Your Local Stream Temps

jifigz

jifigz

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 8, 2013
Messages
3,926
Location
Miff-Co, PA
Last year was one of the hottest and driest summers that I can recollect. I went around and took some readings of my favorite local streams just out of curiosity. I plan to do the same this year given that we are currently, at least in Mifflin County, experiencing highs in the 90's with overnight lows in the 70's. I was hoping others would be willing to take some temps and post them here to see the differences between this year and last. I am not so interested in "true" limestoners (think Big Spring, Letort, etc) as we know that they will be cold. I am more interested in limestone influenced streams and freestoners. If anyone would like to post temps of streams and list what kind of stream that they would classify them as I would appreciate it. I will try my best to do the same for my local streams in the next few days before the heat breaks. I am thinking the ample rainfall and slightly cooler temps will have them much more reasonable this summer than last but we will see. Either way I hope people would like to participate.
 
I did not take water temps last year because I more or less gave up on trout fishing once the rain shut off. But some tiny mountain brook trout streams in Northern MD were around 65 degrees two weeks ago, and it has gotten much hotter and drier since. I'd be checking water temps EVERYWHERE right now (though in reality I'll be smallmouth fishing).

I see the East Branch Brandywine, my old stomping ground, is peaking at 82 degrees per the USGS gage. That's pretty typical for most summers there.
 
It's a good project. Interesting both from a fishing perspective and from a conservation/stream restoration perspective.

IMHO people tend to underestimate how warm streams get in the summer.

I'll try to participate.
 
Been planning to do some of this this summer once a heat wave sets in (it's time!). In particular, I'm interested in seeing temp changes at different points in the stream's flow as temp range can vary a good bit as one moves downriver...typically getting warmer, but not always.
 
Sarce, I am not taking these stream temps with the intent of fishing but more or less for the scientific data. I want to simply compare them to last year. Tomorrow morning I will be able to get out and get some readings and then Sunday afternoon. I will plan on taking temps at multiple locations on Honey, Kish, my favorite brookie stream, and then probably my favorite small wild brown stream.
 
Fwiw, a truly tiny monroe county brookie stream with maybe 50% high elevation swamp drainage/ 50% forest drainage was 64 F last Monday bout 9am.

Seems like a good year to watch the water temps, yes. There are heavily forested streams with spring inputs that may have ok water temps at least in the am. Also isnt the real issue for trout the amount of oxygen in the water, which tends to be lower with higher water temperatures? So I assume a stream that is tumbling over a lot of rocks and waterfalls down a mountainside would have more oxygen at the same temperature than a flat stream would have (anyone seen dissolved oxygen numbers on this?)... So fishing a steep tumbling stream at 64 might be easier on the fish than fishing a flat stream at that temp, for example.

A ravine stream with no impoundments, spring inputs, and a bunch of rhodo above it might still be cold enough in the am at least... I do remember one stream with 58 degree water in 75 degree air this year.
 
I fished a wild freestone stream last week that was only 58F. It might be 62F by now. I'll check it tomorrow.
 
I quickly found an EPA article saying that dissolved oxygen in stream water is higher below riffles, waterfalls, and spillways. So I assume that fishing a steep stream with say 64 degree water ....lots of little waterfalls... might be easier on the fish than fishing a flatter stream at the same water temperature.

 
Yeah wildtrout2, saw your picture, almost feel like I recognize that one :)
 
I think most of the Laurel Highlands freestoners have been above their average height most of the summer. At least Linn Run has. It's the only small creek around with a USGS gauge, and it's usually a pretty good reference for the rest of the area. I plan on going out next week when it cools down some, so I'll find out.

I'll definitely follow this thread. It'll be interesting to see what people come up with. I bet they still get warmer than you'd expect but higher flows allow for more oxygen and better spring seeps. It seems like browns and even more so rainbows can be pretty resilient to thermal stress as long as there's good water flows. They hold over sometimes in some places that defy everything you read.
 
Jifigz I did not mean to imply that you were - just observing that even the smallest streams everyone always assumes are safe to fish may be borderline in this kind of heat. At least in MD/VA, PA mountain streams probably doing slightly better. Curious to hear what you find.

I have to drive an hour to reach good wild trout streams, otherwise I'd be taking temps all the time out of curiosity. I'd love to know what some of my favorite mountain streams are reading right now - air temps have hit 96-97 for 3 days in a row down here.
 
Of course we all know that good riffles, falls, and general turbulence adds lots of oxygen to the water which is great for trout. And yes, warmer water holds less oxygen than cooler water. I know of one marginal wild trout stream that is loaded with browns but in most sections looks nothing like a trout stream. It has very few riffles and nice runs and lots of flat water and some very, very shallow stretches. I'll be curious to see how temps are on that stream. One thing is for certain though, it grows ample hefty big browns.
 
yeah but I'd like to know more about it ... if you've got a waterfall above a pool how far downstream of the waterfall is the oxygen elevated? How much of a boost is there?
 
It would be good if people would include:

air temperature

time of day

These things add a lot of perspective to the water temps.

 
Also I hope people will post temps for warm water rivers and streams, for example the Susque, Juniata River etc. I took a temp of 90F on the Susquehanna near Dauphin. But that probably wasn't the max. How warm does it get?

And I wouldn't exclude streams like the Letort and Big Spring. It would be interesting to know what their temps are in their lower ends on a hot afternoon.

Big Spring right below its source springs probably stays cool all the time. But down below Newville it's probably much warmer than up near the source on a hot afternoon.
 
Dunbar Creek FFO was 62.3 yesterday at 11am when I finished up.
 
Today

Spring Creek at the PFBC parking lot with handicapped access, between Fishermans Paradise and Rt 550.

4:20 pm air temp 88F water temp 70F

Wallace Run, a freestone stream. At old Rt. 220 bridge, not far above mouth.

5:20 pm air temp 86F water temp 78F
Many people might think that if a stream gets this warm it can't possibly be a wild trout stream. But, not so. I've caught many wild brown in the lower stretches of Wallace Run.
 
Since it's been burnt already.

You're not the only one to catch wild trout out of there, TB. Both BT and ST reside there.

I taught a buddy to fly fish on that stream.
 
What is the proper way to take a temperature? Wade to middle of stream and hold under for 1 min? What is the consensus on this.
 
I have mine on a 5 foot string and let it hang to my boots or tuck it under my boot laces then wade out to my waist and wait a couple minutes to check. Taking the temperature in frog water or thin edge water is not indicative of the habitability of the stream for trout.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Harman's North Fork Cottages


Real Time Data From
the USGS Site

Share this page

Back
Top