Pennsylvania · river

Big Spring Creek

Big Spring Creek is a 5.0-mile-long (8.0 km) tributary of Conodoguinet Creek in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Big Spring Creek, the fifth largest spring in Pennsylvania with a median flow of 18 million US gallons/27 cfs (0.7 m³/s) a day, emerges near U.S. Route 11, approximately 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Shippensburg, and feeds Conodoguinet Creek near Newville. From Wikipedia

Flows into
Conodoguinet Creek

Flow now

Mountain Creek near Pine Grove Furnace, PA, 10 mi from the river.

3cfsat build, Nov 12, 11 AM MT

0918Oct 12Nov 11

The typical week here, from 10 years of record: 3 cfs to 18 cfs, around 5 cfs.

Also gauged at Bixler Run near Loysville, PA: 7 cfs, Nov 12.

The season, November

Usually workable this week. Pick your window and fish it well.

  • Midgessizes 18 to 22
  • Small eggs and worms
  • Pheasant tail and zebra midge nymphsunder an indicator

Typical for the week over 10 years: 3.3 to 18 cfs. Running 3.0 cfs today, inside that range. Flows are not forecast; check the gauge the day before.

Brown Trout are spawning (October to December). Stay off clean, light-coloured gravel in riffle tails and pool tailouts, and leave paired fish alone.

Brook Trout are spawning (September to November). Stay off clean, light-coloured gravel in riffle tails and pool tailouts, and leave paired fish alone.

Mountain Whitefish are spawning (October to December). The egg bite behind spawning whitefish is the best winter nymphing of the year: an egg pattern below the riffles.

  • Flows swing a lot this week most years. Carry both a heavy nymph rig and a dry-dropper and let the gauge decide.
  • Egg patterns in the runs below the spawning gravel, never on it.

Written by the app's rules engine from the calendar, the gauge record and the snowpack, not by hand, so it says only what the data says. The weather for the week comes with the app.

Fly shops on this water

Nearby waters

Every Pennsylvania water

Open Big Spring Creek in FlyMaster for today's plan, the flies, and your own log here.

Download FlyMaster on the App StoreGet FlyMaster on Google Play

Flows from the U.S. Geological Survey, snowpack from the NRCS SNOTEL network, text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Built Nov 12.