One crappie day at the Tulpehocken (Berks Co, 4/11/11)

John...
Completely agree, i dont fish the tully a ton but I'll take it over anything in Lanc Lanc right now. It's tough but if you don't mind tying and re-tying leaders an flies it's great! There's a real sense of achievement when you start pounding em' cuz you got something right, or at least close!
So when you wanna go fishin'? Sunday looks like a bomb so I'm headed up that way round 5pm Friday...wanna meet?
 
pcray1231 wrote:

Last year I actually didn't have a ton of luck at the Palisades either, and my first trip this year was poor. I was wondering if they slowed the stocking of that area or something? Not enough data to draw a conclusion for me yet, though.
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As I noted earlier, stocking was cut in half so far this year due to concerns with the dam repairs. Frankly I would think either you stock it or you have concern and don't but I don't make those decisions. But as far as that section goes, a heavy portion of the float stocking goes there but I guess the feeesh have minds of their own. I've actually heard a few folks saying that Palisades has fished well the last week or two.
 
I've actually heard a few folks saying that Palisades has fished well the last week or two.
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Good to know. My last time there was 2+ weeks ago. Went there and nada. Shot down to Rebers and got 2 in the last hour, so things weren't "fast" anywhere that day. Just brought back memories of last year at Palisades where I had a few nada's and did well elsewhere. But 2 years ago I slammed them many nights there.

For me, the Tully can be tough, or easy. Almost all of my tough outings have been early season when the water is still high and cold, though I've had good outings then too. But in late spring when temps are prime, it's consistently easy. The fish aren't picky, but you gotta get the timing right when they're on the feed.

As far as the poster who said he'd put the Tully dry fly action up against anywhere (Penns, etc.), I agree and disagree. They certainly rise and you can catch them in numbers. But then, I mentally hold separate categories for wild and stocked fisheries. Not that there's anything wrong with stocked, its just so different that you really can't try to compare them. As far as dry fly action, the Tully's pretty good for a stocked stream.
 
Completely agree, i dont fish the tully a ton but I'll take it over anything in Lanc Lanc right now.
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Because you fishing for the wrong species.

 
Tim, I would love to, but my wife is out of town until saturday...so, I'm on solo baby duty. Depending on the weather, I may try for Saturday though.
 
@Pcray - on the stocked vs. non-stocked dry fly thing...I hear you on that. I don't have enough experience with the wild trout risers though...so, for now, ignorance is bliss for me.
 
I'm not sure when the "Glory Days" were but I first started fishng the Tully in the spring of 1987 and fished it often to about 1991. During that period I was dating my wife and didn't have the urge to drive up to the Catskills where I most usually fished.

Anyway I thought the Tully was just a fantastic fishery! Many fish in the 11" - 16" classes with the bulk in the 13" - 15" range. I used to drive up after work and I worked in Red Lion - so it must have been good! I'd fish the area from about 150 yards above the Paper Mill down to about 100 yards above the Rte 222 bridge. That is the only water I used to fish and there were great caddis hatches and lots of rising fish. During a three hour evening visit it was not uncommon for me to land a dozen 13" - 14" rainbows with maybe one or two 15".

On Saturday's I would get up there early and I know of one riffle above the Paper Mill where I would often spend hour after hour casting to constantly rising fish. The odd thing was it wasn't that crowded at all. Yes, I'd see a guy here and another guy maybe 50 yards above me but I never felt crowded.

After 1992 I fished it less as I remember the fishing started to fall off and my wife was okay with me spending weekends up at my place on the EB of the Delaware. I didn't fish it very often for about a dozen years but after I retired in April of 2005 I tried the Trico fishing that gets going around the 4th of July. I had stellar Trico action a couple of days a week from dawn to about 10:30. There were often pods of a dozen or more fish with many nice 12" - 14" rainbows that fight like the devil - but they are very tough and landing more than half a dozen by the time the spinners stopped was beyond my skill level.

I went a couple of times in 2009 but didn't do very well at all and went once in 2010 and only saw a few fish rising so I didn't go again. I doubt I'll go back until I start to hear better reports again.

 
Wbranch

YEP...that is my same experience as well. That time frame had some exceptional fish in the stream. That riffle you speak of was great during the Trico hatch...the fish would move up from the paper mill flats and stage in that run. The numbers of solid fish were great. Then when hooked on a size 22 with 6 ro 7X tippet...all you could do was hang on and listen to your reel scream.
 
"..all you could do was hang on and listen to your reel scream."

Those rainbows were hot and did rival Delaware fish for power - and they looked good too!
 
John-
went to the tully today without checking the gauges and I wish I had. Its was dangerously high and fast no way i was going in there with my clumsy A$$. I stopped by the TCO and it sounds like its going to be high for a while. I'll be watching it for sunday morning but it sounds like a wash. PIcked up some pupa patterns im going to try next week so maybe see you up there?
 
I fished the waterworks this past Sunday and managed 3 trout. 1 on an olive beadhead bugger, 2 on a green weenie and a million suckers on everything i threw. I really hate suckers and it got annoying having to unhook them.
 
You haven't fished spring lately have you?
 
Never fished spring at all, guess the tully has been one-upped in the sucker category.
 
TimRobinsin wrote:
John-
went to the tully today without checking the gauges and I wish I had. Its was dangerously high and fast no way i was going in there with my clumsy A$$. I stopped by the TCO and it sounds like its going to be high for a while. I'll be watching it for sunday morning but it sounds like a wash. PIcked up some pupa patterns im going to try next week so maybe see you up there?
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Papermill around 11:30 AM or so?
 
The "Glory Days" were just that. And water that held fish back then doesn't today. One example is the long carp flat above the Palisades. It held a lot of fish way back when. And the riffs below the covered bridge were part of the special regs water. Then they moved the boundary up to the covered bridge. Those runs/riffs held a ton of good fish.
 
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