Big Spring Creek, Cumberland County, November 6 and 7th

[bigspringdweller]

Good day all.

Decided to take my new rod and reel out and try my luck at Big Spring. Fished below the ditch. Water good level, some insect activity, not sure what though. Looked to be in the size 20 range.

The work that everyone did on the creek in amazing!! What an incredible change in the stream. Fish are now everywhere, they aren't as spooky either since the water surface is actually broken up with all the dams and rocks that were put in.

Did well both days with the largest fish coming to hand on the 7th. Landed 2 on the 7th and lost two others. On the 6th I landed three and lost 9. All on a size 14 pink egg. I have never used them let alone tied them before. Couldn't beleive how well they worked. The rainbows all have serious color on them right now.

Pictures:

 

[jkilroy]

Guess I'll have to fish that creek now. Your pictures didn't come out.

 

[bigspringdweller]

Here's another. I had to resize them.

Also didn't realize that I could post more than one per post.

 

[philfisher]

Cool! I love Big Spring. When was the work that you mention done?

 

[Fishidiot]

philfisher wrote:
Cool! I love Big Spring. When was the work that you mention done?

Most of the work was done in Sept. There's been an extensive discussion of this work project in the Conservation forum:

http://www.paflyfish.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=15341&forum=6

 

[jdaddy]

I went by the other day. The project work is nothing short of amazing.

 

[barbless]

That fish in the second pic is approaching football size. Hail C&R.

I presume that the Big Spring (and Falling Springs) rainbows are spring spawners, like most rainbow trout?

 

[Fishidiot]

Barb,
Wild rainbows have been in Big Spring for decades but - at least based on what I have observed - they spawn in this stream in the fall nowadays. If you click on the link in the Conservation forum I posted above, you can see a photo of some spawning 'bows I took a few days ago. I suspect this fall spawning tendency is due to the fact that many of the 'bows in this stream are recent descendants of PFBC hatchery fish.

Falling Springs rainbows are spring spawners.

 

[Alpabuck]

A biologist that I talked told me that it takes hatchery rainbows two years of being in the wild until they switch back over to spawning in the spring!