Rainfall from Isaias

[Baron]

Bushkill was a complete mess. Way up into meadows.

 

[wildtrout2]

sandfly wrote:
NC is dry, was out today the little rain that came down early today evaporated to quick. streams are drying up.

Yep, the NC area got the short end of the stick, again. You have to wonder what kind of a toll sustained, very low conditions takes on a wild trout population? Are there enough hiding places in a given stream to accommodate most of the trout, or will many perish?
I'm hoping that since lowering water levels happen fairly gradually, that there's time to find suitable refuge for most of them.

 

[troutbert]

wildtrout2 wrote:

sandfly wrote:
NC is dry, was out today the little rain that came down early today evaporated to quick. streams are drying up.

Yep, the NC area got the short end of the stick, again. You have to wonder what kind of a toll sustained, very low conditions takes on a wild trout population? Are there enough hiding places in a given stream to accommodate most of the trout, or will many perish?
I'm hoping that since lowering water levels happen fairly gradually, that there's time to find suitable refuge for most of them.

During severe droughts, the populations of the freestone streams take a hit.

The drought of 1999 resulted in population declines on those streams. You could see that by fishing, and the electrofishing surveys showed the same thing.

It took a few years to recover. By 2003 the populations were very good.

During one of the severe droughts, the flow on Young Womans Creek went below 1 cfs. I saw the stream at that time, and there was barely any perceptible flow.

Before the recent rains, the flow was down to 3 cfs, which is pretty low.

During the 1999 drought, I walked along a bunch of NC freestoners, and there were dry sections.

Walking along the mountain freestoners during droughts shows you how important good pool habitat is.

In drought conditions, you often see dry sections between the pools. The only place for trout to survive are in the pools. There is no water in the riffles.

 

[Bamboozle]

I live on the headwaters of the Perkiomen (fortunately, far above the creek) and my rain gauge read over 5 inches. With totals nearby of 4” on the West Branch, 7.5” on the East Branch, 8” added to the mix from the Skippack Creek area and similar numbers in the Swamp Creek drainage; I predicted a disaster on the main stem.

I was right, an all-time record was set in Graterford and the Schuylkill downriver is still flooded!!

Luckily, all I had to contend with were a couple of large branches that fell.

 

[CLSports]

I was watching that Perk gauge too since my buddy lives along its banks. The record was 39,900 cfs in 1935 I believe and yesterday I saw it crested over 44,000. A new 100 year flood record for that stream. I think last week it was about 150-200 cfs.

 

[Dave_W]

More torrential rain headed for SEPA this evening...

Here in SCPA we have had a better run of precip, with smaller amounts (still a lot) spread out over recent days. I've noticed during my travels that the landscape has really re-greened; corn unfurled, grass from brown back to green.
Nevertheless, water levels remain in normal range or just up a wee bit on many local creeks I'm familiar with.

I checked a second order creek near my home the other night while walking my dog - this stream was almost stagnant and flows were almost stopped (this stream dries up in drought years) last month. A couple nights ago the flow had restored and I actually saw several bass cruising in a pool about a foot deep... even managed to hook one of them on a popper. Rain came just in time.

 

[Fredrick]

Yesterday’s rainfall from a thunderstorm with tornado warnings caused more flooding than the hurricane here in SEPA . So if the hatchery didn’t overflow before, it would have definitely done so yesterday.

 

[troutbert]

Some areas should have perfect conditions for mountain stream fishing this weekend.

Not the areas with flooding. And not the areas that got little to no rain.

But the areas that got a "nice" amount of rain, i.e. 1.5 to 3 inches.

 

[Mike]

The rainfall was not all that great in the Lehigh Valley yesterday. I would estimate only an inch or so.