Waters That Are Tough Wading

[Dave_W]

There's a discussion in the Reports forum about the Lehigh River and how tough it is to wade (and Brodhead Creek too).

We've had this discussion, but it's been awhile. . .so I thought I'd bring it up again: What is the worst stream(s) or river(s) to wade in PA?

Some have a reputation for being tough - think (Big) Fishing Creek, Savage River (not in PA, but close enough), the Lehigh, the Yough etc.

My vote is the Susquehanna River, especially up around Dauphin. I wade that area a lot, and it's just really rough on the body and equipment - sloped ledge rock with sharp edges, boulders the size of small cars, cracks and crevices that just seem to always be the right size to trap your ankle. I won't venture out on the Susky without cleated soles (felt with cleats is even better). I almost always have a wading staff, but I'm amazed at the guys I see on the Susky and other rocky streams and rivers who don't even carry a staff.

What's your toughest place to wade?

 

[afishinado]

Dave_W wrote:
There's a discussion in the Reports forum about the Lehigh River and how tough it is to wade (and Brodhead Creek too).

We've had this discussion, but it's been awhile. . .so I thought I'd bring it up again: What is the worst stream(s) or river(s) to wade in PA?

Some have a reputation for being tough - think (Big) Fishing Creek, Savage River (not in PA, but close enough), the Lehigh, the Yough etc.

My vote is the Susquehanna River, especially up around Dauphin. I wade that area a lot, and it's just really rough on the body and equipment - sloped ledge rock with sharp edges, boulders the size of small cars, cracks and crevices that just seem to always be the right size to trap your ankle. I won't venture out on the Susky without cleated soles (felt with cleats is even better). I almost always have a wading staff, but I'm amazed at the guys I see on the Susky and other rocky streams and rivers who don't even carry a staff.

What's your toughest place to wade?

I've fished a lot of places in PA over the years and from my experience, the gorge area of the Lehigh is no doubt the toughest wading of any place in PA. In fact, just trying to walk along the bank in some areas is rough in itself.

Out of PA, a section of Boulder Creek I fished in Montana was really nasty.

 

[CRB]

Sugar creek in venango county, Wading is like walking on bolling balls.

 

[Swattie87]

Cool thread idea.

The Lehigh, in the Gorge. By a wide margin, lapping the field. I essentially won’t wade it. Sure my feet are in the water sometimes I guess, but it’d be a big stretch to actually call it wading. It’s nearly impossible to cross anywhere in the Gorge, even at low flows. What looks like relatively flat water still is hustling pretty good because of the deceiving gradient. Anything much over your knee and you’re risking liftoff. Not to mention even at low flows much of it still either whitewater, or who knows how deep, but too deep to venture there.

Honorable mentions:

Big WW streams like the Susky and lower J. These often get a layer of silt deposited during the low flow Summer months when they’re most often fished. This can make big flat slab rocks or shelves very slick. Couple that with the ledges and other obstacles DaveW mentioned and they can be very tricky. These are huge rivers too.

The big central PA limestoners in their Gorge/Narrows sections...Little J, BFC, Kish, even Penns to a degree in places. When they’re in prime fishing flows there’s just enough water to be dangerous and they can pick up some gradient in places where they get squeezed by the mountains. A guy I was with on BFC one time slipped between two streamside boulders the size of VW Bugs and went in up to his neck. He was 2 feet from the bank. I almost had Kish lift me off a couple times, and I’ve stumbled around in boulders on Penns when it was up and dirty, which is seemingly all the time, at least when I’m there.

Small, high gradient tannic streams. Common in the Poconos. Even when they’re “clear” you can’t always see where you’re putting your feet. My worst fall ever was on one of these 2+ miles from the car. Stepped on the downside of a submerged boulder sloping away from me that I couldn’t see. Got lucky. It’s counterintuitive at first, but many of these streams have a thick layer of aquatic vegetation on their rocks...Step there, and not on the bare rock. It’s not algae, and it’s actually got pretty reliable traction. Certainly better than the rocks.

Easiest wading:

Generally I think lower gradient small to medium sized limestone streams are easiest to wade. Streams like Valley, or Spring, or Hammer for example. I usually don’t have much trouble on those. Also sandstone and schist bed streams seem to generally provide pretty reliable traction where you can find them. Shale can be ok too, provided there isn’t a layer of silt on top of it. Then it gets very slick.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

So far every stream I've waded in WV has been a freakin' ice rink!

 

[ryansheehan]

North Branch of Potomac, nothing else is close, never been to the Lehigh though.

 

[kobalt335]

Another vote for BFC. It's very deceiving, and what looks easy and flat normally isn't. I have never fished the Lehigh though.

 

[vcregular]

Yes, the Lehigh is tough but if you pick your spots the wade options are more than plentiful and not suicidal. That said - floating is the best way to see the river. At least in the lower water.

 

[krayfish2]

Fished most of the waters listed above. The Yough and North Branch were tough to wade but not topping my list. The narrows of BFC and Little J can also be ugly.

My tough wading vote for trout fishing or just the toughest ...... Lehigh by a wide margin. I won't wade it.

For WW, I'll agree with Dave W. Rockville bridge up through Liverpool will bloody your shins, twist your ankles and make your knees / groin cry. I could pick a section or two where I could row you to the middle of the river and it might take you an hour or so to navigate on foot the 1/2 mile back to shore.

 

[Biggie]

This old man won't wade in the Susqy. I'll stick to the Juniata from Thompsontown down.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

The Lehigh by far takes it imo. Agreed certain sections of Penns and fishing Creek can be scary, especially at night. First time I fished green Drake's I had to work across a riffle in the dark without a flashlight on Penns. Let's just say I learned my lesson.

 

[Nymph-wristed]

In Central PA, add the Frank in there for slickness. I do respect the NEPA boulder fields like Brodhead and Lehigh,

 

[ryansheehan]

krayfish2 wrote:
Fished most of the waters listed above. The Yough and North Branch were tough to wade but not topping my list. The narrows of BFC and Little J can also be ugly.

My tough wading vote for trout fishing or just the toughest ...... Lehigh by a wide margin. I won't wade it.

For WW, I'll agree with Dave W. Rockville bridge up through Liverpool will bloody your shins, twist your ankles and make your knees / groin cry. I could pick a section or two where I could row you to the middle of the river and it might take you an hour or so to navigate on foot the 1/2 mile back to shore.

Very interesting, I've fished the little J and BFC a couple times with zero issue. I'm gonna have to take a trip up to the Lehigh, see what it's all about!

 

[Fly-Swatter]

Yep, Lehigh. During normal flows the rocks seems to roll out form under my feet when I'm standing on them. I never feel stable in that river. I will not go above shin deep there.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

I never had much of a problem getting around in most rivers. My legs are short, and stronger than many guys who are half my age. Wading isn’t a problem for me. Keeping upright, and staying dry, while I’m wading is my problem.

A number of years ago I found that if you went across a river like a bat outta hell, you could go places where many other people would avoid. Every time one foot touches the bottom you just push upward and thrust forward as fast as you can, like you’re running a 100 yard dash. As long as your feet don’t stay on the bottom any longer than necessary, you’d be surprised at how easy, and fast you can move through the water - well, as long as you don’t run into a big rock unexpectedly! So, it’s best to know the river bottom in advance of trying this technique.

I demo’ed this technique on the Yellowstone River in the Park early one July day a few years back, when the river was still seasonally high, and cold from the spring runoff. I crossed the entire river that day and had some super fishing all to myself, as dozens of other anglers were bunched up, fishing elbow to elbow on the opposite shore.

When I decided to return, I used the same technique, going as fast as I could, bobbing slightly up and down as I rapidly moved back across the river.

Several guys stood on the shore watching me make my way across, and one of them commented as I stepped onto the bank near them “that was a mighty fine display of wading there fellow.”

“Yea”, I said as I quickly headed toward my truck. I tried not to let them see I was cold and shivering and that my waders were filled with cold Yellowstone River water nearly all the way to the top.

I stripped off all my wet clothes as soon as I got back to the truck, started the engine, turned the heater on as high as it would go, drank a big glass of apricot brandy to hasten the warmup, and put on dry clothing.

In no time I was dry, warm, and ready to go back fishing. This time, however, almost as soon as I stepped into the river I promptly fell in!

I don’t think I’ve ever mixed drinking and wading ever since, but I still have trouble keeping upright and staying dry.

 

[LetortAngler]

The Upper Yough - hands down the toughest out of the streams and rivers Ive fished in Pa. And now that it has Didymo - even worse.

 

[chubmaster]

The Casselman River. You are rolling up the windows every time you move a couple of feet. It's like walking on the stuff Clark Griswold used to lubricate his sled in Christmas Vacation.

 

[shakey]

mud run near hickory run has those leg breaker holes. giant slabs that go almost straight down with just enough room for a shoe between them.

 

[Swattie87]

shakey wrote:
mud run near hickory run has those leg breaker holes. giant slabs that go almost straight down with just enough room for a shoe between them.

Mud Run, below Hawk Run has a brutal combo of gradient and tannic water. And while certainly not a big stream, when coupled with the gradient, it's just big enough to be dangerous for sure. There's some deep cliff holes that are nearly impossible to get around, without some serious climbing through very steep rhodo. That section below Hawk is locally known as the "Wild Mile." I'd say Mud, along with a couple other similar ones in that general area are the toughest "small" streams I've been on in PA. DWGNRA has some similar type terrain, but I haven't fished much there.

 

[afishinado]

Swattie87 wrote:

shakey wrote:
mud run near hickory run has those leg breaker holes. giant slabs that go almost straight down with just enough room for a shoe between them.

Mud Run, below Hawk Run has a brutal combo of gradient and tannic water. And while certainly not a big stream, when coupled with the gradient, it's just big enough to be dangerous for sure. There's some deep cliff holes that are nearly impossible to get around, without some serious climbing through very steep rhodo. That section below Hawk is locally known as the "Wild Mile." I'd say Mud, along with a couple other similar ones in that general area are the toughest "small" streams I've been on in PA. DWGNRA has some similar type terrain, but I haven't fished much there.

^ yes! My old stomping grounds. A really tough small stream to (try to) fish. I often took my backpack and made a day of it hiking and fishing Mud Run down from Hawk Falls to Greystones. It was more of a hike than a fishing trip, but fun.