Left To Right: Mark Ferringer (Muskratnymph), Glenn McConnell (Fly Guy) and Dave Rothrock

After years of trying, I finally made it up to the Big Pine and Little Pine in north central Pennsylvania on June 17th & 18th.  I was initially concerned because the week before was very hot and the streams were heating up.  Fortunately for us, as Dave Rothrock said, “It was meant to be and someone was looking out for us.”  They had received a bunch of rain early in the week and the temps were not going to get out of the 70’s either day.  IDEAL CONDITIONS.

I was also blessed that on my first trip to the Pine I would have the privilege of fishing with 3 phenomenal fly fisherman, Mark Ferringer, the moderator of the Oil Creek Stream Conditions, Glenn McConnell, Owner of McConnell’s Country Store in Waterville and moderator of the north central PA stream conditions , and Dave Rothrock, guide and fly fisherman extraordinaire.  Talk about being spoiled, I just knocked 70 years off of learning things on my own by having these guys show me the ropes!

Dave Rothrock doing battle with another trout.

We met at McConnell’s Country Store in the morning, chatted for a while, and were off for a full day of fishing.  The day started off with nearly perfect conditions, a little drizzle and the water temp was only 62 degrees.  I spent the majority of the morning just picking Dave Rothrock’s brain and learning as much as I could about the stream.  Dave is obviously a very accomplished fly fisherman and really knows and understands the local streams.  Just on a side note, you will be able to view much of our day on the Big Pine and Little Pine very shortly with an educational session on everything you need to know to fish these streams.

Dave Rothrock lands another trout.

Dave demonstrated different techniques and discussed the different fly patterns for different times of year.  He caught fish while nymphing and if he saw one rising he would switch to a dry and catch that fish.  It was an awesome day on the water and I was truly blessed to have the company that I did for the entire day.

Average size fish for this stream.

I was also lucky to have my friend, Mark Ferringer come along for the day and he put a hurtin on the fish.  He caught a bunch of fish, including the fish of the day, an 18″ German Brown trout.  If some of you have never fished the Pine you are probably like me and saying, “What the heck is a German brown?”  To my understanding they are a particular breed of fish that are stocked in the stream every year and the average size is 20 plus inches.  They are a gorgeous fish with beautiful colors.

Mark Ferringer, moderator of the Oil Creek Stream Conditions, lands the fish of the day, this beautiful German Brown.  From what we understand, this was a small one!

Glenn McConnell of McConnell’s Country Store and the moderator of the Big Pine, Little Pine, Slate, Kettle, Young Woman’s and Cedar Stream Reports.

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about how pleasantly surprised I was to hear that Glenn was taking the entire day off from his very busy store, McConnell’s Country Store, to fish with us.  I have only spoken to Glenn over the phone for the past year and this was my first opportunity to meet him.  It was great hanging out with Glenn and picking his brain about the streams and how they fish.  The other thing that I have to tell everyone is, you have to stop by and have one of McConnell’s Country Store subs!  I had one of these bad boys on Wednesday evening and I don’t know if it was because I was really hungry or if they are that good, but this was the best sub I had ever tasted.

On a more important note, if you are looking into fishing the Big Pine, Little Pine, Kettle, Young Woman’s, Slate or Cedar Run, Glenn can set you up with everything you need.  From terrific guides like Dave Rothrock, or the flies that you may need for fishing.  He has a complete fly shop with equipment, gear and all the flys you will need to have a successful day.

Glenn McConnell, owner, McConnell Country Store and myself at the end of the day.

Again, this was one of those days that I just tried to take as much as I could in and absorb as much from these guys as humanly possible.  For me, there is only so much my brain can handle, so I hope they plan on seeing me again next year!

Until next year, Glenn and Dave – Tight lines and thanks for the great day on the Big and Little Pine!