Tulpehocken - Berks County- 3/9/20

[wbranch]

Fished from12:15 - 4:30. Flow 194 cfs, water temp 45 degrees. Clarity - very good. Lots of very small midges. Saw a handful of #18 tan caddis. Fished above Rebers the entire time. Nymphed hard with tandem nymphs for three hours. Tried #20 Zebra midge, #20 tan caddis pupa, #16 Hares's Ear and Flashback PT, a couple BH Euro nymphs, cream glo-bug, white Krystal meth, and a BH green weenie.

Landed one nice 14" rainbow and two 19" suckers. They all ate egg patterns. Not a single rising fish. Talked to eight other anglers and none had touched a fish.

 

[GeneBeam]

I’m confused, I was always under the assumption that trout fishing season closed from the end of February to the opening day of trout season. Then on this site I read about people trout fishing. If I’m wrong, please let me know as I would love to get out and do some fly fishing as I need the practices after not being out fishing for the last 3 years, while working out of state.

 

[Swattie87]

Consult your regulations booklet. Or download it online. “Stocked Trout Waters” are closed from 3/1 until opening day. Streams under that regulation are off limits presently. There are other streams and stream sections managed under different regulations however that are open to year round fishing. The reports you’re currently seeing (such as this one) are from those waters.

 

[wbranch]

Gene,

Read the rules on the PFBC web site as Swattie has suggested. There are many different rules and closures and without reading the rules it would be easy to run afoul of the law. I was fishing a stream called "Delayed Harvest". It basically means you can fish it all year long but you can only keep trout within a specified period. I don't kill fish so I don't know what that period is. Besides while people are allowed to fish Delayed Harvest waters there are specific rules that go along with that type of water. No bait, no natural, or molded, fish eggs.

If I'm not mistaken (correct me if I am wrong) I'm pretty sure there is no closure. In other words many streams stocked with trout are closed for period before the regular season until the start of the regular season. I have been on this stream fishing and the float stockers are wading down stream in front of me.

 

[GeneBeam]

Thank you very much, I will download the regulations booklet, as they didn't give me a copy then I got my 2020 trout permit.

 

[TYoung]

I fished the Tulpehocken twice this winter. Both time it was a warm day. I caught one brown the first time and two rainbows the second time. The delayed harvest section doesn't get its first stocking until March 20. After that catching fish should become easier.

 

[Mike]

Wbranch,
Generally speaking the trend has been for many more holdovers to be present in the portion of the DH area in the rest of the DH area below Rebers Bridge than above. Summer temps are generally a little cooler down there. Furthermore, that is the stretch that is stocked in fall. Also, the “bait area” below there is fall stocked, holds some fish over from the previous year, and is an “approved stocked trout water open to year around fishing,” just like one (the uppermone) of the two stocked sections on the South Branch Codorus Ck, York Co.

 

[wbranch]

Hello Mike,

Thanks for that information. If this nice weather holds this week I plan on going back to the Tully. I'll be sure to fish from the Paper Mill Pool down to the Covered bridge.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

I fished there on Sunday. It was a beautiful day, actually a bit too warm for this time of the year for my liking, and quite sunny. As you said, the water was clear, and low. Not the best fishing conditions as far as fish catching goes, but a great time for anyone who likes the out of doors to be outside and fishing.

I drove along the stream for a bit, actually up to Reber’s and saw as many or more anglers on the stream as I’ve ever seen there - granted, I don’t fish there frequently.

I’m not going to say where I fished, mostly because I had my small section of the stream to myself, and that’s the way I like it, nor am I going to say what flies I used, because I don’t want to be embarrassed.
However, I did catch 2 nice rainbows during the relatively short time I was there, so I was happy. What more is there to want?

 

[wbranch]

My two native fish and I assume a hold over rainbow.

 

[moon1284]

Nice lightweight

 

[drakeking412]

I was going to say where's the sucker photos!?!? Gotta have some love for the river roomba

 

[wbranch]

Moon,

Thanks, I have two Lightweights with the 2 screw German silver line guards. Not the single screw style that came out in the 1980's. I also have a Featherweight and a prototype Lightweight. No line guard and no drag check. Knurl all about the periphery of the reel cage. I used to have two pre-1970 Princesses and extra spools. I sold one on the swap forum years ago and just recently sold another for $200. My best friend has one each from the Flyweight to the Zenith all with two screw line guards. The Aidan and the Zenith may never of been fished.

 

[moon1284]

Nice. I had a two screw princess for a while but I sold it. I use mostly sage 500s. They are definitley heavier than lightweights, but the drag system is the same. Lightweights are really nice reels.

 

[dc410]

A real nice day in March will find any special regulation stretch in PA like the Tully that is open to fishing year round, full of folks out there wetting a line where it legal.

Oh yeah, the Blue Herons have been aggressively harvesting fish on the Tully all winter without regard to the delayed harvest regulation. You still have a decent chance of catching some good size trout leftover from the Keystone Select or fall stocking programs as long as they are too big for the herons to swallow.

 

[marcq]

Some of the rainbows that come out of that stream unreal. Hard to tell if they are even stocked. I honestly think the stream fishes way better bellow the red bridge.