Little Schuylkill River 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. 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
Freestone
Species
Brown Trout
Brook Trout
Rainbow Trout
(wild, stocked with holdovers)
Size
Medium
Location
Eastern Pennsylvania
Nearest Towns
New Ringgold
Season
April 18th through February
Access:
Fair
Special Regulations
Special Regulation Area in Ringgold
Non-Resident License
State of Pennsylvania
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Seasons:
The season last for most of the year except March when
most of the stocking is done.
Spring:
Late Spring is a great time because the hatches start.
Summer:
Early Summer can be great because of the hatches but late summer can become more difficult due to increased
water temperatures.
Fall:
Fall is an excellent time for fly fishing the Little Schuylkill River.
Winter:
Warm winter days can produce some fish mostly on midge imitations.
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 2016 James Marsh
The Little Schuylkill River is a story book example of concerned anglers and citizens cleaning up what the coal industry once destroyed. Nowadays, you can catch both wild and holdover trout from a large number of hatches that take place along its seventeen mile long course.
As the name implies, the Little Schuylkill River is a tributary of the Schuylkill River. There are several small tributaries of the LIttle Schuylkill that help by providing fertile water to the otherwise, highly acidic water. There’s also a tailwater release from the Still Creek Reservoir that helps by providing cool water during the hot summer months of the year.
Most of the wild trout are in or nearby the small tributaries that enter the Little Schuylkill. They have ample tree cover that helps keep the water cool. They provide an excellent habitat for wild brook, brown and rainbow trout. Most of the wild trout exist above Drehersville near the mouths of these streams.
The wild trout can be very selective at times, feeding on what’s most plentiful and available at the time. It helps to have specific imitations that matches that food as opposed to generic trout flies.
Fly Fishing Guide to Little Schuylkill River
The special regulations area is located in Ringgold. It starts at the 895 bridge and continues downstream for 1.7 miles.
Most of the Little Schuylkill River is made up of fast pocket water. It is one of the better
freestone streams in the state. There’s some very fast water runs and even plunges that exist in the upper parts of the stream, but most of the stream consist of the typical pool, run and riffle type of water.
Beware that the river can be difficult to wade due to the slick bottom. The bottom varies greatly with sudden drops in some places and you need to use caution wading.
The best way to fish the river is to fish in an upstream direction making shorter, up and across presentations. Most of the trout can be caught in the faster water of the runs and riffles. The pools also contain trout but they are far more difficult to catch, especially if there isn’t a hatch underway. If you can catch one of the many hatches underway, you can experience some great dry fly fishing.
The High Stickin method of nymph fishing works great on this stream. There are plenty of runs and riffles where you can catch trout on mayfly and stonefly nymphs and caddisfly larvae imitations. Many anglers use tandem or double fly rigs with a larger dry fly on the surface and a nymph or larva dropper fly.
As mentioned in the opening, the best wild trout fishing in near the mouths of the feeder
streams. If you are fishing during the warmer times of the year, we recommend fishing near the feeder stream mouths where cooler water enters the river.
Hatches and Flies for Little Schuylkill River Pennsylvania
There are many hatches that take place on the Little Schuylkill River. The stream itself is quite fertile because much of the water comes from small feeder streams that are very fertile. The bottom is slick, indicating a lot of algae. Where you have algae, you usually have a lot of net-spinning caddisflies and that is the case on the Little Schuylkill.
The season starts with winter stoneflies hatching in moderate numbers in the fast water
sections of the stream. In late June through mid-August you will find Golden stoneflies present. From the first of August to about the middle of September, Yellow Sallies show up. Although the stoneflies are present, they don’t constitute the major hatches that takes place.
Several species of Blue-winged Olives hatch throughout much of the season. The larger
species of baetis and other larger BWOs hatch in the late Spring and again in the late summer and early Fall season. Little BWOs of several different species hatch during the Summer.
Quill Gordon mayflies hatch starting around the first or second week of April and usually last about a month. About the second week in May, the Hendrickson hatch begins and last two or three weeks. Late May and early June usually brings about hatches of March Browns. Light Cahills hatch during the month of June. Slate Drake mayflies hatch in late May and June, and off and on throughout the summer until the first of October. The month of September usually produces some good hatches of these larger mayflies.
Caddisflies are very plentiful. The Little Black Caddis, or Grannoms, start hatching near the end of April and last through May. Cinnamon Sedges and Spotted Sedges hatch staring near the end of April and last until the first or second week in September. Green Sedges are plentiful during May and June. Several other minor species of caddisflies are present.
Terrestrial insects begin to be important in June. They can be effective through the month of September. Of course midges are present year-round. They are most important when the water is cold and nothing else is hatching. We prefer to match the hatches with our on “Perfect Flies”. Not only do we have the most realistic imitations of all the insects in the Schuylkill, they are also the most effective.
Fly Fishing Gear, Tackle and Trout Flies for the Little Schuylkill River Pennsylvania
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 as large a trout as they are in the Little Schuylkill River 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.
Trout Flies:
As always we recommend “Perfect Fly” trout flies. We suggest you look at our hatch chart and select the flies for the particular time of year you plan on fishing. You should have a good selection of streamers for the brown trout. The flies you have for the aquatic insects
should vary depending on the time of the year you are fishing. There is no one particular insect that is more important than any other one throughout the season. The trout can become selective on certain insect hatches.