Pickering Creek, Chester County PA, 5-18-09

[sunra]

Fished Pickering Creek 0930-1330 starting just below the old RR/waking bridge upstream about 1/4 mile(just above the pull out for parking as the road heads up a hill).

I spoke briefly to a gentleman who was heading home, and he had caught 6 fish in the last hour on wooly buggers at the RR bridge.

That being said, I didn't spend much time there, and I headed upstream.

There was some hatch activity but little to no visible trout rising. The bugs I saw were, I believe, cream midges #28, olives #20, lots of crane flies #14 and some sulfurs#16. A real smorgasbord, but nobody going out of their way to grab them, except me, lol.

Found some fish in the usual places which took my bead head sulfur nymph #14, soft hackle sulfur #14 orange and black caddis pupa #14 and mahogany stone fly nymph #12.

Almost all the fish were rainbows ranging from 12-15 inches, and they put up a wonderful fight.

I did catch one small brown which was so small that I wondered if could have been stream bred.

Does anyone know the starting and ending points of the trail which parallels the stream across the walking/old RR bridge?

Here are a few pics:

 

[Squaretail]

I'd bet quite a bit that browns wild. With the red slashes on the top and bottom of the tail, let alone the red in the spots and adipose, I highly doubt thats a stocked fingerling.
Never knew they had them in Pickering. Thanks.

 

[Raven456]

I don't think that I have ever seen a stream bred trout in Pickering, but I hope that is indeed the case. The trail that runs along the Pickering begins on Charlestown Road and continues on to a housing development called Charlestown Hunt which is on Rt 29.

 

[Mariner]

Wow, that's great news for Pickering. I so hope it's wild. That's the stream on which I caught my first trout.

 

[jayL]

95% sure that fish is wild. Great news!

 

[Van_Cleaver]

I grew up a mi. from the Pickering and have fished it since the sixties. Never saw any evidence of stream bred fish. However, I talked to a couple different anglers over the years that did catch them in some of the feeders, Pigeon Run, Lower Pine, and I think Hartman Run, which happens to dump into the Spec. Regs section. It is unlikely the Pickering will suddenly start pumping out stream bred fish in my opinion. It runs much shallower than it used to and the sediment problem isn't getting any better. It is encouraging to encounter locally reared fish, though.

 

[marcq]

i fished that creek last night tons of bug activity never fished it before but i cought a 14 inch large mouth and a 6 inch perch on a brown wolly bugger. i was shocked that there were no trout. i fished below the ymca. i dident even think there were troutin it. i wouldent mind fishing it again but i dont know where to start.

 

[Van_Cleaver]

You were downstream too far. The area you described is slowing up before the reservoir. If you go back Creek Rd to 29 and hang a left, you will cross a bridge near the bottom of the DHAOL section, should be plenty of trout in there. Parking there or upstream along Pickering Dam rd. If you want to fish open water, it is stocked near Hallman's Store on Rt 113, Pickering Rd. (Bridge is out), and off Merlin Rd. Good luck.

 

[chuckytown]

Van Cleaver, I grew up a mile from the Pickering. I saw a TINY trout this afternoon below the lower Pickering road bridge ( at the old camp) I'm talking about a fingerling. My spinner spooked it and it jumped right next to me. I've heard they breed, and probably in the stream that enters below Merlin Road. I caught a 22" Tiger Trout in the Pickering saturday morning, and saw some kids pull up a 9 inch tiger. I was wondering who's stocking Tigers?

 

[Van_Cleaver]

chuckytown, yes the small stream you mention is Pigeon Run, which is reputed to have stream bred browns. As for the tigers, I'd guess that Chester Valley Sportsman's ***. stocked them along with their other hog fish.

 

[marcq]

ill be up there this weekend. i was woundering where is a good parking spot and a good section of stream to fish. iv gone past it. i was thinking about starting at the bridge but there was a hole that looked nice it has a rock wall along the side of it. iv fished it but at the ymca im going up further this time and which is a better spot to go french creek or the pickering?

 

[chuckytown]

So this one got out of their containment ponds above Merlin Rd, or do they stock elsewhere? I'd like to try my luck above Charlestown Rd. sometime, I know there are some nice holes there.

You can Park on Pickering Dam road, just pull over somewhere. Its the DHALO section.

 

[chuckytown]

Fishing is still good on the Pickering due to rainfall this summer.

 

[mute]

Just the dhalo section im guessing?

 

[Mike]

Pigeon Run has a very sparse wild brown trout pop. near its mouth. Can't say what it is like farther upstream. Did not electrofish farther up. Pine has a much better wild brown population. Pickering has held a few wild browns for years, but I suspect that they all come from tribs.....have never electrofished a fingerling in Pickering in a number of attepts.

Van Cleaver.....I did not check my map. Is Hartman Run an official name or a local one? Do you know for certain that it harbors a wild trout pop? We're attempting to document all wild trout streams in the Pickering and Marsh Creek drainages via electrofishing.

 

[chuckytown]

No, not the DHALO section. I fish in a hole upstream of there. I keep catching tiger trout in that creek, so there must be a bunch of them. They're mostly in the 12-14" range, and very pretty fish. I caught one last night. Hartman's Run enters the creek near Pickering Dam Rd. in the DHALO section. It drains the Hollow Road area of the watershed. Hartmans Run has had some development in its headwaters in recent years, so there's a slim chance they could be re-populating in there. Stream reports say the Pickering Creek hosts wild trout spawning in its headwaters.

 

[chuckytown]

Can anyone tell me how to get the 20"+ trout I keep seeing come up off the bottom of the hole and hit something? They are in there, but never bite!

 

[jayL]

chuckytown wrote:
Can anyone tell me how to get the 20"+ trout I keep seeing come up off the bottom of the hole and hit something? They are in there, but never bite!

The largest streamers you have, very very early or very very late.

 

[TDB]

your probably seeing 20" suckers...

 

[mute]

I would guess suckers too,. Unless i dont know the section youre fishing, i would doubt youre seeing multiple 20+ inch fish that made it through the "tournament". You said you've been fishing pickering lately? The water still isnt in the 90 percentile?