Conodoguinet creek

[Silent Ocelot]

Outback though. I love the car, but it sits too low to get a good view of the water at most

If you think you're Outback is low you should talk to my car friend who is on air ride. That car is undrivable when aired out. Low is Google-mapping routes you have to take to make sure your vehicle can clear it without scraping.

 

[jifigz]

If you think you're Outback is low you should talk to my car friend who is on air ride. That car is undrivable when aired out. Low is Google-mapping routes you have to take to make sure your vehicle can clear it without scraping.

That sounds like a vehicle that is nearly worthless to own....just my opinion but I don't want to have to be worried about bottoming out on a regular asphalt road.

 

[TimMurphy]

If you think you're Outback is low you should talk to my car friend who is on air ride. That car is undrivable when aired out. Low is Google-mapping routes you have to take to make sure your vehicle can clear it without scraping.

Dear Silent Ocelot,

Low is a relative term. My Outback definitely sits higher than my wife's car, but much lower than my full sized SUV. You friend should just air his car up and air down to park. I can't imagine driving a car that could lose undercarriage parts or face plant if it hit a squirrel.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[Silent Ocelot]

Air ride allows you to adjust ride height. He can make the car drivable again by raising the suspension. I used to hate the idea of air ride but it has come a long way and is now a lot more structurally sound than it used to be. I don't know if it's a modification I would make if I were to own a nice sports car, I prefer a fixed suspension, not to mention the mechanical simplicity of the fixed system and the weight savings I'd get in that as opposed to air ride. Although I do have an affinity for California lowriders on hydraulics. No idea why. Maybe it is the same area in my brain telling me I should rock a grill with "Hatch Billet" engraved into it. Many people are actually putting in air ride systems into classic supercars because they were so low and were becoming annoying to drive because of the possibility of scraping. Some modern supercars have air ride systems for this purpose.

I hear where you're coming from @jifigz. Lowering one's car does take the utilitarian aspect out of it but for racing there is a benefit in terms of a lower center of gravity. Also, slight camber gives a cornering advantage.

Here's my take, I think modifying a car for racing purposes is really neat and it intrigues me how much performance gains one can get by making small adjustments. I think the new car scene that is obsessed with purely cosmetic mods is really f****** stupid, but that is my opinion. I'm mad because people are modifying their cars for what seems like racing and then just show up to car shows and won't even do a pass on the drag strip. To me, the Japanese drifter who can't even open his doors because he hit too many guard rails will always be cooler than a stanced Nissan R35 GTR with 50k in cosmetic mods. Not to mention the R35 is AUTOMATIC ONLY, quite lame, and a grave insult to that car's lineage.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

that could lose undercarriage parts or face plant if it hit a squirrel.

Yeah, many of the dubbers' (VW enthusiasts who lower their cars) have lost oil pans when lowering their cars. He wouldn't face plant on a squirrel, it'd get sucked under and he'd get a corrosive paint job on his undercarriage. I suppose if he hit a deer at a high enough speed it would just go over his car with minimal damage to the car. There's actually a YouTube clip of racecar doing just that. Kind of funny to see a deer get yeeted 15ft. into the air.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that PA roads are far too terrible for lowered cars or cars in general, yet I somehow have to make my car road-worthy every year. My roommate who hails from NY considers PA roads to be quite good.

Tim, I think you chose the correct vehicle for PA. A vehicle with good reliability, ground clearence and decent MPG's. My Saturn, weighing 2,500 is good for snow too as it glides over it and the extremely thin tires are much easier to work with in the snow. Plus, it's front wheel drive, just point the car where you want it to go and gas it! Obviously all wheel drive is best for snow. I may get a WRX. It'd be neat to have a sportscar that drives through the snow effectively, a true all-purpose vehicle.

 

[TimMurphy]

Yeah, many of the dubbers' (VW enthusiasts who lower their cars) have lost oil pans when lowering their cars. He wouldn't face plant on a squirrel, it'd get sucked under and he'd get a corrosive paint job on his undercarriage. I suppose if he hit a deer at a high enough speed it would just go over his car with minimal damage to the car. There's actually a YouTube clip of racecar doing just that. Kind of funny to see a deer get yeeted 15ft. into the air.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that PA roads are far too terrible for lowered cars or cars in general, yet I somehow have to make my car road-worthy every year. My roommate who hails from NY considers PA roads to be quite good.

Tim, I think you chose the correct vehicle for PA. A vehicle with good reliability, ground clearence and decent MPG's. My Saturn, weighing 2,500 is good for snow too as it glides over it and the extremely thin tires are much easier to work with in the snow. Plus, it's front wheel drive, just point the car where you want it to go and gas it! Obviously all wheel drive is best for snow. I may get a WRX. It'd be neat to have a sportscar that drives through the snow effectively, a true all-purpose vehicle.

Dear Silent Ocelot,

I love my Subie. I bought it used in 2019 a month after my wife got herself a new used car. I was amased by how roomy her Altima was for a vehicle that gets 30+ mpg on the highway. When a 2011 Outback was advertised and it had a 6 speed and a tow hitch I traded my Saturn ION on it the next morning. That Saturn was a great car too, and it also was a stick.

I plan on running my Outback to destruction as I know I will never be able to find another vehicle with a manual transmission again. I just like shifting gears and really wish you could still get a stick in a full sized pick-up.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[JeffP]

The one on the west side doesn’t look like AMD, and it’s not mud either. It’s got a really artificial aqua color to it. Have no clue what causes it but it draws my attention every time I drive over it on 11/15. (We all look at every stream we drive over as we pass by right?)

My family gets so annoyed with me. I once checked out Trout Run (at Springville) near Ephrata. I mistakenly left my van in drive and it started going up the hill. Chased it up the hill, jumped in and just kept going. It could have ended very badly.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

I love the fact that you have you have stayed with the manuals, it's a lost art in today's society. My gear head friends consider themselves "Manual Elitists" and look upon cars with automatic transmissions the same why I look at spin gear... with DISDAIN, referring to these vehicles as "scum" or "scumtronic". Was your ION a Redline? Just curious. I have an 01' SL2. The auto trans is a going. In fact it's in the shop today because my brakes ground to a halt yesterday. Needs "the works" on the front end. My mechanic has stated that I should probably swap the trans filter. I swapped it awhile back maybe 2020, but it's time to do it again to maybe prevent my trans from becoming an absolute slush box. I don't even think I have third gear anymore, which explains my lethargic acceleration on the highway.

My next vehicle will probably be stick to avoid my buddies crucifying me. I must repent for my "scum" ways haha and bathe in the Holy gear oil of the manuals. In Carrol Shelby's Holy name...

 

[Silent Ocelot]

I mistakenly left my van in drive and it started going up the hill. Chased it up the hill, jumped in and just kept going. It could have ended very badly.

That's scary. I'm glad you were able to catch it! Wouldn't have had that issue with a manual, it would have stalled. Another reason why manuals are superior, they even have safety features.

Worse I did with my Auto was take it from drive to reverse in a drive-thru in rapid succession. This was with a previous scum vehicle I owned.

When I was a lowly parts counter guy I worked with a man who would shift his torque converter style auto trans "manually", destroying his trans (probably within days). He asked to borrow my vehicle. UTI kids are a funny breed.

 

[krayfish2]

The Mahentango on west bank is pretty stagnant near the mouth. Always seems to have a Penns green look. The one on the east side is the problem. Picture putting 100 rusty bolts in a container of vinegar for 3 days. Shake it up and dump the liquid. That's what the stream looks like

 

[coyoterahn]

The Mahentango on west bank is pretty stagnant near the mouth. Always seems to have a Penns green look. The one on the east side is the problem. Picture putting 100 rusty bolts in a container of vinegar for 3 days. Shake it up and dump the liquid. That's what the stream looks like

The rust water looking creek on the east side is the Mahanoy creek located above Herndon. It’s polluted from AMD. The Mahantango on the east side isn’t polluted from AMD however it gets a lot of farm field runoff and quickly turns brown from heavier rain events.

 

[krayfish2]

The rust water looking creek on the east side is the Mahanoy creek located above Herndon. It’s polluted from AMD. The Mahantango on the east side isn’t polluted from AMD however it gets a lot of farm field runoff and quickly turns brown from heavier rain events.

Thank you for the clarification. I know the rust colored one I would see when I was going upstate to ride dirt bike and it was trashed 24/7. Something drastic needs to be done to solve that mess. Mahentango east does get filthy and I believe some work is being done with the farmers to try and clean that up a little.

 

[coyoterahn]

That Mahogany creek is horrible. I have a fishing buddy who lives in Herndon. They call it shi* creek! 😳

 

[TimMurphy]

That Mahogany creek is horrible. I have a fishing buddy who lives in Herndon. They call it shi* creek! 😳

Dear coyoterahn,

I was born and raised in Schuylkill County where every town had a shi* crick, or two. We lived with my Nana and Grandpa along Mill Creek in Saint Clair where even the rats were orange. That was in the early 1960's.

Coal died out and Mill Creek now has natives in it. I won't live long enough to see every stream reclaimed, but nature can do amazing things when left to itself.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[Fish Sticks]

schuyllkill county headwaters will prob clean up mahanoy and release hatchery brown and rainbow trout en-mass to recolonize just as it becomes liveable for brook trout again to sell their precious buttons like their doing in the skook drainage. 🤢🤮🤮🤮

 

[Swattie87]

Dear coyoterahn,

I was born and raised in Schuylkill County where every town had a shi* crick, or two. We lived with my Nana and Grandpa along Mill Creek in Saint Clair were even the rats were orange. That was in the early 1960's.

Coal died out and Mill Creek now has natives in it. I won't live long enough to see every stream reclaimed, but nature can do amazing things when left to itself.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

I’ve fished Mill and could swear it was dead still. One trib, which is clean of AMD (and has Brown Trout, not Brook Trout), causes a huge white line in the rocks at its confluence with Mill as it neutralizes the water to some degree and something precipitates out.

 

[Fish Sticks]

I’ve fished Mill and could swear it was dead still. One trib, which is clean of AMD (and has Brown Trout, not Brook Trout), causes a huge white line in the rocks at its confluence with Mill as it neutralizes the water to some degree and something precipitates out.

Those browns prob from Schuyllkill county headwaters vibert egg boxes or their fingerling stockings. Nearby Tumbling run i hear is all browns nowadays. Add that to the list of streams that say class A brook trout that ate class A brown.

 

[TimMurphy]

I’ve fished Mill and could swear it was dead still. One trib, which is clean of AMD (and has Brown Trout, not Brook Trout), causes a huge white line in the rocks at its confluence with Mill as it neutralizes the water to some degree and something precipitates out.

Dear Swattie,

When my mother was a child way back in the 1940's and 50's her Uncle was the caretaker at the Wolf Creek Reservoir on the Frackville Mountain. It wasn't open to the public, but Uncle Bill always brought some brook trout home to the family. It dumps into Mill Creek halfway up the Frackville Mountain so they are definitely in the drainage. People I trust have reported natives in Mill Creek lately though.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[Swattie87]

Dear Swattie,

When my mother was a child way back in the 1940's and 50's her Uncle was the caretaker at the Wolf Creek Reservoir on the Frackville Mountain. It wasn't open to the public, but Uncle Bill always brought some brook trout home to the family. It dumps into Mill Creek halfway up the Frackville Mountain so they are definitely in the drainage. People I trust have reported natives in Mill Creek lately though.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

I was there fairly recently. 2019 or 2020 maybe. Didn’t turn up anything in a few really nice looking spots, so the next few nice looking holes or runs I just waded right through the middle without fishing them, to see if I kicked any fish out. I didn’t.

Got up to the above mentioned trib, and noticed the precipitate line at the confluence and figured one was the problem, and one was probably ok, and chose to gamble and go up the trib. Immediately started catching wild Browns, and good numbers of them. Was a head scratcher, as I was expecting to find Brookies, if anything. The precipitate line at the confluence, and the presence of Browns in the trib, but not finding anything, even Brookies, in Mill, suggest the main stem of Mill still has some serious issues.

Edit: I was above the confluence with Wolf Creek, FWIW. Maybe there’s some further tempering of the water as it moves downstream and picks up more tribs.

 

[TimMurphy]

I was there fairly recently. 2019 or 2020 maybe. Didn’t turn up anything in a few really nice looking spots, so the next few nice looking holes or runs I just waded right through the middle without fishing them, to see if I kicked any fish out. I didn’t.

Got up to the above mentioned trib, and noticed the precipitate line at the confluence and figured one was the problem, and one was probably ok, and chose to gamble and go up the trib. Immediately started catching wild Browns, and good numbers of them. Was a head scratcher, as I was expecting to find Brookies, if anything. The precipitate line at the confluence, and the presence of Browns in the trib, but not finding anything, even Brookies in Mill, suggest the main stem of Mill still has some serious issues.

Edit: I was above the confluence with Wolf Creek, FWIW. Maybe there’s some further tempering of the water as it moved downstream and picks up more tribs.

Dear Swattie,

The Schuylkill River has native brook trout in it. I don't know exactly where my friends were fishing on Mill Creek. It is plausible that brookies from the Skook may move up Mill Creek when the opportunity is provided.

They caught them last year, that much I know for sure!

Regards,

Tim Murphy