I was ping ponging back in forth where I wanted my Friday evening fishing to be. The FishHead app was showing high flows and muddy conditions in East Brady all week so that options was out the window. Dutch Fork Lake is over recent had a face lift and in the next few years will become an incredible fishery.
I wish I would have done a better job on this trip to capture the settings on the lake so I will do my best describe it. The lake is very healthy with tons of fish in it. It still has alot of growth coming out of it meaning the tress growing in the middle of the lake have some time before they will rot away. I marked deepest 20ft in one stream channel but for the most part it was around 10ft deep. Reminds me alot of Raccoon State Park but this lake will fish better in years to come.
The boat ramp is easy to get to but not easy launching for my big boat. It’s ideal for smaller john boat or Kayak/Canoe. There is no dock so having a fiber glass bass boat I had to have my Dad stand in the water and hold it while I dropped the trailer off. The ramp has a gradual slope to it but it never really gets deep fast enough. I had my truck really in the water but luckily its a gravel bottom.
Fishing started off great and both had hook ups on Minnows quickly. I was working through my tackle in the front of the boat and my Dad hooked up on the bass seen above. The picture doesn’t do the justice but all the fish we caught had monster bellies. These fish are eating very well on this lake which is a great sign. I hooked up on a bass which ripped through my drag and went into a tree. There isn’t much room to fight fish and these fish had some weight so I couldn’t keep him out of the tree. My Dad hooked up on another later which looks likes the same fish but its not. Minnow as well…
Final thoughts – This lake is going to be an amazing fishery in the next few years. If you have a small john boat with a trolling motor (or paddle), Kayak or canoe… you have to visit this lake. You wont be disappointed. Great day on the water with my Dad!
Dutch Fork Lake Fishing :
- Water Temp 78 Degrees
- Clear / Murky with Algae starting to from in areas. Assume its the heat of the water
- Bass Caught and Trout spotted
- Live bait used mostly
- Small Boats prefrence
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