NC PA drought-- Brookies at risk?

[dudemanspecial]

Sucks. Gotta admit now, it appears to be pretty bad. REALLY sucks because my family is headed up there this coming Sunday for the first time in a few years. My son has been practicing hard w/ his casting, etc., and was really looking forward to his first "real fly fishing" trip w/ his grandpa and dad.

Same situation here, going up to camp for the first time since the end of May, my son was looking forward to fishing the cricks but when I tell him we have to go to the same old pond we used to always go to he is going to groan. We will have fun though.

 

[Swattie87]

Sucks. Gotta admit now, it appears to be pretty bad. REALLY sucks because my family is headed up there this coming Sunday for the first time in a few years. My son has been practicing hard w/ his casting, etc., and was really looking forward to his first "real fly fishing" trip w/ his grandpa and dad.

Smallies. The Pine.

Or really, really steep Brookie streams. I know a few up there. PM me if you want the intel. (You may very well already know them.)

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Smallies. The Pine.

Or really, really steep Brookie streams. I know a few up there. PM me if you want the intel. (You may very well already know them.)

yeah sorta my plan. My son is 11 but very small for his age so I don't want to push it TOO much, but he's a track star-he can hang all day hiking. We'll be staying in the Kettle Creek area-the lower stretches of Kettle will be available to us too, closer to the dam. So that's probably closer for smallie water than The Pine.

 

[sandflyx]

Right now the brookies are very stressed, please leave the blue lines up here alone, even pine sucks for bass with no water. Very bad here I stopped fishishing blue lines in beginning of july. a few have hit 70 degrees or more.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Yeah Bob-no worries. I have absolutely NO plans on fishing "blue lines" right now. No interest in scaling the side of a mountain, just to find a pool here or there w/ fish stacked on top of each other.

It looks like there's a "back door cold front" moving in which, thankfully, is going to bring rain for several days next week. And I'm glad, not for the fishing but just because the region NEEDS it. That said, my dad and I have already made plans to drive a little further while we're up there to fish spring cricks, etc. Centre Co. is only and hour to 90 minutes from where we'll be. That's nothin. When we stay at our camp in Potato City, its an hour and 10 down to Slate Run and we'd do that all the time.

 

[JeffP]

Hard to believe there are still greens in southern Pa. I may try to hit some deeper water on the lower Hammer or the Cocalico.

 

[troutbert]

Nasty drought in north central counties. Streamflow gauge on main stem Driftwood Branch at Sterling Run currently 6 cfs.

I haven't been there for a month but the tribs must be barely flowing. This has gotta be one of the worst summers in that area. Are the natives at risk?

This gauge on the Driftwood Branch is now at 2.4 cfs.

By what percentage do you think this drought will reduce the brook trout populations in the Driftwood Branch drainage?

Just a rough estimate. 0%, 15%, 30%, 45%, 60%, 75%, 90% ?

 

[BradFromPotter]

Here is Slate Run!

 

[Bamboozle]

The thing I hate the most about droughts is all of the stone cairns the "pebble pilers" make in the dry stream beds... 😉

 

[wildtrout2]

The thing I hate the most about droughts is all of the stone cairns the "pebble pilers" make in the dry stream beds... 😉

I skatter them when I come across one. Leave no trace.

 

[Bamboozle]

I skatter them when I come across one. Leave no trace.

Ditto!

 

[bikerfish]

we need a couple good tropical systems to move through, but not storm or hurricane strength, just days of good soaking rains. I was planning on a long weekend exploring/fishing potter and surrounding areas mid october, and IF we get rain, they may have water in them by then, I think I will just leave the fish alone, let em eat and get through the winter.