Little Lehigh, Lehigh County 7/22/09

[surveyor06]

Fished from 5pm to 7pm behind camp olympic. Water clarity was good, an improvement from lunch time that same day. Got two to take a #18bhpt. Wasnt able to land either one, both came off. Both fish were caught in pretty swift water, and I was nymphing upstream. I was wondering, how hard you guys set the hook? I have to strip like mad to keep off slack line and when the indicator goes down, i just raise the rod, it works for bigger sized flies like #16 and up, but I have been losing alot of fish on #18. Anything I can do to increase the number of fish i bring to the net with smaller flies?

 

[fly_flinger]

You could slightly bend the point of the hook to one side to create an offset. This should help. You could also tie a #18 fly on a #16 hook. I would try the offset first however.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Use a side arm hookset. By setting the hook with an overhead motion, you're pulling the hook out of the fish's mouth. if the fish is downstream to your left, set to the right, and if the fish is downstream to your right, set to the left.

Offsetting the hook point only works if it is offset to the side that would be pointing to you - if the fish is on the other side, it makes things worse. A better alternative would be to use a hook with a larger gap, and set the hook as I described above.

Nymphing upstream is usually the norm, and eliminates these issues for the most part.

Edit: Dang, I coulda swore you wrote that you were nymphing downstream!

In this case, I'd set by just a lift.

 

[PhilC]

Definitely need a quick strike when fishing nymphs. If you're using an indicator, keep in mind the fish has already "tasted" your fly by the time the indicator has stopped.
Another thing is to limit the amount of line
you have out. Nymphing is usually a short line, high stick endeavor.
Also, maybe you indicator could be too far from
the fly.

 

[surveyor06]

Thanks for the tips everyone. Im going to try shortening the distance between the indicator and the fly. I think there may be too much time between when the fish takes the fly and the indicator goes down. I must just be barely hooking them cause I do get to fight them for about 10 seconds until they come off. Once I get past that threshold it seems that they rarley come off, unless they break the tippet. Thanks for the advice everyone. see you at the trico jam.

Andy

 

[franklin]

How is stream access along that section? I haven't fished there since I was a kid but remember some nice spots back then.

 

[surveyor06]

You can either park on the side of cedar crest blvd, the shoulder is pretty wide near the bridge at Lower MacCungie Road, or park on one of the side streets nearby and cross cedar crest. Both endanger your life, but the wild browns are worth it.

 

[littlelehigh]

Never considered parking on Cedar Crest nor do I ever recall seeing any other fisherman in that area. We'll have to fish that together soon. See you guys at the Jam.