We need rain!

[wildtrout2]

It seems like it's one extreme or the other with stream levels/temps this season. Just as Kettle Creek was coming back down towards normal, Friday night's heavy thunder storm made that stream jump by 500cfs! Now it's blown out again. The ground is saturated now, so everything that falls goes directly into these streams. Oh well, maybe next week.

 

[dc410]

There are an awful lot of blue and black dots statewide on the USGS streamflow map for the first week in July.

 

[Van_Cleaver]

Yet strangely the Little Lehigh is still way low; last I looked it was the only Orange spot on the whole USGS map. A limestoner too, go figure!

 

[sarce]

Same deal on the MD streams- flows (and fishing) are better now in July than they were in May.

 

[krayfish2]

As long as theirs minimal property damage and no loss of life.....keep the rain going.

 

[allan_s]

I am OK with a rainy summer. We will be wishing we had more when the low waters of the Fall come around...

Let it rain!!!

If this continues, fall fishing may be the best it has been in years I think. No more light tippets and still spooking trout.

My 7wt is ready for the fall feed.

 

[krayfish2]

More heavy rain for today. Flash flood watches insome areas already. Pretty wet summer so far. With soft ground and full canopy on trees, won't take much wind to bring them down.

 

[AFISHN]

Even Spring and Yellow Ceeks(Bedford County)were high Tuesday and yesterday

 

[Chaz]

Heavy rain at 7 this evening, clear now. Only rained a short time, I'm guess a 1/2 inch.

 

[wildtrout2]

Well, after yesterday's thunderstorms everything's pretty much blown out again. It's only the third week in a row now! And we have a chance of t-storms every day next week. WTF?

 

[krayfish2]

I hear ya. Any chance I've had to fish since May has been blown out the day before I planned to head out. Since bass season has opened, the Susky just keeps rising.

 

[wildtrout2]

Kettle, which I use as somewhat of a gauge for it's tribs, hasn't gone down a single cfs since 6:00AM this morning, even with all of the sun for evaporation. The ground is so saturated that when we get even the slightest amount of rain now, it just adds to the stream level. Kettle hasn't been under 300 cfs in 3 weeks. Normal is around 50-60cfs, it's at 429cfs now. Those last t-storms yesterday were just the icing on the cake. Maybe next week?

 

[troutbert]

The conditions for freestone fishing are looking PERFECT for this weekend.

If you have the chance, go, don't miss out.

The peak periods will be about 12 noon to 6 pm. You may get some good dry fly fishing earlier, maybe starting as early as 10 or 10:30 am, but do not tire yourself out and miss the peak period, which will be in the afternoon.

Kettle Creek at the Cross Fork gauge is at 429. That is not really that high. The big mainstream water is fishable up to about 500 cfs. But the better fishing will be for wild trout on the headwaters and tribs, which will be at very nice levels.

The First Fork at Wharton is at 438 cfs. That's not too high, it's perfect. Again, you want to fish the tribs and headwater streams for wild trout all through that region, not the stockie sections of the big creeks.

Last year I fished up there when the First Fork was at 900 cfs. That was much too high for the First Fork. But I fished a tributary and conditions and dry fly fishing were very good. The trib was gushing but nearly clear, just a little chalky green, which is perfect.

Young Womans is looking pretty high, but I've fished it at that level and had good fishing. But the tributaries should be perfect this weekend.

These are just some examples of particular watersheds with gauges. But there are endless forested freestone streams to pick from that should fish very well this weekend.

It's not that common that you have the combination of weekend + perfect flows + perfect weather forecast. But that is the situation for this weekend.

 

[wildtrout2]

troutbert wrote:
Kettle Creek at the Cross Fork gauge is at 429. That is not really that high.

Not really that high Dwight? The max (record) for Kettle for the date is in the mid 500's, and it's 429, but that's not that high? hmm TB, I also think you're forgetting about the temps. I fished a nice NW freestone 2 weeks ago, where the flow was perfect as you describe, a bit of color, good solid flow, but it was 54F and the fishing sucked. When it gets near 60F I kick #censor# on this stream. A few degrees makes a world of difference with fussy wild trout.

On a nonrelated issue, is anyone having trouble logging in on PAFF? I couldn't log in at all, I had to use my old server for whatever reason.

 

[krayfish2]

Hey, they just removed the drought watch for all 37 counties in PA. What took so long? LOL. This has been a fantastic summer so far for water in the trout streams. Bass rivers are way too high or muddy for good fishing.

 

[afishinado]

Check local conditions where you plan to fish. While conditions may be ideal in certain areas, some streams in parts of the State are high and muddy. The bigger rivers are very high and many are unfishable and dangerous to wade or even float with a kayak or pontoon.

 

[Swattie87]

troutbert wrote:
It's not that common that you have the combination of weekend + perfect flows + perfect weather forecast. But that is the situation for this weekend.

+ a stomach sick Shetland Sheepdog that I don't feel right kenneling = no NC or Poconos small stream weekend for me.

This definitely would be a nice one to be streamside for a couple days though. Gonna have to settle for washing the truck and a quick 9 holes of golf.

 

[BrooksAndHooks]

Agreed. Water has been a little high here in the tail waters but some freestone streams are just about right. Happy fishing all.

 

[poopdeck]

High muddy water river bass fishing is like shooting fish in a barrel. I know exactly where they are gonna be every time. Tight, tight, tight to the bank guaranteed.

 

[k-bob]

USGS gauge on Muncy Creek shows 10 inches of rain in the last 45 days. Judging by Scranton data in that time period, bout 50 percent more rain than average. I fished a tiny stream round there about a week ago, one day after an inch and a half of rain, and it was a challenge to avoid leader drag but fun. USGS swiftwater at 40, suggesting high but not completely overkill flows round there.