Lake galena in bucks county

[Javelin389t]

Anyone fishing lake galena lately? Also known as peace valley park.Thinking of trying with this couple of days of warm weather. They used to have big sunfish and crappie not sure about the walleye pop. But I heard it used to be good.

 

[Mike]

Surprisingly for its location, Galena is a very underutilized fishery. Bass (moderate population), for example, commonly get large and are so old that they commonly have cataracts. While the walleye population was once very good, few anglers targeted them so stocking was stopped. There was little to no reproduction. The channel cat population is quite good. White perch have a history of being overly abundant/stunted (Thanks, angler “biologists”). I don’t recall being impressed by either the crappie or bluegills, but I do recall an angler mentioning some nice bluegills at times many decades ago.

 

[Javelin389t]

Surprisingly for its location, Galena is a very underutilized fishery. Bass (moderate population), for example, commonly get large and are so old that they commonly have cataracts. While the walleye population was once very good, few anglers targeted them so stocking was stopped. There was little to no reproduction. The channel cat population is quite good. White perch have a history of being overly abundant/stunted (Thanks, angler “biologists”). I don’t recall being impressed by either the crappie or bluegills, but I do recall an angler mentioning some nice bluegills at times many decades ago.

Thanks mike. I might be giving it a try tonight. I was kinda hoping for walleye. They put a lot rock around the one side up to the dam some years ago and thought maybe some would use for spawning ? Your “no reproduction “ kinda bums me , maybe I should try the nock. Instead.

 

[Wild_Trouter]

Surprisingly for its location, Galena is a very underutilized fishery. Bass (moderate population), for example, commonly get large and are so old that they commonly have cataracts. While the walleye population was once very good, few anglers targeted them so stocking was stopped. There was little to no reproduction. The channel cat population is quite good. White perch have a history of being overly abundant/stunted (Thanks, angler “biologists”). I don’t recall being impressed by either the crappie or bluegills, but I do recall an angler mentioning some nice bluegills at times many decades ago.

Back in the 80s, I used to catch musky there, and yes, the LMB were crazy there along with white perch. I did very well from shore and trolling in boat. I used to fish Lake Towhee too, same time period, for LMB and Chain Pix. Haven't been back in years.

 

[Mike]

Thanks mike. I might be giving it a try tonight. I was kinda hoping for walleye. They put a lot rock around the one side up to the dam some years ago and thought maybe some would use for spawning ? Your “no reproduction “ kinda bums me , maybe I should try the nock. Instead.

Walleye would attempt to spawn in the past along the north shore near the dam where, as I recall, some rock had been placed. I think there was also some rock in the water on the south shore as well in pretty much the same general location as that on the north shore…unless this many yrs later I’m imagining the little bit of rock on the north shore side near the dam. Prespawn male walleye on the spawning grounds = white, 4-5” twister-like grubs on a quarter oz jig head.

 

[JeffP]

I visited this lake to hike while my wife was at a wedding shower in New Hope. The water looked shallow and awful. Does the Neshaminy run into it? I must not have been on the main part of the lake.

 

[Javelin389t]

I visited this lake to hike while my wife was at a wedding shower in New Hope. The water looked shallow and awful. Does the Neshaminy run into it? I must not have been on the main part of the lake.

Jeff. Yes I believe neshaminy feeds it. Water color is dirty/stained right now. Mike. Thanks for the tips. I tried a stick bait yesterday near dam till a bit after dark, but came up empty.

 

[Mike]

Technically, the lake is fed by the N Br Neshaminy Ck.

 

[JeffP]

Can't do much for the Neshaminy. I checked out some photos and the area I was in must have been just a shallow arm of the lake. The trails are pretty cool although I kind of got lost and thought I was in the Blair Witch project!

 

[Javelin389t]

Mike. Did you ever do any fish assessments for the 2 small lakes accross from each other on heller rd in quakertown? I believe they call it the brickyard ?

 

[Mike]

No

 

[Javelin389t]

Ok , thanks.

 

[sandflyx]

used to fish at night near the dam for walleye. grew up over the hill from peace valley. fished for smallies when i was living down there.

 

[bringthepain]

I had no idea there were ever walleyes in there. Supposedly these days there its stocked with some type of catfish

 

[Mike]

There were a few striped bass too, but those stockings stopped because their abundance in the lake was low…stockings didn’t do well. Walleye stockings did well, but hardly anyone fished for the species there so they were terminated too.

General observation: AFM’s may easily terminate stockings of warmwater/coolwater species fingerlings and yearlings with the touch of a computer key due to low targeted angler use toward a particular species as well as due to poor success of stockings. Not so easy with adult trout though, but it should be.

 

[tomgamber]

So all the wild trout enthusiasts need to do is get everyone to stop fishing class A's?

 

[jifigz]

All you guys should quit fishing em, and since you won't be there, just take my word that I won't be on em, too.

So all the wild trout enthusiasts need to do is get everyone to stop fishing class A's?

 

[tomgamber]

All you guys should quit fishing em, and since you won't be there, just take my word that I won't be on em, too.

that was snark in response to this statement ( which I cut short)

AFM’s may easily terminate stockings of warmwater/coolwater species fingerlings and yearlings with the touch of a computer key due to low angler use

 

[TimMurphy]

Anyone fishing lake galena lately? Also known as peace valley park.Thinking of trying with this couple of days of warm weather. They used to have big sunfish and crappie not sure about the walleye pop. But I heard it used to be good.

Dear Javelin389t,

I used to fish it a lot up to about 1983 when I moved away from Lower Bucks County. In the late 1970's about 4 years after it opened it fished really well, but by the time I moved away it had started to decline. That kind of fits in with how all the reservoirs in Bucks County have fared over my lifetime as a kid who moved to Feasterville in 1964.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[Nymph-wristed]

used to fish at night near the dam for walleye. grew up over the hill from peace valley. fished for smallies when i was living down there.

That is about all I can add too (as he adds three paragraphs below). The place was and probably is a big bowl with a shallow muddy tail. No structure unless it was manmade and sunk, and little cover on the banks of the most productive/deep water.

My dad had a series of small bass boats and we fished it when I was a youth in the 80s and into the 90s. Plenty of walleye until the stocking stopped, and bass were only easy to find pre- and through the spawn, as they all staged at the dam. This was before side-imaging and all that, of course

I believe musky were in there too. In retrospect I have wondered about forage fish in there, and maybe Mike knows if shad or anything were stocked too. On more than one occasion at dusk we witnessed musky cruising the surface like crocodiles. Maybe they had become waterfowl eaters. I don't recall the time of year or if ducklings would have been present.