Lehigh River, 8-12-12, Carbon and Lehigh Counties

beeber2

beeber2

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Joined
Sep 13, 2006
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720
Floated the Lehigh with fellow board member Kabutt. The action started early on streamers. Then, as we floated a flat water section, I put on a popper. On the third cast there was a blow up, though this was not a smallie. I landed a 20 inch toothy pickeral who mangled my yellow popper.

We had good action all day, with Kabutt working the ledges like a pro out there, covering top to bottom. Good numbers of small smallies with a big appetite were landed. Kabutt looked like he got quite a bit of sun, none the less a great float was had.

Thanks for joining me Kabutt, we will have to do that again soon.
 
Yeah I got a little color out there, but that's okay... It was worth it!

Too lazy to ever switch to a popper, I caught all fish on a gray rabbit fur leech - including a scrappy 10"er with only one eye. Lots of hookups and LDRs. I think beeber hooked one every cast. Flow was around 1180 at Walnutport with a little stain to the water, visibility maybe 3-4'. It was a beautiful day with minimal river traffic, and a little tailwind to help us along.

Thanks for the escort beeber, I had a lot of fun!
 
Walnutport to Treichlers?
 
Floating the Lehigh sounds like a lot of fun... I would like to float it sometime but have no clue where to put in or take out. Becker, did you ever get a pontoon?
 
Yes sir, had it for about a year.
 
We did Bowmanstown to Walnutport. Nice float.

NickR - this should help: http://fishandboat.com/watertrails/lehigh/southern/lehigh_south_guide_map.pdf
 
Great section, except for the dead water below the 873 bridge. I can do with out that on a hot day. Next time you guys decide to float, I live in Bowmanstown, give me a shout. Walnutport to Treichlers is a worthwhile float as well.
 
Yeah, luckily we had a little breeze and some passing clouds to interrupt the sun here and there. I'd definitely like to do Walnutport to Treichlers. I'm booked this weekend, but let's make that happen sometime in the near future. If I get out of work at a decent time sometime this week I might make it up there to do some exploring with my bike...
 
"I think beeber hooked one every cast."

Yeah, yeah, I have become quite familiar of where the smallies are in that section. I need to find the bigger ones now.

The downstream breeze kicked in nicely when we hit the flatwater section, I didn't have to paddle a stroke, so I was casting the popper under the bankside trees. There's lots of bitty sunfish there, most of them too small to take the popper.
 
Nice report. Looks like you guys were also on the water when there was a whitewater release. I know they impact the trout fishing, but it looks like bass did not mind. Good stuff.

FYI...on that map - that dam above Palmerton is no longer there.

Now it will be interesting to see that when we get to Sept, if the trout are still anywhere to be found in that stretch.
 
I wonder as well. Don't know if enough found the springs and the tribs.
 
Yep, they were indeed releasing water. It was my first float on the Lehigh (or any river for that matter) but, as beebs had mentioned, with the high water there were lots of bass tight to the banks.

Good call on the dam not being there - important info for planning a float.

I know absolutely nothing about trout fishing on the Lehigh... Gotta change that.

beeber2 wrote:
Yeah, yeah, I have become quite familiar of where the smallies are in that section. I need to find the bigger ones now.
Click to expand...

Their parents gotta be in there somewhere... The 12" lunker I caught was in a slow, deep tail-out.

 
I have caught and witnessed friends catch a few smallies in the 15 inch range. They are slowley getting larger every year.
 
Nice report..I'll have to check it out sometime

I've caught some larger smallies on the river but it was kinda rare. I've had floats were I'd only catch 1 nice sized fish and I was happy with that. I haven't had a nice one since last summer, but the numbers of smaller fish are up...

 
I got out on Saturday morning for a few hours, kind of a last minute thing mid-morning. I fished near Palmerton and banged several smallies on a brown super bugger. Becker: whaddaya mean the deadwater below 873? On a float in June thru there my Dad and I each landed a trout in the 18-20 range and I lost another one of that size. Stripping the big stuff. I'm looking forward to the late-summer/fall cooldown and the Iso, october caddis & BWOs.
 
Lol damn you......trout season and smallmouth season are completely different in that section. I won't discuss further the trout, but yes I know. In the summer that dead section kills you.
 
Blueheron

Yes, every weekend starting on July 7th to August 26th, if there is enough water. Then there are 3 more dates in Sept. Sept 1, 2 and 14 which are water storage dependent.

After that, there are not suppose to be anymore whitewater releases. But, some how they always manage a few more.

Water temps are starting to drop. Hopefully a few trout made it through the summer and they show themselves when the fall hatches start up. We shall see.
 
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