PAGreg Posted March 10, 2015 Posted March 10, 2015 The best part is that its a slow enough melt off that the rivers aren't flooding. Might be able to fish for smallies before the lakes open! Quote
chrisdm4 Posted March 10, 2015 Posted March 10, 2015 The best part is that its a slow enough melt off that the rivers aren't flooding. Might be able to fish for smallies before the lakes open! Every true! I hope the streams and rivers do not got blown out like they did last spring. Its bound to happen though at some point. Quote
slainempire Posted March 11, 2015 Posted March 11, 2015 yeah it will be really soon that we can hit rivers. the mighty susquehanna is calling my name. them smallies better watch out. Quote
ColdSVT Posted March 11, 2015 Posted March 11, 2015 Melting pretty quick in tioga county...creeks are pretty high but not too bad Quote
PAGreg Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 Drove over to the Susquehanna about 5 miles from my house and it's 75% open. Where I launch is open for a good half mile in either direction, but there's an ice jam right in front of the launch, with no path to clear water. The best part is the water is moving pretty good, but it's not very high and is pretty clear. I'm planning my first outing for next weekend unless we get a lot of rain before then and it comes up fast. Quote
PAGreg Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 Pulled the boat out of storage yesterday. Going to fire it up tonight and clean the fogger out and clean the carbs. I'm hitting the river on Saturday! Quote
thomas15 Posted March 18, 2015 Posted March 18, 2015 Over the weekend, Coplay News Agency posted that there is 17" of ice on Leaser Lake. I'm imagining it's similar or more on Beltzville, Nock, etc. I hope this forecasted warm up comes to fruition. This is Beltzville last evening (3/17/15) at around 6:15PM. About a foot of water showing at the ramp. The shoreline is frozen to the edge. The Ice was recorded in some places as deep as 23". The good news is that the water level is back to normal. On Edit: It might be a little early to take the cover off the SS Minnow. Friday's weather forcast (3/20/15..Hey, that's the first day of Spring...) Another storm system will affect the area on Friday with snow arriving during the morning and lasting into the evening hours. Snow probabilities for Friday: Chances for 1-3": 60% Chances for 3-5": 30% Chances for <1": 10% 2 Quote
Dyna7329 Posted March 19, 2015 Posted March 19, 2015 This is Beltzville last evening (3/17/15) at around 6:15PM. About a foot of water showing at the ramp. The shoreline is frozen to the edge. The Ice was recorded in some places as deep as 23". The good news is that the water level is back to normal. On Edit: It might be a little early to take the cover off the SS Minnow. Friday's weather forcast (3/20/15..Hey, that's the first day of Spring...) Another storm system will affect the area on Friday with snow arriving during the morning and lasting into the evening hours. Snow probabilities for Friday: Chances for 1-3": 60% Chances for 3-5": 30% Chances for <1": 10% Thank you so much for this post! (Other than the snow forecast)... I'm hoping to get out by the first weekend in April, looks like that should be in the cards. It's good to hear that the water level is back to normal as well... My buddy and I fished Beltzville in October and it was a completely different lake, never saw it that low. But, with that lake you never know what's good for fishing and what's bad. I've been fishing there regularly for years and still can't figure it out. Quote
thomas15 Posted March 19, 2015 Posted March 19, 2015 Thank you so much for this post! (Other than the snow forecast)... I'm hoping to get out by the first weekend in April, looks like that should be in the cards. It's good to hear that the water level is back to normal as well... My buddy and I fished Beltzville in October and it was a completely different lake, never saw it that low. But, with that lake you never know what's good for fishing and what's bad. I've been fishing there regularly for years and still can't figure it out. I was talking to an individual who is knowledgable on the winter conditions with respect to fishing through the ice and he said the winter season was very good. And I have to say I'm very happy that the water level is back up. I live literally right around the corner from the Pine Run Boat ramp and seeing it every day soo low was quite depressing. At one point there was less than 30 feet of ramp left. Now the level is at the full mark, 120 feet of ramp. Dyna, how well do you know Beltzville? I've lived in Franklin Twp for 11 years but never fished it until last year. I guess I'm asking if you would be willing to give me some direction? Quote
Sun Fish Posted March 19, 2015 Author Posted March 19, 2015 I fish Beltz pretty frequently, at least a few times a month. I don't know it all that well but it's a tough lake no doubt. Some days go suprisingly well other days just leave you scratching your head. Quote
thomas15 Posted March 19, 2015 Posted March 19, 2015 I fish Beltz pretty frequently, at least a few times a month. I don't know it all that well but it's a tough lake no doubt. Some days go suprisingly well other days just leave you scratching your head. Question: Do you look for bass on structure in the main body of the lake or way up in the shallows in the arms and the coves? Should I focus on deep holding fish? Quote
Sun Fish Posted March 19, 2015 Author Posted March 19, 2015 Question: Do you look for bass on structure in the main body of the lake or way up in the shallows in the arms and the coves? Should I focus on deep holding fish? It depends on the time of year and the conditions on any given day. I've had success in the main lakes coves, as well as the main lake shoreline where you find grass patches. They can also be found on the cover in the creeks but like I said some days can be great and others will just leave you scratching your head no matter what you try. Top water on the main lake can also be great when you see surface activity. My best advice would be for that lake is keep moving until you hopefully find the active ones Some summer main lake action Some fall top water action 2 Quote
thomas15 Posted March 19, 2015 Posted March 19, 2015 Thanks Sun Fish. Very good information and the video is great. I think I know that exact spot you are fishing. I've tried it a few times but closer to shore and not on top waters. I probably fished that area the Friday before you made that video. Thanks again. I have much to learn. Quote
Sun Fish Posted March 19, 2015 Author Posted March 19, 2015 Thanks Sun Fish. Very good information and the video is great. I think I know that exact spot you are fishing. I've tried it a few times but closer to shore and not on top waters. I probably fished that area the Friday before you made that video. Thanks again. I have much to learn. No problem man, I added another video. It's a tough lake any bites feel quite rewarding 1 Quote
PAGreg Posted March 22, 2015 Posted March 22, 2015 Took the family to Baltimore this weekend. Skirted the Susquehanna from the confluence of west & north branches in Sunbury to Harrisburg and its now ice free. Still some ice chunks flowing out of the north branch right at Sunbury, but nothing downstream. Saw a lot of empty trailers at the launches. Quote
thomas15 Posted April 6, 2015 Posted April 6, 2015 I went over to Beltzville on Friday 4/3/15 to test out an old pair of hip boots (for Trout opening day in Lehigh county). There was enough open water to test the boots but that was it. No where near enough open water to launch a boat. Ice did seem to be getting thin though. Hopefully with temps in the 50s and 60s this week, perhaps it will be boatable next weekend. I took the cover off the SS Minnow and woke up the outboard. It lives! Quote
Dyna7329 Posted April 6, 2015 Posted April 6, 2015 I was talking to an individual who is knowledgable on the winter conditions with respect to fishing through the ice and he said the winter season was very good. And I have to say I'm very happy that the water level is back up. I live literally right around the corner from the Pine Run Boat ramp and seeing it every day soo low was quite depressing. At one point there was less than 30 feet of ramp left. Now the level is at the full mark, 120 feet of ramp. Dyna, how well do you know Beltzville? I've lived in Franklin Twp for 11 years but never fished it until last year. I guess I'm asking if you would be willing to give me some direction? My apologies for not responding sooner... I'd be happy to share some insight... Beltzville can definitely be a challenge and more times than not, lives up to its reputation as "The Dead Sea." That being said, I've also had great days there. I like fishing the dam, a few select coves, up the no wake zone and finding structure along the shoreline of the main lake. The power line stretch is very popular and shallow. There's also some nice stumps across from the Pine Run launch, Personally, I haven't done great at either spot. Over the past three years, I've been most successful with a dropshot. Have done decent on cranks and jerkbaits in the Spring. My buddy likes to throw Texas-rigged Paca Craws and has done well with a Bama Rig too. We both started getting into Jigs last year and both caught a few... this will be my primary focus this year. I hope this helps. Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know. I'm still holding out hope that it'll be open by Friday, though that seems to a little too optimistic at this point. Quote
thomas15 Posted April 8, 2015 Posted April 8, 2015 My apologies for not responding sooner... I'd be happy to share some insight... ....... I hope this helps. Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know. I'm still holding out hope that it'll be open by Friday, though that seems to a little too optimistic at this point. Thanks for the information. You may be hearing from me. I stopped over there and it is possible that it will be open by the weekend. Lots of open water now. 1 Quote
Dyna7329 Posted April 8, 2015 Posted April 8, 2015 Beltzville is open and docks are in! I just saw a Facebook post by the Hawghunters of Allentown. FINALLY! 1 Quote
thomas15 Posted April 8, 2015 Posted April 8, 2015 Dyna7329, They must have place the docks in today as they were not in last evening. Plus, there was still a lot of ice looking in the direction of the dam. I don't see any in you pic! Quote
Dyna7329 Posted April 8, 2015 Posted April 8, 2015 Dyna7329, They must have place the docks in today as they were not in last evening. Plus, there was still a lot of ice looking in the direction of the dam. I don't see any in you pic! Yeah, I was really surprised (and excited) to see the photos. The club has been posting pics on Facebook almost every day and it wasn't looking too good as of Sunday. My buddy and I were hoping to get out on Friday but the forecast is calling for 90% chance of rain and thunderstorms... Mother Nature is relentless! Quote
thomas15 Posted April 9, 2015 Posted April 9, 2015 Yeah, I was really surprised (and excited) to see the photos. The club has been posting pics on Facebook almost every day and it wasn't looking too good as of Sunday. My buddy and I were hoping to get out on Friday but the forecast is calling for 90% chance of rain and thunderstorms... Mother Nature is relentless! Looks good for the weekend. I'm going to try to get out one of those two days but I have a lot on the agenda and a few items that need to be taken care of on the boat. I had to go over to see the docks In place for myself last night. They are in, the pictures don't lie! Quote
ThePackMan Posted April 9, 2015 Posted April 9, 2015 The Pack is open at the Ledgedale ramp and up the river a bit. Fished it a few times this week. Quote
thomas15 Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 snip..... I'm still holding out hope that it'll be open by Friday, though that seems to a little too optimistic at this point. I put the SS Minnow in the Beltz for about an hour Sunday Evening. Got a tad chilly but everything went well. Didn't do any fishing though. The A town Hawghunters had their tourney earlier in the day. I guess the fishing wasn't too good. Quote
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