Rainbow fry…Blue Marsh Lake??

[JeffP]

Me too!

 

[Oregon_OwlII]

Didn't one of the little tributaries to Blue Marsh have wild Rainbows? or am I thinking of some other Berks County creek?

You might be thinking of Moselem Creek. Reported to have wild rainbows years ago. I know a good section of the headwaters dried up one year, at least 15 or more years ago, so I don't know if the wild rainbows are still there. The creek flows into Ontelaunee Reservoir.

 

[JeffP]

You might be thinking of Moselem Creek. Reported to have wild rainbows years ago. I know a good section of the headwaters dried up one year, at least 15 or more years ago, so I don't know if the wild rainbows are still there. The creek flows into Ontelaunee Reservoir.

I "found" Moselem one summer while exploring. it was the first trico hatch I ever fished. The fish rose well and there were wild bows there. A lot of the water was posted and I always felt a bit uncomfortable fishing there. The tricos were in a meadow by a road. I think I remember a Gift Road. I also fished a short but wooded section but didn't do much. It looked great. I believe access is virtually impossible today. What a shame!

 

[Mike]

I don’t know if the small and isolated population of wild RT is still present at its former location. Farther downstream there was or is a short stretch of Class A equivalent wild BT before the habitat deteriorates because the stream has cut into the sediments that accumulated for years above a mill dam. The mill dam no longer impounds water, but the sediments remain in the form of a field with an incised stream channel. Fingerling RT stockings in that stream never did well either. Additionally, the stream was regular adult stocked trout stream and it was one of the first in the state (prior to the actual statewide stocked trout residency study) where we discovered poor residency of stocked ST, despite the stream being a true meadow limestoner.

 

[JeffP]

I don’t know if the small and isolated population of wild RT is still present at its former location. Farther downstream there was or is a short stretch of Class A equivalent wild BT before the habitat deteriorates because the stream has cut into the sediments that accumulated for years above a mill dam. The mill dam no longer impounds water, but the sediments remain in the form of a field with an incised stream channel. Fingerling RT stockings in that stream never did well either. Additionally, the stream was regular adult stocked trout stream and it was one of the first in the state (prior to the actual statewide stocked trout residency study) where we discovered poor residency of stocked ST, despite the stream being a true meadow limestoner.

So rainbow fingerlings were stocked in Moselem?

 

[caddisflyer]

You might be thinking of Moselem Creek. Reported to have wild rainbows years ago. I know a good section of the headwaters dried up one year, at least 15 or more years ago, so I don't know if the wild rainbows are still there. The creek flows into Ontelaunee Reservoir.

Yes. I think that is what i was remembering. So Ontelaunee not Blue Marsh. That makes sense.
The last time I checked out Moselem I could not find a single area that was not posted. That was probably 8 years ago.

 

[Jessed]

Ontelaunee has 2 very cold limestone tribs along with willow right around the corner… it would’ve been interesting to see if all 3 of those emptied into a moving body of water.

 

[tomgamber]

Willow empties into the Skuke.

 

[Mike]

That’s close and it’s close. The Willow flows into Maiden Ck just below Rt 61 and about a third to half mile upstream from the Schuylkill.

 

[Floggingtrout]

I cannot back this up with first hand knowledge but I heard through grapevine there was a state hatchery overload several thousand put in at blue marsh. Maybe too many for the hatchery to successfully raise? Or could be a rumor