Fishes Penns Creek, Spring Creek
Spring creek · Central Pennsylvania · Pennsylvania
Spring Creek Fishing Guides
State College's home limestoner — all wild brown trout, no-kill for its full length, and one of the densest trout populations in the eastern United States.
Map of the Spring Creek
20 numbered points: 1 access point, 1 bait & fly shop, 1 outfitter, 6 bridges, 5 parks and conservation areas, 1 agency office, 2 regulation section limits, 2 springs, 1 USGS gauge. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 16, 2026.
- Access / boat ramp (1)
- Bait, tackle & fly shop (1)
- Outfitter / canoe rental (1)
- Bridge crossing (6)
- Park / conservation area (5)
- Agency / conservation office (1)
- Regulation section limit (2)
- Spring (2)
- USGS gauge (1)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Points are curated from OpenStreetMap and state agency sources; confirm access and hours before you go.
Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
Open the printable mapAll 20 points on this map
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US 322 bridge General Potter Highway, upper valley | Bridge crossing | 40.78680, -77.71603 | Upper Spring Creek crossing above the State College suburbs. |
| 2 | Fasick Park Centre Region Parks & Recreation | Park / conservation area | 40.78189, -77.76802 | Township park on the creek bank — parking and a short walk to the water. |
| 3 | Boalsburg Pike bridge Tertiary road crossing near Boalsburg | Bridge crossing | 40.78055, -77.79302 | |
| 4 | Oak Hall Regional Park Centre Region Parks & Recreation | Park / conservation area | 40.79199, -77.79434 | Parking and trail access at Oak Hall, just below the head of the catch-and-release reach. |
| 5 | Catch-and-release reach — upper limit Road bridge at Oak Hall (SR 3010) | Regulation section limit | 40.79299, -77.79841 | PFBC gives the limit as the Boalsburg Road (SR 3010) bridge at Oak Hall; plotted at the Oak Hall crossing. The reach runs about 16 mi to the mouth. |
| 6 | Spring Creek Canyon Trail footbridge Rockview canyon, walk-in only | Bridge crossing | 40.86887, -77.79551 | Track bridge in the Spring Creek canyon below Rockview — no road access, walk in from the trail. |
| 7 | Fisherman's Paradise parking Walk-in angler parking | Access / boat ramp | 40.87991, -77.79260 | The parking area for the Fisherman's Paradise fly-fishing water; everything from here is on foot. |
| 8 | Forked Spring Named spring at Fisherman's Paradise | Spring | 40.88006, -77.79417 | One of the limestone springs that keep this reach cold through the summer. |
| 9 | Bellefonte State Fish Hatchery at Fisherman's Paradise Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission | Agency / conservation office | 40.88185, -77.79419 | PFBC hatchery on the creek; the hatchery grounds are the downstream limit of the fly-fishing-only water. |
| 10 | USGS 01546500 — Spring Creek near Axemann Live discharge and water temperature | USGS gauge | 40.88978, -77.79417 | The gauge the water page reads for flow, temperature and the percentile against the historical median. |
| 11 | Spring Creek Road bridge Axemann reach | Bridge crossing | 40.88980, -77.79423 | |
| 12 | PA 550 bridge Buffalo Run Road, below Axemann | Bridge crossing | 40.90162, -77.79748 | |
| 13 | Masullo Park Borough park, Bellefonte | Park / conservation area | 40.90923, -77.78468 | Creekside park above the Big Spring and the Bellefonte weir. |
| 14 | Big Spring Bellefonte's limestone spring | Spring | 40.90917, -77.78114 | The spring that names the town and feeds the creek through Talleyrand. |
| 15 | West High Street bridge Bellefonte borough crossing | Bridge crossing | 40.91153, -77.78086 | |
| 16 | Hunter's Warehouse Hunting and outdoor shop, Bellefonte | Bait, tackle & fly shop | 40.91170, -77.77896 | Tagged shop=hunting in OSM — call ahead if you need flies or live bait specifically. |
| 17 | Krauss Park Borough park on the creek, Bellefonte | Park / conservation area | 40.91470, -77.78368 | |
| 18 | Tussey Mountain Outfitters Outfitter, Bellefonte | Outfitter / canoe rental | 40.91630, -77.78514 | |
| 19 | Milesburg Park Borough park at the mouth | Park / conservation area | 40.94184, -77.78913 | Last park on the creek, a few hundred metres above Bald Eagle Creek. |
| 20 | Catch-and-release reach — lower limit Mouth at Bald Eagle Creek, Milesburg | Regulation section limit | 40.94296, -77.78738 | Downstream end of the catch-and-release reach. The Fisherman's Paradise water and the Talleyrand exhibition area are carved out of it — check the PFBC page. |
Guides on the Spring Creek
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
About the Spring Creek
Spring Creek runs through the middle of the Nittany Valley from Boalsburg down past Lemont, Houserville, Bellefonte and Axemann to its mouth at Milesburg. It is the archetypal Pennsylvania limestoner: springs feed it steadily, the water stays cold in August and open in January, and the alkalinity supports an insect biomass that translates directly into trout. It is managed as catch-and-release, all tackle, for its entire length, and there has been no stocking for decades. Everything in it is wild, and the brown trout density through the Benner Spring and Fisherman’s Paradise reaches is among the highest measured anywhere in the eastern United States.
The fish are wild browns with a scattering of rainbows and, in the cold upper tributaries, brook trout. They are not large on average — a fourteen-inch fish is a good one and an eighteen-inch fish is a genuinely good one — but there are a great many of them and they see a great deal of pressure, which makes them educated in a way that rewards careful work. Sulphurs in May and June are the signature hatch. Blue-winged olives run from March into November, tricos cover the mornings in midsummer, and midges keep the creek fishable through the winter. Terrestrial fishing along the grassy banks in August is excellent and underused.
Access is unusually good for a limestone stream because so much of the corridor is in public or conservation hands, with the Spring Creek Canyon, Fisherman’s Paradise and the Bellefonte reaches all open and connected by trail. It is a wading and bank-fishing creek; there is no floating it. Because it runs through a developed valley, expect houses, roads and other anglers, and treat it as an urban trout stream that happens to fish like a spring creek.
The gauge near Axemann sits on the lower creek and is the standard reference. Spring Creek is spring-fed and rarely blows out, so the useful signal is usually clarity after a storm rather than raw discharge.
This water needs a real photo
The photo at the top of this page is not Spring Creek.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
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Access
Oak Hall and Boalsburg accesses — the upper creek, small water and lighter pressure.
Houserville and Puddintown Road — mid-creek walk-in access through the valley.
Spring Creek Canyon, Bellefonte — trail access along the canyon reach.
Fisherman's Paradise — the historic no-kill reach with parking and improved banks.
Benner Spring Fish Research Station reach — public access below the station.
Axemann — access at the USGS gauge on the lower creek.
Milesburg — the mouth at Bald Eagle Creek, and the bottom of the system.
Seasons
Spring: blue-winged olives from March; sulphurs build through May and are the highlight of the year.
Summer: tricos in the mornings and terrestrials along the grass banks; the spring influence keeps it cool.
Fall: olives return and the browns colour up ahead of the spawn; tread carefully around redds from late October.
Winter: reliable midge fishing on mild days — the creek rarely freezes and fishes all season.
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Questions
What is the current flow on the Spring Creek?
As of Oct 22, 12:45 am, the USGS gauge Spring Creek near Axemann, PA reads 76 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Spring Creek?
Anglers target Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout on the Spring Creek in Pennsylvania.
Are there fishing guides on the Spring Creek?
GuidedFloats lists 1 guide and outfitters on the Spring Creek. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.
Where can you access the Spring Creek?
Oak Hall and Boalsburg accesses — the upper creek, small water and lighter pressure. Houserville and Puddintown Road — mid-creek walk-in access through the valley. Spring Creek Canyon, Bellefonte — trail access along the canyon reach. Fisherman's Paradise — the historic no-kill reach with parking and improved banks. Benner Spring Fish Research Station reach — public access below the station. Axemann — access at the USGS gauge on the lower creek. Milesburg — the mouth at Bald Eagle Creek, and the bottom of the system.
When is the best time to fish the Spring Creek?
Spring: blue-winged olives from March; sulphurs build through May and are the highlight of the year. Summer: tricos in the mornings and terrestrials along the grass banks; the spring influence keeps it cool. Fall: olives return and the browns colour up ahead of the spawn; tread carefully around redds from late October. Winter: reliable midge fishing on mild days — the creek rarely freezes and fishes all season.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Spring Creek?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Pennsylvania agency site: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/fishandboat/fishing/regulations