Advice on Fishing PA Streams West of Philly

[I Fish]

My son and I are heading out to West Chester/Downingtown PA (20+/- miles West of Philly) area for the upcoming weekend. My son is in a soccer tournament and it turns out his game on Saturday isn't until 6pm so we are hoping to spend the day trout fishing some local streams prior to his game. We've never fished the area so we are looking for any advice anyone may have on the area and to point us in the right direction.

I've done some research and I see that Harmony Hill Nature Area, Nature Lands Trust Stroud Preserve and Ingram Mill Nature Area are all very close to where we will be staying and have Brandywine Creek flowing through them but not much info on the fishing of this stream or if fishing is even permitted in these areas.

I also see that there are A LOT of streams in the area but it's tough to tell how accessible or worth while they are.

If anyone is familiar with the area and is willing to share any suggestions on where to give it a shot it would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to PM me if you prefer.

Thanks in advance!

[Doug Vitale]

You could try Valley Creek in Chester County, as well as Wissahickon Creek in Philly itself. Use Google Maps to find spots to park.

[AndyS]

South Jersey TU does a lot of work just over in Pa., maybe reach out to them.

https://www.tu.org/connect/groups/41...e-south-jersey

[Dave B.]

Originally Posted by AndyS

South Jersey TU does a lot of work just over in Pa., maybe reach out to them.

https://www.tu.org/connect/groups/41...e-south-jersey

Ditto what Andy said! I have several friends in the SJ Ray Neirle TU chapter and they frequently fish the SE PA streams. A few to mention besides those already mentioned are both Red and White Clay Creeks as well as the DHALO section of Pickering Creek. The latter is float stocked by the members of the SJ TU chapter as volunteers for the PA F&BC as well as their own private late fall stocking of large fish.
You can also gain a great deal of info from the PA Fish and Boat Commission website including what streams are stocked, when, where public access exists and where there are wild trout populations.
Good luck wherever you end up and let us know how you made out!

[lukenic]

check the pa fish and boat page. the maps are very helpful.

[I Fish]

Hey guys...Thank You for your feedback. TU and the fish and boat page have yielded some good info, in addition to some google searches on the trout fishing in the area.

Hopefully I have some good pics to post up when we get back.

[thmyorke1]

Originally Posted by I Fish

Hey guys...Thank You for your feedback. TU and the fish and boat page have yielded some good info, in addition to some google searches on the trout fishing in the area.

Hopefully I have some good pics to post up when we get back.

Post all you can, especially of scenery. Good luck.

[I Fish]

Hey guys...finally found some time to post how we did...we ended up fishing East Branch Brandywine Creek in Kerr Park in Downingtown. My son and I each managed 6 cookie cutter stockies in the roughly 4 hours we spent fishing in addition to an array of smallies and even a few sunnies.

The water was rather low but clear and the weather was HOT...hit 89 degrees by 11:30 am.

The highlight of the trip was my son landing his first ever brown trout which totally made his day. All the other trout we landed were bows in the 12" range.

Now if I could just figure out how to post a few pics I'd be all set, but I am not very tech savvy and have not had any success in doing so. I read through the post on how to post pics but I'm still scratching my head obviously doing something wrong.

[AndyS]

I heard Brandywine is good, glad you got out and caught a few and congrats on his 1st BT.
Keep trying to post pics, if I can do it anyone can !