Right through the summer heat the Brodhead has been fishing exceptionally well. Cooler nights have been keeping the day time water temperatures down and the fish have been responding. The past two weeks has seen us out fishing with the centerpins over fly rods. The Brodhead is stacked with fish right now however they are spread out of the entire length of the pools. With out the presence of hatches locating these fish has been challenging and with the fly rods clients have needed to cover large distances to find them. However ability to present flies, jigs and artificial using 75 to 100ft drifts have been a huge advantage over fishing the fly rods. We have been fishing the same tippets (4-7x) and the same flies as droppers as we would if we where fly fishing. The one notable exception is the use of 3inch pink rubber worms. With the lower water levels and the early season pressure live bait, other then waxies and mealworms have been ignored in favor of the smaller offerings.
Fluorocarbon leaders and 2-4 gram clear floats have added to the stealthy approach, as well as size 16-18 pheasant tails, hares ears and small wets. Most of the fish have been averaging 12-16 inch's, however several fish in the 3-4 lb range have been taken in the last two weeks. Trips have been averaging 15-25 fish per client per day, with a few days being much better including an exception day of landing 92 fish
Warming water in the Delaware River has been causing rainbows to migrate up into the creeks seeking cooler water. This has added an addition element of excitement to this fishery as these fish are bright silver, strong and prone to jumping. These fish are not wild fish, but where stocked several years ago as fingerings and tend to move back and forth between the Delaware and the Brodhead as water conditions change.
The Gorge has been fishing well as of late. On the few occasions we choose to hike in we encountered rainbows, and stream bred browns from 6-20inchs. A recent color down in weather as well as recent rainfalls have brought the creek temperature below the normal summer temps and as a result fishing continues to be production.
Guided trips are still available as well as introductory lessons in centerpinning and float fishing.
For more information visit www.riverrunsrods.com