Jordan Ck, Lehigh Co, 5/6/17

Mike

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 10, 2006
Messages
6,339
Fished the County Park upstream from Mickley Rd., Whitehall Twsp, for 50 min leading into darkness last evening. Air temp was 50 F, water temp about 58 F., moderate flow, nearly clear. A few sulphurs and cream midges around. Nymphed with a BHPT and a GRHE. Caught 5 RT, 1 BT, lost 3 others, rolled 2 more. I was the only angler in the half mile of stream that I walked last evening and I saw no anglers in the 3/4 mile of stream that I walked while birding in the morning. Plenty of fish around from the stocking of a week ago and based on fin regrowth, prior stockings as well.
 
This is a great section to fly fish. A lot of good runs and cover with some frog water in between but you can just get out of the water and hit the trail to bypass these sections.

When I used to live in the area it was a great alternative to little Lehigh and other more popular wild trout streams. Fish hold over well in the summer as that stream section is forested for about a mile and has a few feeder springs.
 
That section goes almost dry in the summer,but the fish can migrate downstream about 1/4 mile and there is a good spring that keeps the stream flowing and cool.
 
That section goes almost dry in the summer,but the fish can migrate downstream about 1/4 mile and there is a good spring that keeps the stream flowing and cool.

I the 4 years i stayed in catty I never had this experience. Just normal low flows for the summertime. I agree that there is more flow directly downstream of mickley rd due to a spring however there are small springs and seeps throughout the park from mauch chunk rd to mickley to allow some trout to survive. I'm not saying it's equivalent to the wild trout streams in the area but it's a good stocked stream for being in an urban area.

I believe this is Mikes home turf maybe he can comment.
 
Speaking of home turf,I have been fishing.hunting and trapping that stretch for 60+ years and in that time I saw it bone dry a couple times.There was no park back then and there was a pig farm along the stream above where the service road and the stream part.There were no houses apartments or anything else there back then.It was all woods and fields!
 
Back
Top