Clarks Creek - A disaster in the making

[TimMurphy]

Dear Board,

I know it's been beat to death here on the board, but if there ever was a creek that needed chainsaw work this is it.

I spent a couple of hours today checking out all my old haunts, and by old, I mean pre-Floyd and Ivan. I had a hard time even getting within sight of the creek in some old spots, and when I did I was greeted by flat cesspools locked between logjams.

I understand and appreciate the idea of woody debris providing habit and cover, but the reality of that being a success depends on the stream having a gradient steeper than your average dive bar pool table.

I don't think Clarks drops more than 50 feet in elevation from DeHart Dam to the river, and that's over 15 road miles, and probably close to 20 stream miles? Every single logjam is filled with sandy silt and leaf debris, and that is not good for the stream by any stretch.

I know the creek has been hit with a half dozen hundred year floods in the last 15 years. That's why it needs some corrective action. If not, when the next one hits I'm afraid all of the logjams will release? If that happens we'll wind up with with an 100 foot wide sand wash like they have in the SW deserts.

Honestly, can anything be done before that happens?

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[JasonC]

Never fished it but hate to hear things like this.

 

[ColdBore]

TimMurphy wrote:

Honestly, can anything be done before that happens?

Contact the Fish Commission, or maybe your local TU chapter and express your concerns.

It may be daunting to deal direct with the Fish Commission, due to all of the layers and regulations, but maybe your local TU guys have experience in this field.

I know there is a group over here (Shenango River Watchers) that do ongoing maintenance of that sort on the river, so it's definitely do-able.

Heck, you might even want to contact them and see if they can offer any guidance on where to at least start.

And good luck!

 

[just_jon]

For the record, Clark’s drops 328 feet from the dam (633’) to the mouth (305’). Nonetheless, your observations are spot on. Never fished there more than 2-3 per year, but find it no longer worth the effort.

 

[TimMurphy]

just_jon wrote:
For the record, Clark’s drops 328 feet from the dam (633’) to the mouth (305’). Nonetheless, your observations are spot on. Never fished there more than 2-3 per year, but find it no longer worth the effort.

Dear just_jon,

I appreciate the correction. I knew I was exaggerating but now I know by how much! ;-)

When I moved to Harrisburg in 2001 I fished Clarks a lot. I was out of work for over a year in 2004 - 2005 and I fished Clarks probably 150 days over that time.

Back then I often caught stream bred brook and brown trout. I know they were stream bred because they were easily 10 miles or more upstream of the co-op hatchery, and they were 4 inches long and had parr marks when I caught them.

I can't imagine trout spawning successfully in Clarks nowadays?

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[troutpoop]

I live in the Hershey area and this was my "go to" summer creek because of the tree canopy. I always enjoyed the forest surroundings. Last 2-3 years I have visited only twice.
Its really a bummer. The log jams create unfishable places that just collect heat and cause problems.
I understand the idea of allowing nature change the path of the creek and such but in this case I believe it needs some help.

 

[Acristickid]

Not my area but I checked it out once a year or two ago. Had to bushwhack 75 yards to water on what started out as a good road to trail to thicket.

It was definitely hard for the human.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Sad to hear that. It was PaulG,s favorite creek. GG

 

[troutpoop]

I believe the OP is likely correct, unfortunately. I could see it in some of the flat areas just spreading out and making a marshy area devoid of any fish life. Would be a shame.

 

[krayfish2]

I've fished that Creek since 82 or 83. I've posted on here many times how the stream was wrecked / clogged with fallen timber. I live less than 10 minutes from the fly area and don't think I've been there three times in the last 10 years. Not with a short drive or the wasted time. Really a shame.

I'm guessing that one really good high water event will cause irreparable damage. Re routing of the channel, scouring/ collapse of banks which will cause more trees to fall across the stream.

If you've never been there or haven't been there in a while, picture a mountain trout stream with a beaver dam every hundred yards....... for five miles

 

[STONEMAN]

Any Doc Fritchey members care to comment why this continues to be ignored? And if it’s a matter of a dearth of volunteers, I charge all Dauphin and Lebanon County PaFlyForum members to get involved.

 

[afishinado]

Here are some of the past threads discussing the conditions at Clark's Creek >

Clarks 2018

Clarks 2018 - 2

Clarks 2017

Clarks 2017 - 2

Clarks Creek 2016

Clarks Creek 2015

Clarks Creek 2014

Clarks Creek 2013

 

[SteveG]

I'd happily bring along two chainsaws if a cleanup is allowed (not sure if PFBC/DEP) approval is needed first. I believe there is also a Clarks Creek volunteer group that picks up trash, that might get involved.

 

[SteveG]

Fwiw, I've taken water temps throughout the year, and the constant logjams are definitely having an impact on the water and not just a nuisance in regard to fishing.

 

[krayfish2]

There's log jams and fallen trees.....then there's the disaster that is going on with Clark's. The storm we just had roll through here must have dumped 3"+ of rain in twenty minutes. Interested to see how big flush of water moves through and rearranges the wood blocking the stream.

As for the volunteer saying they'd bring a chainsaw, so would I ...but.... I'm short of a pulling horse team or the heavy equipment to build a road to remove the jams. The trees are 40-70' tall and bigger than your arms can wrap around. There's got to be several hundred of them in the stream. It's a monumental task to clear it up.

 

[TimMurphy]

krayfish2 wrote:
There's log jams and fallen trees.....then there's the disaster that is going on with Clark's. The storm we just had roll through here must have dumped 3"+ of rain in twenty minutes. Interested to see how big flush of water moves through and rearranges the wood blocking the stream.

As for the volunteer saying they'd bring a chainsaw, so would I ...but.... I'm short of a pulling horse team or the heavy equipment to build a road to remove the jams. The trees are 40-70' tall and bigger than your arms can wrap around. There's got to be several hundred of them in the stream. It's a monumental task to clear it up.

Dear Kray,

Those logs will only be moved with heavy equipment or another flood. I saw jams last week that had 3 or 4 trees in them that spanned bank to bank with a root ball on one bank and 20 foot of tree top on the opposite side.

I hope this round of rain doesn't bring more damage but that's hoping against hope I'm afraid?

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[troutbert]

SteveG wrote:
I'd happily bring along two chainsaws if a cleanup is allowed (not sure if PFBC/DEP) approval is needed first. I believe there is also a Clarks Creek volunteer group that picks up trash, that might get involved.

You would certainly need to get permission from the landowner.

Which I believe is the Game Commission.

 

[SteveG]

Kray, I was thinking more along the lines of using a block & tackle to shift them around a bit, not completely remove them.

 

[SteveG]

Kray, I was thinking more along the lines of using a block & tackle to shift them around a bit, not completely remove them.

I'm curious as to whether this is something that has been in the works for 80 years, or is just natural change of a streamed.

 

[afishinado]

SteveG wrote:
Kray, I was thinking more along the lines of using a block & tackle to shift them around a bit, not completely remove them.

I'm curious as to whether this is something that has been in the works for 80 years, or is just natural change of a streamed.

My understanding is many of the trees were damaged by the wooly adelgid, an invasive insect from Japan. A storm with wind and flood waters, in 2011 I believe, felled many of these weakened trees and dammed up many parts of the stream.