July 2009 Report

2003-2009 Reports
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July 23, 2009 - - Lehigh River Gorge - Temps


July 20, 2009 - - Lehigh Update - - Poor Decision

Well, we made out on the Lehigh the other day in the lo-light evening hours. We arrived to a very fishy piece of water in the Gorge to find water temps in the 68F range, but no bugs just yet. We poked around the pocked water, and runs for a while with just two moved fish to show for it.

After working the first stretch for a little while, we relocated, and this is where we could have made a better decision. Instead of heading back to a good-looking dry fly pool, we hit up some not so good dry fly water.

Once settling in to the new piece of water, it did not take long for the cahills and sulphurs to start hatching. About 8pm, they were on the water in good numbers. And a few fish were on them. Though we did not land any fish, it was good to see the numbers of bugs, as well as the rising trout.

Water temps might continue to hold up in the colder parts of the Gorge if we can get some rain.


July 15, 2009 - - Lehigh Update

Water temps continue to be holding up well with this unseasonably weird summer. The word from family members in Bradford, Pa., is they've hit <40F over-night lows twice this July!! That is unreal!! Though we could use a little bit of rain.

This past weekend a trip to the Gorge/White Haven area resulted in a handful of bows and browns. Everything we got into was of stocked variety and ranged in size from fingerling brown to the right all the way up to a solid 17" bow that pulled the hooked. All other fish were in the 11-14" range. Nice sold fish! Good colors, just no pics! :( The nice bow took a stimulator. All the other fish ate either an sso dry or a bead-head flashback pheasant tail nymph.

We hope to get back out there this weekend.


July 9, 2009 - - Lehigh Temps

Here we are in early-July and we've yet to crack the 70F water temp mark on the Lehigh in the Jim Thorpe area. The chart below was nabbed from the new LRSA real-time temp probe. What a great tool this thing is! Support the LRSA if you can. By the way, the LRSA is having a Memorial Picnic this weekend. It will definitely be a good time. Heck, you might even win a drift boat trip! Check it out!

Now if only all our summers could be this cool and wet through this point. Remember there is a whitewater release this weekend, but prior to the weekend, and maybe even pre and post release should find some decent fishing. The Gorge is the place to be right now since water temps are the coolest down in there. This is due to trib influence and diurnal cooling.


July 7, 2009 - - West Branch of the Delaware Report

Happy belated FOURTH!!! The weather was great, but the fishing was so-so. All week the talk was of off-the-charts fishing on the Delaware system due to all the high cold water. Well, someone must have sent the fish a memo that I was heading up that way for the weekend cause they shut it down big time. Those evil little devils!


Interesting spot pattern.

Conditions really could not have been better. Releases from Cannonsville were generous, but slightly dropping over the course of the few days on the water, and the water temps were just about perfect - - low-50s up to the mid-60s. Bugs though were definitely lacking. Even the usually steady isosynchia/slate drakes did not materialize all that much during the mid-day hours. This bug in the past has definitely produced some great daytime fishing. That said, some fish were fooled on them in the riffs. Other than that, the lo-light bug action was slim. Very few sulphurs, and even less summer stenos. Did see a few brown drakes. Streamers got a few look sees, but no hook-ups.

Like mentioned above the most success came on an iso dry, fished in the chop and riffs. You would have thought that with all the recent high water and from what we heard, big numbers of insects, the fish still would have been looking up in bigger numbers than they were. Oh well, that is fishing!


Hooked-up with a mid-day trout.