Regular readers of this page should be fully aware of my love for Penns Creek in the Bald Eagle State Forest near State College.

I've tried to spend at least a few days there every year for the past 15 years or so, hunting its fertile water for native brown trout with fly-fishing and spinning tackle.

Judging by the number of Lancaster County residents I've bumped into on the Penns, many of you share my affinity for this pristine trout fishery as well.

At a time when smallmouth bass fishing and the American shad run in the Susquehanna River have taken a turn for the worse, it's good to hear a positive report about a fishing destination in Pennsylvania.

It seems the wild-born brown trout that swim in Penns Creek are doing better than ever, according to a study done this summer by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

Agency teams surveyed the trout population in the seven-mile section of Penns Creek that's governed by the all-tackle, trophy-trout regulations. This area stretches through parts of Centre and Mifflin counties, from Coburn, downstream past Poe Paddy State Park.

On this section of Penns, anglers can fish with bait, lures and/or flies all year long.

Anglers may keep only two trout, measuring at least 14 inches long, per day from the opening day of trout season through Labor Day. Fishing is catch and release the rest of the year.

These regulations have been in place on this section of the Penns since 1995 — a year after all stockings on the creek ceased in the name of protecting the ample, self-sustaining population of wild browns.

Fish and Boat Commission crews first sampled the all-tackle trophy-trout section of Penns Creek in 1997.

That year, they estimated the population at 2,776 brown trout per mile. But many of those fish were under four inches.

As a result, the creek was deemed to have a biomass of 83.5 kilograms of trout per hectare.

What the heck's a hectare?

The biomass is an indicator only a biologist would love, but suffice it to say the kilograms-per-hectare measurement shows the weight of trout per unit of water.

This allows biologists to gauge how much trout by weight a section of water holds, rather than how many.

This summer, agency crews estimated the brown trout population on the targeted section of the Penns at 1,219 trout per mile of creek, which appears to be a decrease from 1997.

However, crews netted more big fish and fewer small fish this summer.

That explains the biomass measurement at 103.5 kilograms of trout per hectare.

More big fish generally means fewer small ones, since an 18-inch brown is sure to snatch up a 3-incher for lunch.

For angling purposes, it's better to have a decent number of big fish than an overabundance of small ones.

Here's what Fish and Boat Commission biologists had to say about their studies of the all-tackle, trophy-trout section of Penns Creek:

"From the data above, the wild brown trout population in this section of Penns Creek has maintained high numbers and biomass of trout over the past 10 years under all-tackle, trophy-trout regulations," the agency's report states.

"It should also be noted that the numbers of brown trout 14 inches and larger have also increased over the same time period despite the fact that they are available for harvest under the trophy-trout regulations.

"This section of Penns Creek continues to support a fine wild brown trout fishery in a relatively remote area."

Music to my ears.

•••

Don't believe in global warming?

You must not be a bowhunter.

Monday morning was the 25th day of Pennsylvania's 2007 archery deer season, but it was the first day we finally had some bowhunting weather locally.

The thermometer outside my house said it was 34 degrees when I left at 5:30 a.m. to head to the Cochranville area for a morning hunt.

I can't recall one other morning this season when the mercury was below 50 at that hour.

Indeed, Millersville University's Weather Center data indicates this was the hottest October on record.

The average temperature for the month was 9 degrees above normal.

And I don't know about the areas you hunt, but where I hunt, the deer — namely, the bucks — acted like it was hot.

I saw a few small bucks the first few days of the season, but I never saw another antler after the first week.

Until Monday.

Every bowhunter who checked Monday's weather forecast on Sunday night certainly had a good feeling about Monday morning.

Clear. Cold. No wind. Oct. 29.

That's a recipe for buck movement if ever I saw one.

Dutifully, a nice 7- or 8-pointer chased a doe past my stand around 8 a.m. Monday, and then made a second pass around 9 a.m.

Although the buck ventured to within 15 yards of my stand at one point, I never had a chance for a shot.

But that's OK.

Meteorologists expect Monday's weather to hold at least through early next week, which is the last week of our fall archery deer season.

And that means it's finally good to be a bowhunter.

If you've got some vacation time to burn, now is the time to use it.

E-mail: preilly@lnpnews.com