High hopes meet high water on opening day
Trout fishermen in our corner of the state flocked to their favorite trout streams on Saturday morning with high hopes of creeling their five trout daily limit on opening day. What they found when they arrived streamside was high water — cold, murky, fast moving high water, creating circumstances which make for challenging trout catching conditions
As on most other trout waters, high water was a feature of Chester County’s West Valley Creek on opening day, but that didn’t stop eager anglers from showing up long before the eight o’clock starting bell to claim their preferred hotspots along the bank. Although West Chester’s Scott Allen arrived at 4:45 a.m. to stake his claim, he was not the first fisherman on the scene. That honor went to father and son team Dave and Tyler Simcue who trekked all the way from New Jersey to set up their streamside shop at 3:45 a.m.
At 7:20 a.m. a mink caught our attention as it raced through the scrubby underbrush on the opposite side of the creek. “Those mink are trout killers!” one fisherman grumbled. By 7:30 a.m. an elbow-to-elbow crowd of angling hopefuls lined the stream under the watchful eye of Northern Chester County’s Waterways Conservation Officer Don Finn. Then, as if announcing the two-minute warning at 7:58 a.m., a belted kingfisher swooped through sounding its trademark rattle-like call.
When the clock finally struck eight this year’s edition of trout fishing’s rite of spring, uniquely sandwiched between an earthquake and an eclipse, was underway. Dozens of monofilament lines spiderwebbed across the surface — lines baited with everything from worms, to corn, to PowerBait and more. Scott Allen’s early arrival would pay finny dividends as he connected with the first trout of the morning — a brook trout that fell to his PowerBait offering at 8:02 a.m. Allen promptly reeled the fish in and quickly released it.
Allen’s early success would prove to be the exception to the rule. Despite sunny skies and decent weather, the early morning fishing proved slow going, likely due to the unfriendly water conditions caused by a weeklong deluge of rain. Some anglers suspected that the storm-fueled rush of high water might have flushed the stocked trout far downstream.
But the folks at Pennsylvania’s Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) asserted that this would not necessarily be the case. “Due to recent rain across Pennsylvania, many waterways may be higher than normal on opening day of trout season. A high-water event may cause trout to move, but they don’t suddenly get washed downstream,” they noted. “Fish may move either downstream or upstream in search of a refuge area. High flows can help to distribute trout that have been recently stocked; however, studies show that most stocked trout will remain in place if they are close to adequate habitat or a large pool that provides depth and cover.
“Fish survive high water and flood conditions by seeking out refuge areas within streams. During periods of high water, fish move towards the banks to find calmer water and lower velocities. Fish avoid the fastmoving surface and hold behind rocks and submerged woody debris to find calmer current breaks and may rest on the stream bed. Fish may move into smaller tributaries during periods of high water and return to the larger waters when flows recede.”
Meanwhile along West Valley Creek, more trout began to cooperate as the morning wore on and the waters warmed. That’s when Glenmore’s Chuck Yost landed a brook trout on a bubble gum worm and Honeybrook’s Jeremiah Pierce hauled in a hefty rainbow trout tempted by his Trout Magnet lure. A host of other anglers began enjoying
success as well. All can look forward to more weeks of great trout fishing ahead as the PFBC’s in-season trout stocking schedule kicks in.
For more info on the in-season trout stocking schedule visit the PFBC website at https://fbweb.pa.gov/TroutStocking.
RUFFED GROUSE SOCIETY FIELD DAY
Folks of all ages are invited to join the Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) chapters of Southeast Pennsylvania for an opportunity to work and interact with Pennsylvania Game Commission staff on Saturday, April 13. Participants will meet on State Game Lands 110 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This field day will include chapter and national RGS news and happenings, planting
of 1,300 potted seedlings of various mast-producing shrubs and a driving tour of habitat activities. Inclement weather will not cancel the field day.
The day will start with a welcome and light refreshments at 9 a.m. in the PGC parking lot off Route 183 which is 2 miles north of I-78.The first hour of the program will include chapter news and events, RGS National news and PGC current program objectives as well as ongoing habitat projects. Andy Weaver, PGC Southeast Regional Forester, will provide current information concerning new and ongoing habitat work across the Southeast Region. Game Commission Forestry Staff will detail the proper planting of the seedlings for the work portion of the day.
A complimentary hot lunch will be provided for all participants.
Hot and cold drinks will also be provided. After lunch, a driving tour of recent habitat and prescribed fire forest habitat work will be conducted. All will have a chance to see the site and evaluate the habitat for grouse. Sturdy walking shoes and work gloves are recommended for the day’s activities. Tools needed for the day will be shovels and perhaps a digging bar. The Game Commission will supply planting bars for those wishing to use them.
For more information or to register for this event contact John C. Cave at cavescorner@ comcast.net.