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Beltzville Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

A Pocono foothills reservoir: Beltzville holds trout, walleye and bass in clear water off the Northeast Extension.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
68 cfs
Air / High
60 / 60 F
Wind
E 6 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01449800, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Beltzville Lake feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. The release below the dam is running 68 cfs, falling. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 60. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:36 AM-11:36 AM and 10:05 PM-12:05 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

Smallmouth bassGood

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Largemouth bassGood

In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Northern pikeGood

The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Tomorrow: Similar at 58 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Pennsylvania requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $27.97 for residents. What a Pennsylvania licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing smallmouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with PFBC before you keep anything. The season dates for Pennsylvania, read off the agency, are on the Pennsylvania seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Pohopoco Creek below Beltzville Dam.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01449800.

8015723468 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 59 years of October 23

At 68 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 01449800 (Pohopoco Creek below Beltzville Dam) is at the 51st percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 59 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 62 cfs; the highest was 797 cfs and the lowest 11 cfs.

p10 31median 62p90 423

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 01449800; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp60 F
High / Low60 / 43 F
WindE 6-9 mph
Pressure1026.7 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:22 / 18:10
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)48 F USGS
Water temp (seasonal)~62 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Beltzville Lake this week

The best day on Beltzville Lake this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:36 AM-11:36 AM and 10:05 PM-12:05 AM
Minor period
3:58 AM-4:58 AM
Sun
07:22 to 18:10
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 8 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Beltzville Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: cool water, from ice-out through spring, in fall and under the ice

A long, duck-billed predator of weedy lakes, slow rivers and backwaters that ambushes fish from vegetation. Wisconsin DNR points out that, unlike most of the state's common game fish, pike do their best feeding in cool water. The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

When to come: the Beltzville Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Smallmouth bass
Largemouth bass
Northern pike
Rainbow trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 62 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~62 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Beltzville Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 66 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 71 F, wind to 10 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Pennsylvania requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Pennsylvania license plus trout permit for trout. Walleye and bass limits per current PFBC regulations; horsepower restrictions apply.

Access

Beltzville State Park ramps, beach and shoreline; tailwater access below the dam on Pohopoco Creek.

About this water

A 950-acre Corps reservoir on Pohopoco Creek in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, within Beltzville State Park.

Fishing Beltzville Lake: the full guide

A state park lake

Beltzville Lake covers 950 acres on Pohopoco Creek in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, a Corps flood-control reservoir wrapped in a state park. The water runs clear and cool enough to support stocked trout alongside a warm-water fishery: largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye, striped bass hybrids, crappie, perch and catfish. Its position near the Northeast Extension makes it the closest quality fishing to the Lehigh Valley.

Trout and walleye

Pennsylvania stocks trout in the lake and the tailwater below the dam, giving spring and fall fishing from both shore and boat. Walleye hold the points, channel edges and rock at 12-25 feet: jigs at dusk in spring, trolled harnesses through summer. The deeper water near the dam holds fish through the warm months when the shallows heat up.

Bass and panfish

Smallmouth work the rocky points and the riprap, largemouth the coves and any wood. Clear water rewards finesse presentations and low light. Crappie and perch hold the brush and deeper structure, with the winter ice fishery drawing a following in cold years. Below the dam, Pohopoco Creek adds a small trout stream in the cold releases.

Beltzville State Park logistics

The park provides two ramps, a beach, trails and shoreline access, with a boat horsepower limit that keeps the water calm and fishable. Summer weekends bring swimmers and paddlers to the beach end: fish the upper arms or early mornings. Lehighton and Jim Thorpe are minutes away, with the Lehigh Gorge trout water a short drive north.

Common questions

Are there trout?

Yes: Pennsylvania stocks the lake and the tailwater below the dam, best in spring and fall from shore or boat.

Is there a horsepower limit?

Yes: the park restricts motors, which keeps the water calm and favors anglers over recreational traffic.

When is walleye best?

April and May at dusk on the rocks, then trolling the deeper structure through summer.

Is fishing good at Beltzville Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Lehigh River4 miMusconetcong River32 miLake Nockamixon34 miBlue Marsh Lake38 miSpruce Run Reservoir39 miRound Valley Reservoir44 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01449800 — Pohopoco Creek below Beltzville Dam
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:30 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 40.8500, -75.6300 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.