George Daniel Takes Over Penn State Angling Program

John Hayes writes in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about George Daniel and his new gig as head of Penn State’s world-famous angling program, a course previously taught by fly fishing legends George Harvey and Joe Humphreys.

“Mr. Daniel fishes mostly for wild trout on unstocked Central Pennsylvania limestone streams where catch-and-release trout fishing is legal year-round. On those waters 80% of a trout’s diet is comprised of nymphs, the larval stage of mayflies, caddisflies and stoneflies that live for years under submerged wood and stones. The fish hug the bottom, nosing through gravel and debris looking for a meal.

‘Seeing one insect 4 or 5 feet above them isn’t going to get most trout to go up,’ he said. ‘If you’re not feeling the fly bouncing on the bottom, if you’re not losing some flies [on snags], you’re probably not fishing deep enough.’”