Local Business

Reeling in the years: HomeWaters celebrates 25 years

SPRUCE CREEK -- HomeWaters Club has a storied past.

The 127-acre tract of land that it calls home was part of the land grant given to William Penn in the late 1600s by the King of England in order to settle a debt.

In more recent times this farm served as a Boy Scout Camp in the 1930s and '40s. As late as the 1990s, it was a beef cattle farm. In the early 1990s, Herman Espy (the owner at that time) started the Little Juniata Fly Fishing Club. This was the predecessor to the HomeWaters Club as it is known today. HomeWaters Club was founded by Donny Beaver in 2001.

HomeWaters Club is a private fishing club boasting some of the best trout streams and guides in the country, including the famous Spruce Creek. It focuses on trout living in the limestone clerks of central Pennsylvania.

Since 2001, the club has grown to manage many miles of blue ribbon streams across Pennsylvania. In recent years, HomeWaters has added new lodges, great cuisine and activities in addition to fly fishing, making it a great destination for outdoor-oriented family and business retreats.

First known as Spring Ridge Club, Beaver's goal was to sign up 25 members who would pay money up front to join. It took less than two years to get 25 members.

"Our first official member joined on Sept. 11, 2001. We got our first commitment the same time the plane hit the towers," Beaver said.

HomeWaters later expanded into northeast Pennsylvania in Columbia County and the Poconos and in northwestern Pennsylvania in Erie County for steelhead fishing.

"By 2006, we expanded into Colorado, founded a separate club out there, the Alpine River Club," Beaver said.

Alpine River Club operated for a few years.

"We reorganized and transferred memberships, we gave the people privileges in Pennsylvania. We combined all into HomeWaters. By 2020, we consolidated all of our business back to Pennsylvania," Beaver said.

HomeWaters has focused on limestone streams.

"We used to have hardcore fishing guys who came without their spouses, they would come in groups of men, it was more about fishing when we started. We expanded into gathering families together to bring in more business clients. It became more about a great place to cater to relationships," Beaver said. "Most private fishing clubs are all male. We were the first to have female members."

"Over 50 percent of our members' wives fish with them," said Mike Harpster, director of membership.

In addition to fishing, HomeWaters Club offers pheasant hunting, sporting clays and has a rifle and pistol range. HomeWaters offers four lodges on its Spruce Creek campus and another on Yellow Creek, Harpster said.

It is best to make reservations early.

"It depends on the time of year and lodge. Some people make reservations a year in advance, sometimes a week in advance," Harpster said.

HomeWaters also offers special fishing trips.

"We do float trips on the Juniata for smallmouth bass, we also do trips around the world. We are working on a trip to Brazil for peacock bass in the Amazon rain forest. I will host that," said Harpster, who has groups of members and their guests to New Zealand, Cuba, Patagonia and Central America.

Today, HomeWaters employs 45 full- and part-time workers.

"We have built a staff who are beloved by each other and the folks who come here. We have good employees, we go through good times and bad times with grace," Beaver said.

Today, HomeWaters Club has 242 members.

"Our furthest member is from England, we have a handful from California. The England couple has family in New York City, they come here three days in the spring and fall. We have members from 26 different states," Harpster said. "Less than five percent of our members live within two hours away."

Ron Petnuch of Pittsburgh was part of the club from the start.

"My father-in-law joined in 2001 and was the third or fourth member. As part of the membership, I was put on the advisory board and later joined individually in 2004," Petnuch said. "We are avid fly fishermen who have traveled the world fishing. This was close to home and offered world class trout fishing."

Petnuch said he visits about a half dozen times a year.

"It is quintessential Pennsylvania limestone trout fishing. We do not always realize how fortunate we are here in our home state. The fishing is world class on renowned streams. The conservation effort is front and center and it is a nice environment to spend time with family, friends and like minded fly fishing enthusiasts," Petnuch said.

David Hamilton of Wilmington, Del., has been a member since 2009.

"When you go on a club-organized trip you generally find that everyone is good company for the week -- whether a long time member or more recent member," Hamilton said. "I think of HomeWaters as family. I instantly relax there and enjoy myself. Even a bad day is much better at HomeWaters than anywhere else."

HomeWaters gives back to the community as it hosts two charity events a year for Magee Women's Research Institute, raising more than $100,000 between the two events, Harpster said.

Beaver said he is amazed by the success of the club.

"It is fascinating to me, we bring people together of all religions, all political persuasions and ethnicities, we gather around a fire and all that melts away. Once you get in the water it washes over you like you get baptized. Life is not as crazy as you think," Beaver said. "It is amazing to me it has survived and thrived in the face of a world where people prefer resources not in the hands of private people. This has not been easy."

Beaver said his sons and their families will be the heirs as they both worked for the club in the early years and have forged careers outside of the club.

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.