never fished french creek before and have an opportunity to visit a friend's camp near utica tomorrow or saturday.  my friend doesn't fish, so he's totally unfamiliar with the usgs gage and how that correlates to fishing and wading.  
 
the utica gage is at 4.5 feet and 2500 cfs this morning.  what's a decent level for doing some wade fishing around there?  

That's a bit high but still fishable. Water may be a bit dirty.  If I remember correctly 3-3.5 is almost perfect.
 
There should be some old threads with gauge recommendations on them here somewhere.
 
 
I was wrong.
 
 
Here's a post from 2009
 
Thanks ready2fish, sorry I don't get on much these days.

creekman, As said you should check the flows and the weather reports before you actually do the trip.  Sometimes the May flows can be more than you might enjoy, making fishing difficult.  June can be better.  When the level at Utica is near 2 - 2 1/2 feet I have had my best fishing.  Over three feet and the creek is a bit high and fast and it doesn't take much for that creek to rise.

http://newweb.erh.noaa.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=pbz&gage=utcp1&view=1,1,1,1,1,1




Hope that helps.  Good luck and if you have more questions, just ask.

Lots of rain yesterday in Venango and Crawford Counties....but if rain is minimal today and Friday, Saturday could be pretty good day around Utica, if water clarity is not too bad. 

‘preciate the feedback fellas. very helpful.

Also, if French is too high and dirty, check out nearby Sugar Creek. There should be trout still and you can get smallmouth in the lower end. 

 Buddies mom had a camp along French Crick. Fished it back in the 70's and we did okay with Smallies, Rock Bass some Pike, Carp and Cats. That was upstream some in Cochraton. Last time caught my BIGEST POISON IVY RASH ever all over both hands and arms on first day ov trip 
 
crappy 

thanks again for the info guys.  
 
i ended up going up friday because that's when i had time.  it was still high and dirty, so only took a few half hearted casts for about 1/2 hour, but was able to take a look around at some different places there and will definitely be back when the water is in better shape.  and it was nice to sit on the porch of the cabin and watch the world float by for a few hours with a friend.