Tulpehocken Cr, 12/1/14, Berks Co.

[DrNymph]

Decided to take advantage of this warm burst and head out to the Tully, which has been hit or miss for pretty much the whole year.

Threw my first cast around 7:30am, air temp at that time was 47 degrees, didn't check water temps at that time...was too excited, but I think they were in mid 40's. Flows were 170s.

Started up by Rebers Bridge and threw a chartreuse sculpin pattern and to my surprise, got one tail smack just upstream from the bridge. Continued to do that for the next hour without any more action.

Headed to Papermill and Bridge to nowhere and by then light was on the water. Continued with the chartreuse sculpin pattern with no action, switched to a white zonker and quickly hooked up with 3 respectable browns in the 14-16" range in no less than 15min, it was great. I was casting quarter down with immediate jerkstripping and they were nailing it at the apex of the swing each time. I hooked up but did not land another two in the same area.

Saw cream midges coming off and decided to head down to the red covered bridge. Put away my streamer rod and fished a tandem nymph rig with a bright disgusting baron nypmh on point and a zebra midge above it and hooked up with 3 more browns in the slower tailouts, all on the midge. Finally around 2pm, I caught a tree, fell trying to untangle it and decided to call it a day.

All in all an EXCELLENT Dec. 1st.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

I fished it on Thanksgiving downstream of the 222 bridge. No one was on the stream, which was nice. I didn't want to fish a wild stream 'cause I wasn't sure where things were at with the spawn. I never fish the Tully below Blue Marsh, but it was a nice change of pace. I was actually there the Saturday before Thanksgiving and didn't land any, despite hooking up with some. I had a dude who was bobber....I mean fishing with an indicator work his way downstream to me, within 15 yards (too close buddy! Nice, talkagive guy though, and somewhat of a newb I believe because he commented at the beauty of "these wild trout", so I didn't mind his 'invasion' into my space), and he seemed to be picking up several off of deeply set nymphs.

On Thanksgiving, I could see the trout sipping midges. I didn't have anything that small with me, so I put on a caddis and dropped a pheasant tail soft hackle. I couldn't keep the trout OFF the soft hackle! They were all over it. Great afternoon for sure.

 

[Maurice]

I just check the stocking schedule and it appears that only rainbows are stocked in the fall at the Tully. So DrNymph, those three 14-16 browns you caught, well if the F&BC gets their way those fish will have been gut hooked out of their in late may next year.

Your fall fishing opportunity and enjoyment catching browns. reduced, Thanks Obama!

Cuz ya know they die in the summer anyway.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Mo when I was there on TG, I caught close to a dozen fish, all browns, no bows. So they're definitely holding over. I know there's private stockings, but I was under the impression they were just fingerlings.

 

[afishinado]

Maurice wrote:
I just check the stocking schedule and it appears that only rainbows are stocked in the fall at the Tully. So DrNymph, those three 14-16 browns you caught, well if the F&BC gets their way those fish will have been gut hooked out of their in late may next year.

Your fall fishing opportunity and enjoyment catching browns. reduced, Thanks Obama!

Cuz ya know they die in the summer anyway.

Mo,

I seem to recall Mike saying the hatchery ran short of bows and browns were stocked. I'm sure Mike will clearify.

 

[McSneek]

Seems to me people are "utilizing" the stocked trout in the Tully this fall and winter. Wait, what if the Sasquatch caught one of the same fish DrNymph caught? Double utilized?

 

[foxtrapper1972]

Indeed. They do hold over and they GROW fast in there. Pick up any rock and take a look at the amazing amount of food they have. It is a very nice stream and I hope they leave it alone as far as regs go.

 

[DrNymph]

Went out again today before they released water (and almost killed me) and hooked into two 16" browns right in front of Papermill. These holdovers seem to give the fresh stockies a chance then when they think it's safe.......

 

[Mike]

The word that I received was that browns were going to be substituted for the rainbows by Bellefonte Hatchery, the hatchery that stocks the Tully. On that basis and based on the number of trout stocked it is probable that the majority of browns being caught in the Tully this fall from Rebers Bridge down to the covered bridge are fall stocked browns.

 

[foxtrapper1972]

Mike. Wondering if they stock any/many fish over 20"? Have seen and caught a few and always assume they are holdovers due to perfect fins etc.

 

[Mike]

While this is not true for the large RT that are stocked, I have seen occasional large BT that have been stocked that have been challenging to discern from wild fish, perhaps because they have been kept in separate, less crowded conditions than the run-of-the-mill trout. By challenging, I mean that they made me do a double-take. After having been in the stream for a couple of months their appearance would probably become even more wild-like. Years ago, large fish were not stocked in special reg areas and even prior to that they were, so the statewide program's historical record would show variations in approaches to this aspect of stocking. At some point large fish once again began to be stocked in special reg areas that recieve stocked trout (at the standard rate applied to non-special reg streams), so yes, it is possible that 20"ers are relatively recently stocked fish and not long-term holdovers. Were I to be thinking about large fish habitat, particularly for holdovers, I would be thinking about the stretch from Rt 222 downstream through much of the bait area.

 

[troutbert]

Mike wrote:
While this is not true for the large RT that are stocked, I have seen occasional large BT that have been stocked that have been challenging to discern from wild fish, perhaps because they have been kept in separate, less crowded conditions than the run-of-the-mill trout. By challenging, I mean that they made me do a double-take. After having been in the stream for a couple of months their appearance would probably become even more wild-like.

When you encounter trout that are "challenging to discern", how do you go about making the decision?

Are there some details to look for that most people aren't looking at, aren't aware of?

 

[pcray1231]

Mike. Wondering if they stock any/many fish over 20"? Have seen and caught a few and always assume they are holdovers due to perfect fins etc.

I've caught 2 such fish from the Tully. Both from the same place (a few years apart). And I believe them to be wild.

They were near the mouth of Cacoosing, and I've caught numerous smaller wild fish there. I can't be certain the 2 big ones were wild, but they sure looked it to me (blue eye spot, red spots, red adipose, perfect fins, etc), and by location, it makes sense.

I've caught a number in the 14-18" class in the Tully. A few I think may have been holdovers, but most of them freshly stocked.

 

[lestrout]

I used to think that Cacoosing had wild browns, since there were times that I've caught perfectly finned dinks. But Dino told me one of the local high schools has had a Trout In The Classroom type program, and they would release their work into the Cacoosing. Since they were grown from the eggs, albeit in the classroom at first, they would look wilder than hatchery issue.

 

[Maurice]

That is true Les they (TIC fish) would look more like wild trout. Except they would be brook trout because thats the species in the TIC program.

 

[NickR]

There are wild browns throughout Cacoosing. A little nosing around or a peek over any of the bridges and you will see wild browns. Unfortunately a dam at the mouth where it dumps into the Tully is one of the limiting factors of fish moving into it from the Tully to spawn. Definitely some wild fish in the Tully too especially near Cacoosing.

 

[troutbert]

Cacoosing Creek is on the Wild Trout Waters (Natural Reproduction) list.

Does that dam on Cacoosing Creek serve any purpose any longer? Could it be removed?

 

[NickR]

I don't think it serves much purpose at this point. Maybe one of the Tulpehocken TU guys will know more about it.

 

[Mike]

Dam removal has been held up by the presence of an active utility line in the substrate behind the dam.

As for trout movement into Cacoosing, I have no doubt that it would occur, but I have not seen the strength of evidence that I would expect. Even without the trout, dam removal would aid white sucker and American eel movement throughout the system.

 

[dshaffer]

I know that the dam removal is being pursued by American Rivers. The funding has been available, but as Mike says above there is a pipeline that needs to be addressed. We are hopeful that it will happen sooner rather than later.
I will say that the area just above the dam is all but devoid of insect life. It makes sense that once the dam is gone, the stream will heal itself over time and we should get more bugs and therefore a better fishery.