Brush Valley Reservoir Fishing Guide, Columbia County, Pennsylvania

• Overview

  Look for Brush Valley Reservoir in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. The surface lies 1,135 feet up. It measures about 30 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Shoreline comes to about 1.1 miles, small enough to learn in a day. Mount Carmel at 3.9 miles is the nearest place to stop. Allentown is the closest city, 48 miles away. The county edge is within a short distance of the bank.

• Where to Fish on Brush Valley Reservoir

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Draw-down through summer strips the margins, so follow the water out. The arms fish better than the open middle whenever the water is up. Records held for Columbia County cover brown trout, bluegill and smallmouth bass. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. The shape of Brush Valley Reservoir rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 25°F in January up to 71°F in July. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late March. Averages place the thaw at late March and the freeze at late December. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Brush Valley Reservoir runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. A car park lies half a mile away, so the walk in is short. Toilets are half a mile away, which matters on a long session. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, Shamokin Reservoir is 2.6 miles off. What applies at Brush Valley Reservoir may have changed since it was mapped.