East Branch Big Elk Creek
Fishing, stocking, and current conditions
Brown trout and rainbow trout water, stocked 2 times in 2026, all in March. One of 14 stocked waters on the Chester County record. A USGS gauge reports from this water, so the conditions card on this page is live.
Chester County · Pennsylvania · see it on the national map
The year here
stocked last 7 days announced ahead · tap a tick for details
What swims here
Brown trout
Rainbow trout
Stocking record 2026
Agency feed checked today.
| Date | Species | Size | Fish | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 9 | Brown trout | adult | stocked | |
| Mar 9 | Rainbow trout | adult | stocked |
When to fish East Branch Big Elk Creek
| Major periods (~2 h) | Minor periods (~1 h) | |
|---|---|---|
| Today | 9:40-11:40 am and 10:03 pm-12:03 am | 3:57-4:57 am and 4:13-5:13 pm |
| Tomorrow | 10:27 am-12:27 pm and 10:51 pm-12:51 am | 5:05-6:05 am and 4:38-5:38 pm |
Moon: waxing gibbous, 92% lit. These are solunar periods, the traditional feeding-time theory: majors around the moon's transit overhead and underfoot, minors around moonrise and moonset. Theory, not a measurement. Times are Eastern Time (EDT).
What the record actually says
- Last stocked Mar 9
- Flow near normal for the season
Computed this evening, Oct 23 · Pennsylvania fishing forecast
Gear for this water
It has been a while since the trucks came. The holdovers have spread out and wised up; downsize and fish natural.
For the trout (brown trout stocked 1 time here in 2026, moving water)
| Inline spinners | 1/16 to 1/8 oz silver or gold; swing them across the current seams |
| Drifted bait | single salmon egg or half a crawler under light split shot, rolled along the bottom |
| Small jerkbaits | floating minnows in the 2 to 3 inch class for the deeper bends |
Suggestions follow from what the state actually stocks here and what kind of water it is, nothing else. No sponsored placements.
Nearby stocked waters
The closest waters with stocking pages of their own, straight-line miles from this one.
| Water | Distance | Most recent |
|---|---|---|
| Middle Branch White Clay Creek | 6.6 mi | Apr 15 |
| West Branch Octoraro Creek | 7.2 mi | Apr 13 |
| East Branch Octoraro Creek | 7.2 mi | Apr 9 |
| East Branch White Clay Creek | 8.1 mi | May 4 |
| Stewart Run | 12 mi | Mar 16 |
Follow Chester County stocking: RSS / Calendar (iCal) / Print the schedule