Lehigh River Fishing Guides and Conditions, Pennsylvania

About the Lehigh River

The Lehigh drops out of the Poconos through the Lehigh Gorge, past Jim Thorpe, and down the valley through Allentown and Bethlehem to the Delaware at Easton. Two rivers live inside that description. Above and through the gorge it is a cold, boulder-filled trout river fed by releases from Francis E. Walter Dam, with wild brown trout that have come back strongly in recent decades. Below Jim Thorpe it warms and widens into a very good smallmouth and walleye river.

The gorge reach is the guided trout water, and it shares the river with one of the busiest whitewater rafting operations in the East. Scheduled dam releases drive the raft season, and those same releases determine when the trout water is wadeable and when it is not. On low-release days the gorge wades well and fishes beautifully with caddis, sulphurs and terrestrials; on release days the river belongs to the rafts. That schedule is published in advance, which makes planning easier here than on many tailwaters.

Below the gorge the smallmouth fishing from Walnutport down toward Allentown is underrated and easy to reach, with good numbers of fish and enough current to make wading productive. Shad run up from the Delaware in spring as far as the fish passage allows.

The Walnutport gauge sits well below the gorge and reads the whole upper basin. Look at it alongside the published release schedule rather than on its own. Jim Thorpe is the hub for outfitters, lodging and the rail trail that follows the gorge and reaches much of the upper river on foot or by bike.

Access

Francis E. Walter Dam and White Haven: top of the gorge, rail trail access.
Lehigh Gorge State Park: trail access along the gorge with numerous walk-in points.
Rockport: mid-gorge access and raft launch.
Jim Thorpe: town access at the bottom of the gorge, outfitters and shuttles.
Bowmanstown, Palmerton and Walnutport: valley accesses in the smallmouth reach near the gauge.
Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton: lower river access toward the Delaware.

Seasons

April through June: stocked and wild trout in the gorge, sulphurs and caddis, shad in the lower river.
July and August: whitewater release season; fish the gorge on non-release days and the valley for smallmouth.
September and October: the best trout month up top and prime smallmouth below Jim Thorpe.
November through March: cold, low and quiet; the gorge fishes on mild days.