Mill Creek, Bucks County

[Nympho]

Growing up in the area of Mill Creek I heard many stories of the great brown trout population that use to inhabit Mill Creek. Supposedly they got wiped out in 60's or 70's due to pollution from the train yard in Furlong. I know TU has been doing some restoration projects on the smaller steams in the watershed but I was wondering if anyone had walked Mill Creek in the past few years to see if some trout had returned.

 

[Longbow]

Grew up fishing there in Buckingham but it was only for stockies. Used to be shoulder to shoulder back then.

 

[Nympho]

I know it was stocked for a number of years but it also had some holdover and wild fish according to some old timers in the area. I drove around the area today and stopped at a few bridges that crossed smaller creeks in the watershed and did see 2 browns in the 8 to 10 inch range.

 

[Longbow]

Wow, that's cool. My in laws live by there. May have to do a visit.

 

[beadhead2]

http://www.buckstu.org/conservation/mill-creek-watershed/

 

[Harley]

Funny you ask. I was thinking the same thing a couple weeks ago. Haven't fished Mill in a couple years, but I do know the stockies from Neshaminy hang out where Mill enters. Don't know if they could go upstream at all or not. The year I saw it, Mill was running cold. I have seen it dry up in the past few years more than once.
I had heard that they stopped stocking because of the trespass problems. Never heard about pollution. Although that wastewater treatment plant empties right there at the elementary school.

 

[Mike]

I stopped the stocking in the early 1980's due to poor angler behavior and the posting that resulted. TU told us that there was a wild trout pop in the stream in the early 1990's. We never found them, or at least not in any numbers that makes me recall that they were there. Watson Ck, a trib, has a wild BT pop.

 

[Nympho]

Thanks for the info. When the weather gets a little warmer I'm going to walk the creek for a while and see if I can find any signs of trout.

 

[sandfly]

I fished in the 60's and 70's, was a put take fishery for years. there were some wild brooks here and there too. stopped fishing when it had problems with trash and trespassers got really bad. tu back then tried to keep it opened. don't count on finding any big fish, its been hurt by sediment, not many holes left

 

[Chaz]

I used to swim in Mill Creek in the 60's, that water was cold, it could support a wild trout t population. But as far as I know it doesn't.

 

[Nympho]

Sandfly, do you remember what areas held the wild fish? I'm trying to get an idea of where to start looking.

 

[Nympho]

Mike, I believe it was Watson Creek that I saw the fish in but they didn't have a sign posted on the bridge that said what creek it was. Either way it had no trespassing signs posted all over the place so that area isn't an option.

 

[Harley]

Sedimentation isn't nearly as bad as Neshaminy. Holes are few and far between. I have a friend that grew up along side of it, back in the late fifties and early sixties, next time I see him, I'll pick his brain.