wild trout in west branch brandywine?

[kenbo5733]

might be heading out to Hibernia park tomorrow and I was wondering what type of chance do I have with catching some trout in west branch of the brandywine I know they stock but is there any wild trout any information would help thanks.

 

[Brownie101]

No wild trout in the west branch, to much fishing pressure and warm water temperatures but the East branch on Dowlin Forge Road (DHALO) has some wild trout, if you're willing to explore upstream.

 

[Mike]

There should still be a reasonable chance of catching stockies in the W Br right in the park. It stays cool through June at least, and that should especially be true this year.

 

[pcray1231]

kenbo, I was at Hibernia on Saturday. Not fishing, well, err, not really. Had my in-laws, wife, and 18 month old, and we did take my son's 2 foot bait casting rod and reel in a bluegill or two for him at the pond. He liked the bobber, and called it a "ball". Was less interested in the fish, lol. Someday....

I didn't take a temperature, but the W. Br. was very warm to the touch. Too warm I'd think.

 

[afishinado]

Agree with Mike - the flow is down to a decent level and the temps are still cool enough for trout.

Many times you will find trout very easy to catch FFing in an ATW (if you can find them) since most of the fishes run-ins with anglers have been with Powerbait, worms, corn, eggs and spinners rather than flies. Good luck. Temps below.

 

[streamerguy]

Many times you will find trout very easy to catch FFing in an ATW (if you can find them) since most of the fishes run-ins with anglers have been with Powerbait, worms, corn, eggs and spinners rather than flies. Good luck. Temps below.

This is so true. Towards the end of May I fished a popular strerch on a small ATW and ran into a handful of fishermen(using powerbait, worms, etc.) when I got there and throughout the day. I asked them how they were doing and they said they weren't catching any except for one I saw on a stringer. They said the water was too low/clear, there are very few fish left, they didn't stock very many at all during the inseason stocking, etc. I wished them good luck and went on my way, fishing the same stretch they were fishing and even the same holes after they left. Ended the day with about 14 trout and missed quite a few others. Dry flies and small nymphs were the ticket, and even streamers caught fish but they seemed a little more hesitant to hit them probably because they have seen so many spinners. If the trout are there, chances are you'll have better luck fly fishing than with powerbait, etc. The same thing also happened on a different ATW. I didn't catch as many this time(I think 5) but it was still a lot more than the spin fishermen on the stream.