PFBC 2007 Biologist Report

Penns Creek

Centre and Mifflin Counties
May 2007

Penns Creek is a large (1,435 sq km basin), fertile, limestone stream that arises from a spring in Penns Cave, Centre County, and flows eastward 81miles to its confluence with the Susquehanna River near Selinsgrove. The All Tackle Trophy Trout section flows from the confluence of Elk Creek in Coburn downstream to a point approximately 1/3 mile below Swift Run. The upper and lower portions of the section have good access, however the middle portion of the section is only accessible via an abandon railroad grade that runs parallel to the stream and a DCNR access at Ingleby.

Sampling Penns Creek
June 2007 sampling effort by PFBC staff assisted by Penn State School of Forest Resources

This section has been managed for wild trout under All Tackle Trophy Trout regulations since 1995. Fisheries Management personnel have extensively monitored the wild brown trout population in this section through biennial sampling efforts during June at the DCNR access area near Ingleby.

Population estimates summarized from 1997 to 2007. Sampling was not conducted in 2003 due to extensive sampling on other reaches of Penns Creek.

	1997		1999		2001		2005		2007
Size (in)	#/Mile	KgHa	#/Mile	KgHa	#/Mile	KgHa	#/Mile	KgHa	#/Mile	KgHa
2	1451	0.84	283	0.11	353	0.17	507	0.30	415	0.24
3	3592	3.46	14	0.02	56	0.07	3	0.00	109	0.13
4	8	0.02	129	0.46	39	0.1	34	0.11	31	0.11
5	98	0.57	143	0.89	409	2.05	196	1.14	283	1.83
6	246	2.33	852	7.95	148	1.23	348	3.16	227	2.13
7	174	2.52	966	13.23	378	4.84	734	10.88	401	6.09
8	390	8.35	201	3.82	296	5.47	440	8.81	361	7.45
9	45	1.32	372	10.53	64	1.66	232	6.54	208	5.82
10	266	10.18	613	21.68	98	3.43	196	6.94	98	4.05
11	535	24.11	303	13.65	196	8.91	356	16.94	341	17.07
12	266	17.19	171	10.05	193	11.21	216	13.40	246	15.60
13	90	7.23	137	9.55	232	16.93	163	12.30	193	14.76
14	31	2.91	53	4.71	155	14.09	171	15.05	103	10.05
15	14	1.84	26	2.77	50	5.45	143	15.66	114	13.39
16	-	-	3	0.52	14	2.01	53	6.40	31	4.12
17	3	0.64	-	-	3	0.63	11	1.53	3	0.64
18	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	0.71	-	-
Totals	7,209	83.51	4,266	99.94	2,684	78.25	3,806	119.87	3,164	103.48

Chart summarizing samplings

From the data above, the wild brown trout population in this section of Penns Creek has maintained high numbers and biomass of trout over the past 10 years under All Tackle Trophy Trout regulations. It should also be noted that the numbers of brown trout 14 inches and larger have also increased over the same time period despite the fact that they are available for harvest under the Trophy Trout regulations. This section of Penns Creek continues to support a fine wild brown trout fishery in a relatively remote area.

Penn State graduate student Brianna Hutchison displays one of the many large brown trout sampled at Penns Creek this summer

-- Coldwater Unit

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