The moderate current of the West Branch of the Susquehanna swung the Rooster Tail spinner downstream as I slowly retrieved it.

As the lure passed a subtle mid-river ledge, a spunky foot-long wild brown trout nipped at it, missed it, then locked on solidly. It was the first trout of the day, a cold one earlier this month, that struggled to reach the low 30s by late afternoon.

Thanks to extensive cleanup efforts, the upper portion of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River now supports a fine wild trout fishery, so much so that 18 miles of it are now managed under the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s All Tackle, Catch and Release regulations. This level of protection went into effect the first of this year.

The West Branch rises in Cambria County near Carrolltown, flowing north through Northern Cambria and continuing about 35 miles until entering Curwensville Lake.

“It’s seen a huge improvement, from the headwaters down to Curwensville Lake, tributary waters as well,” said PFBC Area 3 Fisheries Manager Jason Detar.

Detar said the fish are there because the water quality is now there, and that’s thanks to efforts of the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation and various partners.

He sites two major projects as being largely responsible for this rebirth of the upper West Branch, the removal of the Barnes-Watkins refuse pile, and the creation of an acid mine drainage facility that treats water discharged by Barnes and Tucker’s inactive Lancashire #15 mine. Detar said the AMD treatment facility discharges about 15 million gallons of cold, clean water into the West Branch each day.

“In simple terms, basically it’s like a big spring, an underground pool that’s full of water, but also has iron pyrite and other chemical constituents from mining,” he explained. “It comes out of the ground naturally and is captured, treated and discharged into the river at a naturally-cold temperature. That’s what makes the whole thing work for trout.”

The West Branch’s All Tackle, Catch and Release waters flow from the AMD treatment plant down to the mouth of Cush Creek at Dowler Junction. The first 8.5 miles, from the plant down to the start of the flood control zone in Cherry Tree, are classified as Class A.

Detar said both brown and brook trout are present, with the former in much higher density, adding that anglers can reasonably expect to catch wild browns in the 10 to 14-inch range, though fish pushing the 20-inch mark have been collected during electrofishing surveys. The fishery will be managed for wild trout, i.e. no stocking will take place.

Indiana County WCO Matt Colian, a Cambria County native, recalls when the river ran orange 20 years ago. Now he not only helps patrol the river, but fishes it as well.

“Like many streams, you’ve got to do some walking to fish it, as there are some slower, featureless stretches,” he noted. “But there are areas of nice pocket water.”

Colian noted that the Fish and Boat Commission has added stream deflectors in the Cherry Tree area. He reminds anglers that a trout stamp is required to fish the All Tackle, Catch and Release waters.

When my friend Art Hamley and I visited the West Branch last week, we managed several nice wild browns. All of the fish were taken by slowly retrieving small spinners such as the Rooster Tail and Vibrax.

Route 219 parallels the entire length of the West Branch’s special regulations water, though the more convenient points to access the river are at bridge crossings.

Some areas are posted against trespassing, so care must be taken to abide by landowners’ wishes.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle