Little Lehigh Creek Pennsylvania Fly Fishing Report & Options for Selecting Flies: Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Spring Creek
Species
Brown Trout
Brook Trout
Rainbow Trout
(Wild and Stocked)
Size
Small
Location
Southeastern Pennsylvania
Nearest Towns
Allentown
Season
Year-round
Access:
Good
Non-Resident License
State of Pennsylvania
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Stream Flow Data:
Real Time USGS Data
Seasons:
You can fish the Little Lehigh year-round
and catch trout year-round.
Spring:
Springtime can be a good time for fly fishing Little Lehigh Creek, especially the later part of Spring.
Summer:
Because of the numerous aquatic insect
hatches, summertime is usually the best time to fish the Little Lehigh.
Fall:
Early fall can be especially good but trout
can be taken the entire fall season.
Winter:
Winter can be good on nice warm days.
Midge patterns usually produce well.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 12 ft., 5 or 6X Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
The Little Lehigh Creek is a limestone spring creek that starts in Berks County, flows into Lehigh County and into the city limits of Allentown, Pennsylvania. The eighteen, mile long stream is a tributary of the Lehigh River. The stream is stocked in Berks County. The best fishing is in Lehigh County. It provides excellent dry fly fishing and has some fine hatches of aquatic insects as well as plenty of scuds.
There is a “Delayed Harvest Fly Fishing Only” area, from the T-508 bridge downstream to the T-510 bridge. This is almost two miles of “delayed harvest water”. The stream in this area consist of both wild and stocked trout. The stream fishes very good from the DLH area all the way to the Allentown Park System.
The area in the City is very well maintained and lined almost solid with trees that help keep the water cool during the summer. There is a “Heritage Trout Angling” area that runs from the Fish Hatchery Road Bridge to the 24th Street Bridge. This limits the fishing to fly fishing only and other restrictions according to the State of Pennsylvania laws. This area is approximately one mile long.
If you are fishing the Heritage Trout Angling Section, remember that barbless hooks are required. There are several different sets of rules that apply on this stream, so be careful to check them for the area you plan on fishing.
Fly Fishing Guide for Little Lehigh Creek:
You have to pay attention to the hatches of the aquatic insects on the Little Lehigh to fish it successfully on a consistent basis. This is strictly small stream, spring creek fishing. The trout can become selective in the areas where they are pressured the most. The stream born brown trout are difficult to fool. You always want to use light gear, just not too light. You don’t want to lose a good size brown trout because you were using too light of gear. In general, use long, light leaders and tippets. Drag free drifts are a must. In many cases being successful on this stream requires that you match the hatch fairly closely. This is especially true of the Trico, a major mayfly hatch that occurs over a long period of time.
You should always try to avoid wading this stream. When you wade you are always taking a chance of spooking the trout. There are situations where you must wade to reach some prime lies of the trout, but we recommend wading only when you have to.
You will find that trout in the short sections of riffles between the pools are the easiest places to catch trout but you should also keep in mind the trout are normally smaller in the riffles and faster water of the runs. The larger brown trout tend to stay in the pools and under the undercut banks. When you are moving upstream fishing, we suggest you try running a nymph or small streamer down all of the undercut banks in the pools prior to fishing the faster water.
Little Lehigh River Hatches and Trout Flies:
Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Little Lehigh Creek and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726.
Although there are several aquatic insect hatches that occur on Little Lehigh Creek, the most important ones are the Blue-winged Olives, Sulphurs and Tricos. Keep this in mind and if you can catch one of these hatches, you odds of success will be greater.
Little Black Winter Soneflies hatch during February and March. Little Black and Little Brown Stoneflies, both actually Little Brown Family members, hatch in March and April. Blue-winged Olives hatch from about the first of April all the way to October, depending on the species.
About the middle of April you will find Blue Quill hatching. This hatch last for about six weeks. Around the same time you may find a few Hendricksons. The hatch will be short, probably lasting only about two or three weeks. Pale Evening Duns start about the middle of May and last about a month. Light Cahill hatch during the month of June.
Sulphur mayflies start hatching about the first of June and last almost until the end of July. This is an important hatch that is fun to fish. Slate Drakes hatch off and on from May until October, peaking in May and again in September.
There are also a few Yellow Drakes and some White Drakes, or White Flies, in the slower pools of the Little Lehigh. Tricos start hatching in July and last until almost the middle of September. This hatch will either produce some good trout for you, or drive you crazy, one or the other.
Caddisflies are very plentiful. The first ones to hatch are the Little Black Caddis starting in April. Cinnamon Caddis, or net spinning caddis, hatch from the end of April until almost the first of October. They are the most plentiful species of caddisflies. Green Sedges (Rock Worms) start hatching in April and last until July.
Remember that midges are important year-round. Often imitations of their larva and pupa are the only flies that work. This is especially true when there are no other hatches taking place. Scuds and Sowbugs (Cressbugs) are always important.
Terrestrial imitations or ants, beetles and grasshoppers become important in June through September. The most effective ones in this stream are the beetles.
If you haven’t done so already, please be sure and try our “Perfect Flies”. They are the most realistic and effective flies you can purchase for spring creeks. We have specific imitations of all the important aquatic insects as well as the terrestrials and crustaceans. We have imitations of Trico nymphs, emergers (with and without trailing shucks), male and female duns and male and female spinners.
Gear, Tackle and Trout Flies for Fly Fishing Little Lehigh Creek Pennsylvania
The Little Lehigh has some big brown trout in it. Although light gear is fun to use, you don’t want to lose the fish of a life time because you used gear that was just too light.
Fly Line:
We suggest either a 4 or 5 weight, floating fly line for most of the fly-fishing. Most all of your fishing is done using small flies. You may want a 6 weight line for larger nymphs and
streamers.
Fly Rod:
The fly rods should be nine feet in length with a medium fast to fast action.
Fly Reel:
The reel for either of the three rods should have a good drag. You don’t want to hang a
large brown trout on a reel with a lousy drag.
Leaders:
You should use at least a 7 1/2 foot leader. A twelve foot length may be a wise choice in
some situations. You should have them in sizes ranging from 0X for streamers, up to 6X for small dry flies.
Tippet:
You should carry extra tippet material in sizes ranging from 0X to 6X.
Waders:
You should not wade unless it is necessary to get the fly to places the trout may be feeding or hiding. We do suggest waders for this stream because there are places you will need them.
Wading Boots:
Felt soles would be our first choice. If you are concerned about the spread of Didymo, the
new rubber soles may be your choice.
Flies:
We always recommend “Perfect Fly” Trout Flies. Our scud and sowbug imitations are the
most realistic imitations commercially available. We have specific imitations of all aquatic
insects in all stages of life.