Valley Creek - Chester County - 15/Oct/26

[wgmiller]

My travels found me in Montgomery/Chester County for a concert, field hockey game, and of course some fishing. I was paying attention to the USGS gauge with last weekend's rain and Valley came up, then down. It gave it a much-needed shot of rain. I wasn't able to catch it during prime conditions, but I've fished it in much lower flows than yesterday.

Location: Valley Creek, Chester County (Turnpike to Mill Rd, Valley Creek Park).
Time fished: 09:00-15:00
Air temp: 60s, sunny skies
Water temp: 58
Water flow and clarity: 22 CFS, clear
Hatches: very few midge clusters, etc.
Flies fished: #10 jig head Kreelex minnow (copper/silver), #16 pink bead Walt's Worm

I covered a lot of water and fished likely holding areas. Plenty of small dinks and YOY with only one decent-sized fish landed. To wrap up the day, I fished Valley Creek Park where the stream was redone and there wasn't much going on. I did inspect the waters west of a Morehall Rd as well, and while intriguing, didn't find much happening there either.

Best fish of the day, taken on a #16 Walt's Worm

Fall is just about here and soon the leaf hatch will be in full swing!

Even the YOY browns need some love!

 

[riverwhy]

Monsters compared to the YOY I caught last weekend. One on Penn’s and one on Big Poe. Perhaps the rains have awakened the big boys and girls.

 

[Mike]

Monsters compared to the YOY I caught last weekend. One on Penn’s and one on Big Poe. Perhaps the rains have awakened the big boys and girls.

YOY lengths vary within a particular year class, between freestoners and limestoners, and between regions. For example, freestone brook trout grow faster in SE Pa in streams on the Blue Mountain than they do in northcentral freestoners. By the time fall rolls around YOY browns may have length variations of 37 mm or less within the same stream and year class. There are always fast growers and runts within a year class.