Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2013 - 27

baitfish congregate closer to the surface and the shoreline. While
the surface temperature of the main body of the lake may be
about 45-degrees F, the temperature will reach 60-degrees F in
the shallows and closer to shore. That’s where you’ll find big
brown trout. These trout follow baitfish that are eating plankton
emerging in the warming waters. This cycle makes brown trout
more accessible to anglers. Once water temperatures increase
in the summer and the thermocline drops in the water column,
so do the brown trout. They still feed but in deeper pockets and
holes where the water temperature suits their desired 60- to
63-degrees F temperature.
You can cover a lot more area in a moving boat, so one
method of fishing for brown trout, and the choice on Lake
Wallenpaupack, is very slow trolling. In fact, sometimes it’s hard
to tell that the boat is actually moving. Brown trout are very
susceptible to noise and vibration, so you need to distance the
boat from the lure to further insure lure presentation will be as
natural as possible.
The ideal fishing gear should incorporate the use of
downriggers and planer boards. The part of the lake you are
fishing on will decide how deep you can run your downriggers. A
good depth finder and a contour map of the lake is a must. From
the time the season opens in mid-April and for the first few weeks,
with two anglers in the boat, the ideal setup would be to run two
downriggers at 10 to 12 feet and a planer board on each side of the
boat near the surface. As the water warms and fish go deeper, you
can adjust your downriggers 18 to 22 feet if you are working the
channel of the original riverbed. Again, a good depth finder and
contour map will keep your presentation in the target zone.
If you are downrigging or trolling with planer boards, choose
a supple rod of about 8 or 9 feet with conventional line-counter
reels. Brown trout strike hard and fight like Atlantic salmon, so

you need a rod that can
take the jolts when the
fish retaliates. Use reels
that hold a lot of line to
get the lures at least 100
yards in back of the boat.
Many anglers use
20- to 30-pound braided
line as backing. Braided
line is a lot thinner than
monofilament line and
has no stretch. With
braided line, it is easier
Fred Williams Sr., Greentown, catches
to determine if debris or many 4- and 5-pound trout. In 2009,
weeds are on your lure. he took the top spot for the best
To the braided line, add brown trout caught in the state with
at least 25 feet of 8- to
a 12-pound, 8-ounce brown trout
10-pound fluorocarbon taken from Lake Wallenpaupack while
leader, and add a snap
trolling. The fish was 29 inches long
swivel to make it easier with a girth or 20 inches.
to change lures.
A variety of bait and lures will take brown trout. The idea is to
use imitations that look like what the trout are eating. Stickbaits,
spoons and spinners all work well in the early spring. The most
important thing is presentation. Slow and far away from the
activity of the boat and motor are key points to remember early in
the season.
For more information about fishing on Lake Wallenpaupack
and local accommodations, contact the Pocono Mountains
Visitors Bureau, Lake Wallenpaupack Visitors Center, 2512
Route 6, Hawley, PA 18428. Call 570-226-2141, or visit
www.800poconos.com.

Line-counter reels with large arbors
are ideal. A variety of lures work well
when trolling for big brown trout.
Stickbaits, jointed baits and spoons
are popular on Lake Wallenpaupack.
Choose baits that resemble baitfish
and produce natural action. Run them
as far away from the boat as possible.

Bob Augustine, Northampton, caught this 9-pound,
12-ounce brown trout that was in the top ten best
brown trout caught in Pennsylvania in 2010.
PFBC website: www.fishandboat.com

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater • March/April 2013

27
http://www.800poconos.com http://www.fishandboat.com
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2013
