Middle Creek, Synder County, 5/13/20

[DaveKile]

Middle Creek is a Keystone Select Project located in Synder County. I was heading to Penns Creek for several days and wanted to give it a try before getting into the bigger water. A very nice project with plenty of parking areas.

It was mostly sunny with temps in the 60's. The water was great looking stained green and very easy to wade. There were plenty of nicer holes in many sections.

Grey Foxes were coming off pretty much all day. Some sulphurs were sporadically happening too. Most of my luck was using a Grey Fox Comparadun on top and swinging it just below the surface like a wet fly.

 

[Trico3]

Glad to hear you enjoyed the Middle Creek Keystone Select. This year the project was extended downstream to the Covered Bridge. When you fished flows were still at good strong levels. This week the flow has gone down and the fishing has suffered. Still a good place to stop to or from Penns. I live close by and it keeps me off Penns often! Sulphurs picked up now. I'm glad to see all the anglers enjoying the project here in Snyder County.

 

[Swattie87]

Any chance that Brown is a wild fish? VERY nice quality fish if it's a stocker. Middle has some tribs that have wild Trout, and given its location there has to be at least a little limestone influence around.

Nice fish Dave.

 

[DaveKile]

We were looking for some wild trout in the mix and assumed there are some there. We didn't catch any.

 

[sarce]

Definitely think that brown is wild. Nice report - looks like an interesting stretch of water. Had never heard of it until now.

 

[Mike]

That stream is interesting. When I surveyed it in the late 1970’s it produced the largest fallfish and largest largemouth bass (27 inches) that I saw in my career.

 

[Swattie87]

How big was the Fallfish?

 

[Mike]

Around 17 in., but the other interesting thing was that there were numerous, slightly smaller individuals as well.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Im betting the brown is wild too

 

[Swattie87]

Yeah, big Fallfish turn up a lot in marginal Trout water, right in the transition zone to SMB water. Penns (which Middle flows into) has a lot of big Fallfish. Can catch them on dries sipping mayflies during the big hatches.

Most larger Susky tribs have them in good numbers and size. Biggest I've caught is mid-teens or so.

 

[troutbert]

The only photo I ever got the PA Angler to publish was of RLeeP grinning and holding a really big fallfish. About 18 inches as I recall.

They published it TWICE!

I had sent them beautiful photos of native brook trout and scenic streams, etc. But they never published any of them.

But the fallfish photo they liked! Even though it was a grainy, low resolution photo.

 

[Trico3]

Yes, there is a lot of Fallfish that will take dry flies here and there are some wild trout throughout the system. I usually catch young of the year (5-6") browns here every year, but never more than one or two in a season. It is a very marginal stream with some thermal refuge areas throughout the system. A trib named Wetzel Run actually goes completely underground and appears again about 2 miles away. It's the creek I grew up fishing and I still spend many hours on it each season. I kind of feel responsible for the DHALO project here. A number of years ago the Snyder County Commissioners sent out a survey and I suggested a DHALO or other project in the county. The following trout season it was introduced.

 

[Maurice]

I was with Dkile that day and while I was extremely impressed with the March Browns hatching not one fish rose to them. I did play with a few small chubs that couldn’t mouth my dry though. So I started nymphing and caught a couple, then went to a 3” articulated streamer and landed this beauty. It went about 18-19” and when it rolled after a few moments of bulldogging I thought I had a pig rainbow. Then it rolled over and came in like an old shoe.

 

[Swattie87]

Dressed in spawning colors and horns! Fallfish of a lifetime! Congrats Mo!

Hopefully Squatch doesn’t open this thread.