Southern Berks County
With the Oct. 3rd stocking of the Tulpehocken Creek and Scott’s Run Lake on Oct. 6th, there is plenty of opportunity to hook into some real nice rainbows and browns. Spinners and wooly buggers are hot in the Tulpehocken Creek, and minnows and bait pastes are providing good action at the Scott’s Run Lake. The current limit is three trout per day, except in the Special Regulations Area of the Tulpehocken Creek where all fish must be released and no bait is permitted.
Striper activity is picking up at Blue Marsh Lake with the cooler weather, try using a white or yellow bucktail to increase your chance at picking up a big fish. Crappie fishing continues to be good with nice fish taken on live minnows and jigs fished over structure
Northern Chester County
Marsh Creek Lake – Bluegills and crappies are taking mealworms, wax worms, minnows and small jigs. Anglers are having the most successin and around structure along or near the shore. Bass fishing reports have been somewhat mixed. Anglers catching bass have reported taking them on the usual: jigs, spinners and crankbaits as well as natural bait. Best colors to use are black, purple, pumpkin seed or dark green rubber worms. Best live baits are crayfish, minnows and nightcrawlers.
French, Pickering, East Brandywine and West Valley Creeks are low and clear. The cool nights have cooled the water temps and the trout fishing is beginning to improve. The East Brandywine DHAL section was stocked last week with some very nice trout. Anglers have reported catching them on terrestrials and nymphs. No fish may be had in your possession while fishing this section.
Note: Remember, you may never have bait in your possession in any of the Special Regulation Areas (FFO & DHAL). The Fly Fishing Only Area is Catch & Release Only. And you may not possess fish in the Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only Areas until June 15, 2015
Schuylkill River: Smallmouth and largemouth bass fishing near the Cromby Power Plant outflow and near the Railroad bridge has been decent lately. Crankbaits and live bait are still the best producers.
Catfishing the past month has been very good, with fishermen taking large flatheads on bluegills and nightcrawlers. Channel Cats have been caught using the standard fare of chicken liver.
When fishing at the Black Rock Dam stay clear of the fish ladder area. Violators caught within 100’ of the fish ladder will be cited. Respect the river and wear a PFD while onboard a boat.
Lehigh County
The Little Lehigh was stocked on Monday from Bogarts Bridge downstream to Martin Luther King Highway. Also, there have been stockings from the Co-op nursery in the same section of stream and upstream of the hatchery. These stockings combined should provide a great opportunity for some excellent fall trout fishing.
Northampton County
Minsi Lake is scheduled to be stocked on Friday, October 10th with a fresh batch of rainbow trout. Make sure to get out and enjoy this great fall trout fishing opportunity! Water levels in lake are lower due to the lack of recent rains, but there are plenty of areas to fish from shore. Launching larger boats may be a problem so be careful.
Southern Montgomery & Western Philadelphia Counties
Juvenile Stripers below Fairmount Dam are active and biting; the size limit for Stripers is 28 inches on the Schuylkill River. Anglers chasing channel cats are doing very well, with favorite baits being worms, chicken livers, pepperoni and cinnamon raisin bagels.
Reminder: Starting on November 1st, thru April 30, any person on all boats 16ft. in length or less and any canoe or kayak are required to wear a life jacket.
Western Schuylkill & Northern Berks
Fishermen are reporting increased action with panfish and bass on area lakes and streams. The recent cooler weather should continue to improve the fishing in the region. Currently, early mornings and evenings seem to be the most productive times for anglers targeting game fish throughout the region.
Blue Marsh Lake is in the process of being dropped to winter level, so please be careful of changing water levels.
Eastern Schuylkill County
Tuscarora Lake was stocked with brown and rainbow trout on October 2nd near the beach area of the lake. Anglers struggled to catch fish the first two days after the fish were put in the lake but the trout are starting to hit more aggressively in recent days. Worms and minnows have worked well throughout the day and some big brown trout were caught on jerkbaits.
The perch are also hitting extremely well just off the lily pads in the western end of the lake. Anglers are reporting large schools of perch hitting on worms and reports of a few musky in the area as well. A few walleye have been caught while trolling with crankbaits or crawler harnesses and is expected to pick up as the weather continues to cool.
Locust Lake is starting to see trout gathering near the mouth of Locust Creek and should see more there in the next month. Very few boats have been using the lake and only a handful of shoreline fisherman can be seen on the weekends. Typically the bigger brown trout are caught from Locust Lake at the end of October to the beginning of November.
Little Schuylkill River continues to run very low and clear but still holds plenty of trout. A few nice trout are holding in the Delayed Harvest area near New Ringgold and can be seen rising with some regularity. Fishing pressure this time of year is minimal and this stretch can offer a good opportunity for a patient angler.