This past weekend the weather was awful. I suppose it could’ve been worse, heavier rain, maybe a snowstorm, but 99% of the streams in the Mid-Atlantic were blown out, again! This has been a wet spring, but this means we will be fishing for trout well into the summer. The only waters not affected by all this wet weather were tailwaters that don’t have many tributaries impacting their flows below their dams. One of these tailwaters just happens to be my home water, the Tulpehocken Creek in Berks County. In the Keystone Select Special Regulation water on the Tulpehocken there are only two small tributaries, Plum Creek at Rebers Bridge and the Cacoosing Creek at the Paper Mill Bridge. It takes an extended rain for these two bodies of water to have a significant impact on the Tulpehocken flows. The dam release out of Blue Marsh Lake has been slowed recently and has been holding around 240CFS.
Read moreGUEST POST: Fall Trout On The Tulpehocken
On Sunday, my brother and I wanted to take the boat out one last time before it needed to be winterized. The Susquehanna River had risen about three feet over the past week or so and looked like chocolate milk with who knows what being washed from its banks. We decided to try Blue Marsh Lake since it would be a lot safer and close to one of our favorite creeks, the Tulpehocken (“Tully”).
Read moreEarly Summer, Low Water And Lost Trophies
After several weekends of long road trips to chase trout in western and northern Pennsylvania, I decided to stay close to home and focus on the eastern side of the state. As the year transitions from spring to early summer, the cooler air and water temps and easily accessible creek and riverbanks slowly start to disappear. Morning drives to the water are made with the windows down, waders become an oven by 10:00am, and trying to get a fly rod through Japanese Knotweed is like trying to thread a cow through the eye of a needle.
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