Lehigh River, Carbon County 4/15/26

[Nymph-wristed]

Here you are in your Orvis pose with what I believe was the first fish of the evening.

I sent that one to some of my buddies who don't think I own fly line, Joe 😁

 

[SBecker]

My last float for the year was yesterday, Middle river has reached its temps limit.

June 8th, 9th, and 10th 2026 All evening floats
Water: 62 on Monday, 67 when I pulled off the evening of the 10th.
Gage: under 500
Location: Middle River
Bugs: Iso's and Sulphurs

There is a reason I say my favorite time to fish the Lehigh is the first two weeks of June. Once the trout key into the Iso's the floats just become way more fun. Explosive blind takes, just keep you entertained the whole evening. Way too many fish to count into the net and more misses then fish landed.

 

[Nymph-wristed]

June 9th 2026
Air: 47 to start, 78 by end of the day
Water: 59-60 coming out the dam, cooler in the gorge, she's warming up the pipes, though
Gage: under 500 CFS at Lehighton, way lower in White Haven
Location: Gorge
Bugs: Not much hatching, but slate drakes, sallies, black and gray caddis, probably enough big mayflies present at times because fish came up for big attractors.

Been a minute since I've been on the river! I made up for that with a lonnnnnnggg day, starting at 6 AM with @lars in the gorge and ending with the evening dry fly bite with @Tigereye around 8 PM. A simple 16 Adams did the trick on top. 90% stockers but some surprises in the mix too.

Fish were a bit persnickety all day, but it was a steady pick at least. It's been hot, and the water still had color from the weekend releases. I may have caught 8 browns and 3 rainbows in the first round, and then after a break, I met up with Joe in the afternoon, and we landed another 8-10 each on dries. I caught the donkey below on a heavy jig streamer, a 5.5 mm tung bead + another 3.3 added to get it into the spot quickly. The other browns in the morning shift were about average.

btw, I don't recommend wet wading for 15 hours if you care about your undercarriage.

View attachment 1641251767View attachment 1641251768

Also, June T must have had an encounter with this one.... Pinch those barbs, yo 🙁🙁

 

[BrookTroutLover]

Given the fairly decent rainfall this summer, when would yinz Lehigh Regulars expect the fall season to get underway? Hoping to spend some time on the Gorge section over the coming months, and I would like to start tying and gearing up for the season.

Any tips, tricks, or anecdotes for a longtime fly fisher, newbie to the Lehigh?

 

[Tigereye]

It will be a while yet. Maybe mid september. Wait til daytime water temps stay below 66F. You can probably safely subtract a degree or 2 from temps at USGS FEW gauge

Productive flies in the past have been Royal Wulff and slate drake dry flies.
Stonefly patterns, hares ear, pheasant tail, and prince nymphs.
Wooly buggers in olive or peacock and black; or all brown; zonkers in yellow.

Come mid to late October when the leaves fall, especially after windy or rainy days, stay away for a day or 2. The leaves in the water make fishing all but impossible.