troutbert wrote:
Someone of the nerd persuasion could probably figure out a ratio of cfs/square mile of drainage area for these gauges for optimal fishing conditions.
If you figure it out, please let us know.
I've thought about this too, though it's not an exact science across the board...
I generally want to fish smaller streams in relatively higher flows, and bigger streams in lower flows (relative to their size) for the best fishing/wading conditions.
For example, a small stream gauge I use sometimes as a proxy for small streams in the Poconos is Swiftwater Creek. Swiftwater's watershed at the gauge is 6.59 sq miles. I like Swiftwater at 30 CFS for ideal small stream fishing in the Poconos. That calculates out to 4.55 CFS/sq mile.
Kettle Creek at Cross Fork, which I'd call a "medium" sized stream, I like at 300 CFS. Its watershed at the Cross Fork gauge is 136 sq miles...2.21 CFS/sq mile.
The Big J, at Newport, for WW fishing, I like at 1000 CFS. Watershed size there is 3,354 sq miles. 0.30 CFS/sq mile.
Gradient can effect things too. The steeper the stream, the lower you want the flow relative to streams of the same watershed size with less gradient. But the above is a rough guide.
Also, generally speaking in Fall, Winter, and Spring you can use nearby gauges to make pretty accurate guesses about streams that don't have a gauge on them. (Once you correlate flows on the proxy gauge with actual on stream conditions.) This is because most weather systems during those seasons in PA are broader scale systems that drop fairly consistent amounts of precipitation over larger areas. In Summer, Tstorms are the main form of precipitation in PA. And with Tstorms, one watershed can get 2" of rain, and the next ridge over 2 miles away gets nothing.
Edit: Are you calling me a nerd?
