Blue Lining

[kb3lms]

The DCNR link above isn't working for me.

Anyway, +1 for OnX. So far, on one app it has shown me public lands in SEPA that I knew about but had to assemble from about 6 different sources. Maybe it's worthwhile?

The geology stuff is very interesting.

 

[drakeking412]

Hey some streambed geology! I do this stuff all the time, too bad it's down in the dead zone of Greene/Washington county. Geology is super interesting paired with trout fishing. Obviously the quartzite/sandstone discussed but things like shale bottoms too and the wonder of limestone streams! Thanks for the geo posts guys!

As for trespassing when blue lining it's always in the back of my head. I like others try to pick some trash up and stay as courteous as possible. I've only had one run in with a landowner and it was honestly my fault and I was super apologetic. She let me go and then on the walk out I passed her house on the road and she stopped me to ask how the fishing was and if the fish looked good. There's some great streams down in Ligonier area I want to try but it's alllll private down there so I've avoided it.

 

[k-bob]

story about finding trout in wv, some geology mentioned:

https://www.wvgazettemail.com/outdoors/hunting_and_fishing/angler-finds-new-trout-streams-with-technology-shoe-leather/article_cc7b1e0e-f9a9-564e-a872-f658a97d6153.html

 

[k-bob]

western pa study, pocono bedrock more promising for trout than pottsville:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1752-1688.1987.tb00782.x

"Watersheds with more than 30 percent Pocono Group bedrock supported trout in every case but two, while in every case but one, watersheds with more than 30 percent Pottsville Group bedrock did not support trout."

 

[k-bob]

An interesting map online is the openstreet map, where people can upload trails that may be small and not on the usual topos. In some places I fish with rhodo and mountain bike or backpacker traffic, small trails that help avoid gnarly bushwhacks appear to be mapped well. Other areas dont have much info at all. Could be worth a look tho.

 

[k-bob]

nice roadworthy pa bedrock geology megamaps sometimes $30-$40 on ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Geological-Maps-PENNSYLVANIA-VERY-LARGE-FULL-COLOR-41-X-59-from-1960-LOOK/164086480322?hash=item263450fdc2:g:m44AAOSw0lhdd-ei

these maps are easier to use in NEPA & SWPA, parts NCPA, because there are bigger bands of bedrock. much tougher in center of state, esp. south central PA, where the bedrock bands are chaotic (see ebay images). I only know some of the better and worse bedrocks for trout, but in NEPA they help.

in laurel hill, SWPA, avoid pottsville, allegheny, burgoon, look for blue lines streams draining more pocono, or better still, mauch chunk.

in NEPA., huntley and mauch are good, catskill can be the cat's meow.
(post 17: "USGS, sullivan county, median well water ph: Burgoon Sandstone 5.9; Mauch Chunk 6.6; Catskill 6.9, Huntley Mountain 7.0."... log scale, so 6 is 2x acid vs 7)
https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5085/support/sir2013-5085.pdf

supergeeky questions: anyone know if the 1960 versus 1980 printings of this map on ebay have the same info? any thoughts on onX maps versus garmin huntview for a handheld gps? I am upgrading, broke the ole etrex 30, will upgrade map from 1:24K topo w/o birdseye/satellite images as well. thanks.

some ideas on using bedrock to fish central PA here, for ex ph of 5 (ouch) in tuscarora bedrock streams:

http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/courses/core/biol208/labs/CKirbyEtAl2008AcidPrecip.pdf

 

[silverfox]

k-bob wrote:
nice roadworthy pa bedrock geology megamaps sometimes $30-$40 on ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Geological-Maps-PENNSYLVANIA-VERY-LARGE-FULL-COLOR-41-X-59-from-1960-LOOK/164086480322?hash=item263450fdc2:g:m44AAOSw0lhdd-ei

these maps are easier to use in NEPA & SWPA, parts NCPA, because there are bigger bands of bedrock. much tougher in center of state, esp. south central PA, where the bedrock bands are chaotic (see ebay images). I only know some of the better and worse bedrocks for trout, but in NEPA they help.

in laurel hill, SWPA, avoid pottsville, allegheny, burgoon, look for blue lines streams draining more pocono, or better still, mauch chunk.

in NEPA., huntley and mauch are good, catskill can be the cat's meow.
(post 17: "USGS, sullivan county, median well water ph: Burgoon Sandstone 5.9; Mauch Chunk 6.6; Catskill 6.9, Huntley Mountain 7.0."... log scale, so 6 is 2x acid vs 7)
https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5085/support/sir2013-5085.pdf

supergeeky questions: anyone know if the 1960 versus 1980 printings of this map on ebay have the same info? any thoughts on onX maps versus garmin huntview for a handheld gps? I am upgrading, broke the ole etrex 30, will upgrade map from 1:24K topo w/o birdseye/satellite images as well. thanks.

some ideas on using bedrock to fish central PA here, for ex ph of 5 (ouch) in tuscarora bedrock streams:

http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/courses/core/biol208/labs/CKirbyEtAl2008AcidPrecip.pdf

I have the digital versions of those maps. They can be a bear to navigate due to their size.

I can only speak to the OnX hunt app for phones. Haven't used a handheld gps w/ onX or Garmin apps. I can say for the cell phone app, cell service is irrelevant. It has a feature where you can download offline sections of maps so you don't need any connectivity to see the aerial images or load property lines etc. I always have my phone, so it's convenient and I don't have to carry another device.

OnX has some great features like waypoints, tracks etc. that lets you customize the maps. I use it to measure things a lot while in the field. I just love being able to see property boundaries while I'm afield. Even if they're just downloads from the county and may be inaccurate. It's better than nothing.

I just have the OnX Premium subscription for Pennsylvania. I think it's worth it at $30 per year personally.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

I did some ice fishing several years back. (as you know fly fishing does not work very well with ice). I used the Goggles contour map of the lake and set up several holes with pop ups and one that I jigged with a lipless crankbait. I caught 6 - 9 pickerel each time I went out.

Most of the time I don't use contour maps. It's kinda embedded in me what to look for when fishing rivers/creeks. Coverage, current, pools.

 

[k-bob]

Sliverfox, yeah I like those big geology Maps but when I have put them on a little GPS screen they're hard to follow ... I also put them on a GPS using a different system from usgs -- different color codes-- which I was not used to. Big old paper maps are fine.

The eight yr old etrex 30 model I just broke was replaced by the etrex 30x five years ago. That 30x was replaced by 32x in 2019... a "new old stock" 30x @ $140 on ebay will do for me.

 

[k-bob]

One post mentions issues w some online pa bedrock maps. Using a computer, try putting "pennsylvania bedrock geology arcgis" in google. Spend some time with it, hitting map image upper right, and it's a map where you can overlay detailed bedrock info, by changing the bedrock dispay's transparency, over a good set of base maps. Doesnt really work on my android tho.

 

[k-bob]

One post mentions issues w some online pa bedrock maps. Using a computer, try putting "pennsylvania bedrock geology arcgis" in google. Spend some time with it, hitting map image upper left, and you can overlay detailed bedrock info, by changing the bedrock dispay's transparency, over a good set of base maps. Doesnt really work on my android tho.

 

[salmonoid]

k-bob wrote:
One post mentions issues w some online pa bedrock maps. Using a computer, try putting "pennsylvania bedrock geology arcgis" in google. Spend some time with it, hitting map image upper left, and you can overlay detailed bedrock info, by changing the bedrock dispay's transparency, over a good set of base maps. Doesnt really work on my android tho.

It has a dependency on Adobe Flash, which is why it doesn't work on Android, and could be why others are having issues on a PC, since Flash is disabled by default with most current browsers. Flash support by Adobe is supposed to end this year, hopefully it dies and vendors that rely on it transition to modern Web technologies.

 

[k-bob]

Hi the arcgis map mentioned post 31 works well on both my chromebook and windows PCs, when some other pa bedrock maps stall over flash. So the arcgis map may not have the flash issue? On the PCs, with the arcgis map's transparency tweaked and base maps set, that arcgis map is really nice for knowing the bedrock drainage of blue line streams.

 

[k-bob]

arcgis map can show areas where bedrocks known to be trout unfriendly, such as tuscarora, in tan here, are quite close to higher buffering bedrocks, such as juniata, in dashed lines between the bright turquoise borders.

image below is just a snip given file size allowed. but this is swift run, south of penns near weikert, running in the tan tuscarora bedrock. study linked this thread found PA tuscaraora drainage streams had a brutal median stream ph of 5. swift is known to have acidity issues. 1.25 mi north, little weikert run in the juniata bedrock might be a better shot to fish.

in other parts of PA, there are streams in low buffering pottsville bedrock quite close to streams in better potential mauch chunk, etc.

so some map info might improve fishing outcomes if you dont have a lot of other info on some small streams.