Fly Fishing the LITTLE Juniata River (Dry Dropper Rig)
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- Опубліковано 26 сер 2024
- As one of the top wild trout streams in Pennsylvania, the limestone spring influenced Little Juniata River rarely disappoints (although it can get crowded). Over the course of a few hours on a cool mid-September morning, we managed to catch a few wild brown trout as well a surprise stocked rainbow trout utilizing a dry dropper rig - a new technique I am beginning to incorporate into my limited fly fishing skill set. The area I fished is within a little gorge which has beautiful public scenery consisting of mountains and forests. This is truly one of the best we have to offer here in the Keystone State.
"It's getting crowded but I'm going to say to the world exactly where the good fishing is at."
I like your video and love of trout. However you are part of the reason we're seeing more fishermen on the streams you post.
Personally I don't mind the crowds. I like seeing other people catch fish too. But if you really enjoy solitude, stop saying where you are.
THere are no secrets on the main PA streams. None. You can say where you are. People are all over it already. The narrator is just reporting, not revealing anything.
There are so few people that actually do. This guy does great work
Thanks man, I appreciate that. For small streams, I try not to name them anymore, but for Penns, Little J, Pine, Spring, Big Fishing, West Branch Delaware, etc. I agree that pretty much everyone already knows where and what they are.
Thank you so much for this! I feel like I owe you a debt of gratitude! 😇
Happy to help!
Bold to complain about crowds as you're posting a video... Nice morning though, the LJ is a special river.
True. That said, I'm a small enough channel that I doubt I'm encouraging too many (or any) new anglers to go to the Little J, BUT I do appreciate the irony. In my humble opinion, I'd say it's a top 5, maybe top 3 in PA (in addition to Penns, West Branch Delaware, Spring, and Big Fishing) among others like Slate/Cedar and MANY other blue lines most overlook.
By no means an expert here, but I have been fly fishing for about 7 years now near the GSM in TN, and it looks like mending is your issue with success with the dry dropper. The dry dropper is one of the best producing rigs I have ever used, with the exception of Euro / tightline / Czech nymphing. However, the dry dropper is much more susceptible to drag when compared to something like a dedicated indicator rig or even a straight dry where the fish can interpret the fly dragging as it trying to take off from the water after emerging (technique to imitate this is called skating, very popular for caddis hatches). I would definitely try to learn how to aerial mend (aka reach casting), it's probably one of the most useful casts, aside from the roll or bow and arrow casts. The idea is to mend your line before you see the "belly" or "D" shape form in your line, as once you see it, its already too late as your dropper has lifted from the bottom already and is presenting unnaturally (sometimes desirable during heavy hatches as it can imitate emergers, but 9/10 times, it is not ideal). You really want your line to lay in one of 2 ways, depending on the hole you are fishing; (1) above the dry on top of the water and follow it down at the same speed, not slower, nor faster as this will also introduce drag and you'll need to mend accordingly, or (2) directly behind the fly in a straight line downstream (best used in slower current, when you are positioned in the middle of the current lane you are fishing and are fishing for very "un-spooky" fish in deeper runs; make sure you manage your line by stripping in slack as it feeds to you ; if fishing this way, a longer leader is typically desirable). Here is a great video by Huge Fly Fisherman on mending: ua-cam.com/video/gbrKZ65pAmI/v-deo.html and aerial mending (reach casting): ua-cam.com/video/onXmxgICBWA/v-deo.html if you'd like a bit of clarification or a visual aid. You may already have figured all of this out as the video was posted a while ago, but I hope this helps you, or at least somebody else find better success on the water.
Something else I forgot to mention above, lift as much of your line as you can off the water while still retaining enough room to set the hook, ~65 degrees or so, and, most importantly, not dragging the fly across the water whenever possible. This is really only to be used on short casts where you can get most of, or all of you fly line off the water. I use this technique almost exclusively for fishing pocket water and it is absolutely deadly.
Just to give you a little hope, one of the creeks which as a kid was SO POLLUTED, it was consistently thicker than a chocolate malt. When we returned from overseas in 2017, it was so clear , we can now see the bottom. I’ve managed to land 13 creek chub on the fly rod just casting from where they put in and take canoes and kayaks out. Just so you know, don’t give up hope when you see those kayaks coming because it doesn’t always have to mean a death sentence. 😇
nice morning, thanks for sharing.
Great vid! Stocker shocker! 🙂
Great video. Rainbow looks like it might be wild, based off the spots and fins of the fish but who knows.
That rainbow looks wild for sure. Colors and tail give it away.
Politely disagree. I'm not aware of any wild rainbow reproduction in the Little J. Definitely looked stocked to me.
@@TravelingTroutCo The rainbows usually come from club stockings and are usually found from the canyon area downstream. The browns are not stocked unless as fingerlings. Many are stream-bred.
There are wild rainbows in the Little Juniata. Not many but they are there. Have caught little ones under 6 inches with part marks before. That one you caught hade perfect fins.
Good stuff. It’s not nuclear physics to go from spin fishing to fly, but it’s certainly no slam dunk either. As long as you’re enjoying it, you’re on the right path.
Thanks man! It's definitely a transition from spin to fly but not too difficult. I've always said (personally) I can catch more with a single barbless hook spinner day in and day out BUT, its genuinely more gratifying to catch Wild Trout on a fly rod, especially on drys.
Nice job with the fly fishing! If I could be so bold, it might help you if you used your rod hand to "catch" the line as you are bringing in line. I tend the line with my left hand but also keep the line between the cork and my right hand as I'm bringing in line. This will give you a little more line control.
Yeah I completely agree. I am below average fly fisherman and need to do better line control. Genuinely appreciate the advice.
I fish more near juniata valley and by the big juniata because my step dad lives along the little jay and last year on a winter float i got a 19 inch wild brown and that summ got a 18 inch smallie
You should try euro nymphing
That’s probably what the euro wealth inspeculators did
Thats cool your the best trout fisherman on this side of the Mississippi. Also did you know in the 1800s someone named fred mather brought browns over here from Germany
Hitting a little too close to home on this one lol...
I really admire your watch you happen to be wearing in this video. Might I ask about the make and model? 😇
5.11 field watch. Best hiking/fishing watch for reasonable price I've ever bought. www.511tactical.com/field-watch-2-0.html
You could have picked me up on the way 😆
Fish for big 18” native brook trout in pa. they exist I have caught one.
maybe near lake erie. not on small mountain streams
No thats stocked the ones you get old line
Thanks for watching!
@@TravelingTroutCo Thank you very mutch... have a nice day.... see you….
Thank you
What GoPro do you use? I don't know what version it started but I have the GoPro9, it has a feature called hindsight which records 15 or 30 seconds before you tell it to start recording. The feature isn't perfect and stops working at times but helps catch a lot more hook ups. Look into it and see if it is a feature with your GoPro, can be very helpful. Enjoy your videos!
So for like the first 95% of my videos it was an GoPro7 but now I have an 11. Similar to iphones, I assume the newest models are only 'slightly' better than the previous so I usually wait a while.
@@TravelingTroutCo Same that's why I haven't upgraded yet from the 9. Look into the hindsight setting it's amazing and will help catch the hookups on video.
Nice!
Good video. Also what watch are you wearing? Thanks
www.511tactical.com/field-watch-2-0.html?sku=888579359145&country=us&G_Shopping_Brand&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwjeuyBhBuEiwAJ3vuoURn2oTpe9PUH9h1o937VV2QSLU4FhR277GSYacCqS70QI53-q_X2RoCHmAQAvD_BwE
@@TravelingTroutCo Thanks.
"'Baree Gorge', I hope I'm not butchering that name" ...You got it right, and Now everyone knows...You really don't have to say where You are at, it's not necessary..You could just say you're on a very popular and pressured Pa Stream..You could keep vague, instead of saying Little Juniata in the Baree Gorge 100 times...
I read about the Baree Gorge it in the book Keystone Flyfishing. Following your logic, should this book be banned?
Idk how that's a stocked rainbow the little juniata hasn't been stocked for like 30 years according the the fly shop owner in spruce creek
I believe they stock above the state forest area in a small stretch
You're allowed to fishing through private property. Public water ways are not owned by the property owner. I wouldn't recommend going onto the shore though.
New sub ! Liked 🙏👍😍🙂
Thank you!
I’ve heard from one of my birdies the audio was messed up on our video and we had to take it down and repost…SMH #Varys
Late response comment, but yea I made a mistake...whats the hashtag lol?
Little J has been ruined by all the tourist fishermen. It’s not worth fishing anymore - hatches have been declining along with the fish population.