Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - September/October 2020 - 8

Blue-Lining

Fall Trout

by Ralph Scherder
photos by the author
Blue lines on a map typically represent streams or some other
type of water but to anglers they mean much more. In modern
vernacular, these crooked little lines have come to symbolize
a whole style of fishing. For some, "blue-lining" refers to a
passion that leads anglers into remote places in search of
native and wild trout.

Finding places to fish

Not every blue line on the map holds populations of wild
Brook Trout or Brown Trout, but I am always surprised by
how many do. Pennsylvania is home to almost 16,000 miles of
wild trout streams. Every year, streams that have never been
assessed are surveyed by crews of biologists to determine if
wild trout are present. And, every year, the list of streams with
thriving wild trout populations grows longer.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission website,
www.fishandboat.com, is a great place to begin your search
for productive blue lines. You will find a county by county list
of Class A and other wild trout waters that have been surveyed
and are known to harbor trout. You can then cross-reference
those streams with a map of the area to find access points.

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * September/October 2020

But, there are thousands of miles of Pennsylvania streams
that have never been surveyed. Just because you do not see
a stream on a list does not mean there is an absence of wild
trout. In fact, some of my favorite blue lines do not appear
on any list, and some streams are not even officially named.
I found these streams by looking at maps and then taking a
drive. If the water looked promising, I fished.
When I am searching for a new stream to explore, the first
thing I consider is the larger bodies of water in the region.
Almost any small tributary feeding into an already stocked
stream offers potential for wild trout. And, if the larger stream
has wild trout, then its tributaries will almost certainly have
wild trout, too.
Also, consider the length of the tributary you want to
explore. Shorter streams provide fewer options and may never
get big enough to have the right type of holding water to
support trout year-round. Generally speaking, I look for blue
lines at least several miles in length that flow through heavilycanopied forests. Even better is a blue line that begins in higher
elevation, because the stream will typically have numerous
plunge pools and undercuts as it flows down through a hollow.
How a blue-line stream appears in summer does not always
mean much come fall. One blue-line stream I enjoy fishing
dries up in the middle of summer. Once water tables start
coming up again in the fall, trout move up from the lower
sections, and I find fish in all the same pools and pockets that I
always have in the spring.
www.fishandboat.com

http://www.fishandboat.com http://www.fishandboat.com

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - September/October 2020

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