Muskie fishing - Kaercher Creek Dam (Berks County)

[wgmiller]

Has anyone fly fished this for muskies? I recently saw a video of a hog being released. It's a small lake and only receives 50 fingerlings per year, but it looks like it might have good shore fishing opportunities.

 

[Mike]

The thick weed beds in the coves and along much of the north shore would make for tough retrieval. The south shore is tree lined and steep, but perhaps can be waded in places....but there is no room for a back cast. It seems to be a lake where you would need to get onto the water to fish it effectively during the months when the weeds are high in the water column.

PS Conestoga is stocked in the stretch from Cocalico Ck downstream to the Lancaster Waterworks Dam. I do not know where the actual stocking points are, but that should not matter. It has been stocked at least every other year in that stretch with 700 tiger muskies or more for about two decades. The fish have swum to the best habitats by now.

Mike

Mike

 

[jay348]

I fish it a few times a year and I'll second what mike said. By summertime the shoreline weeds make it tough to fish on foot unless you're fishing top water.

While I have yet to see a musky here I'm sure they're in there. Give it a shot and post a report.

Unrelated, I have done well with bass from shore here. Bring an 8wt and some poppers as a backup.

 

[wgmiller]

Mike - that's a good stretch of the 'Stoga that would best be fished by boat, that's for sure. I know they're in there and in low summer flow, should be limited to "prime" holding water. The Conestoga is on my radar, for sure. And I'd have to say that it receives very little pressure as far as muskie fishing goes.

I'm sure the muskies in Kaercher go to the deepest water in the summer months. I was thinking that the shoreline opportunities might be good in the fall/spring or daybreak with a topwater pattern. I'm just intrigued by its small size.

Here's a link to the video I referenced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXoMZjwHMeo