Vacation Home Search - Inquiry 2

[Luke]

I am getting somewhat serious about the purchase of a vacation home for my family with the plan to offset annual expenses with vacation rental income. So, this is probably the first of many inquiries for opinions about specific properties and specifically the quality of the local recreational activities including fly-fishing.

I hope that some of you will find this interesting and would be willing to share the experiences of your travels or maybe you are a local in the area in question and have really specific knowledge. I will probably only be asking about places that I do not yet know very well.

I have a lot of requirements and I will not bore you with them all; I am mostly just seeking feedback on the direct area of specific properties and on these prioritized recreational activities (for me, wife, and three kids ages 10, 10, and 12):

100% of These Activities within 40 Minutes
Minimum of 4 Key Activities without Driving
___Swimming - Lake, Pool, or Other
___Exellent Trout Dry-Fly-Fishing
___Trail Biking
___Hiking
___Dining
___Golf
___Kayaking - Lake or River
___Cultural Activities and/or Shopping
___Turkey and Small Game Hunting

And the second property is...

On Pohocopo, just above Beltzville Lake

 

[PennKev]

It's an ugly house.

 

[salvelinus]

PennKev wrote:
It's an ugly house.

Agreed. Have you thought about finding some land and building a place? A small log home would be perfect.

 

[sandfly]

wellsboro

 

[foxfire]

Not digging the house. For a weekender you should go cabin/lodge look.

 

[Millsertime]

1st I would verify if that specific section of the PO is Class A. 2nd, the trout biomass that close to Beltzville inlet is much lower than it is upstream around Gilbert. I have fished many sections of the upper PO because my wife's family owns so much property in that area and IMO the section near this house is not worth the time/money.

 

[Luke]

Millsertime wrote:
1st I would verify if that specific section of the PO is Class A. 2nd, the trout biomass that close to Beltzville inlet is much lower than it is upstream around Gilbert. I have fished many sections of the upper PO because my wife's family owns so much property in that area and IMO the section near this house is not worth the time/money.

This section is definately below the Class A section and is not rated. Thanks for the feedback and I would love to hear from anyone who has fished this far downstream in the "headwaters" of Lake Beltzville.

In your experiences, is the water level in the "Po" behind this house sufficient most times of the year to float a kayak all the way to the lake? This potential is one thing that makes this property interesting.

*Potential for kayaking out the back door?
*10 minutes to boating on a large lake (pontoon, jet ski)
*10 mintues to swimming in the lake
*15 minutes to Blue Mountain skiiing/tubing
*Extended season of trout fishing in tailwater race of the lake
*Hiking trails around the lake
*Some biking trails around the lake
*Not too far to Jim Thorpe and that entire rail trail

 

[SBecker]

*Potential for kayaking out the back door when it rains. Just float down the street to Bowmanstown Creek straight into the Lehigh! Can even park your kayak at the Btown Diner and get Breakfast!
*10 minutes to boating on a large lake and the Lehigh (pontoon, jet ski)
*10 mintues to swimming in the lake, Lehigh (directions to rope swing will be provided), neighbors pool
*15 minutes to Blue Mountain skiiing/tubing. Additionally, there is an amazingly steep hill right out the front door. Please watch for oncoming traffic
*Extended season of trout fishing in tailwater race of the lake and class A's 2 minutes away
*Hiking trails around the lake and rails to trails along the Lehigh
*Some biking trails around the lake and rails to trails along the Lehigh.
*Not too far to Jim Thorpe and that entire rail trail. Lehighton, the town that is touted having a fountain of opportunity and a bunch of meth mouth residents even closer!


Thanks, I am going to list my house for rentals now.

 

[Luke]

Becker,

I am glad to have helped you write your advertisement.

As a thank you, maybe you can give me some feedback about this place and immediate area?

I know you are the Pohocopo expert, so how good or bad is the fishing out the back door of this place? Is there enough water normally to float a kayak from this point into the lake?

Is the fishing in the lake any good?

Should I just completely avoid the total area because there are a bunch of Meth Addicts waiting to kill me and my family?

-Luke

 

[krayfish2]

To be honest, you'll find some meth heads in a lot of the less populated areas. You'll also find a lot of 'good folk'. As a couple of people have suggested, Poconos > Perry county when looking at your list of 'wants' for the property. Also should be easier to rent out when you aren't using it.

As for golf....... Jack Frost National is fantastic. There's a couple more in the area (Split Rock, Blue Ridge Trail, Pocono Manor, etc. There are a ton of lakes up there for fishing / boating. You'd be right there for a whitewater raft trip on the Lehigh.

I can't really provide too much info on the requirement of "excellent dry fly fishing". I'd say it would be OK, not great though. There are not that many places in the world that are truly excellent.

 

[SBecker]

In regards to the fishing.... I have no idea. I have never fished the Class A section above the dam. Just never felt like trying to gain access. I stick to the the tailwater part. The lake is a great warm water fishing spot. Huge stripers, some very big largemouths, and good walleye. It is also pretty fun for catfish.

I would think you should have no problem floating a yak to the lake from what I have seen, but then you gotta get back. Don't know how easy it would be to do.

Not only Meth Addicts to worry about. Mountain lions, hippies, Eric Frein sympathizers, Redneck Fest, New Yawkers, New Jersians, Indian and Pakistani rafters, and worst of all.... bait fishermen.


Golf....Hideaway Hills is right there. Pretty sweet course.

 

[krayfish2]

Did not add that course. Wasn't sure if it was public or private. I'll add that to my list for next trip up there.

 

[Millsertime]

You should be able to kayak from residence to the lake. The stream gets low in the summer so you may need to portage from time to time. I'd check out the flows yourself and snoop around to get a better idea. I bet the PO near the lake inlet is good for warm water species with a few trout mixed in.

That area is in the outskirts of the Pocono's and offers a lot in terms of outdoor activities like others have mentioned. It's populated and busy in summer and weekends but aren't all places that offer almost everything on your list?

Middle and Dotters Creeks are right there as well. Both are Class A but pretty much 100% private but I've never had issues with getting permission. They're both VERY small creeks but loaded with small wild fish.

Hideaway Hills has an "island" hole! But it's not really an island. Fake marketing. Lol.

 

[Luke]

Thank the feeback guys. I definately find that when you are open minded, non-judgemental, forgiving, and kind that there are a lot more nice folks in the world than otherwise. With that said, "some men you just can't reach..." But since I just happen to be a bait fishing Eric Frein sympathizing Indian redneck hippie from New Jersey, I think I may have found my little niche in the world

So the location really seems to be pretty interesting. Now if only the house wasn't so ugly.

I definately will be getting up that way in the near future to check things out for a day.

Would love to hear from anybody who might kayak in that headwater area of the lake and for sure from anybody who has done much fishing in that stretch. Sorry, Becker, I thought that you had fished Po above the lake.

I definately thought that Hidden Hills looked like a good course; the reviews are very positive.

I continue to appreciate any insights to this area that is not obvious and personal accounts of fishing this particular stretch of the creek.

 

[Smike]

I love the area, its has a lot to offer beyond fishing. I have family near there and always look forward to going up.

If you are planning on renting this out as a short term vacation home in that area, be warned you are 1 in 1000's of rentals. (i.e. the rental market in near Beltsville is very saturated, as is most of the Poconos for that matter)

To me what is more desirable to a larger audience as a mountain vacation home, is a home that you want to spend time soaking up the beauty of the home. A bland house on a bland looking lot is going to have a tough time getting rented. (Although meth heads don’t care about such things…)

I used to own a vacation home, and I learned the hard away, its very difficult to even come close to break even on rental income/home expense, and the amount of time keeping it up is not worth giving up the time you would be enjoying the actual outdoors. But I’m just a sample size of 1, if you are truly are dedicate to the time and money needed, you should get what you want out of the experience.

 

[Oregon_Owl]

Going to weigh in here. Many years ago we thought about buying a second home in the mountains. The factor that decided against it was the necessity to upkeep two homes and the time it and commuting to each that turned us away from the idea. Plus you are stuck in one spot. We traveled to different parts of the state each vacation. Got to taste more ice cream flavors without dripping any on the floor, if you know what I mean.

 

[Chaz]

Hell Creek is right there too, but it's Hell getting to the good water.
I've fished the Po above the lake for years, and it could be good, but access recently has shut down much of the water. You could probably float it to the lake when the water is up, but then getting back when the water is up may be a problem. Usually it's not too fast, but you could have someone pick you up at Wild Creek. There's access there.
It's not a good idea to float the lake though, if you go on a weekend you'll see what I mean.

 

[trout48]

Looked at that house 2 yrs ago they wanted more than. The stream is pretty far from the house and a lot of poison Ivy and trees to get a path to the stream. The fishing in the Po there is actually good your side of the bank is straight up and down to get to the stream. If I recall correctly they had a set of rickity steps to get down. The bathrooms in the house were a real issue to me a lot of work to do.