Guided Fly Fishing in Central PA
Come see the fly fishing Pennsylvania has to offer with a custom trip tailored to your needs, from giving it a try for the first time to learning new skills for competition
How do you want to spend your day?
Want to explore the fly fishing Central Pennsylvania has to offer? Learn competitive fly fishing tactics to really up your trout game? Try your hand at a rare musky encounter? No matter what you want out of your day, we can customize a guide trip to make it happen. Every one of our outings is specific to what you want to learn, what you want to fish for, and where you want to fish. We like to focus on education, but always prioritize fun.
Where we guide
Our area of Pennsylvania offers incredibly diverse fly fishing opportunities for trout, musky, bass, carp, and a host of other species. We offer guide trips on the famous limestone streams of Central Pennsylvania, the spring creeks of the Cumberland Valley, and the freestone rivers in between. Our primary waters are Spring Creek, Fishing Creek, Penns Creek, the Little Juniata & Juniata Rivers, the Letort, Big Spring Creek, and the Yellow Breeches. We also guide a host of other, lesser know rivers and streams across Central and South Central Pennsylvania. Each water offers unique challenges, lessons, and rewards, but it could take you a lifetime to fully understand just one. These fisheries provide nearly year round fishing opportunities for us to enjoy. You can learn more about our fisheries on the Our Waters page.
When we guide
365 days a year! We’re not just a fair weather guide service- we’re out rain or shine, summer or winter. Spring and summer is of course the busy season, but fall and winter have a lot to offer as well. Though often overlooked, late winter is maybe the best time to get on a truly big Pennsylvania trout or musky! That being said, ethics and conservation are our number one concern, so we hold off guiding for river and stream trout in November (a great time to learn how to stillwater fish!) and Musky in May to give them a chance to spawn uninterrupted.
What we offer
Innovative Angling is fully licensed and insured to run wade and float trips in Pennsylvania, and we offer both half day (4 hour) and full day (8 hour) options for both. Additional hours can be added on to full day trips for a fee. We specialize in educational euro nymphing/tight line nymphing trips, but we can cover any tactics or target any species you want on your guide trip. More information on trips and pricing can be found below in the drop down menus. We provide rods, reels, flies, tackle, and water for all trips. Full day trips come with the option of a cold lunch as well, or a hot lunch at an additional charge. We have waders and boots available in limited sizes for anglers that do not have their own. A more in depth list of what to bring is provided upon booking.
Booking and Cancellations
Trips can be booked via email, phone (call or text), or by by using the contact form below. Please let us know briefly what kind of trip you’re looking for, what your preferred dates would be, and if you have a preference on location. Once we get your trip planned, a $150 deposit via Paypal, Venmo, or credit card is required to confirm your booking. The remaining balance is due on or before the day of your trip. Only cancellations made within fourteen days of your trip will require a forfeit of your deposit. Cancellations made by your guide due to dangerous conditions for the angler or fish, or for another emergency, will result in either a return of your deposit or a rebooking.
Trout
With over fifteen years of experience fly fishing for trout on our Pennsylvania waters, and ten fly fishing competitively with Team USA, we’ve learned how to catch them in any conditions. We take a modern approach to fly fishing for this classic species, employing tactics learned in international competition and adapted to our waters. Nymphing, dry flies, streamers, or even stillwater/loch style techniques- we can spend the day fishing whatever you’re interested in.
Educational trips are our specialty, but if your more interested in just getting out on the water and catching fish, we can do that too and get you on plenty! We can’t promise you still won’t learn a thing or two though! Our types of trips are listed below, each is great for anglers of any skill level. We’re so confident we can get you on fish, if you don’t catch a fish, your trip’s on us!
Bass
Our region of Pennsylvania offers some of the best river smallmouth fly fishing in the country. The Susquehanna River, Juniata River, an their tributaries have incredible bass populations and some trophy sized fish to boot. Fishing heats up in early April and is off the charts by mid May. Sometimes they get a bit finicky and require specialized tactics to fool, but many days we can get into anywhere from thirty to eighty fish! Not to mention that due to the depth and clarity, we have a lot of opportunities to fish topwater flies and sight fish to three to five pound bass. Don’t tell the trout, but it might just become your new favorite type of fly fishing.
Musky
A musky on the fly is the ultimate accomplishment in our neck of the woods. It takes time, dedication, an a whole lot of casts. It’s not easy, but we have plenty of success. With our knowledge of the fish and the fisheries, we think you have a good shot at convincing one of these fish to eat. We keep our musky waters pretty close to the chest, so we will only discuss locations once your booking is confirmed.
The key to success fly fishing for musky is keeping your fly in the water. The more time you’re out there, the better the odds, so on these trips we offer the exclusive opportunity to stay out all day, from dark to dark (or at least until we put a fish in the net!). The minimum duration musky trip is a full day float.
Trip Types
Walk & Wade
Half Day (4hrs, 1-2 anglers) - $375 Full Day (8hrs, 1-2 anglers) - $550 $50/hr extensions
Float Trips
Half Day (4hrs, 1-2 anglers) - $475 Full Day (8hrs, 1-2 anglers) - $650 $50/hr extensions
Large Group & Corporate
Rates vary, contact for more information (Up to 12 anglers)
