May 16, 2016 – A Successful Lehigh River Gorge Brown Trout Adventure

Kenny out pushing the limits of his waist-highs on a perfect spring day in the Gorge.

Kenny and I headed up to the Lehigh River this morning for some hiking and fishing on a gorgeous spring morning.  The morning low was around 35 degrees, and it was windy and cool all day, perfect for the aerobic activity required to fish the mighty Lehigh.  We parked at Rockport and started walking upstream to get away from the “easy” access points, hoping to find some quality wild and holdover browns. 

A spinning rod and plugs kind of day.

The Army Corp of Engineers did a “fishing release” on May 15 from the Francis E. Walter dam (and a whitewater release on Friday for the Saturday rafting and kayaking festivities), so water was running pretty well, but not unsafe to wade out a little in some stretches, probably 500 cfs and falling.  I actually used my wading staff once, and Kenny got a little “how’s your father” over his waist-high breathables one time.  The water temp was only 50 degrees, but the fish were very active, many hanging right in the current behind unseen boulders and hangups.  With the exception of one fat, lazy rainbow, it was all browns, most of whom took to the sky when hooked.  One memorable one that I ended up losing even took an eff you jump after he shook off the Rapala CD 5.

A beauty male and, look ma, (almost) no beard!!

There was little room to backcast, and we often had to perch on rocks on shore, so the spinning rods were the way to go today.  Some bugs were active, but with stained water, very few fish were rising to them anyway.  We were shocked that we didn’t hook up at our first drop.  It was a particularly pretty piece of pocket water at a substantial bend in the river.  However, it may have been the cold water and weather because by our second drop at around 9 AM, it was warming up, and I heard Ken whooping it up as a nice wild brown leaped on the end of his line.  I ran down to assist and take a picture.

Ken with a pretty and healthy one, the first of the morning,

Having thrown the fly rod exclusively for two months or more, and using a seldom-employed seven foot ultralight from my arsenal, I had two heartbreaking losses of fat fish before I finally got on the board.  With all the driving, hiking, sliding down steep banks, rock-hopping, and dangerous wading, we would have called it a success with the first couple of fish.  Trout in fast, deep water, whether they were stocked as fingerlings, adults, or born there, are tough!  Seeing a 14 or 15 inch brown go skyward is about as fun as it gets (unless he’s 18, of course).  The best fish of the day, a pretty-colored male I am holding above, only broke the surface once, choosing to try and beat me in the current.  With Ken’s help, I won, but a handful of fish did beat us today, coming off after short, leaping battles.

Kenny's porker rainbow!

We continued to make our way upstream, sometimes rock climbing out of the gorge and back onto the trail, sometimes picking our way through the brush and shallower banks.  When we decided to head back at 11:30 AM, we were shocked at how far we had traveled from the parking area.  After a break for some water and snacks, we decided to put in one more 90 minute effort, this time downstream.  

Average brown for the day.

After a shorter walk this time, we found a trail that diverged from the railroad bed and angled down a gentler slope to another good bend in the river.  I was shocked that more fish were not in some of the good water here, but the easy access probably made them smarter (or dinner).  I did miss a fish here and turn another before I landed our last trout of the day, a fat, healthy brown that chose to bulldog and make runs rather than jump.  We thought he was going to be bigger based on how tough he thought he was.  Still it was a nice, fat brown.

Last brown of the day, a tough guy.

After both of us starting stumbling a bit and feeling the effects of all our effort (besides Kenny’s bath, I had a nice slide on my butt down an embankment), we decided to walk back to the parking lot and call it a day.  Of course, we had to try one more hole near Ken’s Subaru, but it only yielded a creek chub, barely half a size bigger than the CD 5 Ken was throwing.  On that note, we called it a day and made the ride home.

Ken with a nice one.

Having never fished the Lehigh River Gorge, I understand why it is both respected and under-fished.  It is tough water with a lot of variables to consider when planning a trip (and I consider the Brodhead one of my home streams, which is no picnic)!!  Ken and I estimated that we hooked and/or landed just over a dozen between us, and most were quality fish.  It was a good day followed by a good, albeit sore, night’s rest.