← All stream pages · Tributary map · Etna / Shaler / North Park - Allegheny River tributary, Allegheny County, PA · Living guide — updated 2026-10-15
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Pine Creek
Pittsburgh's backyard trout stream: 22.8 miles from Pine Township to the Allegheny at Etna, a 1.4-mile Delayed Harvest section in Glenshaw, a year-round trout lake in North Park - and a real USGS gauge sitting on the creek itself.
- 1Access, pinned — 6 verified GPS access points — parking, the walk, and the water at each.
- 2The gauge, decoded — Flow windows on a real USGS gauge at Grant Ave — and the live verdict they produce, right on this page.
- 3Seasons & months — A playbook for every month of the year, season by season.
- 4Hatches & forage — The full calendar — items, windows, sizes, and the patterns that match.
- 5Technique — Rigs by flow band, the weather playbook, core tactics and flies.
- 6The fine print — Regulations, sources, and an honesty note on every claim.
The complete 13-page deep dive — a PDF to keep on the phone, plus this living page. Refreshed editions free to buyers.
Get the guide — $9.99Live USGS gauge 03049807 — on this creek · 6 verified access pins · Basin 67.3 sq mi · Etna / Shaler / North Park
High water on the latest full-day reading: edges, soft seams and inside bends only — or take the stillwater option in the guide. The live verdict recomputes from the USGS feed the moment it answers.
Live charts load with the gauge feed — until it answers, the trend above is the guide’s baked record (Wed Oct 14, 2026), labeled as such.
Daily mean flow for Wed Oct 14, 2026 — the latest full day in the guide’s gauge record. Checking the live USGS feed now…
Weather joins the verdict when the forecast feed answers — air temperature, wind and rain chance for the creek, and a lightning hold if storms are on it.
Verdict computed live from the flow band and the 24-hour trend — the same windows the full guide fishes by. It is a planning aid, not a promise: look at the water before you fish it.
Quest of the day
One mission, computed for Saturday, October 17 from the flow band, the season and the solunar clock. On the live page it recomputes in your browser every day.
- Stay off the fast water — inside bends and eddy edges at Bryant Rd RR bridge — top of the DHALO.
- Fly: Blue-Winged Olive (Baetis) — BWO dun and sparkle dun, RS2, Pheasant Tail (#16-20).
- If it looks angry at the bridge, take the stillwater option at North Park Lake & the dam breast instead.
Log the result in your logbook below — that’s the receipt.
Fish it — the species checker, bite clock & what-if lab
This is the part a search engine can’t hand you: the guide’s own data, computed against today’s water. Pick a fish and read its window, check the clock, then break the conditions in the lab before the creek does it for you.
Species turn-on checker
Every fish on this water, scored live from the flow band, the month, the water temperature and the trend. Tap one for its window and the fly that matches right now.
Best window today: Dawn — 7:02 AM–9:02 AM
Throw now: Small jigs, spoons and spinners off the dam breast and the north shore; slow and deep in the cold months
Where: North Park Lake & the dam breast
Water temp read: 54°F (typical for the month — the live gauge read replaces it when the feed answers)
Bite clock — today
Solunar major and minor windows over the day, with the dark hours shaded. Green is a major, rust a minor.
Minor windows: 10:34 AM–11:34 AM · 10:58 PM–11:58 PM
Sunrise 7:32 AM · Sunset 6:37 PM · moon age 6 days. Solunar windows are the traditional approximation, computed on this page — a planning aid, not a promise.
Weather chart loads with the forecast feed.
Bite clock computed on this page for today · the gauge trace joins it when the USGS feed answers.
What-if lab
Slide the water around and watch the verdict and every species tier recompute. Planning a Saturday on a Tuesday? This is how. The lab never touches the live verdict up top — that one always runs on the real gauge.
At the baked reading — 226 cfs, High and fishable band. Move a slider and this recomputes.
Current conditions
Gauge: USGS 03049807 — Pine Creek at Grant Avenue at Etna, PA — a real gauge on this creek.
Flow windows — where 226 cfs sits
Pine Creek is GAUGED on its main stem - a rarity in this catalog. USGS station 03049807 (Pine Creek at Grant Avenue at Etna, drainage 57.3 sq mi) carried 364 days of daily discharge in the trailing 12 months checked October 2026. Trailing-year daily statistics - minimum 10.7, 25th percentile 31.5, median 56.5, 75th percentile 97.1, 90th percentile 182, maximum 1,480 cfs. The windows above bracket the median-to-75th-percentile band as prime and treat sustained readings above roughly the 90th percentile as blown. Derived working bands - the gauge sits at the bottom of the creek, so the Glenshaw and North Park reaches run a few hours ahead of its readings.
Gauge page: USGS monitoring location 03049807
Live chart loads with the USGS daily feed — until it answers, the chart below is the guide’s baked record (trailing 12 months, Oct 2026 gauge record), labeled as fallback.
Fall stocking — Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026 (PFBC schedule — dates can shift; check before you go)
Pine Creek Section 5 — rainbow trout into the Delayed Harvest water in Glenshaw. The fall plantings also refresh the standard sections and North Park Lake, the county's year-round trout lake. No meeting point is printed here on purpose — check the current PFBC schedule the week of the stocking.
Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only — the rules that matter
Access — interactive map & pins
Tap a numbered pin to jump to its access entry. Dashed pins are approximate reach anchors from published accounts — confirm posted signs on the ground.
Schematic map from GNIS, USGS and geocoded anchors: the creek runs from Pine Township (top) through North Park Lake, down the Glenshaw corridor to Etna and the Allegheny River. The Delayed Harvest section lies between points 2 and 3 (Bryant Road railroad bridge down to the SR 4019 bridge). Point 4 (Fall Run Park) sits on a tributary, not the main stem. Not for navigation - confirm posted boundaries on the ground.
North Park Lake and the dam-breast reach (Section 2) · Map pin
Parking: County lake lots around North Park Lake off Pearce Mill Road and Babcock Boulevard in North Park (McCandless) - the largest county park in the system, with the boathouse on the north shore.
PFBC Section 2 of Pine Creek starts at the North Park Lake dam breast - the lake is stocked as its own water (Section 0) and sits on the PFBC year-round fishing list, so this is the March answer when the standard creek sections are closed. Fish the lake, or walk below the dam and fish the creek section down through the park corridor.
The walk: Big paved county lots; a 5-mile paved loop trail circles the lake. The creek below the dam is a short walk from the dam-side lots.
The water: A 66-acre lake (the county calls it the largest man-made lake in Allegheny County) plus the top of the stocked creek - two fisheries, one parking lot.
Best: March (when little else is open), opening week, and every stocking - plus summer evenings for the lake's bass and catfish.
Pressure: The busiest fishing address in Allegheny County on opening day. Midweek and the creek below the dam thin it out fast.
Pin source: OpenStreetMap geocode, North Park Lake
Bryant Road railroad bridge - top of the Delayed Harvest sectionPin approximate · Map pin
Parking: Small pull-off at the top of the DH section on Bryant Road in Shaler; this is the Penn's Woods West Trout Unlimited stocking meeting point ("Top of DH Section - RR bridge on Bryant Rd"). Park well off the road.
The Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only section starts at the abandoned railroad bridge near the T-575 (Bryant Road) and Duncan Avenue intersection and runs 1.4 miles downstream. Artificials only from here down - check your vest for bait-era habits before you cross the line.
The walk: A short bank walk from the Bryant Road pull-off to the railroad bridge; from here the section is a walk-down, fish-back proposition or a two-car shuttle with the Mt. Royal bridge.
The water: The top of the special water - the first pools below the railroad bridge hold fresh stockers in spring and the section's most educated fish by fall.
Best: Prime and low bands; the fall stocking puts fresh fish on top of the holdovers.
Pressure: Stocking-day crowds at the bridge, solitude two pools down.
Pin source: Approximate reach anchor - placed 1.4 creek-miles upstream of the SR 4019 bridge per the PFBC section length; confirm the posted DHALO signs on the ground
Mt. Royal Boulevard (SR 4019) bridge, Glenshaw - bottom of the Delayed Harvest section · Map pin
Parking: Bridge-area parking in Glenshaw near the Mt. Royal Boulevard crossing; the creek runs through a built-up village here - park legally and do not block driveways.
The Delayed Harvest section ends 150 yards downstream of the SR 4019 bridge. Below that line the creek returns to standard stocked-trout water (Section 4 comes in from above, from the mouth of Willow Run). Know which side of the line you are standing on - the tackle rules change at the bridge.
The walk: The bridge is the natural bottom gate of the DHALO; fish the section upward from here or end a Bryant Road walk-down here.
The water: The deepest Glenshaw pools sit in and just above this reach - the DHALO's holdover headquarters in low water.
Best: Low and prime bands; this is also the honest color-check spot for the whole special section.
Pressure: Village water - steady but polite. Weekday evenings are the local's shift.
Pin source: OpenStreetMap geocode, Mount Royal Boulevard, Glenshaw
Fall Run Park, Glenshaw (tributary side trip) · Map pin
Parking: Township park lots at 187 Fall Run Road, Glenshaw - trailhead parking at both ends of the park.
Fall Run is a small tributary that joins Pine Creek in Glenshaw - the park is NOT on the stocked main stem and Fall Run itself is not the stocked water. It earns its page as the family's walk while you fish the DHALO - a 1.4-1.6 mile trail to one of the tallest waterfalls in Allegheny County (about 20-25 feet), minutes from the Mt. Royal bridge.
The walk: Maintained township trail with footbridges over Fall Run; the falls are under half a mile from the lower lot.
The water: A small wooded tributary ravine - pretty water, not the stocked fishery. Keep the fishing on Pine Creek proper.
Best: Any season for the walk; spring for the falls at full flow.
Pressure: A popular family trail on weekends - that is the point of it.
Pin source: Shaler Township park listing, Fall Run Park
Etna - Grant Avenue and the USGS gauge · Map pin
Parking: Street and borough parking in Etna near Grant Avenue; the gauge (USGS 03049807) sits on the creek at Grant Avenue.
The bottom of the stocked creek - PFBC's stocked-trout designation runs down to East Pennview Avenue. This is where the number on your phone comes from - stand on the Grant Avenue bridge, compare the color to the gauge reading, and you have calibrated the whole creek for the day.
The walk: Borough sidewalks and bridge crossings; the lower creek runs channelized through Etna - fish the structured water and respect the posted industrial banks.
The water: The lower stocked creek - deeper, slower, warmer by summer; fresh stockers after plantings, and the first water to color up and the last to clear.
Best: Stocked season, spring and fall; summer belongs upstream.
Pressure: Light for water this close to the city - most anglers drive past it to the DHALO.
Pin source: USGS NWIS station record, 03049807
Etna Riverfront Park and the mouth · Map pin
Parking: Etna Riverfront Park, 1 River Way, Etna - borough riverfront park on the Allegheny with trail access.
Pine Creek meets the Allegheny River at Etna. The park is your base for the confluence - the last creek pools above, the river below. River fish (walleye, smallmouth) here are Allegheny River fish under river regulations - the creek guide ends where the river begins.
The walk: Paved riverfront and trail; an easy bank walk between the creek mouth and the park frontage.
The water: The confluence seam - creek current meeting Pool 2 of the Allegheny.
Best: Spring and fall creek mouths concentrate bait and everything that eats it.
Pressure: River anglers, not trout anglers - a different crowd and a different tackle box.
Pin source: Borough of Etna riverfront park listing
Access changes with postings and seasons — respect every sign, and confirm current PFBC regulations before fishing.
Trip builder & your logbook
Build the trip card for a real access point — parking rule, walk-in, the best fish there today, the fly box and the checklist — then keep your fish in the logbook. Both live in your browser, on this page. They’re yours.
Trip builder
Parking: Small pull-off at the top of the DH section on Bryant Road in Shaler; this is the Penn's Woods West Trout Unlimited stocking meeting point ("Top of DH Section - RR bridge on Bryant Rd"). Park well off the road.
The walk: A short bank walk from the Bryant Road pull-off to the railroad bridge; from here the section is a walk-down, fish-back proposition or a two-car shuttle with the Mt. Royal bridge.
The water: The top of the special water - the first pools below the railroad bridge hold fresh stockers in spring and the section's most educated fish by fall.
Best there today: DHALO trout — holdover browns & rainbows (Glenshaw) GOOD
Fly box: Blue-Winged Olive (Baetis) — BWO dun and sparkle dun, RS2, Pheasant Tail (#16-20); Rig for this band: Edges only (gauge 110-250): streamers in the colored edges, heavy nymphs in the soft seams; the lake outflow reach and the slowest Glenshaw bends.; Small jigs, spoons and spinners off the dam breast and the north shore; slow and deep in the cold months
Catch logbook
Log a fish and it stays here — date, water, fly and all. Stored only in this browser.
No fish logged yet — your log lives in this browser, on this page.
A holdover - not a fresh stocker - on a matched fly in the Glenshaw water means you fished it right. Leaving with the gauge-to-color relationship in your head is the real first-trip prize on a gauged creek.
Season playbook
Resolved from today's date — the current season is highlighted. On the live site this re-resolves in your browser.
Spring (Mar - May)
The water: Stocked and rising; the year's best hatches stack April into May. Standard sections open the first Saturday of April; the DHALO and North Park Lake never closed.
Fish present: Fresh stockers plus DHALO holdover browns and rainbows.
How to fish it: Nymph the DHALO by day, dry-fly the evening rises in Glenshaw; opening-week crowds belong to the standard sections and the lake.
Summer (Jun - Aug)
The water: Warm by July in the lower creek; the DHALO harvest window (June 15 - Labor Day) is the only time trout may be kept there. Shaded Glenshaw pools hold the coolest creek water.
Fish present: Holdovers in the DHALO; lake warmwater at full stride.
How to fish it: Dawn trout in the DHALO, thermometer in hand; evenings on the lake for bass and catfish.
Fall (Sep - Nov)This season
The water: Fall stocking refreshes both the creek sections and the DHALO; low, clear, technical water.
Fish present: Browns coloring up; fresh fall stockers; lake trout plantings return in the cool-down.
How to fish it: Streamers on the drop; October caddis at dusk; BWO on grey days.
Winter (Dec - Feb)
The water: Cold and clear; the DHALO and North Park Lake are the open water - standard sections run on the extended season until late February.
Fish present: Holdover trout.
How to fish it: Midges and small stonefly nymphs, midday, slow - and watch for salt-milky melt pulses after road treatment.
Month by month
| Month | The water | Fish | The play |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Cold, clear, still: the DHALO pools and North Park Lake are the fishery. The gauge idles at winter base flow. | Holdover trout in the Glenshaw special water. | Zebra midges 20-24 and small stonefly nymphs, midday, slow. The lake gives up winter rainbows to patient shore anglers. |
| February | The year's first hatch: little black stoneflies on mild afternoons in the DHALO. Extended season runs on the standard sections until late February. | Holdovers waking up. | Black stonefly nymphs before noon, a dry if you see noses. Watch the gauge - a warm rain on snow can blow this little basin out in hours. |
| March | The split month: standard stocked sections CLOSE March 1 until opening day. The DHALO stays open (artificials, catch and release) and North Park Lake stays open for fishing - but no trout may be kept there in the closed window. | DHALO holdovers; lake trout under the no-possession rule. | This is the DHALO's finest crowd-free month. Spring stocking trucks roll for the creek sections and the special water - fish the special water and let the closed sections rest. |
| April | Opening day the first Saturday, then the ladder climbs: Grannom mid-month, Hendrickson behind it - the creek's best nymphing of the year. | Fresh stockers everywhere; holdovers in the DHALO. | Grannom pupa in the drift all morning; Hendrickson duns on the flats in the afternoon. Opening-week pressure lives at the lake and the easy standard-section bridges. |
| May | Sulphur season builds mid-month: the flat pools in Glenshaw at dusk are the address. | Trout keyed to evening mayflies. | Nymph by day, sulphur emergers and spinners at dusk. Schedule around the last two hours of light. |
| June | Sulphur tail, Light Cahills, and the Slate Drake swimming. June 15 the DHALO harvest window opens (9 inches, 3 fish, artificials still only). | Holdovers and stockers; the lake's warmwater season opens up. | Evenings still rule for trout. Carry a thermometer - by late June the lower creek is a dawn proposition. |
| July | Terrestrial season on the creek; the lake is in full warmwater stride. Creek trout water is a shaded-pool, first-light game now. | Educated DHALO holdovers; lake bass, catfish, crappie. | Foam ants under the Glenshaw shade lines at dawn; poppers and crayfish patterns on the lake at dusk. If the creek passes 68 F at midday, stop fishing trout. |
| August | The dog days: the gauge sags toward its annual lows (under 25 cfs is common) and the creek runs clear and warm. | Holdovers in the deepest DHALO pools only. | First light or not at all for trout; the lake carries August. Keep trout wet and release them fast if you fish the cool mornings. |
| September | Fall reset: October caddis late; fall stocking refreshes the creek, the DHALO, and the lake. Labor Day closes the DHALO harvest window - catch and release resumes. | Browns plus fresh fall stockers. | Small streamers on the drop after rain; BWO on grey days; caddis at dusk. |
| October | The DHALO's second season: low, clear, technical - spring-creek fishing fifteen minutes from downtown. | Browns and rainbows, educated and visible. | Long leaders, 6X, small nymphs and emergers; one rise, one cast. The fall-stocked lake trout fish well in the cool-down. |
| November | Late fall: midges and BWOs on the mild days; extended season (creel 3) on the standard sections. | Holdover trout; late lake plantings. | Slow down: midday slots, tiny flies. The Etna reach fishes its stocked water in near-solitude. |
| December | Winter mode: cold and clear, midges only, DHALO pools at noon; salt-milky pulses after road treatment days. | Holdovers. | Zebra midges deep and slow in the Glenshaw pools; the lake's winter rainbows reward the patient. |
On now — hatch & forage for October
The year at a glance — hatch & forage matrix
| Item | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Black Stonefly | ● | ● | ||||||||||
| Blue-Winged Olive (Baetis) | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||||
| Grannom (American Grannom caddis) | ● | ● | ||||||||||
| Hendrickson and Blue Quill | ● | ● | ||||||||||
| Sulphur (large invaria and little dorothea) | ● | ● | ||||||||||
| Light Cahill and March Brown | ● | ● | ● | |||||||||
| Slate Drake (Isonychia) | ● | ● | ● | |||||||||
| Terrestrials (ants, beetles, hoppers) | ● | ● | ● | |||||||||
| Trico | ● | ● | ● | |||||||||
| October Caddis (Great Brown Sedge) | ● | ● | ||||||||||
| Shiners, sculpins and crayfish (forage) | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● |
| Midges | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● |
Full hatch calendar — every item, window and pattern
| Item | Window | Size | Patterns | Notes — and how to fish it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Black Stonefly | Feb - Mar | #14-18 | Black Stonefly nymph, Early Black Stone dry | The year's first hatch; mild afternoons in the DHALO. Dead-drift deep and tight to the bottom structure - boulders, ledge slots, riffle seams. Weight the fly or the leader, and let it tumble like the naturals do. |
| Blue-Winged Olive (Baetis) | Mar - Apr and Sep - Nov | #16-20 | BWO dun and sparkle dun, RS2, Pheasant Tail | Grey days, all season long; the DHALO's bread and butter. Grey-day rules: emergers and sparkle duns dead-drifted in the film, long leaders, one rise one cast. The hatch rewards the anglers who show up in bad weather. |
| Grannom (American Grannom caddis) | Mid-Apr - early May | #14-16 | Grannom pupa and dry, sparkle pupa | Pupa in the drift all morning on the Glenshaw riffles. Start with the pupa in the drift before the hatch peaks, then the adult dry skated or dead-drifted over risers; caddis forgive a little motion that mayflies never do. |
| Hendrickson and Blue Quill | Mid-Apr - mid May | #12-16 | Hendrickson dun, Red Quill, Blue Quill | Classic spring mayflies on the DHALO flats. Dead-drift the dun over rising fish in the afternoon pools; if they refuse, drop to the emerger in the film - Hendrickson refusals are usually a stage problem, not a pattern problem. |
| Sulphur (large invaria and little dorothea) | Mid-May - mid Jun | #12-14 and #16-18 | Sulphur dun, emerger, spinner | The evening hatch on the flat pools in Glenshaw - spinners at dusk. Emergers first at the start of the rise, duns in the middle, spinners at dark. Fish the flat water the hatch owns and stay until the light is gone. |
| Light Cahill and March Brown | May - Jul | #10-16 | Light Cahill, March Brown dun | Evening mayflies into early summer. Emergers first at the start of the rise, duns in the middle, spinners at dark. Fish the flat water the hatch owns and stay until the light is gone. |
| Slate Drake (Isonychia) | Jun and Sep - Oct | #10-14 | Isonychia nymph (swum), dun at dusk | Swim the nymph to the banks. The dun by day on the pools; the spinner at dusk in the slow tails. Big flies, gentle presentations - the fish are large and the light is low. |
| Terrestrials (ants, beetles, hoppers) | Jul - Sep | #10-18 | Foam ant, beetle, small hopper | Shade lines and mowed-bank edges along the Glenshaw corridor. Plop it tight to shade lines, banks, and overhanging cover and let it sit; terrestrials are a patience fly - move it only when the drift dies. |
| Trico | Jul - Sep | #20-24 | Trico spinner | Mornings on the slow DHALO flats - typical window per PA regional hatch charts. Spinner falls on slow flats in the morning: tiny flies, 6X-7X, drag-free, and cast to individual rising fish only. |
| October Caddis (Great Brown Sedge) | Sep - Oct | #10-12 | Orange sedge dry, Stimulator | Fall evenings, skated across the pool tails. Start with the pupa in the drift before the hatch peaks, then the adult dry skated or dead-drifted over risers; caddis forgive a little motion that mayflies never do. |
| Shiners, sculpins and crayfish (forage) | Year-round | #4-10 streamers | Woolly Bugger, Clouser Minnow, crayfish patterns | The DHALO browns and the lake bass both key on the creek's forage; crayfish patterns work the lake's restored habitat structures. Swing or strip streamers through the pool tails on the drop after rain; crawl crayfish patterns slow along the lake's structure in summer. |
| Midges | Year-round | #20-26 | Zebra Midge, midge pupa | Winter and whenever nothing else is moving. Fish two in tandem, tiny, under a small indicator or a dry-fly suspender, dead drift in the slowest seams; in winter this is a midday game. |
Technique by flow band
The rig, where the fish hold, and the safety note for every band — straight from the guide.
Too low
Rig: Spring-creek mode: 12-14 ft leaders to 6X, one small nymph or midge, no indicator splash in the Glenshaw slots (gauge under 25).
Where they hold: The deepest DHALO pools and the lake-outflow reach. At summer lows this band is also a temperature warning - check before you fish trout.
Safety: Low water exposes slick, algae-painted slab rock in the channelized reaches - place feet deliberately.
Low and fishable
Rig: Careful, technical fishing: small nymphs in the pool slots, emergers on any rise, 5X-6X throughout (gauge 25-45).
Where they hold: Pool tails, shade lines, and the flat water above the Mt. Royal bridge for risers.
Safety: The DHALO is artificials only - check your vest for the bait-era habits before you cross the railroad-bridge line.
Prime
Rig: The full menu: nymph the slots, emergers at the flats, small streamers in the undercuts - and stay for the evening rise (gauge 45-110, falling).
Where they hold: Everywhere in the section; holdovers prowl the edges at dusk.
Safety: Prime flows make the village crossings pushy. Cross at tail-outs, and never above a drop.
High and fishable
Rig: Edges only (gauge 110-250): streamers in the colored edges, heavy nymphs in the soft seams; the lake outflow reach and the slowest Glenshaw bends.
Where they hold: The slowest water in the creek - inside bends, eddy edges, behind the bridge piers.
Safety: Urban high water carries debris and undercut banks. If the Etna channel looks angry, fish the lake instead.
Blown out
Rig: Gauge over 250: the creek is closed. North Park Lake is the trip - it fishes right through a creek blowout.
Where they hold: The lake's coves and habitat structures; the coffee in Etna.
Safety: A gauged creek still demands visual honesty: if it looks blown at the Grant Avenue bridge, it is blown. Come back in 24-36 hours.
Weather & conditions playbook
The row matching the live flow band is highlighted when the gauge answers.
| Condition | What changes | Tactics | Flies | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High and off-color | An urban basin spikes fast - the gauge can run from prime to blown inside a day, and the lower creek colors first. | Stay off the Etna channel banks. Fish the lake, or wait for the drop - this creek clears in a day or two, not a week. | First-drop streamers for DHALO browns. | Wait for the drop. |
| Prime green and falling (gauge 45-110) | Stained green, hatches still come off, holdovers prowl the Glenshaw pools. | Nymph the slots, streamer the undercuts, stay for the evening rise. | Caddis pupa, Pheasant Tails, small streamers. | Go. |
| Low and clear (gauge 25-45) | Spring-creek mode in the DHALO: visible, educated fish. | Long leaders, 6X, small nymphs and emergers; one rise, one cast. | BWO, midges, RS2s. | Technical but excellent. |
| Cold snap | DHALO pools go still and clear; midges only. | Midday, deep, slow. | Zebra midges, small stones. | Short sessions. |
| Winter thaw / salt pulse | Road-salt melt can run the creek grey and milky at modest flows - the gauge looks innocent while the creek looks wrong. | Fish through it with bigger, darker nymphs and streamers; the fish feed under the milk. | Black stonefly nymphs, dark Woolly Buggers. | Go, with adjusted expectations. |
| Summer heat (water over 68 F) | Trout stress fast in a suburban creek; the lower water warms first. | Take the temperature; if it is over 68 F at midday, stop fishing trout - the lake's bass and catfish are the honest summer fishery. | - | Switch species or stay home. |
Tactics & flies
Core tactics
- The DHALO fishes like a spring creek in suburb clothing: drag-free drifts, 5X-6X tippets in clear water, and small nymphs (Pheasant Tail, Hare's Ear, zebra midges) through the Glenshaw pool slots.
- The gauge is on this creek - use it. Under 45 cfs, fish the DHALO like a technical spring creek; 45-110 falling is the full-menu band; over 110, move to the edges or the lake.
- Stocked fish in the standard sections eat like stocked fish - egg patterns, squirmy worms and bright nymphs in the first two weeks after a planting, then the naturals take over.
- Evenings April into June are the creek's dry-fly hours - BWO and sulphur activity concentrates on the flat pools in Glenshaw at dusk.
- In summer, the trout water is the DHALO's shaded pools at dawn - and the honest summer fishery is North Park Lake's bass, catfish and crappie. Take a temperature before you trout-fish a July afternoon.
What to throw, by season
| Season | What to throw |
|---|---|
| Spring (Mar - May) | BWO 16-20, Grannom caddis 14-16, Hendrickson 12-14 (mid-April), Pheasant Tail, Hare's Ear, caddis pupa. Egg patterns and squirmy worms for fresh stockers in the standard sections; artificials only in the DHALO. |
| Summer (Jun - Aug) | Sulphurs early summer evenings (16-18), Light Cahill, terrestrials - foam ants and beetles under the Glenshaw shade lines; lake bass on poppers and crayfish patterns at dusk. |
| Fall (Sep - Nov) | October caddis 10-12, BWO again, Slate Drake nymphs, small streamers for browns after the fall stocking; egg patterns for the fresh DHALO plantings (artificial lures include tied egg flies). |
| Winter (Dec - Feb) | Zebra midges 20-24, little black stonefly nymphs, slow deep drifts in the DHALO pools - open year-round while most stocked water sleeps. |
Fish & seasons
Brown, rainbow and brook trout (stocked)
Season: Spring and fall stockings; standard sections follow PA stocked-trout seasons
PFBC lists Pine Creek as a Stocked Trout Water from its headwaters downstream to East Pennview Avenue (Etna). Section 2 runs below the North Park Lake dam breast; Section 4 runs from the mouth of Willow Run down to the top of the Delayed Harvest section. The Delayed Harvest section is stocked in spring and again in fall.
Trout in the Delayed Harvest section (1.4 miles, Glenshaw)
Season: Open to fishing year-round; harvest window June 15 - Labor Day only
Artificial lures only, no bait. Catch and release the rest of the year. Holdovers are the prize here - the section fishes like a small spring creek in freestone clothing by fall.
North Park Lake trout (rainbow, brown, brook)
Season: Year-round fishing water (PFBC list) - open even in the March closed window, but no trout may be kept then
The lake is stocked separately from the creek (Section 0) and is the only Allegheny County water on the PFBC Stocked Trout Waters Open to Year-Round Fishing list. Rainbows are roughly three-quarters of the lake plantings.
North Park Lake warmwater (largemouth bass, channel catfish, white crappie, bluegill)
Season: Year-round, best May - Oct
After the 2009-2012 dredging and restoration, PFBC and the county restocked the lake with bass, catfish, crappie and bluegill alongside the seasonal trout plantings.
Allegheny River fish at the mouth (walleye, smallmouth bass, and river run fish)
Season: River seasons apply - this is river water, not creek water
The creek ends at Etna Riverfront Park. Below the last creek pools you are fishing the Allegheny River (Pool 2) under river regulations - a different fishery that shares the parking lot.
First trip — fish it like a local
Start with the gauge: check USGS 03049807 (Grant Avenue, Etna) at home. Between 45 and 110 cfs and falling, go. Then drive to Glenshaw and look at the water from the Mt. Royal Boulevard bridge - tea-green is right.
- Park at the Mt. Royal Boulevard (SR 4019) bridge and fish UP into the Delayed Harvest section - artificials only from 150 yards below the bridge to the railroad bridge at Bryant Road.
- Nymph the pool slots through Glenshaw by day; save the flat pools for the evening rise in season.
- Walk out at the Bryant Road railroad bridge (the top of the section) or fish back down - know that below the SR 4019 line the rules change back to standard stocked-trout regulations.
- March trip instead? The standard sections are closed - fish the DHALO, or North Park Lake (open, but no trout may be kept there in the closed window).
- Finish with a look at the gauge bridge in Etna on the way home - you have now calibrated the creek top to bottom.
In the DHALO, move pool to pool, not cast to cast. Ten good drifts in a slot, then step. At dusk, stop moving entirely and own one flat pool.
Bring
Etiquette: The DHALO lives in a village. Park legally, keep off posted and residential banks, and pack out line. Artificials only in the section - no bait, no exceptions.
About Pine Creek
Pine Creek is the trout stream Pittsburgh already owns. The PA DEP watershed plan counts 22.8 miles of main stem in a 67.3-square-mile watershed (HUC 05010009), rising in Pine Township and running the Route 8 corridor through North Park, Hampton, Shaler and Glenshaw to its mouth at Etna. It is a working suburban creek - the same watershed studies that map its ~128 tributary stream miles also document a modern signature - road-salt chloride loading that spikes in winter near Etna - alongside the usual suburban runoff. Its centerpiece is North Park Lake, built with the county park in the 1930s, dredged and restored in a $21 million project (2009-2012) that converted part of the old basin to marsh and restocked everything from trout to channel catfish; PFBC keeps the lake on its short list of Stocked Trout Waters Open to Year-Round Fishing, the only one in Allegheny County. The creek below is managed in sections - Section 2 under the dam, Section 4 down the Glenshaw corridor - and its jewel is the 1.4-mile Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only water in Glenshaw, stocked in spring and fall (the local Trout Unlimited chapter meets the truck at the Bryant Road railroad bridge) and open all year. And unlike nearly every creek in this catalog, Pine Creek is honestly measured - USGS gauge 03049807 at Grant Avenue in Etna has recorded its daily flow for years, which is why this guide's windows carry real numbers instead of apologies.
Regulations
- Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only: 1.4 miles, from the abandoned railroad bridge near the T-575 (Bryant Road) and Duncan Avenue intersection downstream to 150 yards downstream of the SR 4019 bridge (PFBC Summary Book, Southwest Region). Artificial lures only - no bait or baitfish may be used or possessed in the section. Open to fishing year-round; trout may be kept only from June 15 to Labor Day (minimum 9 inches, creel limit 3); catch and release at all other times.
- The rest of Pine Creek is a PFBC Stocked Trout Water (headwaters downstream to East Pennview Avenue, Etna): regular stocked-trout seasons apply - closed to fishing March 1 to opening day, regular season creel 5 (7 inches minimum), extended season creel 3. North Park Lake is separately designated a Stocked Trout Water Open to Year-Round Fishing - fishing is allowed in the March window but no trout may be taken or possessed then.
- A valid PA fishing license and trout permit are required; the Combination Trout/Lake Erie permit also covers this water.
- Respect the corridor: the Glenshaw and Etna reaches run through villages and past homes and industry. Park legally, stay off posted banks, and pack out line - this fishery survives on local tolerance.
- Summaries for planning only: check current PFBC rules for the exact water and date you fish.
Sources & honesty notes
- PFBC Summary Book, Southwest Region regulated trout waters - Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only listings verbatim for Pine Creek (1.4 miles, abandoned railroad bridge near T-575/Duncan Ave to 150 yards downstream of the SR 4019 bridge) and the DHALO rule structure (artificials only; harvest June 15 - Labor Day, 9 inches, creel 3; open year-round).
- PFBC Stocked Trout Waters lists (Southwest Region) - Pine Creek, headwaters downstream to East Pennview Avenue; PFBC Stocked Trout Waters Open to Year-Round Fishing list - North Park Lake (the only Allegheny County entry).
- PFBC trout stocking schedules (fbweb.pa.gov) - Pine Creek Sections 2 and 4 limits (North Park Lake dam breast; mouth of Willow Run to the abandoned RR bridge at T-575/Duncan Ave), spring and in-season stockings, and the Penn's Woods West TU Delayed Harvest stocking notice (fall stocking; meeting point at the RR bridge on Bryant Road).
- USGS NWIS - station 03049807 Pine Creek at Grant Avenue at Etna (drainage 57.3 sq mi; daily discharge record queried October 2026, trailing-12-month statistics as printed in the gauge notes); station inventory for the basin's ungauged tributary sites.
- PA DEP Pine Creek Watershed plan and Duquesne University watershed study - 22.8 stream miles, 67.3 sq mi watershed, tributary list, and the documented road-salt chloride loading.
- USGS GNIS via Wikipedia, Pine Creek (Allegheny River tributary) - source and mouth coordinates; North Park (Pittsburgh) - North Park Lake 66 acres, 2009-2012 restoration, restocked species, and trout planting mix.
- OpenStreetMap/Nominatim geocodes (North Park Lake; Mount Royal Boulevard, Glenshaw) and municipal listings (Shaler Township - Fall Run Park; Borough of Etna - Etna Riverfront Park, 1 River Way) for access-point coordinates.
- PA regional hatch charts (published) - typical windows for BWO, Grannom, Hendrickson, Sulphur, Slate Drake, October Caddis, Trico on western PA stocked and delayed-harvest water.
The full Pine Creek deep dive — $9.99
The complete 13-page guide behind this page — a living guide, refreshed as conditions and data change, with refreshed editions free to buyers. The PDF companion is yours to keep on the phone, offline, at the bridge.
- Access map with GPS pins
- Full flow-band tactics
- Hatch & forage calendar
- Month-by-month playbook
- Weather playbook
- Regulations & sources
- Living guide — updates free
- This living page computes: species checker, bite clock, what-if lab, trip builder & logbook
- PDF companion for the bridge
Not sure yet? Preview a full guide free: San Juan River sample (PDF) — a complete guide, so you can see exactly what you get.