Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Limestone Spring Creek
Species
Brown Trout (Wild)
Size
Medium
Location
Central Pennsylvania
Nearest Towns
State College
Season
General season; Mid April through
February
Special Regulations:
Yes, check current regulations
Access:
Mostly easy
Non-Resident License
State of Pennsylvania
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Stream Flow Data:
Real Time USGS Data
Seasons:
Fly fishing Spring Creek is good
year-round.
Spring:
Springtime brings about the best aquatic insect hatches and usually the best fishing.
Summer:
Fishing is good all summer long because the stream usually remains fairly cool.
Fall:
Autumn is when the brown trout spawn and a great time to catch a trophy. Just don’t catch them from their redds.
Winter:
Wintertime fishing is possible and often very productive.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 & 12 ft., 5 or 6X, Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Superb Five or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
1. Email us (sales@perfectflystore.com)
with the dates you will be fishing this stream and we will send you a list of our fly suggestions. Please allow up to 24 hours for a response.
2. Call us 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide which flies you need.
3. Email us (sales@perfectflystore.com)
with a budget for flies and we will select them to match the budget and get them to you in time for your fly fishing trip.
All orders are shipped free in the
U. S. Orders over $100 are shipped via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Spring Creek, Pennsylvania – Fly Fishing Report – April 07, 2024
The stream is flowing above a normal level and stained. Good hatches are taking place. Give it some time to drop and clear.
Stream Conditions:
Rate: 297 cfs
Height: 3.16 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 53
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data At Axeman PA
7 Day Weather Forecast: (click the box below to see more detailed weather)
Recommended Trout Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, nymphs, emergers, duns, spinners
Blue Quills: 18nymphs, emergers, duns, spinners
Little Black Caddis: 18, pupa, adults
Description of Spring Creek: Spring Creek, a limestone spring creek, is one of Pennsylvania’s best trout streams even though it flows through a rather populated area. The stream has more wild brown trout in a given amount of water than any stream in the state. Fly fishing Spring Creek ranks at the top of many northeastern angler’s top trout stream list. Spring Creek is located in the northern part of Central Pennsylvania. At one time the stream was highly polluted but years of efforts on the part of many different organizations has brought about a great recovery, making it one of the top Spring Creeks in the nation. Spring Creek is known best for its large population of wild brown trout. It’s high pH level provides a lot of crustaceans, baitfish, sculpin and aquatic insects for the trout to eat. The average size of the brown trout range from 10 to 14 inches but some grow up to over 20 inches.
There’s an area of the stream a mile long that falls under the Heritage Trout Angling regulations. It extends from the lower boundary of the Spring Creek Fish Culture station to the Stackhouse School Pistol Range. Spring Creek is easy to wade in most places and there are plenty of points to access it. The “catch and release only rules” should insure Spring Creek stays a top quality trout stream. A large portion of the stream is rated a Class A stream by the PFBC.
The upper section of Spring Creek is small. From its springs that form the creek to the Cedar Run confluence, it probably over averages ten to fifteen feet in width. Most of this area is on private property and posted. Access is difficult from the Quarry at Oak Hill to
Houserville and from there downstream to the Benner Springs fish hatchery. The added water from springs located at the Benner Springs Hatchery increase the flows and improves the downstream habitat. From the Fisherman’s Paradise area, downstream to the confluence of Bald Eagle Creek at Milesburg, Spring Creek is at its best. There are some areas of private property but there’s still plenty of water to fish.
Logan Branch and Buffalo Run adds more limestone spring water to the flow near Bellefonte. It’s a great little spring creek fishery itself and adds much to the quality of Spring Creek. The majority of the stream can be fished from nearby roads that follow the stream just about its entire length. There are some special regulations including the mile long Heritage water at Fisherman’s Paradise. The opening of the Spring Creek Canyon in 2011, provides access to a stretch of water from the Benner Springs Hatchery downstream to the Fly Fisherman’s Paradise. There is a new parking lot and extended trails that provide easy access to these new sections of water. The new water offers a slightly remote section of water in an otherwise busy area of Happy Valley.
There’s a big difference in small brown trout, or for example, those under twelve inches long, and large brown trout. They tend to change their feeding habitats at about that size range. The smaller trout often feed much like rainbows. During a hatch, out in open water on the surface. Large brown trout tend to feed more beneath the surface and usually on the bottom. During the day, especially if the lighting conditions are bright, they tend to stay wedged up under something – a bank, long, or rock. They feed mostly under low light conditions. As with most brown trout fishing and most spring creeks, fishing a nymph or larvae imitations usually produces better results than fishing on the surface. It is rather rare for a large brown trout to feed on the surface in broad daylight.
Using good, simi-realistic imitations of the natural food found in Spring Creek, such as our Perfect Flies, will greatly improve your catch. You should imitate the most plentiful and most available food at the time you are fishing. It’s more of a matter of matching what’s about to hatch than what’s hatching.
Fly Fishing Guide to Spring Creek
The best way to catch trout consistently on Spring Creek is to fish what is either hatching or about to hatch. Its wild browns will often feed selectively on one insect. The uppermost section of Spring Creek, starting at its source near Linden Hall is a very small spring creek that flows through meadows. From Houserville downstream to Fisherman’s Paradise is considered the middle section of the stream. From Fisherman’s Paradise downstream to the confluence of Bald Eagle Creek is called the lower section. This is probably the best section. It is larger with more insects than the middle or upper sections. Spring Creek is different from many limestone spring creeks in that it has an ample amount of pocket water. It is easy to wade and not chocked with vegetation like many spring creeks. There are plenty of plants in the water but you can usually get around fairly well most places. Don’t overlook the small tributaries. They all have stream-bred brown trout. At Oak Hill, Cedar Run comes enters Spring Creek. It is a open meadow type spring creek. Downstream a short ways, Slab Cabin Run enters the creek. Two more tributaries enter near Bellefonte. Logan Branch enters about the middle of Bellefonte. It is a nice little stream with some large browns. Buffalo Run enters at the lower end of Bellefonte. It also has plenty of stream-bred brown trout.
Spring Creek Hatches and Trout Flies:
Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in Spring Creek and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726
From the end of March through the middle of May, hatches of different species of Blue-winged Olives hatch. These hatch again from about the last week or two of August until mid October. Little Winter stoneflies hatch during February and March. From about the last week of March through the first three weeks of April, you will find a few Quill Gordon mayflies hatches in the fast water areas of the stream. At almost the same time, hatches of Blue Quills will be coming off. It can last until the first week or two of May. The Hendrickson mayflies start about the second or third week of April and last about a month. Chocolate Duns hatch during the month of May for about the entire month. March Browns will also be found hatching in the fast water areas from the first of May throughout the month. By the way, this is the same mayfly as the Gray Fox. Eastern Pale Evening Duns, called Sulfurs by many start hatching by the middle of May and continue on through mid June. Sulphurs start about the last week of May and last through most of June. The Sulphur hatch is a good one on Spring Creek. Green Sedges hatch from the middle of April through the middle of June. The Green Sedge larvae are called Green Rock Worms. Imitations of them will work year-round. Cinnamon Sedges, net spinning caddis of several species will hatch from about the first of June through August. This is the most common caddis on Spring Creek. There are other species of caddisflies but these are the most important ones. LIght Cahills hatch during the month of June. You will find them mostly where there is faster water. You will find some hatches of Yellow Drakes during the month of July. Slate Drakes hatch from about the first of August all the way through the month of October. Mahogany Duns, called Blue Quills by many locals, hatch from about the middle of July through September. There is more than one species of these little mayflies. Tricos, or the little White Winged Curses, hatch from about the first of July through September. They can be prolific. Don’t overlook midges. If you fish Spring Creek during the early or late season when the water is cold, imitations of their larvae and pupae will produce for you. Sometimes the adult patterns work. Streamers are very important flies on this creek because the large brown trout eat small baitfish, sculpin and even small crayfish. Make sure you have a good selection of streamers. Craneflies hatch in huge quantities at times. Imitations of their larvae work anytime. Starting about the middle of June through September, imitations of terrestrial insects work on Spring Creek. Imitations of grass hoppers, ants and beetles are popular terrestrial insects. One of the main sources of food for the trout are scuds and sowbugs. The creek has a good population of these crustaceans, especially in the areas spring water makes up most of the flow. Make sure you have imitations of both. We recommend our Perfect Flies for Spring Creek. They have been tested and proven effective on this stream. They are by far the most realistic flies you can purchase. If you haven’t tried our Perfect Flies already, please do so. You will be very glad you did.