Pool by pool

As soon as the river settles down I'm going to start a project of photographing the Lackawaxen pool by pool and posting them attached to a google map for all to see. Maybe some of you might like to help. You could post the pictures on our companion Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/Lackawxenriver

New Lackawaxen Facebook page...

Just started a new Facebook page for the Lackawaxen

https://www.facebook.com/Lackawxenriver

PPL Lake elevation and power generation schedule

800.807.2474

The train is back!

Yes that's a train on the track along the Lackawaxen River. This photo by E. Doughty was snapped last week. There's a new owner of the Stourbridge Line. They are planning to bring back the excursions and even freight. 

First bug sightings

I took a ride today along the Delaware and Lackawaxen. The Lackawaxen was running along with ice only on the edges of the shore. Still too high to wade. Power generation is not scheduled this week so we'll get to see how the levels trend.
The Delaware above Zane Grey is stll iced but I could see large blocks breaking up. I checked out a couple of ponds that I fish and there were still guys ice fishing on them!
At Ten Mile River access I found black stone flies in numbers about a size 14 or 16.. The ice there too was breaking and groaning.
I went to two sport shops looking for darts for when the shad run starts. Neither had anything in stock!  The pool at Narrowsburg is so locked with ice that it may be a while before the shad can even make it up here. I'm looking forward to shad. It will be my first wading test on the new knee. And shad are great fun to catch.

I'll be heading up to Roscoe, Hancock,  Deposit and the Lacawanna this week to see what the local conditions are and what the local fly shops have to say.

Back Again

The Tow Path blog is back. It's 2015. The end of March. There is still a foot of snow on the ground in my field. The Delaware is frozen solid above the Lackawaxen. But I'm still looking forward to fishing on the river next month. It has been 2 years since I've been able to wade. Hopefully with my new right knee that will be resolved.

What hasn't been resolved is the parking along the Lackawaxen. Places where I've parked for the last 25 odd years are blocked by large rocks placed I assume by land owners who want the fish but not the fisherman. Nasty fisherman. It's the Broadheadisation of the Lackawaxen. The state still stocks yet there is dwindling access. What was once a modest economic boost for the businesses in the township, is now negligible. A few rental property owners want to benefit from free state stocking by not legally posting their land. Just illegally blocking parking easements that have existed for decades. The TU chapter hasn't fought hard enough to force the the town of Lackawaxen to remove the obstructions. As a taxpayer in Lackawaxen, I own property there, I'm a bit pissed off at this development of the past couple of years. I may have to bring my tractor over in the dark of the night.

But let's focus on the good things, warm weather is coming, eventually. Mayflies and caddis will flitter about the streams and the trout will rise to our flies... I hope.

I can smell the fish

Well its another year. Lets hope for good weather, reasonable release schedules and good health.  I haven't gotten my new fishing license yet nor have I tied any flies to speak of. I've been painting. It took about a year to get my new basement organized and outfitted as a studio.

Trout the dog has been a Decoverly for the past 6 weeks being gun and bird trained. He has great promise. Old Bailey is now in his 14th year he still has a nose but no legs. Patch is 4 he's got everything.

I'm gonna try fishing the West Branch of the Delaware again this year. I hope to go with Jerry Hadden on a drift a couple of times. You can reach him at 570-853-4048. or flyfishing@delawareriverguide.net.

This was a good winter at least as far as the weather went. Let's hope that March and April are fair to moderate as to rainfall. No FLOODS!

Trout the dog not the fish

Bless me father It's been a month since I last post.

I haven't been fishing every like I'd hoped. Weather, commitments, and Trout have kept me busy. Not trout fishing but Trout. We got a new puppy and we named him Trout. I know I used to have a dog named Trout but think of it as a family name. At 11 weeks old he's a peeing terrorist. But oh so cute. He happens to be half brother of Patch our 3 years old setter.

 I have been fishing though. Mostly for shad which have been sporadic but have just turned on big time. I fish for shad at the boat ramp on the Big Eddy at Narrowsburg pool. It's close to my house so I don't feel like I have to spend a lot of time. I've also been trout fishing on the Delaware with some success. Where I've been, I won't say where, the water is quite deep and I've been casting from the shore to feeding fish. Nice big native brownies. They have been surprising easy to catch. Hard to find easy to fool. A 17"er fights almost a tough a a 2' shad. But not quite. This is going to be a summer of exploration for me. There are just too many places to fish within an hour of here. The Lackawaxen River is only one. The main stem of the Delaware is mighty big water but seems to be full of big ass native fish. Same for the East Branch and I've never fished there ... Gotta try it.

 I've also fished Masthope Creek. Tiny and tree covered. But well stocked it seems. I got a few nice little rainbows there. It's 'cute' trout fishing. The stream was designed like an English trout stream when it was part of the big beer estate.

 With quite a large stretch of the Lackawaxen being made less access able it's time to try other places.