Fishing Near Ringtown, Schuylkill County

[gau16]

Hi all,

Been lurking on the forum for a few months now since my move to Philadelphia, first post. And of course I am asking for help..

Normally fish closer to home, Valley Creek being my go-to. But in a few weeks I have a couple nights stay in Ringtown with the purpose of fishing.

Looking for any guidance on creeks to fish. I normally don't ask things like this on forums but seeing it is a short weekend trip, I want to try and make it worth it.

I love doing my research and finding success from my outings but just need a couple nudges in the right direction.

I suppose I prefer wild fish but won't discriminate a stocked creek for a day. And driving a bit to something worthwhile isn't a hassle either.

So far, my only good looking intel in Jeans Run. Found some people saying it fishes well but can be a hike, literally.

Anything else is appreciated. DM if that's more comfortable.

Thanks.

 

[steliejim]

You are only a short jaunt to Fishing Creek in Columbia County.
It will be mostly for stockies, but it's a nice sized stream, with decent access.
Travel north on Rt 487.

Just wondering. How did you land up going to Circle City anyway?

 

[gau16]

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll check it out for sure.

My wife got me a little fishing getaway as a birthday gift.

She did her best to get me in an area that seemed to have a good number of places to fish. According to the maps it does seem like there’s a lot around but rather hear the opinion of some area experts than go totally solo.

 

[HopBack]

Ehhh Ringtown.... Well there is definitely nothing there. If you head north, Roaring creek is an excellent stocked stream but it gets tons of pressure.

Not a ton of options for wild trout in the area except a few tributaries of Catawissa creek. I would head east towards the Poconos.

 

[sandfly]

there is/was a stream near ringtown that had wild brookies in it. we had a camp on a farmers property and I fished years ago 1960's-70's

 

[gentleshepherd]

https://pfbc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=65a89f6592234019bdc5f095eaf5c6ac This might get you a bit more info

 

[sandfly]

trexler run was it

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear Board,

I'd be interested to see what happened to the upper end of Catawissa Creek? About 15 years ago they put a large liming well at the top where the mine tunnel empties into the creek.

The land was 100% private and the creek itself was beautiful but sterile at the time. I'm curious to know if trout returned?

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[RLeep2]

Tim: 20+ years ago while on magazine assignment, I spent some time in Schuylkill County meeting with various folks, including Bob Hughes and Ed Wytovich, and discussing AMD remediation in the old anthracite fields. The efforts on the Catawissa were just starting and it sounded like they had a pretty good head of steam. But like a lot of this volunteer/public sector stuff, the impetus comes and goes...

Best as I can tell from simply Googling "Catawissa Creek mine acid reclamation", there is an active watershed association and several projects have been launched. But I don't see a whole lot of stuff that's current or less than 8-10 years old. In fairness though, Wytovich told me at the time that the Catawissa effort was a pretty big undertaking and that it would take a long time and a lot of volunteer hours to see results.

Here are some pertinent links:

http://epcamr.org/home/current-initiatives/technical-assistance/watershed-assessment/watersheds/catawissa-creek-watershed/ - Eastern PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjxHuq4fc6c - Ed Wytovich

https://www.schuylkillcd.com/departments/watershed-amd -Schuylkill Conservation District

If you wanted to dig into it, there are all sorts of potential contacts if you Google the situation.

Hope this helps..

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear RLeep,

Thanks for the additional information. I called on the contractor who was doing the work for the liming well at Audenreid Tunnel near Sheppton back in 2005.

I never did sell him anything but he was a hell of a nice guy and I was happy to see him doing that work. I was amazed by the upper Catawissa when I saw it back then. It was a truly beautiful stream but it was stone cold dead.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[CrusaderRabbit]

Catawissa Creek is a great topic for discussion and I wish it was headed toward a happier outcome. I grew up hunting deer, bear and turkey all along the Catawissa in Beaver Twp. near Shumans and Long Hollow. We swam in the creek and marveled at it's clarity and cold temperature. The locals refer to it as the "Sulphur Creek". There are a few unnamed tributaries coming down off Catawissa Mountain that hold small brook trout, not much bigger than your thumb. The one that flows down from Stranger Hollow is worth a nice day hike, all on SGL 58.
During times of high water the Catawissa downstream can put on her nasty face. I remember one deer season we saw two guys in a canoe, rifles slung across their backs, headed for what I thought was the 11 o'clock news. They looked like rafters on the Colorado. How many times we thought out loud what a beautiful stream it is and only if .......
RLeep2 is correct about the scope of the undertaking for remediation and how much volunteer time and money it would take and how interest wanes over time. I was wondering if there is any current news about the Catawissa project ?