The creek, or “the crick” as locals might refer to it, starts its journey about 13 miles upstream from Coburn at Penns Cave. From there, it meanders east through Penns Valley before carving a gap into the Seven Mountains at Coburn along its trek to the Susquehanna River.

Known for its outstanding wild Brown Trout fishing, Penns Creek sees visitors from across the country, many of whom are fly fishermen wanting to experience the abundance of fly hatches along the creek, the most famous of which being the Green Drake hatch.

The art of Fly Fishing

Unlike conventional fishing that involves live bait or heavy plastic or metallic lures, fly fishing uses hand-tied insect imitations (“flies”) which are cast out using the weight of specialized fly line and thin monofilament leaders. The flies are made of lightweight materials such as feathers, hair and thread, and many varieties are designed to float on the water’s surface.

BRAD REIDER/FOR THE EXPRESS Guests enjoy breakfast at The Feathered Hook.

The imitated insects are those that make up the targeted fish species’ diet, including mayflies, caddisflies and other aquatic bugs.

Like other mayflies, Green Drakes hatch from eggs laid by adult females on the stream the prior year. The eggs attach themselves to rocks on the stream bed, and over the course of the year, will mature from a larvae/nymph stage into fully developed adults. At that point, they’ll emerge to the surface and become a topwater source of food for the trout.

The Green Drake is a much larger mayfly compared to other species and often rises in spurts, triggering trout to feed on the surface, something many fly fishermen prefer rather than using subsurface patterns (“nymphs”) to trigger strikes.

The

Feathered Hook

BRAD REIDER/FOR THE EXPRESS A Green Drake mayfly rests on a leaf.

Jonas Price is the owner of The Feathered Hook Fly Shop and Lodge in Coburn. Price says that the Green Drake hatch on Penns Creek is the most prolific on the east coast, and generally takes place over a two-week period near the end of May.

“Water quality is the answer,” says Price, referring to the fact that the Green Drake requires excellent water quality to thrive, indicating that the lack of development along Penns Creek aids in the robust nature of the hatch on the creek.

Price says he’s had visitors from all 50 states since purchasing the shop in 1997, with virtually all his lodge guests being fly fishermen.

Jack Pultorak is one of Price’s frequent guests. A resident of Tampa, Fla., Pultorak made multiple trips to Coburn annually to fish Penns Creek and other area streams for the past several years.

“Life is at a slower pace,” says Pultorak, referring to his fondness for the area.

BRAD REIDER/FOR THE EXPRESS Jonas Price, of The Feathered Hook, is pictured cooking.

Fly Fishing Legend Joe Humphreys knows a thing or two about the Green Drake hatch. At 97- years-old (or as he might say, 97 years ‘young’), Humphreys has decades and decades of experience fishing the trout streams of Central Pennsylvania, with Penns Creek being among them.

“I call it the Memorial Day Classic,” says Humphreys, referring to the fact that at its height, the Green Drake hatch near Coburn often coincides with Memorial Day Weekend.

Humphreys remembers fly fishing Penns Creek at Coburn as a teenager during a time when the now defunct Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad was still active and running along the stream, noting that crossing trestle near the Coburn Tunnel always involved the risk of a confrontation with a train.

“There weren’t all the people back then. We didn’t have the 82nd Airborne,” Humphreys quipped, referring to the droves of fishermen that descend on Penns Creek now, particularly during the Green Drake hatch.

A Navy veteran and former high school teacher and accomplished wrestling coach, Humphreys began fly fishing for trout as a young child, transforming his self-taught hobby into a career of instructing, guiding and ultimately heading the Angling Program at Penn State University.

BRAD REIDER/FOR THE EXPRESS Pictured is a sign indicating The Feathered Hook outside of the business.

Humphreys, the subject of the 2019 independent film Live the Stream: The Story of Joe Humphreys, says that the Green Drake hatch on Penns Creek gained notoriety in the 1970s, eventually drawing the attention that it has today.

Humphreys echoed Price’s assertion regarding water quality playing the largest factor in the Green Drake’s prevalence on Penns Creek, lamenting the fact that Spring Creek near College also once had a significant Green Drake population before an accidental chemical spill in 1956 poisoned Spring Creek. That event would set the stage for the disappearance of the Green Drake on that stream, although the creek rebounded, and now features a host of aquatic insects and wild trout.

Living near Penns Creek

While Penns Creek at Coburn might be centerstage for visitors looking to land wild trout, for others, Coburn is home and the creek is part of life.

Such is true for Laura Dorman.

PHOTO PROVIDED A Brown Trout which was landed on Penns Creek is in this photo courtesy of Jack Pultorac.

“The moment we first saw the house with the Realtor 28 years ago, we knew that we wanted to live here, with the creek a literal stone’s throw from the front door,” says Dorman, who along with her husband, Dave, raised a family in Coburn barely 70 feet from the water’s edge.

Dorman says that living so close to the creek helped with teaching their children about conservation and protecting resources.

Annie and Doug Duttinger were also drawn to the creek when they purchased their home in Coburn about five years ago.

“We just love the creek,” says Doug, who enjoys seeing bears and eagles from the couple’s property on the dead-end road leading to the abandoned train tunnel.

Annie also enjoys seeing the wildlife that surrounds their property. “We love to fish,” Annie says, pointing to the creek just across the road from their home.

Creekside

It’s almost dusk, and along that dead-end road that follows Penns Creek and the old railbed for a few miles ending at the exit of the tunnel, scores of vehicles crowd the scarce number of parking spaces along the road. The variety of license plates is many, including one from Montana.

Matt Zaccheo didn’t travel from too far away. The Mechanicsburg, Pa., resident was staying in the Coburn area for several days during the Green Drake Hatch.

While the limited cell service near sections of the creek might be an annoyance for some, Zaccheo looks at it as positive.

“It takes me back to my childhood,” says Zaccheo, recalling a time when one could spend time in nature without being “attached” to the rest of the world via social media on their smartphone.

It’s almost dark, and while some are fishing, others, like Zaccheo, wait for a burst of Green Drakes to emerge from the water and create a surge of feeding activity at the surface.

Eventually, there are splashes on the water, and bugs in the air. Every so often, a trout is caught, gently unhooked and released back into the pristine water of the creek, as the vast majority of fly fishermen practice catch and release.

Although the exact dates of the Green Drake hatch are never known, this scene repeated itself for several days up to the end of May. Weather factors, such as temperature, influence when and how intense any given hatch will be.

To learn more

Fly fishing can be an intimidating endeavor compared to other types of fishing, but there is hope for those who want to learn.

“Find a local guide, someone knowledgeable,” suggests Humphreys for anyone looking to learn how to fly fish, adding that “A guide can teach you how to cast, and learn about different patterns (of flies)”

Fly fishing in Central Pennsylvania can be a year-round sport, with some exceptions for high water temperatures in the summer which can stress trout. But with Penns, Spring and Bald Eagle Creeks in Centre County, and Fishing Creek in Clinton County (to name a few), there are no shortages of “classrooms” in which to learn.

While The Feathered Hook is convenient for those looking to fish Penns Creek, there are several other fly shops in the area, some of which offer guide services as The Feathered Hook does.

In Union County, The Penns Creek Angler in Weikert is another shop focused on fly fishing, specifically along Penns Creek.

Near State College, TCO Fly Shop and Precision Fly and Tackle both offer guide services for nearby Spring Creek and other local streams, including Penns Creek.

Each of these businesses have easily searched websites and Facebook pages for those wanting to learn more or get started.

Those interested in learning more about Joe Humphreys can visit his website, www.joehumphreysofficial.com.

BRAD REIDER/FOR THE EXPRESS Joe Humphreys displays Green Drake imitations.

BRAD REIDER/FOR THE EXPRESS Area fly fisherman Joe Humphreys’ likeness is included on the Inspiration Mural in State College.

BRAD REIDER/FOR THE EXPRESS Fishing Guide Treavor Hackenberg, of TCO Fly Shop, and fisherman Rick Poluch, of Downingtown, Pa., are pictured fishing along Penns Creek.