BIOLOGIST REPORT
Little
Fishing Creek
Little Fishing Creek arises from springs on the slopes of Nittany Mountain at
the head of Greens Valley in Centre County.
The stream flows through a heavily forested valley to Mingoville where it
enters a limestone valley and eventually sinks.
The stream re-emerges near Hublersburg and flows through a large
intensively farmed valley before joining Fishing Creek near Lamar.
The upper section flows through predominately public land (Bald Eagle
State Forest) and access is somewhat poor, limited to Greens Valley Road, which
parallels the stream but only crosses at one point.
The upper reaches of Little Fishing Creek was surveyed on
June 22, 2000 as part of a statewide evaluation of our Class A wild trout
fisheries. The stream contains
mostly brook trout with slimy sculpin, blacknose dace and a few brown trout also
present. These species are typical
of coldwater streams in Pennsylvania. The stream has been sampled annually for the past three years
and population estimates are summarized below:
|
|
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
| Size |
#/acre |
lbs/acre |
#/acre |
lbs/acre |
#/acre |
lbs/ac |
| 2" |
615 |
2.70
|
633 |
2.72 |
39 |
0.17 |
| 3"
|
53 |
0.81
|
223 |
3.59 |
45 |
0.68 |
| 4"
|
315 |
10.64
|
434 |
10.48 |
106
|
3.50 |
| 5"
|
196 |
12.89
|
186 |
10.28 |
181 |
11.96 |
| 6"
|
134 |
13.50
|
78 |
7.13 |
181 |
18.34 |
| 7"
|
69 |
10.74
|
29 |
3.85 |
22 |
3.48 |
| 8"
|
17 |
3.78
3.78 |
5.07
26 |
5.07 |
9 |
1.90 |
| 9"
|
5 |
1.49 |
|
|
6 |
1.56
|
| Totals |
1404 |
56.55
|
1609 |
43.12 |
589 |
41.59 |
This section maintains an excellent population of wild
brook trout, with good numbers of legal size (7-inch+) fish present.
Slight reductions in biomass during 1999 and 2000 are probably reflective
of drought conditions and temporary loss of habitat during low water periods.
Annual sampling at this site will continue through 2002.
-- Coldwater Unit
Biologist Reports -- PFBC Home
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