In more than 35 years of pursuing the outdoor life, I’ve seen a lot of magnificent things. From rutting bucks to gobbling toms, I have been blessed with memories that I’ll cherish for a lifetime. However, the most magical scene my eyes have ever witnessed in the wild was a massive, wild brown trout, jumping about 4 feet out of the water into a small sluice pipe in a little stream about as wide as the average dinner table. I was actually deer scouting along the creek and I miraculously encountered the trout spawning upstream. As the trout went through the sluice pipe in water that was only a few inches deep, I awaited him on the other side in hopes to catch him with my bare hands. The monster brown trout struggled to swim through the shallow water but eventually swam right into my hands.
I had no desire to keep the trout. I just thought it would be an incredible ending to the story if I caught it with my hands. I released the fish immediately after catching him. I guessed it to be well over 2 feet long and probably at least 4 to 5 pounds. When I released the trout, it continued working its way up the tiny little stream, in effort to lay eggs.
November is trout spawning month in Pennsylvania. From late October through November, this is one of the best times of year for trout fisherman. The fall trout fishing in northwest Pennsylvania is as good as anywhere in the country. One of the best fishermen in our area is Bradford resident Anthony Sprague.
He has a knack of hooking into monster, wild trout, especially during the spawning season. Sprague grew up fishing for brown trout in Kendall Creek, in East Bradford. Over the years, Sprague has landed many monster brown trout in several different streams in the area. Many anglers overlook the various local trout streams that produce exceptional fall brown trout fishing. “The streams in our area hardly get touched this time of year,” Sprague noted. “It’s definitely something local trout anglers can take advantage of.”
Eventually, Sprague started to fish the tributaries that flow into Lake Erie during the spawning season. “The steelhead run in the fall is one of my favorite things to look forward to every year,” said Sprague. “The passion started about 10 years ago when my brother took me to a tributary in Erie. When I landed my first steelhead, I was hooked.”
Sprague uses a fly rod and reel combination along with a variety of different bug and egg patterns. For brown trout, Sprague does best using chartreuse egg patterns. For steelhead, Sprague loves to use white zonkers and stoneflies.
Sprague’s biggest trout is a 33-inch steelhead that tipped the scales to nearly 15 pounds. He prefers to fish after a moderate rainfall when the water is murky. “Water color is a huge factor,” Sprague added. “The best days I have had are when the water is murky. It is extremely tough to fish in very clear water.”
In the Erie area, spawning streams can be packed with anglers during the fall. To have the streams to yourself, it’s best to go when the weather is cold and nasty. “To have the streams more to myself, I try to go when it’s brutally cold and when the weather conditions are almost unbearable,” Sprague added.
Although late-October and November are the main spawning months, the fishing can stay good even throughout the winter, especially if the weather stays mild. In fact, Sprague’s best day ever was during the wintertime.
“My best day ever was a mild, January day when my friend and I each landed over triple digits,” said Sprague. “That’s a day I’ll never forget.”
This fall has been tough fishing for trout anglers due to lack of rain. Water levels are extremely low and the fish have been much harder to catch. “It’s been a rough start so far this year because the streams are low and clear,” Sprague stated. “Anglers are catching fish but it hasn’t been as good as what it usually is. The fishing can change quick though. Once we start getting rain and water levels rise, new fish will start moving into the streams to spawn.”
