How have the fish fared so far?

[lycoflyfisher]

Exactly, the increase in temp in response to rainfall is almost always tied directly to the lack of forest cover, but more importantly linked to % impervious surface cover. The amount of pavement and rooftop in the Valley creek watershed is incredible and it is amazing that the trout continue to hang on.

In less developed watersheds you can still see a quick spike in temps as ground temperatures on the surface are often higher than air temps, however those spikes are typically short lived in sustained rain events and as the runoff percolates through the ground and shaded substrates.

 

[wgmiller]

larkmark wrote:
If I get a chance today I'll check Donegal since I am working up that way. I'm curious how it will hold up in the 90 degree temps. A lot of the small streams dropped and cleared up fast. The river is way up and brown. Apparently brown or stained water warms up faster....I read that somewhere.

I was all rigged up from the car with a beetle/sunken ant yesterday and then I got down to the stream... :-D So I switched over to a tungsten bead head mop fly and got into several fish, one of which took off downstream like a steelhead. Unfortunately, he spit the hook on me, but I've never had a fish on this stream tear off like that.

I'd have to imagine that it's cleared up quite a bit today, yet the flow is still decent. Temperature-wise it's been holding its own through the summer. The overhead canopy along much of its length helps to protect it from the heat to some extent.

 

[afishinado]

lestrout wrote:
TomC's and Susq's points about Valley (basically an urban stream) vs. forested watersheds is why stormwater management is the priority for Valley Forge TU.

True. I pointed this out to inform those that seem to believe a rain event always lowers water temps and it's time to fish.

In some cases it is exactly opposite of this prevailing belief.

 

[Mike]

Controlling physical damage to stream channels while trying to keep streams cool is a double edged sword in urban/suburban streams. The ponding techniques commonly used to reduce surging or flashy flows often are the same techniques that can heat up the stream. Discharge rates are critical (when there is a discharge), as you want the pond to drain before the water gets too warm when the receiving stream is a coldwater stream, yet you still want to eliminate physical damage to the stream caused by high flows. This becomes even more complex when an area is highly developed and there are multiple pond discharges.

 

[Susquehanna]

I can't believe that old tree is still there. It has been years since I last fished Donegal but I've caught many a trout under its rooted undercuts.
Surprised it has not fallen yet.

 

[krayfish2]

I think that the lower sun angle and slightly shorter days make 90 degrees in early September seem more trout friendly than a 90 degree day in early June... maybe it's just me

 

[Prospector]

This is probably more indicative of what occurred last year rather than now. I fished a certain Class A for the first time on Sunday. The stream was very small (4-8ft across) and was running at 61 degrees at 4pm. Streamside vegetation would make any angler presence noticeable. Didn’t see any signs of people. I fished about 10-12 pools in about 100 yard stretch and caught nothing but dace. Dace were in every hole. Some pools had good depth, some had log jams, some had undercut banks.

Made me wonder if there were no trout due to a dry stream bed from last year or did I just quit too early. But to get dace strikes every hole and not one trout seemed odd.

 

[sarce]

Prospector, without knowing anything about the stream, I'll throw this thought out there. Given the size of the stream I'm guessing class A brookies, but let me know if that's incorrect as the rest of this post won't apply to browns.

The stream may have been warmer earlier in the summer and if it was over 65 for an extended period, brook trout likely vacated the stretch for cooler water. But that theory hinges on two things: 1. It's actually colder somewhere upstream and 2. there are no barriers to the trout moving upstream. I've experienced the days where trout are nowhere to be seen in stretches that have produced during cooler weather. Sometimes they are just hunkering down in the deepest pools or in heavy cover until cooler water returns - although at 61 degrees I don't think this would have been the case.

 

[Acristickid]

I’d say okay for the most part.

2-6 inches possible in Laurel highlands Wednesday.

 

[Sylvaneous]

I and the other fish head I work with at Valley Grove School District are both anticipating a good carry-over on Oil Creek. And if the main stem of Oil Creek holds fish, Pine, the Sinnemahoning, Lackawaxen and Kettle should all fare well.

The lower Madison gets frikkn warm down there in the Bozeman valley and there are lots of wild browns down there. If it isn't TOO bad, they'll hold.
We good.

Syl

 

[foxfire]

acristickid wrote:
I’d say okay for the most part.

2-6 inches possible in Laurel highlands Wednesday.

Hopefully Rolling Rock stocked recently.

 

[wbranch]

Where I fish the trout are doing very well since the water temperature rarely gets to 60 degrees.

 

[Dave_W]

Here in SCPA the trout streams are unseasonably high and cold right now.

There appears to be a few dry and hot days coming up soon, but the streams are in great shape to weather this and head into fall.