Bob Frye

We’re now about a decade into Leaser Lake once again having water in it, and entering the third year of anglers being able to keep fish – of all kinds, not just stocked trout – pulled from that water.
So the novelty of the twice-drained lake being back has faded. The fishing, on the other hand, is in some ways just heating up.

If Ricketts Glen State Park was Las Vegas, the Glens Natural Area would be its headliner.
A National Natural Landmark, the Glens is home to 22 named waterfalls, the largest being 94-foot-tall Ganoga Falls. Crowds of people visit, especially on weekends, to hike past all that tumbling water. But no one goes to Vegas just for the headliners, and no one – no anglers, anyway – should go to Ricketts Glen just to hike.

Built in 1970, it’s a “dry bed” facility, meaning it doesn’t normally hold water. It only fills up during periods of especially heavy rain, then drains again, all on its own. It has its attractions, from picnic areas to fishing in French Creek and its tributaries.

If somehow, someway, you knew you were living in the “good old days,” at least in regard to one waterway, would you make a point of fishing it more often? If the answer is yes, get to Marsh Creek Lake.

Tobyhanna Lake was once best known for its ice. Entrepreneurs cut it out in great blocks in winter, stored it in barns and, across the coming year, sold it to railroads looking to refrigerate fresh meat and produce bound for East Coast cities.
That industry is gone now, of course. Instead, there’s a different reason to visit Tobyhanna Lake, one that’s surely a lot more fun than working by hand outdoors in the coldest months of the year. That’s to fish.