Dead Fish and Stressed Fish Valley Creek

[cwwbell]

I disagree with the dude here. I'm not going to pretend that I've been fishing the stream for a very long time, only about 5 years, which really doesn't compare to some of the locals. But a few years ago I was unemployed in the late Spring and really put in the time (almost every day of May) to get to know the stream. And I found fish pretty much everywhere I looked for them. Below the white bridge I caught plenty of fish, including my two largest on the stream. There is a lot of water in that stretch that is hard to fish with a fly, and I ignore it, but the idea that most of the fish are upstream doesn't fit with my experience.

All that being said, my favorite stretch is above the turnpike bridge to about where the Chesterbrook trail leaves the stream. This is where I go most often. Though the water from the iron bridge to the turnpike bridge has some great spots, too. I have never fished a stream that has access as good as this one. To have more than a mile of open water where you can walk a well maintained trail is truly very rare.

 

[vcregular]

This thread has morphed from its original intent - which is not a bad thing - but I am still very interested to hear of any findings, news re the topic.

Also, we all know Valley has a lot of wild fish, so they obviously do well all summer long, but I think we all must remember that this stream does get warm, and there have been documented fish kills due to temps. Also after summer strorms when the water spikes, so to the temps - due to our asphalt-nation we live in. VFTU has data on this. So please just keep this in mind if fishing mid-day or anytime during the summer months.

 

[Wmass]

I hit VC today and fished from 7am until 2pm. I started out by the metal bridge and did a quick survey for any dead fish or stressed fish. I immediately noticed that the water was alot colder than it had been the last time I was there and the air was actually fairly cool. The fish were hitting stuff on top all morning but the stream basically shut down around noon and the fish didn't start biting on top again until just before I left at 2pm.

When the fish stopped biting I walked way up past the 76 overpass to the foot bridge and I saw some of the BIGGEST browns I have ever seen just hanging out. I saw one that was easily 20+" and it was just cruising this pool until I spooked him and he bolted back under some overhanging branches.

The ony strange thing I found all morning was one little brown about 6-7" that I was actually able to pick up with my hand. He was just sitting in some shallow water and I was able to slowly lift him out. I got a picture of him and then revived him a bit before he swam away.

Here are my pictures:

 

[Wmass]

Brown I caught by hand.

 

[Wmass]

Dead deer carcas stuck in rocks below the metal bridge.

 

[Wmass]

Brown that I caught by hand.

 

[Wmass]

Caught this one on a CDC Elk Hair Caddis #18.

 

[Wmass]

n

 

[Wmass]

This was my first fish that I caught on a 18# stimulator. It was about 10-11".

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

nice fish! :-D

 

[littlejuniata]

Those trout are beautifully colored, and very precious. Hope they stay cool.

 

[jayL]

That friggin deer!!!

I couldn't figure out where the horrible stench was coming from. I was really lookin too because I almost puked when I got a good whiff.

 

[Wmass]

JAYL Last week it was a little "fresher" shall we say. It stunk to high heaven and there were black flies everywhere. Almost immediately after I stepped out of my car last week I was literally hit in the face with the smell of death and it almost knocked me on my @ss. Give it a few more weeks and that thing will be nothing but bones.

 

[mute]

My chub outing

http://www.pafishing.net/forum/gallery/data/valley.chubs.mov

 

[AndyP]

Jake- Sorry I haven't e-mailed you sooner but I've been away. I'll make some calls to some of my VFTU members today to check on things. The really disturbing/wierd thing is if this fish kill is only around the Wilson Bridge area that would make it the 3rd time in a row that this has happened in the second or third week of June. There has been unexplained fish kills in that area in 2005,2006 and now yet again. For everyone out there who fishes this true gem of a stream please keep your eyes and ears open and call the PFBC as soon as you see something out of the ordinary. On other Valley Creek news there are two large developments that VFTU is trying very hard to make sure don't negatively impact the stream. Neither development is addressing the issue of thermal impact and volume of runoff. I'll keep you informed as best I can.

Andy

 

[afishinado]

When I first read the post by Wmass about a possible fish kill on Valley Creek, I copied and emailed the info to Pete Goodman, the President of VF TU. Attached is a copy of an e-mail I received in response:


"Tom,
I am sorry that I could not get back to you when I received your email regarding a fish kill on Valley Creek. I was in Minnesota over a long weekend and could receive email but sending a reply was and issue.
I did contact one of our members who is also a member of the Tredyffrin Township's Environment Advisory Council. He reported the incident further to PA Fish & Boat Commission, DEP, Valley Forge National Historical Park as well as another member of the VFTU board who monitors stream temperatures on Valley Creek. I did that on Friday 6/23 and Andy in an email date stamped 6/23 @ 4:03PM said he had contacted all the appropriate parties.
I spoke with Kris Heister the Natural Resources manager at VFNHP this morning an she said that they have not observed any further dead fish and are monitoring the area you described.
Are you the one that actually observed the dead and dying fish? What was the exact (as good as you can) location, day and time of your observation?
Thank you for reporting this - it is folks like yourself that are our eyes and ears out there in the field. It is most important for us to be aware of any fish kills or other environmental issues or incidents.
Best Regards,
Pete"



VFTU has for many years protected and enhanced Valley to be the wild trout fishery it is today. A lot of time, hard work, and money have gone into this. My suggestion, if you see a problem on the stream, contact VFTU immediately. They have their own people monitoring the stream, and know all the proper people to contact. My second suggestion is to join VFTU, if you live and fish in the area – they do great work.

 

[vcregular]

Andy:

Thanks for the post. You are 100% correct that his could possibly the third year in a row for this type of event to occur. Very strange, and very disturbing for any trout stream, but especially an EV water, that rides such a fine line.

I echo what afishinado writes. Contact, VFTU immediately if you see anything strange. And better yet - get involved!


http://www.valleyforgetu.org/know/people.html

 

[Wmass]

Thanks guys for contacting the appropriate people. I am new to this type of thing and I honestly didn't know where to start but I started here which apparently was a great resource.

Just to repeat some info on exactly what I saw. I was fishing last Friday 6/22 and the area specifically where I saw the two dead and one dying fish was in the roughly 25-50 yard stretch from just below the metal bridge to just where that pool stops at a small run before forming a larger flat/pool above, the boundary of which is marked by a fallen tree and small rifle area. Two fish were dead and one I found after it had gotten exhausted in some shallow water. The largest dead fish was about 8" and the smaller one was 6" or so; the one that was still alive (barely) was 8" also.

 

[Red_headed_Stranger]

I fished Valley this morning from 9:30 - 1:00 from the metal bridge to the turnpike. I found two dead fish, one just up from the metal bridge about a 11 inch brown and another one upstream about 75 yards which appeared to be a rock bass. The fish I caught all seemed lively and vibrant, though.

 

[JackM]

Frankly, it sounds like someone is fishing that area and mishandling or overplaying his/her catch. Just a thought.