A
few days ago a group of us got out on the Lehigh during the afternoon/eve
hours. Our hopes were high that we would find some fish working
here and there on the smattering of bugs that were present. However,
that was not the case. All said only four trout were moved, and
really nothing else was seen. All the fish we moved went after a
dry fly. Only one fish did come to hand - - a wild brown, that went
about 10-11". Pic below.
Overall the fishing was quite disappointing due to the fact that
there were bugs on the water. Mainly they were the summer sulphur,
but we did see a few caddis, and some large stones. Looks like we
have a few more weeks left in our trout season before we move over
to the salt. So hopefully we can get back in the Gorge soon.
September
21, 2008 - Lehigh
We've got some more Lehigh time
on the horizon. Along with the Isos and ants that have been on the
water - - there has also been decent numbers of the second-season
sulphur....or the dirty sulphur...or the summer sulphur. Call it
what you will. Correct ID is a late season Stenonema. And
the fish love them!
Recent Lehigh action.
The the pattern photo'ed above (#10) is one of our better
late-season summer sulphur imitations. All it is - is a simple parachute,
with a double-hackle of brown and lite olive - - which beefs up
the floating capability. Due to the parachute design, it floats
flush, but yet sticks out like a sore thumb due to the white poly
wing. By the way, the color of the body for this pattern ranges
from what is depicted in the pic to the color of the orange font
to the left of the pic. We carry a wide-range of colors when on
the water.
September
17, 2008 - Salt!
The salt is starting to perculate!
Word is fish are in tight along our favorite northern-NJ beaches
- - feeding on an asortment of bait. This is great news, since the
last handful of years the fishing has not really picked up until
October for the beachbound angler. Recent hot September and Octobers
might have had something to do with it. This year though, it looks
like we might see a mullet run, with predators actually on them.
Hmmmm...the next few days, with tranquil weather, and cool overnight
temps, might just be what we need to bust open a September like
we've not seen in years!
And
speaking of the Salt - - you gotta check out our annual Fall
Blitz Saltwater Trip. This is an overnight trip which we
can cater to any type of fly angler - - beginner or advanced.
We promise you, that you'll come away with all the skills needed
to take on the salt with confidence in the future. We really
are quite fortunate to have such a fantastic fall fishery within
such a short distance. Much closer than those Great Lakes migratory
fisheries. This year, why not try something a little different.
Check it out!
September
15, 2008 - Lehigh - - pre-whitewater release
The Corps usually opens the valve
at midnight and it takes about 12 hours for
the surge to arrive in Lehighton...we fished a bit below Lehighton,
so we got in a little bonus time.
Due to the fog, and cloud cover,
the water did not cool off during the overnight hours like it
has been, but it really was a wash since the clouds and fog made
for low-lite type of fishing long after sunrise.
At the start of the day, in the
early am hours - - the fishing was a bit slow. A few smallies
were banged here and there on buggers and a dry / dropper rig.
We really did not get any smallies of any size - - although I
did overhear an angler talking to the local WCO as we were wrapping
up, who said he landed a 20" smallie a few weeks ago on plastic.
That is an impressive smallie anywhere in PA, let alone the Lehigh
which is not known for giving up the beef.
Now once the sun began to break
thru the clouds and burn some of the fog off, the bite lit up.
In all the fishy looking spots we found working fish...sometimes
they were smallies, and other times they were trout. The
reason for the fish showing themselves was due to all the spent
flying ants littering the water. Never before have we seen an
ant hatch like this. The water was blanketed - - and the fish
were on them. Smallies eating sunken ants. Pretty cool stuff!
But even more impressive was the
number of rising trout we found. It appears that the fish, even
in the lower trout water weathered the summer very well. The trout
are colored up, and for the most part in decent shape. Although
one trout did have a very torn up mouth. We found trout in the
runs, flat water, the chop, and tail outs. Pretty much everywhere.
Some were even vacuming the surface, almost trike-like feeding
style. Along with the ants we had a steady mix of Isos during
the morning popping here and there. With that being the case,
you could not go wrong with an Iso dry. Even though the fish were
eating the ants most of the time - - they were suckers for the
Iso. Mix in a few sulphurs, and caddis - - and you pretty much
have all the dry flys that we saw. A black caddis also did a number
on the risers.
It really does look like we should
see some really great fall fishing on the Lehigh this year. Water
temps overall never did get to lethal levels, and with all the
seeps and springs here and there it appears the trout top to bottom
(FEW down thru the gorge) are fat and healthy and ate their way
thru the summer. If you would like to get in on this second season
action, definitely give us a shout. Email us at info@flyfishpa.net.
September 9, 2008 - Disgusting!
Here we go again, and I am not
referring to the Whitesnake song from years ago. We are now looking
at <200cfs flows at Hale
Eddy, and <1,500cfs flows at the Montague
target which is supposed to stay at or above 1,750 or 1,800cfs
depending on what you reference.
So here we have Montague considerably below its target, but does
the federally appointed, interstate Delaware
River Basin Commission even care. Or better yet, have the
teeth to enforce. The partners (ie., NY state, and NYC) are its
gravy train by the way. So why even have the target then if this
is the case. What a joke!
Word is a PR campaign is in the works to try to get an action
plan together for the fisherman (long overdue!), so that they
have a common voice, along with some sort of talking points that
can be sent over to the powers that be who are supposed to look
out for the Delaware's coldwater ecosystem.
The whole thing is just flat-out pathetic. Please check out the
charts below. They speak volumes of the current miss-management.
Here we go again.
September
7, 2008 - D Recap
Time
to circle back to the West Branch report and more pics from
last weekend.
Over the course of the few days on the water - - 2pm seemed
to be about the time the bugs started to get going. Mainly
it was those summer stenos that run in color from orange
to a tan brown. They in fact look almost like a grey fox.
Also, there were some large olives in the 14 size, as well
as a lot of tiny olives, which covered the water in certain
pools. Trikes in the am were plentiful, when the sun was
out...but nothing was looking up. Most likely this was due
to the high sun. Very few isos. By far the best fishing
was on the cloudy days. Biggest fish on dry went about 18".
As for streamer fishing...what can you say, it just flat-out
works on this system, when there is water - - which is KEY
to an effective streamer sesh. Once again, as with past
streamer action on the West
Branch, a marabou clouser, or a bunny zonker moved fish.
And as is usually the case with streamer fishing, the visuals
were excellent. Over the course of two days banging the
deeper water, and the banks, we probably moved about a dozen
with the big stuff, with 4 coming to net. Biggest went about
15" and is photoed to the left. Highlight though was
a pig brown that absolutely smashed a large bunny tight
to the bank, from a textbook lie. We are talking that ultra-fishy
pocket of slack water, behind a root-ball, flanked right
next to the heavy water. This fish was easily 20"+,
and fat like a football! Awesome!!! We named the spot Pigdom!
Each day the action shut down about 7pm, with the fog/mist
taking over the river. And amazingly for a holiday weekend,
the river was kinda dead people wise. Economy? We'll
take it...but then again, we did not fish the well-known
spots, if there is such a thing on this system. Suffice
to say, the fish are pretty well spread out thru the system,
and not just stacked up in the NY section. Oh yea, no bow
sightings. Maybe too cold a water for them?? Hopefully another
trip can be made to the fishery - - we will see. Of course
we suggest you keep one eye on the gages
for the system. Right now the West is down to a trickle.
Hanna rains...This was a good soaker for
most of eastern PA, with only small patchy areas of minor
flooding. Overall though, it was not to heavy, and it lasted
a good while. Thankfully though the winds did not pan out
like speculated. That I can do without! Maybe some fishing
is on tap the few days. Finally we got a little bit of water.
Fishy water right there! 48F water temp,
makes for lots of condensation.
September
3, 2008 - Po Blow
The Pohopoco is one of our
more favorite eastern PA streams due to its consistant bug
hatches during the summer months, and of course its steady
supply of coldwater. Well, right now there is a little too
much of a good thing - - with the high water. We were curious
as to the reason for the high release, so we contacted the
Corps and according to them the DRBC
has asked for a release - - which we assume is for low-flow
augmentation in the lower Lehigh, and the lower Delaware.
We are not sure of the duration of this release, but you
can be sure the trout in the Lehigh immediately downstream
of the Po's confluence are enjoying all the coldwater. Beltzville
Lake is also dropping pretty quickly, which will most
like impact the beaches and boating interests.
September
1, 2008 - Upper D
Happy Labor Day!!
Just a quick note...the
West Branch fished very well the past couple of days. Steady
releases from Cannonsville, with plenty of cold water kicked
the river into high gear. Cool and overcast conditions definitely
helped as well. Here is a one pic from the weekend. More
to come later in the week.