Van Reed Paper Mill Dam Removal Story

[krayfish2]

Good Lord, yesterday I drove up Papermill Rd for the first time. I always wondered why it was so choked with anglers, bikers and joggers from the dam to the covered bridge. That area is so built up, it answers any questions I might have had. I've always come in through Bernville which is mostly farms. I had no idea what was just over the hill. BTW, junction didn't look very appealing as I zipped by

 

[bringthepain]

Good Lord, yesterday I drove up Papermill Rd for the first time. I always wondered why it was so choked with anglers, bikers and joggers from the dam to the covered bridge. That area is so built up, it answers any questions I might have had. I've always come in through Bernville which is mostly farms. I had no idea what was just over the hill. BTW, junction didn't look very appealing as I zipped by

I havent been up there in 10 years and i was shocked how built up it was, i can only imagine what it look like now. I have some great memories with my Dad on that stream and that spot is one of them

 

[Andrwhite610]

Grings mills is a very popular park/ jogging/biking trail. Penn state berks campus is also situated right along side the Tully. Also looks like there is plans for a massive housing and shopping complex in the field across from the Target shopping center. I live very close and fishing it is some of the most relaxed fishing I do. No hour plus drive invested or fantasies in my mind of some unicorn fish. However plenty of opportunity for multiple species. I take my 2 year old to the park and catch smallies while he chums the water with gravel. I’d say the Coos flowing openly into the Tully definitely adds wild fish into the mix as well.

 

[moodyblues]

Good Lord, yesterday I drove up Papermill Rd for the first time. I always wondered why it was so choked with anglers, bikers and joggers from the dam to the covered bridge. That area is so built up, it answers any questions I might have had. I've always come in through Bernville which is mostly farms. I had no idea what was just over the hill. BTW, junction didn't look very appealing as I zipped by

 

[moodyblues]

Anyone remember when that entire area was nothing but farm fields? All that was on broadcasting road was a radio tower for WEEU, inside a fence, surrounded by fields.

 

[Oregon_OwlII]

Anyone remember when that entire area was nothing but farm fields? All that was on broadcasting road was a radio tower for WEEU, inside a fence, surrounded by fields.

I do remember. I also remember when they only stocked fingerlings that turned into some beautiful fish in a couple of years.

 

[Tups]

I remember too. I was a Park Ranger at Blue Marsh Lake in 1985 when the area was still quiet and pastoral. I was shocked when returning there just a few years ago. I suppose the Vanity Fair outlet in Reading encouraged the area’s development as a retail shopping destination.

 

[moodyblues]

I remember too. I was a Park Ranger at Blue Marsh Lake in 1985 when the area was still quiet and pastoral. I was shocked when returning there just a few years ago. I suppose the Vanity Fair outlet in Reading encouraged the area’s development as a retail shopping destination.

Speaking of quiet and pastoral, you should have known the area before the lake was there.

 

[Tups]

Blue Marsh opened in 1979. I was a freshman at Mont Alto that year. But I have seen the photos of the valley in Marinaro’s “Ring of the Rise.” Pastoral is the word.

 

[caddisflyer]

When I first went there sometime in the 1980s there must have been a lot more cold water available. I remember being there early morning in hot summertime and there were mats of tricos with big heads of trout coming up eating them. There was a good flow and water was very cold. There was heavy fog on water due to the warm air and cold water. There are still tricos but the days of cold water lasting all summer are gone.

 

[wgmiller]

As mentioned in my Tully stream report, I fished up Cacoosing a bit yesterday during my outing on the Tully. Having seen conditions before and just after dam removal, I was curious to see what things looked like. Overall, I'd say the stream is returning to a sense of normalcy after all the work. Banksides appeared to be stabilized and there is an abundance of aquatic vegetation on the stream bed. I fished the likely holding water and didn't turn up or move a trout. That's not to say that they aren't in there, but the stream bed appears to be choked out with quite a bit of weeds. Not aquatic vegetation - but weeds and grass. Much like the Tully, it appears to be the type that might be more consistent with low flows, although I can't say that conclusively. The dam removal allows the stream to flow naturally, which is a good thing. I don't think we've had a good flooding event since the work was done to help flush this stretch, but it could definitely use it.

Looking upstream from where the dam used to be.

Looking upstream into what used to be the pool behind the dam.

Old dam pool bed

Looking upstream into the stream bed that ran under the dam pool.

Stream bed under the old dam pool. Vegetation for days...

 

[wgmiller]

Below is a little "before and after"

August 2022, standing just upstream of where the dam was.

2024 - a little over two years later, standing just downstream of the the previous pic.

 

[Wild_Trouter]

When I first went there sometime in the 1980s there must have been a lot more cold water available. I remember being there early morning in hot summertime and there were mats of tricos with big heads of trout coming up eating them. There was a good flow and water was very cold. There was heavy fog on water due to the warm air and cold water. There are still tricos but the days of cold water lasting all summer are gone.

I remember those days as well. That was the Golden Era for me on the Tully. I lived in the LV and in the Summer, Tully was a destination stream for me for the trikes. Good times

 

[wbranch]

As mentioned in my Tully stream report, I fished up Cacoosing a bit yesterday during my outing on the Tully. Having seen conditions before and just after dam removal, I was curious to see what things looked like. Overall, I'd say the stream is returning to a sense of normalcy after all the work. Banksides appeared to be stabilized and there is an abundance of aquatic vegetation on the stream bed. I fished the likely holding water and didn't turn up or move a trout. That's not to say that they aren't in there, but the stream bed appears to be choked out with quite a bit of weeds. Not aquatic vegetation - but weeds and grass. Much like the Tully, it appears to be the type that might be more consistent with low flows, although I can't say that conclusively. The dam removal allows the stream to flow naturally, which is a good thing. I don't think we've had a good flooding event since the work was done to help flush this stretch, but it could definitely use it.

View attachment 1641238655
Looking upstream from where the dam used to be.

View attachment 1641238656
Looking upstream into what used to be the pool behind the dam.

View attachment 1641238657
Old dam pool bed

View attachment 1641238658
Looking upstream into the stream bed that ran under the dam pool.

View attachment 1641238659Stream bed under the old dam pool. Vegetation for days...

I was under the impression that all the property above the old was private.

 

[wgmiller]

I was under the impression that all the property above the old was private.

There were no signs around the creek proper coming up from the Tully stating such. There are signs at the parking lot of the paper mill, etc., that forbid trespassing. In looking at the Berks County parcel viewer, the creek and a small easement on each side appear to not be connected to the paper mill properties.