Destination: State College, PA Spruce Creek

Bob Kalantari hoists a torpedo sized rainbow!

Destination Part 3 is all about Spruce Creek, Pennsylvania.  When you think about Spruce Creek, you immediately think of Wayne Harpster, Jimmy Carter and all of the famous people who frequent its banks in hopes of catching a massive trout.  We don't have the luxury of spending thousands of dollars to fish any of the private sections of Spruce Creek, so we are "stuck" fishing the public water.


My favorite time to fish this area is when the temperatures aren't too warm and when the flow is normal to above average. The higher flow will allow this section to hold some of the bigger fish.  That being said I love fishing it throughout the fall, winter and spring months prior to the dog days of the summer when I give the fish a rest due to the intense heat.  


One of the things that amaze me every time I hook into a gigantic fish there is that so many times the fish lay underwater completely hidden to the naked eye.  Some of these monsters barely have there backs covered in the water they're hiding in.  


I have had the opportunity to fish here a lot and each new trip I take to Spruce Creek I often am reminded about specific fish at different sections of the stream.  Sometimes I find myself wondering if one of the huge fish and I will get to meet again.  A story that I often tell first time fisherman that go to Spruce Creek was originally told to me by my father and occurred while he was a graduate student at Penn State.  He was fishing a section of the stream when he was greeted by a female mallard and its nine ducklings.  This was nothing new and he took in the small, newly hatched ducklings as they were approaching the area he was fishing.  Next thing he knew, an carnivorous trout exploded above the waters surface and the ducklings had no idea what just happened.  After the crime scene calmed, my father was shocked! What just happened in front of him?? He recounted the ducklings and noticed that there was now only eight ducklings...  To this day I recreate what that scene would've looked like and I often wonder what that toad of a brown trout would've looked like out of the water.  


If you need any other reason to pursue Spruce Creek, below are a few pictures that document some of the fish who in the past have been fooled by a fly.      

Snowy rainbow caught on a frigid winter day.

Brian caught this on a #16 prince nymph.