Trout Run, Lancaster County, 1/12/2014

[Alnitak]

Well, knowing that almost every stream would be blown out, but not wanting to miss a nice sunny afternoon of fishing, I headed out today with my nephew and brother-in-law to chase some small native brookies in Trout Run, not far from Quarryville.

It was about 43F when we arrived and the water was high and running fast. It was a little bit cloudy, but not much. Amazingly it had clearly run over the road yesterday, which means it was a good 5-6 feet higher than today! We started out fishing pheasant tail nymphs, but weren't seeing any action, so we switched to a variety of red and pink San Juans under the assumption that a) they would be more visible in the cloudier water and b) there were likely worms washed into the stream from the storm. That did the trick, and we landed two small brookies in short order. I got several bites but didn't land any. Considering the conditions, not a bad result at all.

There's few things I love more than the beauty of a wild native brook trout. It's been years since I lived in a place where I could fish them, and I'm glad to be back in PA fishing for brookies again. They may be small...but they're beautiful. Today's "big" one was just 8".

Jeff

 

[turkey]

That's a pretty fish. Love the translucent fins.

 

[salmonoid]

8" is a pretty good sized fish for that stream. I have a really hard time believing that the stream was over the road. We did get 1-2" of rain but I'd suspect that what you were seeing was the effects of the ground being frozen, and therefore acting more like an impervious surface. I noticed a lot of local roads looked like they had been flooded, but all that really happened is that the water ran alongside them in the gutters and washed some silt and mud out onto the road. Not saying it couldn't have flooded, but the volume of rain we received would not cause the stream to go that high. I used to drive past there every day on the way home from work and I've never seen the stream across the road, even during Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.

 

[raftman]

What a great part of the county...love it down there. The Lancaster Conservancy has got some great properties.

 

[Alnitak]

I understand that its hard to believe the stream was over the road, but it was. There was debris caught up in the guard rails, and an area where the water clearly had run over the road then formed a torrent falling down the other side. I suspect that the culvert was temporarily blocked with some debris, which caused the overflow. With the narrow steep banks right where the stream goes between the road and the old low-grade railroad if the water rose and couldn't go through the culvert, the only way out is over the top.

Most of the trout there are smaller, and that was a nice one--but my nephew knows where to fish on that stream, so he knows where to fish for the bigger ones.

Jeff

 

[Mike]

Note the 2014 Lanc Co list of approved trout waters.

 

[raftman]

Mike, I'm not seeing it listed... must be missing it?

 

[troutbert]

It was on the stocking list in 2013. Not in 2014.

So, a native brookie stream is taken off the stocking list. Which is a good thing.

Jack Dent Branch a brookie stream in Clearfield Cty, was also taken off the stocking list this year. Also a very good thing.

Mike, or anyone, do you know of any other wild trout streams or sections taken off the stocking list for 2014?

Those hatchery fish will still be stocked elsewhere, providing recreation, probably in streams where the trout fishing is completely dependent on stocking. That's the way to do it.

 

[raftman]

Thanks for the explanation!

 

[geebee]

now that stocking has ceased, what are the regs on this stream now and will they change ?

 

[salmonoid]

Mike wrote:
Note the 2014 Lanc Co list of approved trout waters.

That stream had to have had one of the highest fisherpeople to stocked fish ratio in the whole state. There are only two stocked holes but if there was one tent there for opening day, there was a dozen. Gonna be some disappointed folks in the southern end. I am definitely not one of them. I've caught some sickly looking rainbows there in the fall and at least one holdover 'bow as well.

Alnitak - that makes sense that the culvert was jammed. That's the only way I could see that stream jumping the banks.

 

[Mike]

Climbers Run, into which Trout Run flows, will still be stocked.

There will not be a need for special regs on Trout Run and none will be applied.

Conowingo Creek will see an increase in stocked fish.

 

[lv2nymph]

Congrats, nice looking brookie.