Pennsylvania Freestone
Penns Creek Fishing Report, Flows and Hatches
A limestone-fed freestone carrying nearly every eastern mayfly, caddis, and stonefly worth knowing. The late May green drake is the year’s main event.
Freestone
Pennsylvania
510 ft
Gauge 01555000
Right now
Live conditions
An expert read, in your pocket
Rivus knows your river right now. Live conditions, what’s hatching, and what to tie on, the moment you open it.
When the day turns and nothing’s working, ask Eddy and change the plan.
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The hatch chart
Penns Creek hatch chart
The emergences that come off the Penns 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 | ||||||||||||
Blue Winged Olive Mayfly, #16-20 | ||||||||||||
Grannom / Mother's Day Caddis Caddis, #14-16 | ||||||||||||
Hendrickson Mayfly, #12-14 | ||||||||||||
Caddisfly Caddis, #14-18 | ||||||||||||
March Brown Mayfly, #12-14 | ||||||||||||
Sulphur Mayfly, #14-18 | ||||||||||||
Green Drake (Eastern) Mayfly, #10-12 | ||||||||||||
Light Cahill Mayfly, #12-16 | ||||||||||||
Little Yellow Sally Stonefly, #14-16 | ||||||||||||
Flying Ant / Carpenter Ant Ant, #14-18 | ||||||||||||
Isonychia / Slate Drake Mayfly, #10-14 | ||||||||||||
Trico Mayfly, #20-24 |
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 Penns Creek is metered at USGS gauge 01555000. Watch the trend as much as the number: a river that is dropping and clearing fishes very differently from one that is coming up.
Low
under 200 cfs
Optimal
200 to 500 cfs
High
above 800 cfs
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.