RRR, there is another recent thread regarding that issue. Basically the Lehigh is a whole different beast. You can legally fish below Sandy.

Becker Thanks for the info. Never really knew what the deal was up there.

Man, did I ever pick the wrong day to try to fish the gorge for the first time. By far the windiest conditions I've ever tried to fish in.

And the sun was so bright, the conditions weren't great for picture making either. Here's a few pics anyway.

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Amazing pictures. No fishys?

Purty. That wind contributed greatly to my new earring. They are pooled up at this point,keep at it.

Nice pics! Lehigh water does not get much clearer than what it is right now!

Those are some great pics. We were there briefly last fall but I didn't get to do any fishing (only biking with the wife)... Is the bridge by that old tunnel a good spot to wade in?

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No fishies. My first-time trips to streams this year are not going well. I suck.

Thankfully, I've been able to make hay on the home waters.

I should have spent more time streamer fishing. I find it very hard to break out of nymphing when I'm not catching fish.

With the conditions, I found myself spending more time just soaking up how nice it was down in the gorge, rather than spending time getting pissed off about the W-I-N-D.

Still, I should meet up with one of you and fish that river some time. It seems like it could be a blast.

Tried my luck at Glen Ono, Packerton Yards, and where the Pohopoco comes in (though I didn't find much water to fish there).

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I was having a hard time, BUT that's specifically because -- for the 4th week in a row -- I forgot to stud my replacement boots from Simms. So I was slipping around like an idiot the whole day. The river is getting a lot of sun, so there was algae everywhere, and it's a miracle I didn't break an ankle considering how I insisted on persisting with wading I shouldn't have been doing.

Otherwise, yeah, it was fine in these flows. You can't get too far out, but you can get out far enough to work all the water you'd likely want to. I'll likely head back there next time.

Excellent, thanks. We were there twice last year, went rafting once and biking the next time, so if we go back soon, I HAVE to get some fishing in this time. But it's nice that my wife loves Jim Thorpe and won't balk at "having" to go back.

The Lehigh is the toughest river to wade between here and Maine. Just wait until the flows go up . I'm not a big proponent of the latest fad in nymphing, I do just fine with my antiquated methods.

How strong are the fish populations?

I headed out to the river on Saturday. I took the bike out and fished above Rockport/below Sandy Run. I thought one fish would be an accomplishment given the size of this river and being my first time in this stretch. I found an awesome BWO hatch and cooperative fish in relatively short order. I nailed 2 nice browns right away, but it felt like these were the dummies of the group. I started out with a #12 comparadun which was closest to the naturals but these were soon ignored. Problem is I didn't have the right size BWO's, a size #18 is the biggest I use on my homewaters and these are more like #14. Anywho, I managed 1 more brown on lighter tippet (5x)/smaller fly...not really used to the fish being too picky on this river, maybe the low/clear water has something to do with it. The hatch died out and I went exploring. I nymphed around a bit but didn't get any more action.
I'm glad to get into some nice fish, these river bred fish really put up a fight. It was raining off/on all day and I think that really helped bring the fish out. Seems like every time I float the river, it ends up being a blue bird day and the fishing sucks until the suns starts to set. I'm glad I have the bike now for a quick get away on a rainy and otherwise crappy day.
What a great place to explore and enjoy the scenery. I'm pretty sure I can get my GF into biking the trails up there as well, so that's a win-win...

My camera ended up getting wet but it seems to have recovered...I'll try to get some pics up soon

Not as high as it could be but enough to keep me coming back, based on my thoroughly unscientific observations. As a mixed use tailwater its focus is recreational but not as a wholly sustainable fishery. I'm sure it's a complex puzzle and I'm just a single fisherman looking for a good time.

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Greenlander

I think trout populations fluctuate year to year. Cool and rainy summers will yeild good populations the following spring & summer. Dry/warm summers = some mortality and lower numbers of trout that remain.

The majority of the trout you will catch will be stocked fish...either fingerling grown ups, holdover or freshly stocked adult trout. There is a low-fair population of wild trout which populate the river from the numerous coldwater/Class A tributaries that enter the river.

We will need some rain soon to mainatin the rivers temperatures and flows, but i would think this will be a good spring season to fish the Lehigh. The Corps will be cutting the release back to 200 cfs in the next few days to begin storing for the summer recreational season. That should keep the river very angler friendly and there will be lots of water to explore!