Of course we always have our Business Person's Specials and Evening Floats on the Lehigh

****PLEASE READ****

For the 2007 season - specifically the Lehigh - we can not stress the importance of booking early.
We have had considerable interest and open dates are being crossed off quickly.

It is also worth mentioning that our time on the water is limited compared to previous years.
If interested in a trip - email now! We will do our best to accommodate.

February 24, 2007 - Update

Down here in SE PA we had a bit of run-off from the few inches of snow we got back on Feb 14. Check out the chart to the right - on the Feb 21 about mid-day Valley suddenly shot-up as a result of the 50F air temps. Up until this point all that released water had been locked up in ice and snow. The rise on the 23rd was from a bit of rain and snowmelt. We still do have a bit of what is now ice on the ground down here. No doubt it is ice since my dog is having a tough time negotiating. 4-paw drive ain't working so hot. I've been caught in this type of snow run-off event before on Valley. It sucks! You'd be amazed at the amount of dirty water and debris that just suddenly appears out of nowhere. Pack up and go home.

Little Black Stones....If they have not already started to pop, then it is any day now. The ice should be about gone on streams such as Ridley, which does have a decent stone hatch. Comfortable air temps is another story though. If fishing this hatch on Ridley or any other stream - be sure to check out and give our wired stone a shot. We find that this pattern can be deadly before the hatch starts and even after it has run its course. But there is no doubt that if given a choice most anglers will choose the dry fly option. An all black caddis on a 1x or 2x shank will do the job. At this time of year top-water action can really get the juices flowing and we all know that the little black stone and their erractic, trout-taunting dance can making for one of the more entertaining surface feeds - anytime of the year for that matter.

February 18, 2007 - Update

Our annual spring Penns trip usually provides the die hard dry fly guys with plenty of bugs to match. There can be caddis, hendricksons, gordons, quills and olives popping here and there during the day. Prime time though always takes place during the lo-light hours. Even at this time of year, early season, the big boys have wised-up and do not come out to eat off the surface until the lo-light hours. Heavily weighted sub-surface flies, with a good drift, during the daytime hours, can trick the pigs, but with any sort of high sun, forget about it!

In the eve our go-to evening pattern is a red-brown spinner. We like to tie it with a very visable, flashy white post. This way we can follow it in the waning light. Olive or brown hackle will work for the horizontal hackle.

February 4, 2007 - Update...NY DEC - - Read On...

The trend in fisheries management and for that matter, management of public resources, is to provide a window of time for all of us to voice our thoughts on pending management options and changes. Now more than ever us fisherman need to be looking out for our interests, and need to be vocal. If you have an opinion, and you do not voice it, you have no one to blame but yourself.

The most recent agency to seek public input on an item we feel is necessary to provide feedback on, is the NY DEC - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Currently, they are seeking public comments on how to manage the West Branch of the Delaware with regards to boating. Word is the reason why public input is being sought is because of boat (ie., drift boats) vs. wade angler confrontations. Are you kidding me?! Come on people, let's have some etiquette out there! If you are approaching a wade angler, go behind them! There is too much water to interfere with the wade guys. We here at FFPA go to the river to enjoy ourselves, and not to get into river rage! Good thing the DEC does not have authority to ban boating outright, but they can regulate fishing from a boat. If they really wanted to, they could restrict fishing from a boat and not allow it at all. Not good in our opinion. We all know that there are times when the West Branch is only fishable by boat - especially early season, and when there are mandatory releases for the Montague target. In our opinion, the only logical and resource first method of managing the river is is to possibly look at limiting boats when the West Branch is below 600cfs on the Hale Eddy gage. Please let the DEC know that banning fishing from a boat is not the way to manage the West Branch - fwfish@gw.dec.state.ny.us - subject: West Branch Delaware Regulation Proposal #R4-5.

February 1, 2007 - Update/Fly-tying

Early season when fishing Penns, you hope to run into a grannom hatch. Anywhere from mid-to-late-April can find this caddis species hatching. Sometimes the trout will aggressively strike a dry, but the majority of the time will find fish keying-in on the emerging pupa. A wet fly tied with peacock, and a few wraps of partridge as a collar can be productive. If you are a traditionalist - the leadwing coachman is an effective pattern. The leadwing also effectively imitates the slate drake. Of course these do not hatch until late spring or early summer, but if you are looking for a really good multi-season, multi-species-imitating-pattern, the leadwing might take the cake! If you fish Penns, you need this fly. We are talking easy to tie. Great beginning fly tyer pattern. Brown hackle tail; peacock body; wire rib; brown hackle collar; matched goose wing.

The leadwing coachman