Jay and I fished near Walnutport on tuesday evening, water temp high 60s. The first spot we hit had some risers, I lost a decent brown that I hooked on a para adams, Jay landed a nice rainbow that had half of it’s face ripped off from a treble hook. We hiked down river a quarter mile and I landed a 10″ brown with a clipped adipose before heading back up river. BWOs(#16-18), Sulphurs(#16), Cahills(#12), and sparse Slate Drakes(#10) were hatching in the faster waterand fish were attacking them. I tied on my favorite searching pattern for this time of year, a big Slate Drake dun, and immediately hooked and lost a big fish. A few minutes later I landed an 18″ creek chub, not the target species but I think the abundance of huge chubs is just another testament to the health of the river. Jay moved upriver to fish the run I was in and we both hooked and landed some nice trout, and lost a few more big fish as well. All of the fish we hooked were strong and healthy, no sign of stress yet. The air temps are cooler now and the fish are taking the opportunity to feed heavily on multiple hatches. Watch the thermometers though, it’s going to get hot again before long and everyone should avoid fishing the lower river once it heats up.
June 9, 2010
May 31, 2010
Lehigh River Fly Fishing Report - 5/20-27/10
Whew, long time since we posted a new report! I can say one thing for sure, it’s not because we haven’t fishing but really because we’ve been putting in long hours and four weeks of long guiding days finally kicked us in the rear. This past week we saw water conditions that we’d rather not for a week or two but it is what it is. Boaters should take notice that the flows are very low and boating is tough. Wade anglers should remember that if you decide to fish in the boating channel of the particular section of river that you are in you will have boats pass through the water that you are fishing, sorry but it is what it is.
Nymphing has been productive in the morning and afternoons but now with the lower water it’s not as good as it was prior. Anything from attractors to caddis larva have produced fish. Golden Stoneflies(6-8) are active at this time and they can be found in most riffles. BWOs(14-20) and Sulphurs(14-16) have been the most prominent hatches in the past week. Fish are taking both at times, if you’re not getting any looks from active fish then it’s time to change up. Try to identify the slashy emerger rises from the dun/spinner sipping rises and take the time to look for spinners, in the air and on the water. Given the odd hatch progression this year, I can only think that Slate Drakes will be here any day now so you might want to make sure that you have a few in your box if you’re heading to the river.
We had a lot of good trips this week with return clients which is always great. Ken and Fred duked it out on a very hot day and managed to land some fish. Dan and Jeff made their yearly pilgramage and found some nice fish. Frank brought his son Luke and we managed to land Luke’s first trout, three very nice trout, and we’ll be sure to post the pics as soon as Frank shoots them over. Mike brought his crew of six and everybody landed trout from novice to veteran. Between the heat, late hatches, and low water it’s been a blur but we’re still landing healthy trout from morning to evening.
May 19, 2010
Lehigh River Fly Fishing Report - 5/19/10
I was psyched that my mechanic got my truck fixed up early so I could fish this evening, so I headed to the Palmerton area. I had planned to fish there yesterday but was without transportation and Paul’s report was salt in the proverbial wound. I got to the river at about 5:00pm, air temp 71, water temp 62, water clarity was very clear despite the rain from the previous night. Light caddis and no rising fish. I hiked up and down the river looking for a snout but couldn’t find a riser anywhere so I prospected some riffle water with dries but without any action. I was sure some Sulphurs would appear at some point so I decided not switch to nymphs, I’m sure I could have nymphed a few up though. I headed back down to a pool and soon began to hear some fish and moved around until I could spot one. I found two fish rising with some regularity but moving around a bit and they wouldn’t touch my Tilt Wing Adams so I put a Sulphur on and quickly landed a small rainbow(12-13″) that I would guess was an unclipped fingerling from past stockings by the PFBC. Looking around I found some more targets but could not get them to take the Sulphur parachute that I was tossing so I decided to switch to a quill bodied Klinkhamer that I had tied in the morning. I tossed it in front of a fish that started rising about 20′ away and quickly hooked a 20″ brown which was pretty tough to land. It wasn’t as big as the BEAST that Paul landed the night before but it was plenty big as the pic shows below. After that I landed a few more smaller fish on Sulphurs and called it a day so I could get some more flies tied for tomorrow’s float. There wasn’t a ton of sulphurs tonight, and they came off in little spurts which was probably why there weren’t and regular risers. I did spot a handful of Sulphur spinners in the air but not enough for any kind of exciting spinner fall. I didn’t take too many pics because I was using my phone but all of the fish were pretty fat and healthy for their respective sizes.
May 17, 2010
Lehigh River Fly Fishing Report - 5/17/10
Fresh off of Guide Appreciation Day, I had Joe and Carey for a full day float from Lehighton to Walnutport. We hit fish soon after launching the boat on nymph rigs and the action was consistent throughout the morning. Little bug activity was observed but the fish ate our prince nymphs readily. We had a brief spurt of dry fly activity and landed a nice adipose clipped bow above Bowmanstown. After lunch we continued to hit more fish nymphing and we continued for a while before switching to dries. Suplhurs were the ticket again but today it was the Dorotheas(#16). Random March Browns, caddis, and Invaria Sulphurs were around late afternoon, but none in numbers to excite the fish. We got delayed up river longer than I would have liked and made our last stand at a proven location, a wise decision as we landed a couple of fish between 15-20″ on top with Sulphur and BWO parachutes with several nice fish missed and an absolute BEAST broken off. Seriously, BEAST! As evening rolled in we began the marathon row to the boat ramp and paused to stick a big rainbow that unbuttoned itself after a good fight.
What an excellent day. Fish caught from top to bottom and bugs when we needed them. More clipped fish in the net. We had some reels that were hot to the touch from screaming runs and a bunch of hogs that broke off. It was definitely on today and it seems like the dry fly fishing is going to be excellent again this year..
May 15, 2010
Lehigh River Fly Fishing Report - 5/14/10
A recent burst of rainfall gave us the chance to get into the Lehigh Gorge again. We had a couple of guys who have been chomping at the bit to get up there since we started offering the trip a few years ago and I think that they would agree that it was worth the wait.
I(Tim) guided Tom and Eric, I’ve guided these guys for about seven years now and I’m glad we got to hit the Gorge on a productive day and productive it was. The first fish, which I think Tom hooked on his first cast, literally, was right beside the boat for a while as I tried desperately to eddy out somewhere, that’s how it goes sometimes up there, we give a decent number of fish a change in zip code. We caught fish on nymph rigs, bugger/nymph rigs, and dries and basically had action the entire day. Hatch activity was light to moderate with some BWOs(#16), Grey Foxes(#14), Invaria Sulphurs(#14-16), and tan caddis(#14-16) with very light March Browns. I saw a handful of very large spinners(#8-10) toward evening but was unable to snatch one for ID
The number of large, perfect looking brookies continues to be outstanding. Whether they are holdovers or wild fish, they are incredible and we are lucky to have seen so many in recent trips. Personally, it makes me very happy to see big, fat, and healthy brook trout thrive in the Gorge because this is part of their native range and this section of river suits them perfectly. This section of river is probably one of the last places in PA that can harbor a huge population of big brookies and it may be well on it’s way.
May 12, 2010
Lehigh River Fly Fishing Report - 5/11/10
I met Chris in the morning for a Bowmanstown to Walnutport float. Water conditions were good, 54 degrees and good clarity and flow. The fishing started out a little tough but we managed a few fish on nymphs and even a nice brown on a parachute adams before lunch. The daytime high temp came and went before lunch and continued to slide for much of the afternoon, and not in a good way. Still we saw some light hatch activity, BWOs(#18), Invaria Sulphurs(#12-16) and Grey Foxes(#14), with very random March Browns(#10). Anglers should keep in mind that Ephemerella Invaria now includes the flies that were formerly known as Ephemerella Rotunda and there is quite a bit of variation from day to day in coloration, fortunately dead on imitations are not necessary on the Lehigh but anglers should have a size range of sulphurs patterns at this time. Invarias typically have a dun colored wing(medium to light) and are a bit larger than the little Dorotheas that should be a few weeks off.
We tagged a couple of big fish in the afternoon and evening but many came unbuttoned at various stages of the fight. The insect activity was never strong and the fish were sporadic for much of the day. We caught a few more clipped fish from last years stocking, both about a 12-13″ long and strong for their size, but that’s nothing new for the Lehigh. One looks to be have a little regeneration of the adipose fin, we’ll try to get a verdict.
UPDATE: Darryl Pierce of the PFBC saw the photo of the rainbow in question and believed that it was one of the clipped fingerlings from last year. These fish are turning up in pretty good numbers, just as they were last year. If you happen to catch one it’s to everyone’s benefit if you take the time to send a message to the PFBC and/or fill out a survey card which can be found at most of the major access points along the Lehigh, as well as online HERE.
May 9, 2010
Lehigh River Fly Fishing Report - 5/4 - 5/8/10
We had a bunch of Lehigh Gorge Trips this week, White Haven to Rockport. Water temp was 55-60 degrees, air temps were all over the place. Thankfully fish were as well. I think every boat encountered fish top to bottom with most boats landing 10-20 fish per day. Caddis, Grey Foxes, BWOs, and March Browns are all present for the past few days with no hatch dominating. Parachute Adams type patterns have dominated surface feeding fish and various bugger patterns, soft hackles, and prince nymphs have all caught plenty of fish. Streamer fishing was successful with and without sink tips, the water changes character so rapidly in this stretch that it’s possible to be productive with many different rigs. Fish were tight to seams and bank structure for the most part. The highlight of the week for me(Tim) was a 17 fish day with 16 fish being brookies and none under 12″, the top brookie being 15-16″ and all on dry flies. Awesome day. All of the anglers we had this week enjoyed the peace and quiet of the Lehigh Gorge. We had the day off today because of the weather, there were snow flurries in White Haven as we discussed the day with our clients, but we’ll be in the Gorge as much as we can this week before we lose the water, though the weather forecast is indicating that we’ll see some more more moisture on tuesday.
May 3, 2010
Lehigh River Fly Fishing Report 5/2/2010
JAY’s REPORT
Once again, two-thirds of the Ski Patrol, Paul and Jay, embarked on a scouting mission from Walnutport to Treichlers with really one thing in mind…big fish. We’re not really ever too particular, but why not set your sights high once in awhile? Air temp was a humid 85 degrees, water temp about 58 and the float lasted from 2-8pm. The flow at Walnutport was just around 2400 cfs and the river was a little off color, but otherwise floating and fishing conditions looked great. Throughout the day, the bugs were fairly active - especially large grey bodied tan caddis. We also saw fair numbers of mayflies (grey fox, Hendrickson and perhaps what appeared to be early sulphurs). In addition, there were sporadic stoneflies (see picture).
It didn’t take long for osprey-eye Paul to spot some big rises along river right just down river from Walnutport. With a fair number of various bugs, blowing debris and wind, it took several casts to get a nice 13 inch brown to eat Paul’s olive sparkle dun. Not a giant fish, but fat and healthy.
Down river, just below the trestle bridge pillars we anchored and spotted a few more violent rises in the fast water. Again Paul managed to turn another nice brown on his first cast, once again with the olive sparkle dun. After chasing a few more fish, our big fish hunger was calling us to move on down river and keep searching.
As we floated a mile or so further, we neared river right so Jay could drift a soft hackle/prince nymph double rig in between some attractive pockets of water. Run after run looked better and better. Finally the nymph rig paid off and we found what we were looking for. Jay set the hook and Paul knew immediately that it was big fish. After a long fight with getting the anchor to hold and the fish to come to net, we were rewarded with a near 20 inch beautiful brown on a size 16 prince nymph, and a cooled off Paul (who pulled a “don’t try this at home kids” move and jumped out of the boat in order to get the boat to stop before we floated into another deep, fast riffle). The big fish was found, pictures were snapped, and hands were shaken - it was off to the next challenge after a job well done by all.
The hunt for more monsters still lingered, but as the insect activity increased, the attitude became more hopeful for finding pods of rising fish. We did manage to spot a few more risers, some we landed and some we “long distanced released”. One nice Brown that Paul landed pushed 15 inches, again on the olive sparkle dun. In between risers, Jay continued to work the nymph rig and eventually found the surprise fish of the day. About 2 1/2 miles upriver from Triechlers, he hooked, landed and photographed an adipose fin clipped rainbow. We were surprised because as far as we knew, all the adipose clipped fish in the river were stocked above Bowmanstown. Which made us ponder the question, “did this fish come from all the way up there?” This fisherman, is why the PFBC is doing the fin clip study…so keep track of the trout you catch!
After that, bug numbers continued to grow thick, but fish activity did not, to our disappointment. We ended the trip, with one more brown that Jay took on a parachute Adams just above Treichlers as dark closed in.
Mission considered a success as more good water and fish were found, including at least one big brown.
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TIM’S REPORT
Fishing was much less stellar upriver. I had a training run with Brian and his wife Jean, who are always fun to spend time with, and they make some tasty sandwhiches too. A lack of bugs from Bowmanstown to Walnutport made fishing a subsurface affair for most of the day and the good ‘ole Prince nymph produced as always, I love to experiment with flies but it’s such a killer on the Lehigh. I landed a rainbow above the Turnpike Pool, and we had some other takes as we drifted that run. In the Turnpike Pool, I nabbed two more bows in about two minutes, both hugging structure on the river bottom, and then it was quiet for a while. We didn’t hang around long upriver because there was a little trepidation about the iminent thunderstorms which didn’t develop until late in the evening. Sporadic risers were spotted here and there but way too random. There was a light caddis hatch and very light Grey Fox and March Brown hatch. Above the Ledges, I was prospecting with an oversized March Brown dry and brought a nice brown up(pic below). As far as the fly goes, I say oversized in comparison to the March Brown dries sold in most shops, my fly was much larger and imitative of the March Browns we see on the Lehigh and Delaware. Well, it’s not nearly as impressive as Jay’s slammer from downriver but it was a nice healthy brown about 17-18″. We camped out near Walnutport searching for risers and a few fish were missed on top with March Brown dries and Parachute Adams. Brian and Jean had to get off the water early which is a shame because you could see some big fish starting to become active while we were drifting to the take out.
GORGE FLOATS this week. We’ll be floating in the Lehigh Gorge(White Haven to Rockport) and hopefully we’ll be able to get some reports up.
April 21, 2010
Lehigh River Fly Fishing Report - 4/21/10
66.6666666% of the Ski Patrol, Paul and Tim, hit the Lehigh on a scouting mission today. Air temp 66˚F , water temp 56˚F. Water clarity - too clear, skies light overcast.
Having thoroughly flogged virtually all of the water from White Haven to Walnutport, Paul had an itch to check out some new water so we floated from Walnutport to Treichlers. When we launched we had plenty of caddis, a decent amount of cream craneflies, and sporadic stoneflies and mayflies…. but no risers.
Having been ribbed constantly for weeks for pounding lead and sink tips into the water I(Tim) stuck it out with a dry fly for the entire float, this eventually paid off but there would certainly have been more hook ups if I had switched to an indicator rig and fished some pupa patterns to imitate the caddis and craneflies. About half way through our float we stared spotting some rising fish. I missed a fish with a #10 Adams Tilt Wing Dun while futzing with my fly line that was wrapped around my foot. That’s how it works, you accidentally put your fly in the perfect feeding lane and have your brain fall out of the back of your head and, voila, missed fish. We saw a few more one-time-risers before we finally found a few fish rising with some consistency. In short order I stuck, and landed, a small but very nice brown. No fin clip, perfect fins, fat and happy eating lots of bugs. Paul missed a fish after just a few casts with a #12 Cream/Tan Emergent Sparkle Pupa and then the pod just shut down.
As we began to drift through a long pool scouting for rises, a nice brown smashed the same Adams Tilt Wing Dun and came about three feet out of the water on the hook set. It wasn’t huge, 13-14″, but it was fat and put up a strong fight. Perfect fins, no clip, and thick. This fish was eating well this winter. A little while later I landed another brown that could have been the last fish’s twin. The fight was just as fierce, it will be an exciting year for anglers if the fish keep fighting like this. We spied a few more risers but the bug activity became more sporadic and the rises just as sporadic. The last third of our float went down like the first third, quiet. We expect this stretch will heat up as the water warms and the hatches last longer into the evening.
A few notes for boaters. The picnic table that was dragged into the river near Szokes Bros last year, and ended the year in the middle of the Ledges, is now wedged on a rock just upstream of the relic bridge abutments not too far downstream of the Walnutport boat ramp. It’s out of the way for now but who knows where it will migrate to next. Hopefully this discourage nitwits from dragging more picnic tables into the river in the future. Also, the Treichlers boat “ramp” is covered with nasty rusty nails, metal truss plates, and such - not just a few but a lot, it’s a mess so beware.
April 16, 2010
Lehigh River Report April 15, 2010
Sunny 70F with light winds. Fished the long flat above the Aquashicola Creek from approx. 5-7pm. Caddis activity was fairly light at 5 pm with limited targets. Managed to hook a few smaller browns (10-12″) on a light brown elk hair caddis. No fin clips on any of these fish. Caddis activity continued to increase until clouds of caddis were present at 6:30 pm. Very limited surface activity and I was preparing to leave when directly in front of me three large fish began rising ferociously. Three browns from 16-18″ were hooked and brought to the net. I guess patience really does pay off.
