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Spruce Creek
- PA (Page 2 of 3)
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Continued (from Charles R. Meck - Pennsylvania Trout Streams and Thier Hatches - 2nd Edition):
Hatching activity begins early on Spruce, with the appearance of the Blue Quill and a sparse Hendrickson species in mid-to-late April. Blue Duns (Acentrella species) appear in early May, making this one of the few Pennsylvania streams to provide a mayfly hatch this time of the season. Spruce is best noted, however, for its hatches the last two weeks of May, when Green Drakes, Light Cahills, Sulphurs, Gray Foxes, Blue-Winged Olive Duns and others appear.
The Green Drake hatch on Spruce is one of the earliest of the season, usually beginning about May 22. Thirty years agao the Drake hatch on Spruce was much heavier than it is today. I can remember evenings in late May when I had to stop along PA 45 to wipe the dead Coffin Flies (mating spinners of the Green Drake) off my windshield. Those times have long vanished, and the great Green Drake is now only a shadow of what it once was.
Into July and August, Spruce has more hatches. It contains a decent Yellow Drake in late June and an adequate Trico hatch beginning in mid-July. There are many other hatches on Spruce, including several species imiatated by Blue-Winged Olive Dun, a few White Mayflies and multibrooded Blue Duns.
Hatches on Spruce have greatly diminished in the past decade or two. Old timers say that the Trico and Sulphur hatches, like the Green Drake, have also decreased signficantly. Many of these same anglers say that the Spruce Creek's water level has decreased noticeably and siltation of the stream has greatly increased.
Spruce Creek is easily reached by PA 45. The stream begins about 10 miles southwest of State College, where it emerges from a limestone cavern and enters a large holding pool. The stream then flows southwest through Franklinville, entering the Little Juniata River at the town of Spruce Creek.
As noted, Spruce has only a few sections open to public fishing. A half-mile section just above Grange Hall at Baileyville is open. This water is extremely small, running through open pastureland. The only hatch of any consequence in this area is the Sulphur, which appears nightly from mid-May until early June. Some Blue Quills, Blue-Winged Olive Duns and Little Blue-Winged Olive Duns also emerge on this stretch. The Pennsylvania State University owns a half-mile section below Colerain Park that has been designated as a catch-and-release area. This water is extremely productive, contains plenty of native browns and has abundant hatches.
About 10 years ago, the state stopped stocking the upper end of Spruce Creek. For years prior to that time they stocked a two-mile section at Baileyville. Many of the private sections stock their own trout-but Spruce doesn't really need any transplanting. It shelters a very healthy population of native brown trout.
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