Monster Brown on Little Lehigh

[jazz]

A 18 lb Brown was found dead in the Little Lehigh recently as reported in the Allentown Morning Call.I did n't see the article as I was out of town when it ran last week.That's all I know and was wondering if anyone out there had more info.

 

[tabasco_joe]

Interesting. I've been fishing the LL every couple weeks for the last two years and haven't seen or caught any browns. Last weekend I was above the Heritage section and caught several rainbows in the 12 inch range. Even with 7X tipped I didn't have any problems landing and horsed them out rather quickly instead of playing them out. (A bad habit I get from bass fishing.) Then I hooked into a fish that at first I thought was a similar rainbow. I started to horse it out and then realized it was larger. The fish came up and rolled and of course the tippet broke but I could see it was not a rainbow and was about 18". Looked a bit like a brown but since I hadn't seen any browns in the area I was thinking maybe a carp. Just wondering if others are catching browns above the Heritage section? I have seen browns in Cedar Creek so I would expect then to be in the lower LL. As a short side question, has anyone fished Trout Creek in Allentown?

 

[jazz]

There are quite a few Browns,stocked and native,thru-out the Little Lehigh but they are generally more selective than the stocked Rainbows that you caught.That larger fish that you lost was probably a Brown,there are not many carp in that stream.
It's been a looong time since I fished Trout Creek,if you try it pack a gun that's not a nice place anymore.

 

[ian_brown]

Lehigh River Bait & Bow, Allentown (610-432-2511): Victor Svitilla of Allentown caught a 16-inch, 2 1/4-pound smallmouth bass from the Lehigh River on a minnow … smallmouth action is still good in the river … tubes, medium shiners and leeches all working well … trout action has fallen off considerably, and many local anglers have stopped fishing for them … customer came in Monday with a huge brown trout found dead along the Little Lehigh Creek in Allentown … fish weighed a whopping 18 pounds, 12 ounces.

Link

 

[jazz]

I now know where that Brownie was lurking.According to a reliable source it was hooked and played to death in the Heritage section,lifting it out of the water for pictures was the straw that broke its back.I hope that the stupid asses pictures did not get.What a shame.The fish died some time after its release and was retrieved from the water downstream from the heritage section.

 

[tabasco_joe]

Too bad about Trout Creek. When I grew up we used to catch small trout in there but from the Mack 5C plant and a large wrecking yard behind the Kmart it was polluted. I figured now with those gone so would the pollution. Sounds like another type of pollution took over.

 

[Squaretail]

Wouldn't you know I fished the LL just today. My mothers fading fast so every day off I go to see her and my only fishings been the Little Lehigh. The men using the tiny trico patterns were getting rainbows almost exclusively. I targetted the browns with larger patterns with some success. This was on a sculpin at 18".

My favorite of the day was this possible wild at 16" on a hex nymph that I tried to make look like a crayfish. One cant deny the colors the trout get from that water.
The last 4 out of 6 trips there I saw a trout that would have easily been my largest ever. It was not there this time or the last and can only imagine that was the one from the article. My first time there I got a clouser minnow and crayfish in his mouth but was way off my game coming right from my mothers. What a shame. It was one of those deals where when I first saw him I thought to myself "Did that rock just move?" It WAS that big. Right in front of me for an hour and it never registered.

 

[tabasco_joe]

Sorry about your mother. I've been thinking rainbows when I fished there. I'll have to make some adjustments next trip.

 

[StudentofTheStream]

Squaretail that is a beautiful fish. Very nice colors. Living in SW PA I've always wanted to come out and try the LL but haven't had the time to make the 4+ hour trip to that part of the state. Maybe someday as I really enjoy fishing for picky fish.

 

[jazz]

Squaretail,that's pretty impressive that you caught those Browns in that stretch at this time of the year,water is low and clear.Nice pictures too!
That rock that moved was probably the monster Brown.The question in my mind is did that fish get that large in the stream or did it escape or was released from the nursery?I highly doubt that it grew to that size in the stream,but I guess it will never be known for sure and it's dead meat now so I guess it does n't matter.
Tobassco,the last time I looked several years ago into Trout Creek under the Susquehanna Street bridge there were trout present,appeared to be small natives.But,did n't fish it,the last time I fished there was maybe 40 yrs ago,when it was still a hidden gem in the middle of Allentown.Now it is surrounded with urban blight and not much of a gem.

 

[tabasco_joe]

As a kid we fished a bit above there. That was back in the 60s. Odd thing is I grew up in Mountainville section but never fished the LL until two years ago. I moved out in 1980 so haven't been into many areas of town since then. Only to fish the LL and Cedar Creek. Oh and of course stop by Yoccos on Hamilton Blvd.

 

[Squaretail]

I feel very confident it was not a wild fish. Its proportions were too delegated and pectoral fins not quite large enough. And of course the color was a little off. But to see that thing make a wake when it took off downstream the one time and it might have been 3 ft under the surface. What a fish.