Located in the Northern part of Central Pennsylvania,
Spring Creek is a large, limestone spring creek that
is making a strong recovery after years of pollution
almost destroyed it completely. Running through Centre
County, Spring Creek has attracted many fishermen from
all over.
In the early days, it was known for its brook trout population,
which diminished after the introduction of brown trout.
Spring Creek became well known for its large browns and
great hatches. Fisherman's Paradise is a well-known section
of this stream that once drew enormous numbers of anglers
because it was heavily stocked with large trout and was
easy to access. This stream was one of the first to use
special regulations. Today, it is regulated by the guidelines
of Heritage Trout Angling.This
section runs for 1 Mile; Lower boundry of Spring Creek
Fish Culture station to a point adjacent to the Stackhouse
School Pistol Range.
During the mid 1950's, Spring Creek was heavily polluted
by sewage, chemical and gasoline spills, along with Kepone
and Mirex releases. By the late 1950's, most insect hatches
were lost. Stocking was stopped in 1981 and the Pennsylvania
Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) designated the entire
stream as a No-Kill
Zone This was due to health concerns for humans from
the persistent problems with fish that were contaminated
by chemicals that spilled into the stream. |
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Today, there are still water quality problems and Spring
Creek remains a No-Kill zone. Even with its current water
quality problems, this stream has made a tremendous comeback
with large amounts of wild brown trout reproducing. The
average size of fish found here range up to 14 inches,
and some up to 20 inches have also been caught. The larger
fish can be found near the hatchery at Fisherman's Paradise
and the hatchery at Bennar Springs. It is most likely
that these large fish found their way out of the hatcheries
and into the creek. Insect hatches also are making a
strong comeback throughout different sections of the
river. |
From its source to where it merges with Cedar Run downstream
by Oak Hall, Spring Creek is a small stream that widens
to about 15 feet and is heavily posted against trespassing.
Continuing from the HRI Quarry at Oak Hall, past Route
26 to Houserville, you will find good hatches of Olives,
Sulfurs, and Tricos. The flow from the Houserville area
to the Benner Springs Hatchery, through to the upper
portion of Fisherman's Paradise, has experienced most
of the chemical problems and has the lowest population
of trout on the stream. Almost all of the hatches in
this area were lost, but in recent years, they have been
rebounding. Access to this area of the creek is not as
easy as others, so it receives the least fishing pressure.
Additional springs flow into Spring Creek near Benner
Hatchery, and improve the fishing throughout Fisherman's
Paradise, down to the junction with Bald Eagle Creek
at Milesburg. This stretch of Spring Creek runs past
businesses, houses, patchy tree and wooded areas. Here,
you'll find some posted sections and an exhibition area
that is closed to trout fishing in Bellefonte (from just
above Talleyrand Park to the Lamb Street Bridge). Two
productive, limestone tributaries add cold water to Spring
Creek near Bellefonte. Logan Branch is one of them and
is an important addition. This tributary holds large
trout and helps maintain good fishing in Spring Creek,
to where it joins Bald Eagle Creek.
Despite the problems Spring Creek experienced in the
past, the fishing is getting better by the year. You
will no longer see the old Drake hatches or the more
classic Mayfly hatches, as they have disappeared. What
you will see is a stream that's making a tremendous comeback,
with good Sulphur, Trico, Caddis
and Olive hatches
in spots. Spring Creek is not fished as heavily as it
was in the past, but it is still considered one of the
best, large trout streams in Pennsylvania. So, why not
give it a try? Just call ahead to the local shops for
local water conditions and hatches. |
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