Penns Creek, Centre Co., 6/26/21

I stayed over night in Coburn, with intent on fishing Friday thru Monday morning. Water temps on Penns Creek is way out of bounds. Waiting for Trico's to kick up in July and will focus on local tailwaters. Maybe a return visit in October?
 
It's ironic, many folks are concerned with high stream temps, I've been waiting weeks for a few of my Pocono streams to warm up for better activity. I have finally gotten what I needed with this heat wave.

The way it's looking in NC Pa though, I don't think I'll be able to fish up there again this season because of stream levels/temps.
 
I drove to Penns Creek last Thursday morning from my home in Lancaster County and got there about 6:00 am. I think my truck showed the temperature was 47° when I pulled into the Cherry Run parking lot. It must have rained the day or night before as the ground was wet. The stream was a bit off colored, but it was still really low.

I’ve only been to Cherry Run once or twice in the past 50 years as I normally go to Poe Paddy and come in from the upper end. I had all of my fishing gear with me in the back of the truck, but I didn’t really plan on fishing unless I saw tons of rising fish, and couldn’t resist the temptation. I had my bike with me and planned to ride it.

It was a wonderful day for a bike ride. Quite cool, nobody else on the trail, and the sun was just beginning to come up over the mountains. I rode as far as the lower end of Rainbow Riffle, ditched my bike a short way off the trail, walked down to the stream and sat on the bank.

There were a myriad of smaller flies in the air. Some looked like tan caddis at a distance, maybe a stray sulphur or two, and lots of midges. I probably sat there for at least 20 minutes, enjoying watching the stream and looking for rising fish.

I probably saw a dozen fish rise. One here, one there, another one near the tail out. Nothing rising with any regularity, but still enjoyable to see while sitting there all by myself on such a nice morning.

When I left there I got back on my bike and rode through the tunnel where I spent some time sitting on the benches at the trestle pool. Same thing as Rainbow Riffle. Lots of bugs in the air, with no one else around other than me, and a few fish rising here and there the entire length of the pool. I ate my sandwich and drank a bottle of water, then rode on to the Poe Paddy campground where I turned around and headed back to Cherry Run.

I almost never go to Penns Creek without fishing, but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of being there last week. The only negative thing about it was that my rear end got a bit sore from riding my bike for the first time this summer. I’ll get over it. I guess.

Try it. Give the fish a rest. You’ll enjoy it too.
 
mt_flyfisher wrote:
I drove to Penns Creek last Thursday morning from my home in Lancaster County and got there about 6:00 am. I think my truck showed the temperature was 47° when I pulled into the Cherry Run parking lot. It must have rained the day or night before as the ground was wet. The stream was a bit off colored, but it was still really low.

I’ve only been to Cherry Run once or twice in the past 50 years as I normally go to Poe Paddy and come in from the upper end. I had all of my fishing gear with me in the back of the truck, but I didn’t really plan on fishing unless I saw tons of rising fish, and couldn’t resist the temptation. I had my bike with me and planned to ride it.

It was a wonderful day for a bike ride. Quite cool, nobody else on the trail, and the sun was just beginning to come up over the mountains. I rode as far as the lower end of Rainbow Riffle, ditched my bike a short way off the trail, walked down to the stream and sat on the bank.

There were a myriad of smaller flies in the air. Some looked like tan caddis at a distance, maybe a stray sulphur or two, and lots of midges. I probably sat there for at least 20 minutes, enjoying watching the stream and looking for rising fish.

I probably saw a dozen fish rise. One here, one there, another one near the tail out. Nothing rising with any regularity, but still enjoyable to see while sitting there all by myself on such a nice morning.

When I left there I got back on my bike and rode through the tunnel where I spent some time sitting on the benches at the trestle pool. Same thing as Rainbow Riffle. Lots of bugs in the air, with no one else around other than me, and a few fish rising here and there the entire length of the pool. I ate my sandwich and drank a bottle of water, then rode on to the Poe Paddy campground where I turned around and headed back to Cherry Run.

I almost never go to Penns Creek without fishing, but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of being there last week. The only negative thing about it was that my rear end got a bit sore from riding my bike for the first time this summer. I’ll get over it. I guess.

Try it. Give the fish a rest. You’ll enjoy it too.
Click to expand...

Well said and worth keeping in mind. Thanks.
 
don't beat around the bush, that's TCO website, they are full of you know what almost all the time. it's all about the money
 
yes, it's TCO and why don't we call them out? they are hurting our fish by posting those bull reports and some people just don't understand it.
 
We are a lot better with TCO than without and they are a good resource when you're in a pinch which many of us have been. Also I think the responsibility ultimately falls on the angler to decide to go to the river and then decide to fish it knowing/seeing high temps. I also can't expect someone to drive over to BFC every morning to check temp and clarity, it would be nice but they have a business to run so I get it. All in all I think the reports could be better but that can be said about any fly shop honestly. Go look at the Savage River shops reports....
 
I emailed them a couple days ago and whatdya know:

"Fishing Overview: Penns has been fishing well. Don't skip over the riffles, fish are spread out. Check your temps and don't fish if the water is over 67 degrees!"

 
TCO has always been that kind of outfit

The reading store was my go to years ago when i started FF'ing but i haven't given them any business in a long time since i learned better
 
Not having been to Spring Mills in years, what’s wrong with fishing between there and Coburn, especially if you stay above the dam? Is that stretch all posted these days? If not, it used to stay cold and had a great BT population in a parts of that stretch and my understanding is that the portion with a poorer population has improved substantially since my period of reference (late 1970’s).
 
I love fishing Penns. I maybe get there once or twice a year. Went to meet a friend around Father’s Day. Checked Penns creek angler site. He said unfishable. Checked TCO. TCO said hi 50s low 60s. Called the feathered hooked. Young guy working there said to call back as he was heading out to temp it. Called back. He said it was 72. Couple days passed

Met my friend. That Sunday morning near Loves cabin the water was 62 at 6am. By the evening and for the next couple days water was hi 60s low 70s. One morning at 5:30am it was 65 I didn’t fish much or at all some days. Lotta blue quills happening there.

I might post this question in the Gear section of the forum. But since I’m here: I have the standard Fishpond stream thermometer. And the Fahrenheit range goes from like something crazy like 30 degrees to 90 degrees. Or something nuts. I don’t have it in front of me now. But why wouldn’t they sell a trout fishing thermometer with a range of like 45 to 80? There’s like 3mm on the thing from 65 to 72. I have to use my cheaters to read it. So dumb.

I hear TCO sells a thermometer that reads 61 degrees 100% of the time. Might try that one.

 
Too hot to fish Penns.

If you find cooler water, it’s now a refuge area for the fish and it is poor form fishing those.

Time to fish lower Penns for its good smallmouth fishing , fishing for warm water fish elsewhere or saltwater- still many other options.
 
>>I might post this question in the Gear section of the forum. But since I’m here: I have the standard Fishpond stream thermometer. And the Fahrenheit range goes from like something crazy like 30 degrees to 90 degrees. Or something nuts. I don’t have it in front of me now. But why wouldn’t they sell a trout fishing thermometer with a range of like 45 to 80? There’s like 3mm on the thing from 65 to 72. I have to use my cheaters to read it. So dumb.>>

I would imagine it is a materials/components cost decision for Fishpond. They can probably buy the actual wide ranging liquid-filled elements in quantity from whoever it is that makes them cheaper than they can a more customized narrow range element.

The people who make the elements probably sell the same thing to companies who market everything from thermometers to measure soil temps for growing posies to water temps thermometers for anglers and so on. And since they can sell the same thing for a broad range of uses, they can make and sell them cheaper.

So, while it may not make good fishing sense, it does make good business/manufacturing sense. And as a side benefit, it also helps support the market for cheaters by stimulating demand..
 
I think I saw digital readout thermometers that would work for stream temperatures, but I'm not sure.

But I agree that there are "opportunities for improvement" with the thermometers typically sold in fly shops. They are hard to read.

 
Troutbert,

basically every handheld ph or conductivity meter has a tmeperature reading. These pendant type meters typically cost about $100 and are much larger than the fly shop special thermometers. the technology should exist to make smaller ones, however I have not seen any with a digital display.
 
Digital meat thermometers that can be submerged into water are all over Amazon for under $10. Cheap, easy to read, most even have a LED backlight if you want it, insanely quick and above all else, accurate.
 
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