Lancaster County Brook Trout

[JeffP]

There was an article recently from PJ Reilly that addressed the Fish Commission's proposal to protect larger brook trout. He noted that the Fish Commission recognizes the Segloch and an unnamed tributary of Trout Run as having Brook Trout. Obviously there are more than that, at least I hope. What streams have you caught brookies in Lancaster Count ? I have caught brookies in Segloch, Walnut, Kettle, Hammer, Elders Run, Middle (obviously and Elders Run fish), and the Upper Cocalico. The most important question is how recently have you caught (or heard from a reliable source) a brookie in Lancaster County. Have any of you fished the upper Cocalico? It was probably 30 years ago that I fished it. I think much of that land is posted. I have seen 1 brookie on Harnish (Cocalico trib) Run and one on Furnace which runs into the Segloch. I fear few if any are left.

 

[sarce]

Almost every brook trout stream I've fished regularly in the Piedmont region, which includes Lancaster County, has seen declining numbers of brook trout in the past 10-20 years (and I'm sure longer, but just speaking to my own experiences). A few streams have lost them completely, but in most cases the brook trout are still present, just in far lower densities than when I was a teenager. Where there used to be 4 or 5 adult brook trout per pool, now there might be one in every other pool, which would be a 80-90% decrease in number of adults. Still other streams were never that good and have remained stable at low densities.

I don't think this issue is getting enough attention because many of these streams are on private land and too small for most anglers to care about. Not as true in Lancaster County, where most of the streams you mentioned are accessible. Definitely true in neighboring Chester County, where I grew up.

To more directly address the question, the two streams mentioned were likely just the Class A's. I fished the UNT to Trout Run 3 years ago and got skunked. But I did catch one in the main stream. I've heard of or seen pictures of catches from several of the other streams in the past year.

 

[Swattie87]

I’ve caught them on all of the ones listed above, except Cocalico, never fished that one. You can add Boyers and Behm to the list. Within the last 10 years, and most within the last 5. They’re still there. There’s Browns to varying degrees in most if not all of them though. Speaking specifically about the cluster in northern Lancaster Co. (the Furnace Hills) the issue is habitat degradation from sedimentation from the predominant natural red sandstone in the area. These streams fish better and hold more biomass after a big flood event (2011 for example) cleans the sand out. They’re all way down in populations right now, because of the habitat loss to sedimentation. Browns, Brookies, or both. But there are still Brookies there.

There’s a few more in southern Lancaster Co, but I know the Furnace Hills streams better, so I’ll limit my input to those.

 

[Mike]

There’s a few more in southern Lancaster Co, but I know the Furnace Hills streams better, so I’ll limit my input to those.

The additional ones in the Pequea-Mill Ck Basin, plus one unsurveyed trickle that’s a trib to a private pond in the Segloch-Furnace Basin.

 

[riverwhy]

So someone damned a Brookie trib of the Seglock/Furnace watershed? How recently was this? Not surprising when these chunks of land get bought up for someone’s private estate.

 

[Swattie87]

So someone damned a Brookie trib of the Seglock/Furnace watershed? How recently was this? Not surprising when these chunks of land get bought up for someone’s private estate.

There is and has been a ton of small ponds in those watersheds for years.

 

[riverwhy]

Some have been for sure but there also have been new ones added.

 

[McSneek]

Hammer had a lot of brookies and wild browns and then a couple of years ago the population of both plummeted to the point that catching either is rare now. Caught a lot of brookies in Segloch but stopped fishing it years ago. Both streams suffer greatly from habitat degradation. If you’re after wild fish in Lancaster County suggest you fish for smallmouth, rock bass, redbreasts and carp.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Hammer had a lot of brookies and wild browns and then a couple of years ago the population of both plummeted to the point that catching either is rare now. Caught a lot of brookies in Segloch but stopped fishing it years ago. Both streams suffer greatly from habitat degradation. If you’re after wild fish in Lancaster County suggest you fish for smallmouth, rock bass, redbreasts and carp.

I noticed a big decline after HC was dammed up to create the lake again. But, I don't know the mechanics of how wild trout populations UPSTREAM of a dam would be affected. Maybe someone else does-I don't. So I'm not willing to say the lake is the problem.

 

[wgmiller]

This is a good topic as it highlights relative unicorns in Lancaster County. Whether these populations are legacy brook trout populations or derivatives of stocked fish is unknown, but for the sake of argument we'll call them legacy strains. The obvious areas for brook trout in LanCo are the Furnace and River hills. There are a few other places that harbor them as well (as mentioned, upper Cocalico Creek, etc.), but they are pretty much restricted to a few small areas. IIRC, Donegal used to have them in the headwaters many, many years ago, but can't confirm that. I've caught brookies in all the usual places, some as recent as a few years ago. With the persistent low water we've endured lately, I stay away from these streams, because they are super challenging in low water conditions. The fish are just trying to survive, so I'm not going to pile it on.

As far as the most unique location I've caught a brookie in Lancaster County, back in 2013 I caught several beautiful brookies in eastern/northeastern Lancaster County. This was not an area one would suspect and whatever these fish were eating had them full of color. I haven't been back to this location, as the lower portion is on posted land.

Eastern/northeastern Lancaster County fire belly (c. 2013)

Eastern/northeastern Lancaster County stud (c. 2013) *pardon my early photography skills

UNT to Pequea Creek (c. 2017)

Hammer Creek (c. 2021) from the stretch above 322 to the old dam

Walnut stud (c. 2021)

I haven't really targeted brookies in LanCo much in the past few years, as my wheels have taken me out-of-county to explore new water. Perhaps someday when the hydrologic cycle straightens itself out I'll get back to it.

 

[Swattie87]

Forgot about the ones out east. And yes, I remember them being particularly colorful. I’m sure it’s the same stream from your description wg.

 

[td566]

I find this fascinating that Lancaster County has native brook trout. Every trip there for me over the years was to the Amish Country farmlands. Never heard of the Furnace Hills area until I began exploring this website. I sure hope they can hold on.

 

[tjsingle]

Been a couple of years since I fished Lancaster County for brookies but I can attest to catching some in the Pequea watershed.

Average example of a brookie from that particular stream
​

Maybe this spring I will poke around again. I do want to try a few streams in and around Chester County that I suspect may have some brook trout, but I do have some doubts.

 

[wgmiller]

Been a couple of years since I fished Lancaster County for brookies but I can attest to catching some in the Pequea watershed.

View attachment 1641248306
Average example of a brookie from that particular stream
​

Maybe this spring I will poke around again. I do want to try a few streams in and around Chester County that I suspect may have some brook trout, but I do have some doubts.

Do I see a Golden Retriever in the mouth of that fish? 🙂

 

[tjsingle]

Do I see a Golden Retriever in the mouth of that fish? 🙂

Oh yeah - Probably my favorite fly.

 

[sarce]

Maybe this spring I will poke around again. I do want to try a few streams in and around Chester County that I suspect may have some brook trout, but I do have some doubts.

Stay south of rt 30, you'll find some.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Man, I miss the 717. This thread put me in the mood for revisiting so many of my "hometown streams".

 

[mt_flyfisher]

The additional ones in the Pequea-Mill Ck Basin,

I’ve seen nice looking ones while walking there, but never fished for them.

 

[JeffP]

Thanks for the reports! Some lovely trout there! Northeast Lancaster County. Hmmm. I will hit the Hammer and some tribs this spring and report back. Also the Segloch. I'm sure drought has a lot to do with some of the issues.

 

[wgmiller]

Man, I miss the 717. This thread put me in the mood for revisiting so many of my "hometown streams".

It's easy to wax nostalgic, but the experience has likely changed on many of the streams you remember. Perhaps it's that we're all a bit more seasoned and well-traveled now or that persistent low water has changed the experience. Either way, if you ever come back to visit some of your old "haunts", I'd temper your expectations.