Spring Creek: Fishing Report 7-26-13

Pretty Brown Taking A Trico

My Dad, Brother and I headed up to Spring Creek for the day in hopes of catching the beginning of the Trico Hatch. We were fishing a productive spot at 7:30am and each rigged up some typical Spring Creek Nymph's. The bite was on from the moment we started throwing line. The flow was perfect for this time of year, the stream has more water in it than usual for late July. We each landed numerous fish, mostly on the smaller size but it still was an awesome day on the water. The Trico's came out in force but the spinner fall didn't produce many risers. My brother did land 3 fish on top but most of the day was spent underneath. It looks like the Central PA streams are in great condition for this time of year, we only have 4-6 weeks before Fall will slowly creep into the area and the fishing will even get better. It looks like the window to fish Trico's will be smaller this year so if you are trying to fish it next week will be the time to try.

Grannom's In The House

   A crew of us went up to Central PA for the day in hopes of catching a few mid April hatches and rising fish. We arrived at the Narrows section of Fishing Creek around 8:30am. The weather was in the mid 60's with overcast skies and rain showers. Perfect day for a hatch! The water was flowing a bit high for our liking so we all decided to rig up nymph's until fish started rising.

   Well the nymphing was tough, not unexpected for us at Fishing Creek when the water isn't perfect. We did manage to fool a few trout, mostly on Sucker Spawn's but we did get a few on Grannom Nymph's as well. Mike had numerous fish chasing streamers throughout the day also. We did see bugs and plenty of them, the Grannom was in full force but no fish seemed interested in these guys even underneath with wet fly patterns. The Hendrickson also showed an appearance in decent numbers along with some Blue Quill's.

   After Fishing Creek kicked our butt for 7 hours we decided to hit up Spring Creek on the way home. The water was slightly off color but had great flow to it. There were still some BWO'S coming off at 5pm but we had limited surface activity. We each picked up a few on nymph's but the fishing was pretty slow. Overall it was a below average day on all streams but it was nice to get out and enjoy the day with family and friends on the water!

 

 

Hot Flies Fishing Creek:

 

#14-#12 Sucker Spawn

#14 Grannom Nymph

 

Hot Flies Spring Creek:

#16 Mike Midge

#18 Pheasant Tail

#12 Sucker Spawn



Penn's Creek 4-27-12 thru 5-3-12 Wrap-up

All of the previous posts by Matt and Andy tell the story pretty well, so I'll just wrap the whole trip up.  What started out as cool to down right cold weather and decent fishing turned to cool, cloudy fantastic fishing, then to sweltering mid-June like fishing over the course of the seven days.  The first few days produced excellent bug activity with some risers in the day and decent rising at night.  The March Brown duns and spinners were the stars most of the week, with sulphurs coming in second.  The real surprise for the first four days was the lack of success on any stonefly nymph patterns, and BH pheasant tails, dark sulphur nymphs, and small Copper Johns were the highlight underneath.  Wednesday dawned cloudy with the threat of rain, and that combination produced the highest catch rates of the trip.  Stonefly nymphs reasserted there dominance, thank goodness, and the nymphing was the best I've had on Penn's in some time.  Cast after cast brought fish to the net in Penn's Creeks' ubiquitous pocket water.  Wednesday night the evening skies represented the bulk of the insect life that abounds in the catch and release section of Penn's.  Mayfly duns, emergers, spinners, Caddis flies, Midges, Craneflies, and even large Perla Stones were all present.  The two top producers were large yellow Stimulators and huge March Brown Rusty Spinners, followed by fast and furious Sulphur activity.  After a late night recounting the days' catches, the tinks and taps of rain started hitting the camper roof as we dozed off.  Thursday's excursion to the water was disappointing because the heavy rains muddied the water significantly.  While the fishing on Penn's doesn't stop because of the water, I've fished the mud so many times the last few years it wasn't appealing, so off we went in search of cleaner waters.  Fishing creek was slightly up and murky, but as has occurred so many times, Spring Creek saved the day.  Sunny, 85F temps made the fishing tough, but the afternoon thunder shower was short lived and turbo charged the fishing for the last few hours on Sulphur nymphs and dries.  The short lived showers were heavy rain events on Fishing and Penn's, so we ended our excursion a day short.  While the rain shortened our trip, it was needed very badly on Penn's so I won't complain; in fact I hope the trend continues in Centre County and beyond as Spring Creek and the Little J remain low.  All in all a great trip with Penn's being Penn's, each day presenting new twists and challenges.  The top patterns for the trip:

Dry

March Brown #12

Rusty Spinner #8

Sulpher #14-#16

Sulpher Spinner #14

#14 Tan Caddis

#8 Yellow Stimulator

Wet

#8 Stonefly nymphs

#12-#16 Dark Sulphur nymph

#12-#14 Copper John, pick a color and cast it

#14 BHPT

#12 Green Weenie



Spring Creek: 3-19-12

Got the chance to head up to Spring Creek last minute today. Arrived on the stream at 11am. I took a quick glance at the water and noticed a few trout right below the surface with their heads up. I quickly assembled my rod and started casting my dry-fly dropper rig. The BWO's were out in sparse numbers where I was, my furry getting ready at the truck wasn't needed. After about 20 minutes of casting to no rises I switched to my pheasant tail rig and went to work. I managed to pick up 4 fish in the riffle above me rather quickly. After an hour or so the fish got more selective. I managed 5 more fish on an assortment of nymph's. The water level is very low for this time of year, we need a bit of rain to bring the level's up a bit. It was nice to get out to Spring Creek this early in the season, hope to make a few more trips up there before the end of May.

Spring Creek 3-15-12

Got a chance to blow off work on Thursday and head up to Spring Creek to enjoy the insanely warm weather.  Hit the water around 9:30am after a quick pitstop at the Fisherman's Paradise hatchery, which produced both a little relief and a much more impressive bald eagle sighting, two in fact.  After watching one of the eagle's chase off some migrating black birds, it was time for some fishing. 
Fished below the Paradise, and was pleasantly surprised to have almost the entire stream to myself.  Started out a little slow, picking up a fish here and there on small midge pupa patterns, mostly gray and black.  At around 11:00am the olives started coming off, sporadically, and I switched to a BH pheasant tail and a small Baetis specific nymph.  I don't really know or care which nymph caught more trout, but it was intense fun for the next two hours.  It was hook-up after hook-up, and as long as I waded carefully, it felt too easy!  Nothing materialized on top, just a couple dinks in some really slow water, and rightfully so, as I saw very few duns floating on the water.  I guess 80 degrees and sunny will do that to a Baetis hatch.  Once the olives slowed, I took a lunch break, and ate in the new parking area for Spring Creek Canyon.  I counted 19 cars!  So I finished lunch and moved back to below the Paradise, which was much more open.  The fish got lock jaw for the most part, and after a couple more hours of flogging the water, I called it quits on a fantastic early spring day.

Spring Creek

Headed out to Spring Creek today with my buddy Beno, hoping to catch the BWO hatch.  We both wanted to explore the new section that was recently opened up to the public. As we pulled in I counted 15 cars and by the time we left it was up to 24. Walking in we passed by this groundhog (pictured above) taking a morning nap in a tree.

A rare Rainbow on Spring Creek

Overall I wasn't impressed with the new water; having said that it was still Spring Creek, and fishing was above average. Although we never lucked into any dry-fly action, we both did fairly well bringing about 12 each to our nets. Pheasant Tails, Scuds, and the Rainbow Warrior did most of the damage for us. It felt good to get out for the first time this year, and in March! I hope to be able to make another trip in a week or so and try to catch the BWO hatch when a few more are popping off and the fish are rising.

Hog Johnson for the day - nice catch Beno!!

Spring Creek Fishing Report 5-17-2011

The rain came again on the third day of the trip and I decided to back it up and head home. We decided to hit Spring Creek up on the way out. The stream was a bit high but the clarity remained good. We each picked up a few fat boys on nymphs but the action was tough to come by consistently. A nice #20 BWO hatch came off in the evening and the hole I was fishing produced some rising fish that I hooked into. Very few sulphur's hatched during the day and at night there was no spinnerfall.

Spring Creek 4-22-11

Me and Andy went to Spring Creek for a few hours of fishing yesterday, and met up with Ben when we arrived. The water was semi-high, 160cfs at Houserville, but very fishable.I think the cold air temperatures were much more of a detriment than the robust flow. The fishing was not fast and furious each of us was able to score on more than a couple fish. Black Woolly Buggers, BHPT, Copper Johns, Red San Juan Worms, and Scuds all fooled a trout or two. As the rain refuses to quit this April, it was nice just to get out onto the water! It feels like I've fished about a third of normal right now. The forecast kept most other anglers off the water which was an unexpected treat, and left us with our choice of water. No hatches to speak of the entire time on the water, but that is coming soon.

Spring Creek BWO - Kind of

Hit Spring Creek on Sunday April 3, for some early season fishing, and it was worth the trip. I piled out of the chevy around 10:30am for what I thought would be a late start, and quickly assembled my gear. The first hour showed little promise with only a few small fish that I had to work very hard for, then the switch was flipped. Right around noon my mercury baetis nymph and my beadheaded Pheasant tail started to produce better, the better still with every fifteen minute window. The hatch had begun and although it was mediocre at best, the buttery wild browns of Centre County had a hankerin for Blue Winged Olives. In one hundred yard stretch of pocket water, well that managed to keep my attention for the next two hours with little time between hook ups and fly replacements. Awesome action, Spring Creek at its finest - almost. Once the need for fish settled down, I wanted top water fishing, and just above me was a nice long slick. I moved in closer and foung very few fish rising, but changed to the Sparkle Comparadun anyhow. I did manage to stick a few on top, which was the first top water action of 2011 for me. I spent the next hour and a half walking the stream looking for risers, but found few. Another round of nymphing produced better results but the Olives were off for the day, which wrapped up around 5:00pm. A quick stop for a sloppy cheesesteak dinner at CC Peppers and back to Latrobe I went! I would guess that if the high water ever recedes in the next two weeks that similar scenarios may happen often. Suit up, ITS ON!

Spring Creek Fishing Report 5-16-10

I headed up to meet my brother at Spring Creek Sunday night. I didn't get to the stream until 7:00pm. We fished a stretch below the Paradise that usually produces fish. It was a very sunny evening with air temperatures in the mid 50's. I didn't have time to take the water temperature because a few fish were rising once I got into the stream. #14 Sulphurs started hatching in good numbers around 7:30pm, fish were rising till dark. I caught about 8 on a #14 bunny fly in one riffle. My brother had about the same luck. The stream level was perfect and I am sure the fishing will be just as good for the weeks to come.

Spring Creek: Fishing Report 4-06-2010

On our way home from Penns Creek we decided to stop at Spring Creek for a few hours. We fished below the Paradise where you can wade. We were not surprised to see all the parking lots full of cars and anglers everywhere, I always forget how much pressure this stream gets. We ended up catching 8 small fish and scuds and pheasant tails. There were a decent number of BWO's coming off and had a few fish rising sporadically. This is the second time this year we ran into fish that were only 6-8 inches long. This 80 degree weather in April isn't good for fishing.

Sulphurs are here.....

Took a trip to Spring Creek in hopes of fishing over the famous "Sulphur Hatch." The hatch didn't disappoint. Sunday night the sulphurs starting hatching at 6pm with risers shortly after. After missing a few fish on #16 Catskill imitation the next hour was extremely challenging getting fish to take the fly. After close examination the fish were actually taking a size #18 BWO. It was hard to see these little guys in midst of all the Sulphurs but the fish were definitely keying in on them. The next day was a slow one, only picked up 4 fish between two of us all day long. Then all hell broke loose at 6pm again. This time the Sulphurs were in full force and the hatch lasted till dark. The entire stream was bubbling and I had my best day of dry-fly fishing of the year. The next few weeks will be prime time for the Sulphurs, although with the warm temps coming up the hatch will be pushed later and later as the month progresses. Hopefully you can get lucky like us and have a 55 degree day to prolong the hatch.