Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2021 - 25

is equal to fishing on
high-quality rivers, " said
Finkbiner during a Trout
Unlimited presentation.
" A lot of guys around
here go to Montana for
this kind of experience.
Now, they can get that
experience right here. "
Finkbiner was not
raised anywhere near
Pine Creek, so how did
he end up living here?
He credits his wife
Debbie for showing him
her home area. As they
settled in Slate Run, it
was only natural for Tom
to share his love of fly
fishing with others.
Tom Finkbiner stocks Brown Trout with a Brown Trout Club member into " the Stretch " in Pine Creek.
Ask him about the
hatch on Pine Creek and
By the next day, he caught house flies and was ready to
he knows. He will take you to his expansive collections of
go " fly " fishing with his dad after his dad got home from
ready-made flies in the shop and show you how to " match the
work. He was undeterred when his dad told him those were hatch " . Want to purchase ready made flies? You can. Want to
the wrong kinds of flies. He still wanted to be a fly angler.
learn to make your own flies? He will tell you how. Finkbiner
One Christmas, his mother took the train to Gimbels
is a careful teacher and readily shares his knowledge.
Department store in Philadelphia to buy a Noll fly tying
And in part, because of how he approaches his favorite
kit, a 10½ foot fly rod and a reel for Tom. He took his new
hobby, he has become a local legend. It is well worth
equipment, tied some homemade artificial flies, and practiced listening to his stories. You will come away better for it.
casting in a little farm pond, where he caught sunfish.
Today, he knows that man-made artificial flies copy
aquatic insects and that real flies hatch from a stream at
particular times of the year. He now teaches the science
behind the fishing skills he has learned as one of the best
experts on the subject in the area.
Finkbiner currently resides in Slate Run, along Pine
Creek, a stretch of picturesque river in the northcentral
part of Pennsylvania. Pine Creek is designated as a
Pennsylvania Scenic River by the Pennsylvania Department
of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Finkbiner and his wife Debbie own the Slate Run
Tackle Shop. Tom is also active in the Brown Trout Club, a
non-profit organization with a goal of creating world-class
fishing opportunities on a segment of Pine Creek known as
" the Stretch " . In 2015, a 2.88-mile section of Pine Creek was
designated as Catch and Release All Tackle and continues to be
managed with these regulations. Brown Trout are purchased by
the club and stocked in this section of Pine Creek in addition
to the trout stocked by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat
Commission, which are primarily Rainbow Trout. According
to Finkbiner, the 700-member club stocks trout from 14 inches
to 23 inches long. Most are 16- to 17-inches long.
Finkbiner, since his arrival here, has always been
instrumental in touting the Pine Creek area under the right
conditions as one of the best places in the country to fly
Tom Finkbiner holds a Noll fly tying kit, just like the one he started
fish. " A good day of fishing in this section of Pine Creek
with as a kid.
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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2021

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