Pennsylvania Freestone
Kettle Creek Fishing Report, Flows and Hatches
A remote north-central Pennsylvania freestone deep in the PA Wilds, with native brook trout upstream and wild browns down low. A classic Appalachian freestone with excellent spring hatches.
Freestone
Pennsylvania
1,100 ft
Gauge 01544500
Right now
Live conditions
The hatch chart
Kettle Creek hatch chart
The emergences that come off the Kettle Creek by month, straight from the Rivus hatch model.
| Hatch | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Midge Midge, #18-22 | ||||||||||||
Quill Gordon Mayfly, #12-14 | ||||||||||||
Grannom / Mother's Day Caddis Caddis, #14-16 | ||||||||||||
Blue Winged Olive Mayfly, #16-20 | ||||||||||||
Hendrickson Mayfly, #12-14 | ||||||||||||
March Brown Mayfly, #10-12 | ||||||||||||
Sulphur Mayfly, #14-18 | ||||||||||||
Caddisfly Caddis, #14-18 | ||||||||||||
Green Drake (Eastern) Mayfly, #8-12 | ||||||||||||
Isonychia / Slate Drake Mayfly, #10-12 | ||||||||||||
Grasshopper / Terrestrial Hopper, #8-14 | ||||||||||||
Flying Ant / Carpenter Ant Ant, #12-20 | ||||||||||||
Terrestrial Beetle Beetle, #10-16 |
How it fishes
A Pennsylvania freestone
A freestone river runs free off snowmelt and rain, so it swings hard with the seasons. It blows out and browns up in spring runoff, then drops and warms into summer. The hatches track the water temperature more than the calendar, so you time your trip to the flow and the thermometer.
Flow and gauge
Reading the flows
The Kettle Creek is metered at USGS gauge 01544500. Watch the trend as much as the number: a river that is dropping and clearing fishes very differently from one that is coming up.
Access and regulations
Before you fish
Access and the right to fish are the angler’s responsibility, every time. Public access, private water, and seasonal closures vary along the river, so confirm where you can legally stand and wade before you go. We do not point you to a specific spot.
Read the current rules, license requirements, and any special-regulation water before you go. Regulations change season to season, so check them fresh.
Flow and water temperature from USGS, weather from NWS and NOAA, refreshed hourly. Real-time USGS readings are provisional and subject to revision. The hatch chart and river read are Rivus model output.