Had the chance to get off of Long Island this week and took advantage of the high water on the pequest. Got there on Weds and started fishing up by the hatchery where the only clean spot was. Caught a couple bows on eggs but then it got windy and called it a quits. Fished a small brookie/brown stream on the way back to the hotel for a few wild fish.12/29/11- Arrived in the parking lot by the hatchery at around 7:45 with not a fisherman in sight. Ill say boy it was COLD. Started back up by the spillway with small eggs and had immediately 5 fish within 10 casts, a good sign. Picked up a couple more fish downstream in the clearer water. The only way to fish that stream when its off color is up by the hatchery where the spring comes in. When the fish stopped eating eggs caught a bunch more on small pt's and a few on zebra midges. Biggest was around 19 inches but lost one with a big kype the took off on me. Also, if anyone see's a pair of forceps up by the hatchery in the water those are mine! I put them down on a log and they fell in. They're orvis ones. Overall a good day on the pequest with high water.

Went on over to the Little Lehigh after around 12:00 and couldnt even turn a fish. Water levels were great, water had a nice green tint to it. Im thinking it was just the cold? It was freezing yesterday. Did happen to catch one fish and it was my first golden bow on a sucker spawn. Enjoy the pics!

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Isn't the LL a limestone-influenced stream? If it is, the ambient temps really only affect the fisherman, not the fish. When the water gets cold, you just have to be more accurate with your fly as the fish start to conserve their energy. Put it on their nose and they'll eat it! ;)

Nice report!
I made a small edit adding "NJ" to your title line so that our PA readers don't confuse the counties.
Dave W

Thanks for the info wgmiller. I tried all flies that would have normally caught fish in the winter. Didnt see many fish also. I did see the golden and casted to him maybe 4 times directly in front of him until the white sucker spawn was literally on his nose. Cool lookin fish in my opinion although i've heard people call them garbage fish.

"Low and slow" when it gets cold. The fish don't want to burn more energy than a "meal" is worth.

Well i was doing that, i think the little lehigh and me dont get along too well then. I've fished there a few times and havn't had much luck. Ive caught a couple fish, but nothing like people say it is. Me and the pequest go well together, i caught probably 17 fish yesterday within 3 hours. Also, the bushkill in easton and me go well together. Wild browns there seem to like my flies :)

The LL is NOT limestone influenced, ITIS and limestone stream flwoing from large springs. But in cold windy weather it doesn't always fish well, especially when the air temps drop quickly and a front has come through. I believe that fish populations are down in the LL, mostly due to human intervention.

Chaz i will agree with you on that 100%. From what i've heard about the LLH from its older days was that it was one of the best streams in the state. But that has dwindled. Ill say this now and it will turn some heads but i wish that it was still the Heritage Section no wading. I liked it a lot better like that. Fish numbers are down also.

FB3.. Nice report and congrats on Golden @ LL. There are 2/in that section, you caught bigger of 2! I had little guy move at my offering over holiday but I lifted little to early and scared him off!
Again tks for sharing and congrats on catches! I haven't fished Pequest since summer months, flows where always up when I had time to get over to NJ.

Well, i mean it was the only time i had to fish it, so i gave it a shot. Even after heavy rains the pequest is the first to muddy up and the last to clear in the area. Despite that fact, try to fish the mudline where the clean water comes in from the hatchery. Caught all fish on that mudline, and on the second day the mudline was receding farther and farther into the stream as the stream was dropping. Love that stream. That Golden was right by the downed tree? I saw him easily. Good 2 days of fishing for sure

If anybody wants to catch and keep 4-6lb bows, head to the Pequest and fish the hole right at the hatchery fish stocking chute…..I mean the hatchery effluent discharge chute.

Seriously, the chute dumps trout of all sizes into the stream on a daily basis. And if the big ones won’t take your offering, simply kick them out of the river or even bend down and pick them up. Seen both of those tricks done on several different occasions. From about 100 yards upstream of the chute at the old abandoned RRX (the upper limit of the trout conservation area) to about 300 yards below the chute, the stream is absolutely littered with trout and is the poster child for “put and take” fishing.

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The LL will fluctuate plenty temp-wise. It's more stable due to the spring influence, but it'll get cold.

True spring creeks are more stable for sure, but the LL isn't one imo.

I only know of 1 or 2 that are REALLY stable, and even then, only right at the springs. I mean, yeah, not too many of them range from 32 to 80 like some larger freestoners do. But even Spring Creek, which is known to be pretty stable, will range from 40ish in winter to mid 60's in summer, and a few degrees change within a given day. It can definitely affect the fishing.

And while absolute temperature does matter, often the direction of change is just as important. A spring Creek dropping from 45 to 43 might turn off fish, while a freestoner rising from 33 to 35 might turn them on, despite still being colder.

So it's VERY incorrect to say water temps don't play a role on limestoners. They play a role everywhere.

GreenWeenie, you are 100% correct my friend. Saw a few guys walking up the chute and trying to grab some of the bigger fish. They seem to be at the front of the line on the chute. I just fish the pequest obviously for fun, and not to keep. But with all those fish in that creek, you'd be surprised at the amount of people that walk away in frustration because they cant catch them. Saw that happen when i was there to a group of 3 guys. The right flies, and the right tactics will catch you all the fish in the world.

Nice report and pix - way to go. Nice jacket!!!..:)

T