When is too high to fish Spring

[ryansheehan]

I was hoping to head to the little j or penns but given the forecast and current flows it looks like it might be a spring kind of day. What is the absolute top flow where you wouldn't fish spring anymore and which gauge are you talking about.

 

[HopBack]

Probably at a good nymphing level right now at the axeman gauge. I would say at 300 cfs maybe break out the streamsers and at 400 cfs or above maybe try somewhere else but I’m not a regular just going by the half dozen times if fished it.

 

[tomgamber]

Looks like it's coming down.

If be more worried about the freezing rain forecast for Saturday morning. I've been stuck for 6+ hours on the downhill side of 99 before. If you are taking I-99, get off at Tyrone and you can follow the Little J and spruce creek toward State College. Will give a good read on levels.

I have never seen Spring unfishable. Good luck.

 

[LLR]

Check your PM

 

[Swattie87]

Yeah, I’ve seen fish rising to Sulphurs in eddies at 600 or 700 cfs of near chocolate milk. That being said, for practical fishing purposes I’m about where Hopback is. It’s lower gradient than Penns or the Little J so despite being smaller than them, you can safely fish it in what amounts to comparatively higher flows for the size. Still, an effective top end for reasonably safe wading is probably 300 - 350 at Axemann, and you’ll be limited where you can get. You can probably pick and choose a few spots a little higher than that but don’t expect to be able to navigate around in stream all that much.

If I was already in the area, and everything else was blown, it may still be your best bet other than the real small stuff, but I personally wouldn’t make a long drive (like you’d have Ryan) to specifically fish it if it’s over 250 or so at Axemann.

 

[ryansheehan]

Swattie87 wrote:
Yeah, I’ve seen fish rising to Sulphurs in eddies at 600 or 700 cfs of near chocolate milk. That being said, for practical fishing purposes I’m about where Hopback is. It’s lower gradient than Penns or the Little J so despite being smaller than them, you can safely fish it in what amounts to comparatively higher flows for the size. Still, an effective top end for reasonably safe wading is probably 300 - 350 at Axemann, and you’ll be limited where you can get. You can probably pick and choose a few spots a little higher than that but don’t expect to be able to navigate around in stream all that much.

If I was already in the area, and everything else was blown, it may still be your best bet other than the real small stuff, but I personally wouldn’t make a long drive (like you’d have Ryan) to specifically fish it if it’s over 250 or so at Axemann.

I'm in the area for Thanksgiving, I figure it's probably my best shot. I've got the itch, haven't been able to be out much over the last six months, making up for lost time.

 

[JasonC]

If you’re already there and have the time, give it a shot. A day of fishing without catching anything is better than a day of sitting in wishing you were out fishing.

 

[Swattie87]

Ah, got ya. It’s at a good level until the precip today gets to it. If you’re out early you should have a few good hours. They’re calling for 3/4 inch of precip, which is probably enough to push it up over desirable levels, at least for a day or so, but the radar looks like it may underperform.

 

[afishinado]

Here is the latest stream report for Spring from TCO >

http://www.streamconditions.com/StreamConditions_Fishing_Report.cfm?stream=Spring%20Creek