Oil Creek, Venango County, April 18 & 19, 2019

[dano]

Flow 675cfs on the Thursday the 18th.
Grannoms started to trickle off in the afternoon.
Flow 600 on Friday with 3+ feet of visibility.
Waited for the big hatch, only to be disappointed.
More bugs than yesterday but not what we would call " A Hatch"
Unfortunate as the Weatherman is predicting more rain this evening.
If by chance the area misses this rain, the stream should fish very well through next week.

 

[Acristickid]

Dano, or anyone else knowledgeable about Oil Creek flows-

Is this the gage you are referring to ? https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=03020500

What are good fishing conditions as it relates to the flows?

Thanks in advance.

 

[RLeep2]

I usually only fish Oil Creek for smallmouth (and lately, pike), so somebody else could probably give you a better sense of trout levels.

All the same, the gauge you linked is the only one on the stream and is located at the downstream terminus of ATW. Generally, this time of year, anything under about 650 is fishable if you're careful and wade smart. Optimum trout flows are more in the 300-500 range.

The other issue is turbidity. The upper half of the main stem watershed is pretty agricultural and muds up for a while after significant rains. And even the Pine/Caldwell side of the drainage can carry a fairly significant silt load. So, fishable levels down in the state park can be affected accordingly by lowered visibility even at what would otherwise be considered "good" gauge readings.

There is a web cam (one of the few I know of..) on the USGS gauge page and this can help at least some in determining turbidity at any given time.

 

[Acristickid]

Thanks. It’s a nice wide stream, reminds me of kettle in ways- particularly that the stockies rise well in the times I visited. Seems like it’s avoided the latest deluge. No immediate plans to visit but good info.

 

[prm]

Thank you, Dano!