willing to search.



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Post 21 Apr 2021, 19:28 • #11 
Guide
Joined: 03/01/17
Posts: 115
Location: US-IL
Exactly how I remember it, except colder.

Image

and....look what I found!

Image


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Post 27 Apr 2021, 13:48 • #12 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 03/30/09
Posts: 1525
Location: Hamilton,Ontario,Canada
To add to what lloyd3 said,the east branch of the Clarion at Johnsonburg is a nice tailwater stream.You can get to it at Bendigo State Park.I caught a beautifully marked 15 inch brown there on a Griffiths Gnat,#20.People there couldnt understand why I let it go. There is a large bottom draw dam 2 or 3 miles upstream so this is coldwater all summer.I didnt see any other fisherman on it let alone fly fisherman.


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Post 29 Apr 2021, 12:23 • #13 
Guide
Joined: 03/01/17
Posts: 115
Location: US-IL
Stonefly: I have fished there too in the past and saw absolutely no signs of life on several occasions. Shortly after the last time, I was told that the waters were affected by some form of toxic runoff below the dam(?). This was several years ago, perhaps the powers that be have addressed that issue? It is/was a clearly beautiful section of the watershed.


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