Elk Creek Pennsylvania Fly Fishing Report & Options for Selecting Flies: Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. We will also gladly ship directly to your destination so your flies and gear will be there when you arrive. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget aNd get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Limestone Spring Creek
Species
Brown Trout (Wild)
Size
Small
Location
Central Pennsylvania
Nearest Towns
Coburn, Pennsylvania
Season
Middle of April through February
Access:
Fair
Special Regulations
None
Non-Resident License
State of Pennsylvania
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Seasons:
Elk Creek can be fished year-round.
Spring:
Springtime is the best time for fly fishing Elk Creek because of all the aquatic insect hatches.
Summer:
The water stays cool all summer long and the fishing remains fairly good.
Fall:
The browns spawn in the fall and some large ones are usually caught during the migration upstream.
Winter:
Midge imitations work good during the winter.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 12 ft., 5 or 6X Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Elk Creek is a small limestone spring creek that starts from a cave in Bush Valley in central Pennsylvania. It’s a tributary to the popular Penns Creek. It has a good population of stream-bred brown trout. This stream has some very nice brown trout.
The upper end of the stream flows through a cut through Bush and Shriner Mountains called the narrows. About two miles of this section flows through a privately held club’s property called the Elk Creek Fishing Association. The lower end is still open to the public. There are several small springs that add cold limestone spring water along this part of the stream.
PA #445, called the Narrows Road, parallels the upper end of the stream above Millheim. SR #2011 parallels the stream from Millheim downstream to Colburn where it enters Penns Creek.
Pine Creek, another small limestone spring creek, enters Elk Creek just above Colburn. The stream averages from twenty to thirty feet wide and overall is about six miles long.
Fly Fishing Guide to Elk Creek
This is a typical small, limestone spring creek that requires a good deal of stealth and well placed presentations. If you can fish during a hatch, you will be far better off. This reduces the caution the wild browns seem to have and fooling them is much easier. The sulphur hatch is one of the better ones although there are several hatches as you can see from reading our hatch section. When they trout are not feeding on emerging insects or spinners, they will be hidden and you will usually have to fish during low light conditions or in or under heavy cover such as undercut banks. We don’t want to make it sound to difficult, because it isn’t as long as you use some proven tactics and methods of fishing clear, spring creeks.
Streamers work well anytime heavy rains dingy the water. They also work much better when it is cloudy and overcast. Otherwise, you should fish them very early in the morning or late in the afternoons just prior to dark. Well placed presentations that present the streamers in and under the heavy cover can be very effective.
When the water is cold, meaning fifty degrees or less, imitations of midge larvae and pupae work best. These should be fished on very light, long tippets of 6X or 7X sizes. They can be very effective.
Imitations of scuds and sowbugs work great at times. Fish them without an indicator. It is best to spot individual trout and fish to them as opposed to blind casting. You will find the trout are somewhat easier to catch from the few riffles and runs but rarely do they hold the larger brown trout. The larger fish stay in deep water in the pools or well hidden under something.
The best way to catch trout from Elk Creek is to get our hatch chart and fish the major hatches. The Blue-winged Olives, consisting of several species, last over a longer period of time than any and is always a good hatch to fish. The Tricos hang around for a long period of time but are in general, more difficult to fish. Probably the easiest time to catch trout is during the Green Drake or Sulphur hatch. If you stay well hidden, make good drag free presentations, you will be able to fool your share of Elk Creek’s fine wild trout.
Elk Creek Hatches and Trout Flies:
Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in Elk Creek and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726.
Don’t let the size of Elk Creek fool you. It has some very large aquatic insect hatches. From near the end of March through the middle of May, hatches of different species of Blue-winged Olives hatch. These hatch again from about the last week or two of August until mid October.
From about the last week of March through the first three weeks of April, you will find a few Quill Gordon mayflies hatches in the fast water areas of the stream. At almost the same time, hatches of Blue Quills will be coming off. The hatch can last until the first week or two of May. The Hendrickson mayflies start about the second or third week of April and last about a month.
March Browns will also be found hatching in the fast water areas from the first of May throughout the month. Eastern Pale Evening Duns, called Sulfurs by many, start hatching by the middle of May and continue on through June. Sulphurs start about the first of June and hatch through most of July.
Green Sedges hatch from the middle of April through the middle of June. The Green Sedge larvae are called Green Rock Worms. Imitations of them will work year-round. Cinnamon Sedges, net spinning caddis of several species will hatch from about the first of June through August. There are other species of caddisflies but these are the most important ones.
From about the last week of May, through the first two or three weeks of June, Eastern Green Drakes hatch. You will find a few LIght Cahills hatching during the month of June. You will also find some hatches of Yellow Drakes during the month of July. Slate Drakes hatch from about the first of August all the way through the month of October. Mahogany Duns, called Blue Quills by many locals, hatch from about the middle of July through September. There’s more than one species of these little mayflies. Tricos, or the little White Winged Curses, hatch from about the first of July through September.
Don’t overlook midges, especially during the early or late season when the water is cold, Streamers are very important flies on this creek because the large brown trout eat small baitfish, sculpin and even small crayfish. Make sure you have a good selection.
Starting about the middle of June through September, imitations of terrestrial insects work on Elk Creek. Imitations of grass hoppers, ants and beetles are popular flies.
One of the main parts of the diet of the trout are scuds and sowbugs. The creek has a good population of these crustaceans. Make sure you have imitations of both.
We recommend our Perfect Flies for Elk Creek. They have been tested and proven effective on this stream many times. Our imitations of the Green Drake nymph, dun and spinners are the most realistic and effective flies you can purchase. If you haven’t tried them already, please do so. You will be very glad you did.
Fly Fishing Gear, Tackle and Trout Flies for Elk Creek, Pennsylvania
This is a small limestone spring creek but don’t let its size fool you. It contains some very large brown trout and you don’t want to hook one with too light of tackle.
Fly Line:
We are recommending a 4 weight, floating fly line but only if you want to go light. We recommend a 5 weight, floating fly line for dry flies and lighter nymphs and a 6 weight, fly
floating fly line for heavier nymphs and streamers.
Leaders:
Leaders should range in sizes from a 0X for streamers up to a 6X for midges and small dry flies. Lengths ranging from seven and one-half feet, up to 12 feet in length are suggested.
Tippets:
Extra tippet material ranging from 0X to 6X should be available for the leaders we list above.
Fly Rods:
We recommend a fast action fly rod, nine feet in length for all three weights of fly lines.
Fly Reels:
The fly reels you use for the 4, 5 or 6 weight lines, if you choose to use them all, should be light and have good drags. You are subject to hook a large trout in Elk Creek and you don’t want to loose it because of a lousy drag.
Waders:
We recommend waders. There are few places you could fish without them. We prefer the
breathable type but you could use neoprene waders during the winter if you preferred.
Wading Boots:
We recommend felt soles for your wading boots. You may want to consider the new rubber sole boots that help prevent the spread of Didymo but we have not tested them on this stream.
Flies:
We always recommend our “Perfect Fly” Trout Flies. Our scud and sowbug imitations are the most realistic imitations commercially available. We have specific imitations of all the major insects that hatch in Elk Creek . We hope you give them a try.