Willow creek, berks county

[Chaz]

Pat, the colors usually aren't bright, in fact they are nearly always silvery until just before the spawn, then look very bright as you can imagine they would during the spawn. When you see them spawning you'll see what I mean, they really stand out, under normal conditions you can hardly even see fish unless they move.
Part of the reason they are pale is they eat mostly other fish, suckers, dace, sculpins, and of course other brook trout. There doesn't seem to be a lot of bugs, and the brookies just does't take bugs unless there's a real hatch.

 

[Mike]

Willow Ck had two distinct wild trout populations and an additional few fish associated with a wild trout trib. Willow had the once Class A STP pop being discussed here, the very minor pop associated with the trib that parallels Rt 73, which had ST (primarily ST) and BT at the time of the survey decades ago, and the BT population around Rt 662 on the east side of Fleetwood at the time of the survey decades ago. I’m told it once had RT where the Class A ST pop was located, but that was the result of local stocking and they were gone by the time that the Class A ST qualifying survey was conducted. As Chaz said, the average legal ST in Willow was quite nice. I don’t recall the largest ST of the survey, but the largest I ever knew to be confirmed was 17” caught hook and line in 2004 by a PFBC biologist, one of my colleagues.

 

[Swattie87]

Another one from the vault! Yes!

 

[Jessed]

Willow Ck had two distinct wild trout populations and an additional few fish associated with a wild trout trib. Willow had the once Class A STP pop being discussed here, the very minor pop associated with the trib that parallels Rt 73, which had ST (primarily ST) and BT at the time of the survey decades ago, and the BT population around Rt 662 on the east side of Fleetwood at the time of the survey decades ago. I’m told it once had RT where the Class A ST pop was located, but that was the result of local stocking and they were gone by the time that the Class A ST qualifying survey was conducted. As Chaz said, the average legal ST in Willow was quite nice. I don’t recall the largest ST of the survey, but the largest I ever knew to be confirmed was 17” caught hook and line in 2004 by a PFBC biologist, one of my colleagues.

Wow what a fish! I think willow is interesting being right in the middle of development as well as a larger class a ST stream. What do you think the difference is between the class A section and other sections upstream? Class A starting right before the mouth of a ATW stream is pretty rare. If you would look at the stream you would think wild fish would appear the closer you get to headwaters.

 

[Blackhackle]

When I lived in Oley from 1984 to 1992 I fished Willow Creek several times a season. Always fished from behind the furniture store along Rt. 61(may not be there anymore) up into the farm above. The fishing was good for about a quarter mile. Fish were very spooky and stream very marshy and brushy, would term it a spring creek in that section. Found good numbers of smaller brookies and a hatch would bring out the larger fish. Could usually count on half a dozen fish, mostly 5-6 inches. Caught several in the 10-11 inch range. They all appeared to be wild fish. The last time I fished there, probably in 1992 they were surveying for the housing development and had bulldozed through one of the large springs which did not bode well for the little stream's future. I imagine it is quite different now.

 

[JeffP]

When I lived in Oley from 1984 to 1992 I fished Willow Creek several times a season. Always fished from behind the furniture store along Rt. 61(may not be there anymore) up into the farm above. The fishing was good for about a quarter mile. Fish were very spooky and stream very marshy and brushy, would term it a spring creek in that section. Found good numbers of smaller brookies and a hatch would bring out the larger fish. Could usually count on half a dozen fish, mostly 5-6 inches. Caught several in the 10-11 inch range. They all appeared to be wild fish. The last time I fished there, probably in 1992 they were surveying for the housing development and had bulldozed through one of the large springs which did not bode well for the little stream's future. I imagine it is quite different now.

What a shame!

 

[Mike]

When I lived in Oley from 1984 to 1992 I fished Willow Creek several times a season. Always fished from behind the furniture store along Rt. 61(may not be there anymore) up into the farm above. The fishing was good for about a quarter mile. Fish were very spooky and stream very marshy and brushy, would term it a spring creek in that section. Found good numbers of smaller brookies and a hatch would bring out the larger fish. Could usually count on half a dozen fish, mostly 5-6 inches. Caught several in the 10-11 inch range. They all appeared to be wild fish. The last time I fished there, probably in 1992 they were surveying for the housing development and had bulldozed through one of the large springs which did not bode well for the little stream's future. I imagine it is quite different now.

I don’t recall if the impoundment created by the dam just upstream from Willow Creek’s mouth extended up to Rt 61 and beyond, but if it did, it doesn’t anymore. The dam has been removed according to one of my PFBC contacts who is quite knowledgable about such projects. (I believe the dam was removed within the past two yrs or so). This should eventually improve the habitat in that stretch.