Canoe / Drift the Lehigh?

[MidasMulligan]

Morning everyone,

My brother is flying in from Alaska and we were considering canoeing or drifting (with a catacraft) down the Lehigh. I have never fished the Lehigh, but we are both experienced fly-fisherman, and wanted to give it a run. Any thoughts on the best area to float for a canoe, and if a canoe was even possible? As an aside, we are comfortable, but novice, when it comes to canoeing...mostly just use it an efficient drift boat but wouldn't be comfortable in rapids. Thanks in advance for any information!

 

[LehighRegular]

MM

You are going to have to stay below the Lehigh Gorge if you have a hard body canoe. But you can run from Jim Thorpe down river. The attached link gives you splash locations.

http://www.wildlandspa.org/lrwt/index.html

You are going to have some rapids and whitewater (class I/II). Not sure how good a paddler you are, but I'd make sure the PFDs are on. Also, the local WCOs patrol it quite frequently and they will check you.

 

[Padraic]

Sounds like a trip to float first. Then when you know whether you can handle it you can break out the rods!

 

[CLSports]

I recently did a run from Jim Thorpe to Bowmanstown in my kayak. There are a few tricky spots that may be tough for a canoe. The hard bend just past Jim Thorpe is tough and the area just above the Bowmanstown bridge was very tricky. The river funnels down and turns left at that point and my friend actually lost control of her kayak in that area. Be prepared to take on a lot of water and be sure to strap any gear down so you don't lose it. I went on a normal flow weekend, but if the water levels are up it may be worse.

The fishing was slow when I went, but that was in July, so I did not expect very much. I had to pull over and fish most times since there is a lot of moving water and it is tough to fish and float at the same time.

The stretch below Boamanstown is much flatter and easier to paddle through. I have never drifted that section, but I have seen it from the road.

I was considering hitting that river this weekend with streamers to see if I could pull any large holdovers out of there.

If you do a search on the Lehigh River you will find a thread I started about this same topic a few months ago. They all gave me some great info. It helped a lot. I really liked that section of the river. It is very scenic even though it flows through an old industrialized area.

 

[MidasMulligan]

Hey, great advice, thanks everyone. If we launched at Bowmanstown (below the bridge), what would you advise for a take-out point from there? Considering going in a couple of weeks or so. More interested in fishing than hardcore paddling, so the easier route sounds preferable.

 

[LehighRegular]

Walnutport for a full day or the 873 bridge (Wildlife Center) for a 1/2 day

The Wildlife Center will take some back muscle getting the canoe up the steep bank. There use to be steps where the kayakers would launch.

 

[FishOnCamp]

If you are looking to stay away from rapids, I would put in at Bowmanstown and take out at Walnutport. My brother and I floated his drift boat from Glen Onoko to Bowmanstown and found a few spots where the river was pretty rough. The Bowmanstown to Walnutport float is much calmer and easier to navigate. Good luck.