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Here’s a nice article about fishing the White Clay from the Pennsylvania Fish and Game Commission
The “Wooly Bugger” blog on fishing the Middle Branch of the White Clay Creek by Michael Evanko has some great information, including some great photos:
Some 21 species of fish have been documented in the Creek. Here are some of the common fish:
River Chub
Have you caught a river chub? Chubs are fish of flowing water. River Chubs live in the rapid currents of rocky-bottomed large creeks and small rivers. The river chub presence in a stream is a good indicator of water quality. They are intolerant of pollution, turbidity, and siltation, and require a minimum pH of 6.0. During the breeding season, the males develop swollen foreheads and bright pinkish colors, as seen in this picture.
Fish Nests
Spawning season for bluegills in White Clay Creek is happening, (usually when waters are 67 to 80 °). The male bluegills arrive first at the mating site. They will make a spawning bed of six to 12 inches in diameter in shallow water, clustering as many as 50 beds together. The males scoop out these beds in gravel or sand. Males tend to be very protective and chase everything away from their nests, especially other male bluegills. As a female approaches, the male will begin circling and making grunting noises. The motion and sound of the males seem to attract females. If the female enters the nest, both the male and female will circle each other, with the male expressing very aggressive behavior toward the female. If the female stays, the pair will enter the nest and come to rest in the middle. With the male in an upright posture, the pair will touch bellies, quiver, and spawn. These actions are repeated at irregular intervals several times in a row. Once the spawning is done, the male will chase the female out of the nest and guard the eggs. The fertilization process is entirely external. The male’s sperm combines with the female’s eggs in the water. Smaller males will often hide in nearby weeds and dart into the nest as they attempt to fertilize the eggs. They then quickly dart away. The size of the female plays a large role in how many eggs will be produced. A small female can produce as few as 1,000 eggs, and a large, healthy female can produce up to 100,000 eggs. The male continues to watch over the nest until the larvae are able to hatch and swim away on their own. The bluegill generally begins its spawning career at one year of age but has been found to spawn as early as four months of age under favorable conditions. Anglers find spawning season to be a very successful time to fish for bluegills, as they aggressively attack anything, including a hook, that comes near. Wikipedia.