The amazing views, pristine lakes, and scenic winding rivers in the Pocono Mountains keep fishing enthusiasts coming back to the area year after year. Deanna and the PTN team met up with fishing guide Joey McEvoy, also known as Captain Joe, from Captain Joe's Fishing near Lake Harmony to experience fishing in the Poconos for the first time.

Captain Joe had a great itinerary planned: first up was an outing on the lake to look for small and large mouth bass as well as crappie using a number of different techniques including artificial bates, live bates and fly fishing. After mastering the fly fishing technique, they would head to the river to try for some trout on the fly rod.

At the first stop on the lake, Deanna and Captain Joe caught a few crappie of different sizes. Joey explained that one of the crappies was "also known as a calico bass or paper mouth bass due to how thin the skin on their mouth is." Joey added, "We get amazing ones in the Poconos. The average crappie throughout the country is about 8 inches long, and we get them over 16 inches pretty commonly here." Deanna had a blast during her first time catching and releasing such beautiful fish. One was a momma with a swollen belly full of eggs. Captain Joe said she would lay them once the water hit about 50 degrees.

After showing the technique of bass fishing, Captain Joe taught the technique of fly fishing. During that lesson, the PTN team also had the opportunity to learn more about Joey, "Captain Joe" and fishing in the Poconos. Joey has been fishing since he was two years old, and he learned all his skills from his father. He has always been involved in the outdoors, sharing, "There are so many ways to enter the sport really easily. Just experimenting with things, like everyone has a pond near them whether in their neighborhood or nearby. You can learn how to fish using any method. Don't be afraid of it. You'll figure it out. We all started out trying to figure it out on our own".

Following their lesson and adventure at the lake, they were off to the river to try out some of the fly fishing techniques they had learned. Standing in the water with the beautiful views was quite relaxing, and after a few hours, they were also able to catch some trout. It was a successful trip for Deanna's first time fishing.

Joey is not only knowledgeable about the sport of fishing but also the Poconos area, so if you're interested in booking a trip or looking for a guide," Captain Joe" is your guy! Whether you're ready to try it for the first time like Deanna or you're already a fishing enthusiast, check out Captain Joe's for your next fishing trip in the Poconos.