Clarion river article

by

Dr. Peter Brookes

Brookes Outdoors

The Clarion River: So Many Reasons to Fish It

It’s not on your usual list of top Pennsylvania trout streams–not that making that list is easy to do with so many great fisheries–but over the years several anglers told me that I ought to check out the Clarion River in the Northwest part of the state.

I made a note of it, and put it on my WTF–or Waters to Fish–list.

So when an opportunity came up to fish the Clarion River in late summer with James Hill of Mountain Laurel Guide Service and Ralph Scherder, editor of Dark Skies Fly Fishing, I jumped at the chance.

We set a date for mid-October when I would be on my way back from New York to my home in Northern Virginia from fishing Oak Orchard River, a Lake Ontario tributary, for several species of lake-run salmon, brown trout and steelhead.

As the date approached, it was clear that conditions weren’t going to be prime due to low water levels from the “droughty” conditions that affected a lot of the East Coast this year. But with  our busy schedules, we decided to hit the water anyway.

The fishing was challenging since the low water reduced the number of places that trout might hold, but we all caught fish, including a 17-inch rainbow that found its way onto James’ hook and into his net.

Despite the tough fishing conditions that day, I really liked the Clarion River for several reasons, especially, what-I’ll-call, its “diversity” as a fishery. For instance:

It’s a multi-season fishery. The best seasons for fly fishing for  the Clarion for trout are spring and fall, but weather permitting, it can also be fished in the winter on a temperate day. Smallmouth bass on the fly is the summer game.

It’s wadable and or floatable. The river runs through a lot of private land so wading can be a tricky proposition, but the upper section of the Clarion offers possibilities. The best way to fish the river is to float it, if possible, with a guide service.

It’s got browns and ‘bows. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) stocks the Clarion with brown trout and some tributaries of the Clarion with rainbow trout. I caught both a rainbow and a brown in the Clarion, so both are in the main stem. A brook trout may wander into the Clarion from a trib, too. 

It has big trout. As witnessed by James’ big, bad rainbow trout, fish in the Clarion can get big from time to time. James told me that 20-plus inch trout, while not common, swim around in the Clarion River.

Indeed, Garrett Herigan, the local PFBC fishery biologist, told me that: “The Clarion is one of the best waters in Pennsylvania to catch a 20-plus inch, wild brown trout,” benefitting from “put and grow” and cooperative nursery programs, which stock adult and fingerling trout.

A wild, 20-inch brownie?! Yes, please!

It’s got hatches. The river has a good variety of bug life, including caddis, mayflies, stoneflies, and midges. It has a strong sulfur hatch, which can provide some exciting dry fly action. The Clarion has come a long way since the 1970s when it was in tough shape from local industry pollution.

It’s got a variety of fishing challenges. Along its course, the Clarion is wide and narrow, deep and shallow, and fast and slow. As such, it offers a number of fly fishing scenarios appropriate for tight-lining nymphing, swinging streamers, and throwing dry flies with match-the-hatch patterns and terrestrials. 

It’s underpressured. The day we floated, we saw a deer hunter with a good buck, but no other fishers. Yes, the water was low, but the weather was perfect.  While “pressure” is a hard word to define, I agree with James that the Clarion is “less fished” than other PA waters.

I also agree with Ralph, who wrote in his book, The Clarion River and Its Tributaries, that:

The Clarion River is perhaps the most underrated fishery in Pennsylvania, if not the eastern United States. Outside of the small towns that dot its course, many folks don’t even realize that the river harbors world class trout and smallmouth bass fishing. 

As James told me, “The Clarion has something for every fly fisher.” I think that’s right. The river has a lot of variety to offer fly anglers of all types. As soon as the water comes up, I’m heading back for one of those double-digit browns! 

Dr. Peter Brookes is an award-winning writer from Virginia. BrookesOutdoors@aol.com