West Branch Susquehanna River (Clearfield Co)

[Prospector]

Has anyone fished this stream between Watkins and Dowler Junction? Ive been intrigued for a few years now every time I see it on the PFBC Special Regs. Especially when it’s 26 miles of Catch & Release All Tackle.

Does it stay cold through summer? Is it catch and release due toxins that contaminate the trout. Any info is appreciated.

 

[dryflyguy]

Not sure about the section you're asking about.
But I tried a few spots on it between Northern Cambria and Cherry Tree, one evening last summer.

Wasn't the best time for a try - out.
The water was up some and and rather murky.

I did find a few fish popping the surface a bit though
And got some to take a tan caddis.
All small wild browns - 6 to 8 inches in length.

It was intriguing enough though, to warrant a return visit - which is on my radar for this summer.
Hopefully under better conditions.

Talking to a few friends since then who have fished it, here is what I've been told:

It does stay cold all summer - a result of being fed by many mine discharges that have been cleaned up rather recently.

Understandably, it doesn't have much in the way of hatches - just a few caddis.

It does hold some large fish

 

[evw659]

I've fished it a couple times a year for the past few years, mostly down in the Cherry Tree area.
I've seen a lot of caddis and several different mayflies in very light numbers, but never saw too many risers.
I think it is a great streamer fishery personally, and like dryflyguy mentioned there are definitely some bigger browns in there, the trick seems to be in finding them.
I've caught a handful of natives in there as well, including one around 9 or 10".
One thing that is unfortunate is that several decent chunks of it are posted. I would assume it's a navigable river, such that you can legally stay within the high water mark, but I doubt that reasoning would resonate with some of the landowners down there.

 

[Prospector]

Thanks for the info. Cherry Tree is about at the midpoint between Watkins and Dowler Junction. Streamer water sounds great to me. I love fishing them. Is it a wider creek? Maybe like the width of Tionesta Creek or the Little J or even bigger? I see it about 4 times per year when I’m going back and forth to Kettle Creek in the stretch between Keating and Westport. It’s very wide there but it has picked water from several substantial tribs by then.

 

[dryflyguy]

The stretch I fished is more about the size of Spring Creek, below Bellefonte

 

[Swattie87]

It's not all that big up that way. Spring Creek sized is a decent approximation. It may actually be a little smaller than that.

I fished between Cherry Tree and Northern Cambria once. It was mostly junky water. Lots of sandy/silty, deep, slow frog water pools. The upper end near Northern Cambria seemed to have a more gravel/rock like bottom, but ironically, I caught less fish up there than in the junk water. I caught one real nice, mid-teens Brown, and a few smaller fish. All Browns.

I'm sure it stays cold for a stream its size from all the mine discharge water. It has fish, probably some nice ones, and is a great recovery story for wild Trout. That being said, it was a one and done for me. The water wasn't interesting to fish, and it had more litter and garbage along its banks than any other stream in PA I've fished. Just wasn't a fun fish trudging through the creek muck and trash lined banks.

 

[PennKev]

Swattie87 wrote:
It's not all that big up that way. Spring Creek sized is a decent approximation. It may actually be a little smaller than that.

I fished between Cherry Tree and Northern Cambria once. It was mostly junky water. Lots of sandy/silty, deep, slow frog water pools. The upper end near Northern Cambria seemed to have a more gravel/rock like bottom, but ironically, I caught less fish up there than in the junk water. I caught one real nice, mid-teens Brown, and a few smaller fish. All Browns.

There's definitely a lot of water worth skipping but there are also some nice stretches that seem to have good trout numbers. It really seems to be one of those places where if you know it well and know what spots to target you can do well.

I've had days there where it seemed like all the fish were in the 12-14" range and days where all the fish were under 8". So there are certainly fish worth catching, but it's not a sure thing. It's really one of those creeks that is not super appealing but if you happen to have a good day when you give it a try, it'll kind of get stuck in your head.

 

[bikerfish]

funny you guys are talking about this stream. I pass it almost everytime go to my girlfriends place, and often wondered about the fishing possibilities. the headwaters are very close to her place. they have a treatment area nearby, not sure how it all works, but I plan to research it.