DoctorWater15
Member
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2016
- Messages
- 50
Fished Panther Creek in the Thornhurst Tract of Pinchot State Forest from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM. It was pretty warm compared to what we've had recently at 50 degrees F. It was overcast with a few light sprinkles too, but nothing warranting a rain jacket. I fished from the mouth of Panther Creek up to where Painter Creek joins Panther Creek (about 1 mile of stream). I decided to not fish past the confluence of Panther and Painter Creeks since both head up a much steeper gradient and take a small stream to even smaller, and I believed that the payoff for fishing these wouldn't have beaten what I had already caught.
Sadly, I lost my thermometer on Hickory Run on Saturday, so I didn't get a water temperature. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say low 40's though. There was still plenty of snow on the ground to feed the stream. Water was clear, but there seemed to be a fair amount of algae on many of the rocks.
I did notice a few little black stones crawling around next to the creek as well as a few midges, but there was no surface activity from bugs or fish.
I caught 9 brook trout and had a few others nibble, with the largest fish being probably about 8 or so inches, with the others being in the 3-6 inch range. Fish were caught on a size 16 rainbow warrior and on a size 18 beadhead pheasant tail nymph. I did try a size 16 black stonefly nymph, but had no takers on that. Most fish were in runout and pools below small pour-overs in the stream that ranged from 1-3ish feet deep.
The road up to the parking area (41.291067,-75.623863) was definitely muddy and slick, but I was the only one out there which was really nice. Truth be told, this was my first excursion targeting brook trout, so I was thrilled to be treated to decent numbers of these beautiful little fish. I can now say I've caught our state fish! In addition to this, the beaver activity in the area was impressive to see. While I didn't see a beaver, their handiwork sure was impressive. Definitely a good day out!
Sadly, I lost my thermometer on Hickory Run on Saturday, so I didn't get a water temperature. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say low 40's though. There was still plenty of snow on the ground to feed the stream. Water was clear, but there seemed to be a fair amount of algae on many of the rocks.
I did notice a few little black stones crawling around next to the creek as well as a few midges, but there was no surface activity from bugs or fish.
I caught 9 brook trout and had a few others nibble, with the largest fish being probably about 8 or so inches, with the others being in the 3-6 inch range. Fish were caught on a size 16 rainbow warrior and on a size 18 beadhead pheasant tail nymph. I did try a size 16 black stonefly nymph, but had no takers on that. Most fish were in runout and pools below small pour-overs in the stream that ranged from 1-3ish feet deep.
The road up to the parking area (41.291067,-75.623863) was definitely muddy and slick, but I was the only one out there which was really nice. Truth be told, this was my first excursion targeting brook trout, so I was thrilled to be treated to decent numbers of these beautiful little fish. I can now say I've caught our state fish! In addition to this, the beaver activity in the area was impressive to see. While I didn't see a beaver, their handiwork sure was impressive. Definitely a good day out!
