Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: 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. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
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
Tailwater
Species
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout (stocked with
holdovers)
Size
Medium to Wide with approximately
six plus miles of trout water
Location
Eastern Pennsylvania
Nearest Towns
Reading
Stream levels:
At Reading:
Season
Mid April through February
Access:
Good
Non-Resident License
State of Pennsylvania
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Seasons:
The Tully can produce good dry fly action from April through September.
Spring:
Late Spring can be especially good because of the hatches.
Summer:
The best time to fly fish the stream is during the summer months.
Fall:
Early Fall can be a very good time for fly fishing Tulpehocken Creek.
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.
Options For Selecting Flies:
1. Email us (sales@perfectflystore.com)
with the dates you will be fishing this stream and we will send you a list of our fly suggestions. Please allow up to 24 hours for a response.
2. Call us 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide which flies you need
3. Email us (sales@perfectflystore.com)
with a budget for flies and we will select them to match the budget and get them to you in time for your fly fishing trip.
All orders are shipped free in the
U. S. Orders over $100 are shipped via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Tulpehocken Creek, Pennsylvania – Fishing Report – April 16, 2024
The stream is still above a normal level with stained water. Our pre-rigged tandem midge patterns are working well. There are some good hatches taking place.
Stream Conditions:
Rate: 436 cfs
Level: 2.08 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 53
Clarity: mostly clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data Near Reading PA
7 Day Weather Forecast: (click the link below to see more detailed weather info)
Recommended Trout Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, nymphs, emergers, duns, spinners
Blue Quills: 18nymphs, emergers, duns, spinners
Little Black Caddis: 18, pupa, adults
Little Brown Stoneflies: 12, nymphs, adults
Scuds, size 14/16
Green Sedge Caddis, size 16/14, larva, pupa and adults
Hendricksons/Red Quills: 12/14, nymphs, emergers, duns and spinners
Strategies, Techniques and Tips:
We still think the best strategy is to fish a tandem Midge rig under a small strike indicator with the midge lava as the bottom fly and the midge pupa as the top fly. Fish the adult midge only when you observe trout feeding on the surface. Scuds are plentiful all year. Brown Sculpin, White Belly Sculpin and our articulated streamers are excellent flies to use the entire fall and winter season. Various species of Blue-winged Olives hatch, mostly on cloudy, overcast days. Aquatic worms are working. Tulpehocken Creek is one of the few Pennsylvania tailwater trout streams. Its cool water flows from the base of Blue Marsh Dam and is home to some very nice size brown and rainbow holdover trout. It is easy to wade but as with most tailwaters, you should always check the discharges to make sure it is safe to do so. The tailwater discharge from the dam keeps the water cool for the trout even during the summer.
Fly Fishing On The Tulpehocken Creek Tailwater In Pennsylvania
Tulpehocken Creek is one of the few Pennsylvania tailwater trout streams. Its cool water flows from the base of Blue Marsh Dam and is home to some very nice size brown and rainbow holdover trout. It is easy to wade but as with most tailwaters, you should always check the discharges to make sure it is safe to do so. The tailwater discharge from
the dam keeps the water cool for the trout even during the summer.
The river has two tributary streams that also help keep the water cool. Plum Creek, which within itself is a good small stream fishery, and Cacoosing Creek, another good small stream fishery both add to the diversity. Both Plum Creek and Cacoosing Creek offer alternatives to fly fishing Tulpehocken Creek, especially if the water is high. Plum creek flows into the Tully below Rebers Bridge. Cacoosing Creek flows into the Tully near the Paper Mill Road and Tulpehocken Road junction.
Tulpehocken Creek is stocked with fingerling brown trout as well as rainbows. The fingerlings grow fast and must learn to rely on eating the natural foods from the stream. Unlike large size trout that are stocked, they tend to act more like wild, stream-bred trout, meaning they are more difficult to catch. It pays to use good imitations of the natural foods, such as our Perfect Flies.
Tulpehocken Creek is a large stream. Some sections are over 120 feet wide. If the flows from the dam are suitable for wading, getting around in the stream is usually fairly easy. You should always use great care in exercising caution fishing below any dam with turbines. Flows less than 350 cfs are best for wading.
There is almost four miles of Delayed Harvest waters and some more non-regulated water that holds trout. There are deflectors that mark the beginning of the Delayed Harvest area not far below the dam and picnic area. It extends downstream for 3.8 miles. The area below that is known as the Water Works area. The local Trout Unlimited chapter placed the deflectors and also a few fish houses in the area. They provide cover for the brown trout.
Tulpehocken Creek consist of a series of riffles, long sections of flats and a few areas of pocket water. Access is easy and as with any good trout stream, fishing pressure is usually high.
The Palisades flats and riffle section lies downstream of the Water Works area and is also a very popular area to fish. The flat consist of slower moving water and can be more difficult to fish. You need to use better imitations of the natural aquatic insects because the trout get a good look at your flies. The Palisades riffle section is more of a classical pool, run, riffle type of water. It includes some pocket water.
The section above Rebers Bridge consist mostly of pools with connecting slower, flowing riffles. You will find both riffles and pocket water below Rebers Bridge. During the warmer months of the year, this areas is cooled by water from Plum Creek. Cacoosing Creek enters the Tully just below the paper mill flats. Its cooler water also helps the fish activity during the warmer months of the year.
A series of slower moving pools and riffles extends downstream to the long covered red bridge at the end of the special regulation area.
Unlike many tailwater streams, the Tulpehocken offer excellent dry fly fishing and has several large hatches of aquatic insects. The primary food are the various species of caddisflies. They are very plentiful but there are also several mayfly hatches, midges and even some stoneflies in the stream.
The holdover trout can become very selective. Many think it is pressure that causes it but it isn’t. It is the fact the stream has lots of food and the trout soon learn to concentrate on whatever is most plentiful and available.
Determining what that food is, is key to catching Tulpehocken Creek trout. It isn’t so much “matching the hatch” as it is matching what is about to hatch. Those would most likely be the most plentiful insects.
Our hatch chart should be an aid in helping to determining the most plentiful and available food. Crustaceans and baitfish are also important food for the trout. Sculpin is another prime food.
Fly fishing Tulpehocken Creek with consistent catches isn’t exactly easy but those anglers who study the flows and how it relates to the trout feeding patterns can become highly successful. Those who study the insects and learn how to fish the different hatches will always out catch those anglers who use trial and error methods of fishing.
Fly Fishing Guide for Tulpehocken Creek:
In the summer, the trout can tend to concentrate in areas of cooler water. Although the Tulpehocken is a tailwater, its source of water comes from Tulpehocken Creek above the lake which is a limestone spring creek. The water has a good pH level coming into the lake and the water stays quite fertile below Blue Marsh Dam. It provides a good habitat for aquatic insects. The stream does get a lot of fishing pressure and the trout can get fairly picky but they are still plenty catchable. The special regulations water helps the stream maintain a good healthy population of trout.
The Special Regulation water starts just below the dam and runs almost four miles down to the covered bridge. Considering the flows are stable from the dam, this area acts more like a freestone stream or spring creek than a tailwater. It has a variety of water types including some large pools, runs and riffles. The Tulpehocken is fairly easy to wade so you can get around in the stream pretty good. It does have some deep holes and runs, so you still have to be careful.
The fish are considered to be very selective and picky. Local anglers claim it is due to the constant pressure. I feel certain those trout that have been stocked for a long time and the holdover trout become very picky. I doubt the newly stocked hatchery trout are picky at all. At one time they stocked only fingerling. At the current time, they are stocking larger trout so that makes a big difference in the way the trout react. I recommend anglers fish for the holdover trout matching the most available source of food. You will end up catching just as many stockers as you would fishing just any generic nymph or dry fly. If nothing is hatching, you wouldn’t go wrong fishing midge larvae or pupae imitations or caddisfly larva imitations.
Tulpehocken Creek 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 Tulpehocken Creek and in all stages of life that is 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.
As mentioned in the introduction, the Tulpehocken is fertile water because its source of water, the upper Tulpehocken, is a limestone spring creek. The lake changes the chemistry some but it still provides a good habitat for aquatic insects, especially caddisflies.
Several species of Blue-winged Olives hatch from March until November. The hatches dwindle down in the summer months with only some hatches of small BWOs hatches. The larger baetis and other larger olives hatch mostly in March and April and again in October. There are also some Little Black and Little Brown Stoneflies that hatch early in the year in March and April. Both are actually “Little Brown” Stonefly family members.
Sulphurs hatch in late April through June and into July sometimes. They are one of the better mayfly hatches. Yellow Drakes hatch in the summer anywhere from June to August depending on the releases and water temperature.
Slate Drakes hatch off and on in late summer any large concentrations.any large concentrations.
Tricos hatch from June until mid October. These hatches are fairly consistent and moderately substantial. Some anglers consider this the best mayfly hatch.
The most plentiful aquatic insects, other than maybe midges which hatch in large numbers year-round, are the caddisflies. There are several species including Green Sedges that hatch in May and June; different species of Cinnamon Caddis and Spotted Sedges (both net-spinners) that hatch from late April into July. Species of Little Sisters that hatch from June to September; and Little Brown Caddis that hatch in July and August. There are several other minor species of caddisflies that exist in this stream. Don’t forget the craneflies.
Terrestrial insects become important from June to October. Imitations of grasshopper, ants and beetles will catch their share of trout.
Streamers work great at certain times, depending on the releases and the water clarity. Slightly off color water provide the best opportunity for them.
As always, we recommend our own “Perfect Flies”. They not only are the most realistic imitations, they are the most effective flies you can use. We have imitations of all the major caddisflies in their larvae (if appropriate), pupae and adults stages of life. We hope you give them a try.
Fly Fishing Gear, Tackle and Trout flies for Tulpehocken Creek Pennsylvania
Fly Line:
If you enjoy using light line and a light fly rod, we are recommending a 4 weight, floating fly line but only if you want to go light. We recommend a 5 weight, floating fly line for dry flies and lighter nymphs and a 6 weight, fly floating fly line for heavier nymphs and streamers.
Leaders:
Leaders should range in sizes from a 0X for streamers up to a 6X for midges and small dry flies. Lengths ranging from seven and one-half feet, up to 12 feet in length are suggested.
Tippets:
Extra tippet material ranging from 0X to 6X should be available for the leaders we list above.
Fly Rods:
We recommend a medium fast to fast action fly rod nine feet in length for all three weights of fly lines.
Fly Reels:
The fly reels you use for the 4, 5 or 6 weight lines, if you choose to use them all, should be light and have good drags. You are subject to hook as large a trout as they are in the
Tulpehocken Creek and you don’t want to loose it because of a lousy drag.
Waders:
We recommend waders. There are few places you could fish without them. We prefer the
breathable type but you could use neoprene waders during the winter if you preferred.
Wading Boots:
We recommend felt soles for your wading boots. You may want to consider the new rubber sole boots that help prevent the spread of Didymo but we have not tested them on this stream.
Trout Flies:
As always we recommend “Perfect Fly” trout flies. We suggest you look at our hatch chart
and select the flies for the particular time of year you plan on fishing. You should have a
good selection of streamers for the brown trout. The flies you have for the aquatic insects
should vary depending on the time of the year you are fishing. There is no one particular
insect that is more important than any other one throughout the season. The trout can
become selective on certain insect hatches.