Lehigh river access

[emerger]

Can anyone give me info on driftboat launch sites on the Lehigh river? Also, Is there any shuttle services for the Lehigh. I haven't fished the Lehigh but am looking forward to trying it out this year. Thanks.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Hi emerger - This should help you a bunch:

http://wildlandspa.org/lrwt/

Lots of good info and maps on there. Good Luck and enjoy!......Ed

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear emerger,

Those are good maps that Heritage Angler posted but I have to caution you that if you are looking to launch a trailerable hard drift boat you won't find a whole lot of access. Most of the sites are hand carry only sites especially on the upper section of the river. You could carry an inflatable boat in, but I doubt you'd be able to get a fiberglass or aluminum drift boat into the water without a bunch of laborers to help you.

There may be privately owned sites where you could trailer a conventional drift boat to the river but I'm not aware of any in Carbon County.

Regards,
Tim Murphy

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Howdy Tim 'Ol Buddy - There's a neat feature to those maps - put the cursor on the spot you want to check out, and an actual photo will pop up! You can actually see what the launch sites look like for a lot of them. One that I know that is drift boat friendly in Glen Onoko (sp?). That's where Joe DeMarkis' guides launch theirs. Speaking of which, another good source of info would be to call the Wilderness Trekker up in New Ringgold, and ask them. If Joe is there, he'll give you the skinny on where to launch a drift boat. While one might think he wouldn't want to give out info to a possible competitor, his attitude is "the more the merrier", and actually encourages anyone that wants to drift the Lehigh. He's good folk, as we say........Ed

 

[vcregular]

Emerger:

Ramps that can accommodate drift boats going from the gorge south are as follows:

Glen Onono; Lehighton - behind Dunbar Bevarage; Bownmanstown - under the rt 895 bridge on the west side. There is a new ramp going in on river rd, just downstream of here. Not sure when it will be done though; Walnutport - At the canal park...east/north side of river;
Treichlers Bridge.

Now, the Lehigh is a tough river to row a drift boat on. It is not the same as the Upper D. I would not take a drift boat on the Lehigh at 2,000cfs or more on the Lehighton gage - nor less than 500cfs. 800-1,000cfs is a nice flow. A release from Walter pretty much doubles by the time it gets to LEhighton....but this rule of thumb can vary depending on time lapse from preceeding rain event.

Also, right above the Bowmanstown ramp is a pretty nice class II rapid. Good luck, and be careful.

 

[emerger]

Thanks for all the info. :-D