where do the fish go?
I was a long time user/abuser of this site, but left for a while. Now i'm back.
My question is where the fish go in winter. I live in Clearfield on the banks of the west branch, it's 2 blocks from my house. So i get to know the river pretty good. In the warmer months i can find fish at will, there will be carp swimming up and down in schools and alone. rock bass, smallies, perch, trout, and a pickerel or two. where i fish at is 8-10 ft deep in a river that in most places you can wade and not get your pants wet, has a small spring coming down out of the mountain, works great in the summer as trout stack up just like on trout run in erie.
it's now winter and i haven't seen a fish or caught one since 10-14-2015. this is not the first time i've seen this as it seems to happen every year.
My theories are 1. for last 2 years we've been getting alot of rain in bunches, where it slows before the lowhead dam,below where i fish, fills up with sediment. where once was cobble is now grit.
2.if it's winter and the water temp is in the high 30's where i fish should be the place to go, deep and with a spring to provide warmer water.
anybody have anything?