Southeastern PA Muskies

[Ewanflyfish]

Any of you guys fish for muskies on lake nockamixon, or on the delaware river around the New Hope area? I’m hoping to start targeting them on the fly this year. I know these are two very different bodies of water, but they seem to be the two best musky fisheries near me. I’m open to any info you guys are willing to share.

 

[falcon]

I have fished for Muskies in the Delaware River from the Water Gap to Dingmans. I mostly use conventional tackle.

 

[sandflyx]

Not sure if nockimixon has many. I fished it in the 70's-80's mostly used to get a few musky, lots of big pickeral there also. the delaware you need a boat but from easton south there are musky. my biggest 52" came from around frenchtown

 

[Bamboozle]

There used to be a bait shop on West Union Street in Allentown called "Lehigh River Bait & Bow" that I frequented back in the day.

On the back wall were some huge mounted muskies. When I asked the owner were they came from he pointed towards the Lehigh River and said, "Right there, below the bridge."

FWIW - He used HUGE plugs on casting tackle.

 

[Ewanflyfish]

There used to be a bait shop on West Union Street in Allentown called "Lehigh River Bait & Bow" that I frequented back in the day.

On the back wall were some huge mounted muskies. When I asked the owner were they came from he pointed towards the Lehigh River and said, "Right there, below the bridge."

FWIW - He used HUGE plugs on casting tackle.

Dang, didn’t even realize the Lehigh produced musky of that size.

 

[Ewanflyfish]

Not sure if nockimixon has many. I fished it in the 70's-80's mostly used to get a few musky, lots of big pickeral there also. the delaware you need a boat but from easton south there are musky. my biggest 52" came from around frenchtown

I have a boat for Nock, probably wouldn’t be suitable for the river though. Big pickeral does sound interesting though.

 

[Bamboozle]

Dang, didn’t even realize the Lehigh produced musky of that size.

Neither did I and I was shocked when he told me where he fished.

I can't speak to fishing there because I never tried it and it was a while ago, but you can fish from the bank around the Hamilton Street Bridge.

 

[bringthepain]

Nockamixon has become one of the best muskie fisheries in the state is my understanding. I live in Bucks co closer to Peace Valley but the Nock is not far. Pure breds too, not tigers. Last year i heard a 42 pounder was caught. You are coming up on the right time of year for it. Late winter early spring is prime time i believe

 

[Javelin389t]

Yes agree with last post. Nock has a lot of muskies.I’ve fished there a lot over the years. Although I don’t normally target them. I have caught quite a few. (Never caught a purebred though) Last couple I caught have come on a crankbait or swim bait. Not sure about best time of year. I’ve caught them mostly in summer or fall. If I targeted them. I would try a weed bed close to a sharp drop off into deep water. You might want to also consider marsh creek lake. It also has a lot of Muskie

 

[sandflyx]

I have a boat for Nock, probably wouldn’t be suitable for the river though. Big pickeral does sound interesting though.

What boat do you have

 

[Mike]

The abundant, large pickerel in Nock is, unfortunately, news of the past. That ended sometime in the decade between 1995 and 2005.

As for abundant muskellunge, that began in the early two-thousand teens yrs.

Don’t be surprised to catch a striper there when fishing for muskies.

Based on an obvious fin clip from the Nock muskellunge population evaluation studies, a Nock source muskellunge was captured by an angler from the Delaware as far downstream as Washington Crossing. No doubt that escapees from Nock contribute to the lower Delaware population and that contribution may be greater now than a few decades ago since the Nock pop is now much larger. Additionally, fishing for escapees of various species has always been productive just below the Nock dam.

 

[Javelin389t]

The abundant, large pickerel in Nock is, unfortunately, news of the past. That ended sometime in the decade between 1995 and 2005.

As for abundant muskellunge, that began in the early two-thousand teens yrs.

Don’t be surprised to catch a striper there when fishing for muskies.

Based on an obvious fin clip from the Nock muskellunge population evaluation studies, a Nock source muskellunge was captured by an angler from the Delaware as far downstream as Washington Crossing. No doubt that escapees from Nock contribute to the lower Delaware population and that contribution may be greater now than a few decades ago since the Nock pop is now much larger. Additionally, fishing for escapees of various species has always been productive just below the Nock dam.

The abundant, large pickerel in Nock is, unfortunately, news of the past. That ended sometime in the decade between 1995 and 2005.

As for abundant muskellunge, that began in the early two-thousand teens yrs.

Don’t be surprised to catch a striper there when fishing for muskies.

Based on an obvious fin clip from the Nock muskellunge population evaluation studies, a Nock source muskellunge was captured by an angler from the Delaware as far downstream as Washington Crossing. No doubt that escapees from Nock contribute to the lower Delaware population and that contribution may be greater now than a few decades ago since the Nock pop is now much larger. Additionally, fishing for escapees of various species has always been productive just below the Nock dam.

Mike. What do you think is the max. life span of Muskie and walleye in the state if they don’t get caught ?