Hatch Charts of the Streams of Central PA

February Hatch Chart

Fly Pattern & Size	Penns Creek	Big Fishing Creek	Elk Creek	Pine Creek	Spring Creek
White Midge #24-32	Sporadic	10am-4pm	Sporadic	10am-4pm	10am-4pm
Grey Midge #20-26	Sporadic	10am-4pm	Sporadic	10am-4pm	10am-4pm
Olive Midge #20-24	Sporadic	10am-4pm	Sporadic	10am-4pm	10am-4pm
Black Midge #20-28	Sporadic	10am-4pm	Sporadic	10am-4pm	10am-4pm
BWO #18-22	Sporadic	11am-2pm	Sporadic	11am-2pm	11am-2pm
BWO Spinner #18-22	Sporadic	3pm-5pm	Sporadic	3pm-5pm	3pm-5pm
Black Stonefly #16	8am-6pm	8am-6pm	Sporadic	Sporadic	8am-6pm

February Seasonal Information

February, like January, can offer some of the best dry fly fishing of the year (midges mostly, standard patterns and specialty ties, sizes #20-#28, assorted colors) with air temperature playing the most critical factor (above 32 °F preferred but not required). February adds the complexity of nearly daily bluing wing olive (BWO) hatches and early black stonefly hatches. Because they are the (physically) largest of the early season hatches, black stonefly hatches regularly raise fish. Nymph fishing continues to be largely stable regardless of outside temperature: our spring-fed limestone beds are consistently 50-52 °F, cool during the summer and warm during the winter. Although BWO and stonefly hatches can be quite heavy on Penns Creek, fish rarely rise for them; it's generally agreed that Penns is so rich subsurface that fish don't need to waste energy rising to eat bugs at the surface. Spring Creek continues to offer the best dry fly fishing of the winter, with the best of the bwo hatches in February and some excellent black stonefly hatches in recent years (the removal of McCoy's Dam in Milesburg has improved hatch conditions radically). Although Big Fishing Creek gets good BWO and stonefly hatches, the best dry fly fishing is still midges. Pennsylvania is open year round to catch-and-release.