East Hickory Creek is stocked downstream from the Forest Road 119 bridge. It is one of those ideal creeks of moderate size with good access that gets generous stocking.

From the Queen Creek Bridge down to Otter Creek, a stretch of 1.7 miles, the creel is under Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only special regulations. (See East Branch Clarion River.) This is one of the more popular stream sections.

To reach East Hickory Creek from the south, follow U.S. Route 62 north to East Hickory and then turn right. Forest roads follow most of the creek.

The Clarion River is one of the relatively few good trout streams in western Pennsylvania that may be float-fished.

Contact the Allegheny National Forest office for information about camping and for maps of East Hickory Creek and Tionesta Creek.

An administrative map, which costs about $6, is the most helpful map for getting around in this remote area. It shows all streams, even the smaller roads, hiking trails, and the locations of private lands within the national forest boundary.

Write the Allegheny National Forest office, P.O. Box 36, 222 Liberty Street, Warren, PA 16365. Call (814) 723-5150, or try the forest's Web site at www.fs.fed.us/r9/llegheny.

OIL CREEK
Oil Creek doesn't sound like a good name for a pristine trout stream. In fact, at one time during the early days of the oil boom, it was so covered with petroleum that it caught fire! Drake's Well, near Titusville, is the site of the birth of the U.S. oil industry.

But those days are long gone. Today, Oil Creek is one of the state's finest trout streams. Fishermen come here from far and wide for some serious angling in a beautiful setting.

This is another of Mike Stimmell's favorite trout streams, where he got some of his earliest fly-fishing lessons from his grandfather, Dan Stimmell.