Letort Spring Run, Cumberland Co., 04/01/2017

[DGC]

The first printing of Marinaro was 1950 I believe and the 2nd ed just had an updated intro.

 

[tomitrout]

actually the above photo was likely taken by Marinaro in the early 1950's prior to the construction of I-81.

It pretty much says that in the caption. What's not mentioned is how the stream channel was also straightened thru that stretch to accommodate the overpass, 'progress' indeed.

 

[afishinado]

Interesting subject.

I fished the Letort first back in the early 80's I would estimate, and fish it only couple times a year, more often in the cold season lately.

As Dave Weaver noted, there is variation in weed growth and flow level from year to year and season to season, but not much as changed in the the past 30+ years from my perception.

What do the long-timers and regulars on the stream see?

 

[tomitrout]

What do the long-timers and regulars on the stream see?

From the ones I've talked to, it's nowhere near as good as it used to be...usually said with a grumpy tone, same thing you hear when talking to any old timer about their home waters. 😛

Basic gist is that the pesticide spill in the early '80s did no favors and it's never completely rebounded. And local development has also done no favors; more hard surfaces prevent recharging the aquifer to an extent, along with more wells in the area also drawing water that would be making it into the spring sources and there's also the ever increasing size of the neighboring quarry. There's just not as much water in the stream as there used to be, so the lighter flows probably also don't help with the siltation issue as there's just not the volume of water to move things downstream like there used to be. Especially in the headwaters/heritage stretch where the gradient is so gentle. The silt has always been issue up there, it's just so in your face noticeable right now because the flow is so low. And there's really not a whole lot, if anything, we can do about the volume of water that's discharged from the springs, other than pray and dance for rain...I don't recall ever seeing it this low in the 20+ years I've been here, we'll just have to see what the spring & summer brings.

But, the lower end is in better shape than it used to be, what was once basically unfishable is now quite good at times since the sewage plant discharge got rerouted many decades ago. The stream has a bit more gradient down there and is also more channelized so you don't experience the built up of silt like you do above town and it holds more depth. But access can be a hassle in spots, takes a bit more effort to get in and out below town than it does from the Nature Path.

 

[Tups]

The photo is taken from the 1970 second edition of MDFC. I don't have the 1950 First edition, so I can't say whether that particular photo is included in first edition. Photo may have been taken anytime between late 1940's and whenever I81 was built - I presume 1960s.