Paddling
the Middle Delaware River
by Chris Gorsuch
The Delaware River’s scenic beauty is something one must experience
firsthand to appreciate. Acting as a
natural boundary along the entire length
of Pennsylvania’s eastern border, the upper
Delaware River meanders through the Appalachian Plateau along the western edge of the Catskill
Mountains. Deep pools and rocky shelves create a series of rapids that seemingly come one after another for
miles. As the river enters the northwestern tip of New Jersey alongside the Pocono Mountains, the river’s features
change almost before your eyes. The river is far more
placid, and a series of many islands forms in the
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
www.fish.state.pa.us
photos by the author
For
more than 40
miles between
interstates 84 and
80, the river winds
through mature forest
woodlands and small island chains. The noise of busy highways is lost to
a quiet wilderness setting. The river through this national
park is much as it was hundreds of years ago, and on a
weekday outing you’ll begin to believe you have the
whole river to yourself.
The Delaware is home to a wide range of
wildlife. Whitetail deer, fox, raccoon, otter,
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater • September-October 2006
7
beaver, mink, muskrat, and even black bear inhabit the
woodlands along the river. A variety of waterfowl also calls
the Delaware home. Canada geese, mallards, teal, mergansers, and wood ducks are among the most common. The
great blue heron and white egret are often seen sneaking
through the shallow shoals along the river for crayfish and
minnows. Osprey and the majestic bald eagle also call this
area home and can be seen gliding, fishing, and resting in
the tall treetops that line the Delaware’s banks.
Even though there are many ways to experience the sights
and sounds of the middle Delaware, paddling a canoe or
kayak is about the best way to capture all the Delaware has
to offer. While paddling quietly, the sights and sounds of
nature can be magical. Nothing captures your senses like
an early morning start, when the water looks like glass and
everything is just waking up as the sun sneaks over the
mountains. The feel of the cool mountain air mixed with
the scent of wildflowers like wisteria, rhododendron, and
honeysuckle is just breathtaking.
Fishing
Fishing this river section is well worth the effort. The
river is home to trout, walleyes, muskies, bass, catfish,
sunfish, carp, striped bass, and a few other species. The
smallmouth bass in this stretch, however, are by far the
dominant species. River smallmouths are aggressive fish,
always willing to chase soft-plastic baits and give the angler
a full day of action. With not much more than a curltail grub on an eighth-ounce jig, an angler with medium
to light spinning gear will have more than enough action.
Smallmouth bass are structure- and current-oriented, and
the river in this area is full of submerged rocks and cover
toward which bass naturally gravitate.
Smallmouth bass are comfortable in modest current
and can be found in the riffles and current breaks near or
around swift-moving water. They are opportunistic and
willingly grab soft-plastic baits bounced or drifted through
the current washes.
Paddling
The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is
well-suited even to the most novice paddlers. This 40-mile
river stretch has no difficult rapids to navigate. The only
rapids worth noting are the pair of rapids exiting the Wallpack Bend alongside and below Sambo Island, and these
are rated only I+. The vast majority of this area offers large,
peaceful pools and the occasional shallow riffles with modest current. Access points along the National Recreation
The river is home to
trout, walleyes, muskies,
bass, catfish, carp,
striped bass and a few
other species, like this
plump redbreast sunfish.
8
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater • September-October 2006
Heavy rain and subsequent
Delaware River flooding during the
summer of 2006 may have changed
some camp sites and accesses. Before heading to the Delaware, confirm your plans with the Delaware
Water Gap National Recreation
Area. Web site links appear at the
end of the article.
www.fish.state.pa.us
Pennsylvania
Access Areas
Milford Beach Access
Dingmans Access
Eshback Access
Bushkill Access
Smithfield Beach Access
762
Pennsylvania
Area average every 8 to 10 miles
with a few even more frequently
763
than that. The frequency of the
canoe access points along the
river makes planning day trips
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very simple.
During normal summer and
early fall conditions, the Dela765
ware River flows about 1.5 miles
per hour through the national
park. A safe guideline when
selecting the take-out point is
the average flow. It’s fairly easy
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to manage two miles per hour
in a canoe or kayak with very
little paddling, so day trips with
distances of 10 to 12 miles are
easily managed in six to eight
hours. This leaves plenty of time
to stop on an island and take a
lunch break or just stretch your
legs for a while. If you wish to
paddle more, miles can be added
or time shed from the plan.
When fishing, I usually suggest nothing more than a mile per hour on the river. You
tend to spend far more time in each area, and if you stop
and wade a while, you’ll find that even 4 to 6 river miles
can easily last all day.
Resources
There are plenty of online and free maps available for
this section of the river. The Delaware River Basin Commission offers a detailed set of waterproof maps that cover
200 miles of the non-tidal Delaware River from Hale Eddy
to Trenton. These maps offer average depth, channel locations, and island names, and provide class identification for all rapids and launch and access details along the
river. Combined with a Pennsylvania atlas or Fish & Boat
Commission Fishing & Boating Map, they make for great
planning tools and can be carried along on the trip to help
identify islands and other waypoints.
It is worth noting that even though this river section is
tranquil, consider all safety provisions. Wear your PFD
(personal flotation device, or life jacket) at all times. Prepare
for all-day sun on a hot day. Wearing a hat and sunglasses
is a good plan. Sunscreen is also something to bring along
www.fish.state.pa.us
map-Chris Gorsuch
762
763
764
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to protect your skin from a full day in the sun. Being surrounded by all that water, dehydration is often overlooked.
Bring plenty of bottled water with you to keep hydrated.
There are plenty of other resources available to assist
in planning a day on the river. The National Park Service maintains a web site dedicated to the Delaware Water
Gap. Visit www.nps.gov/dewa/index.htm. The site offers
information on biking, hiking and boating. It provides
maps and information on a wide variety of activities. The
web page also lists over a dozen professional canoe and
kayak livery services for the surrounding area.
The Delaware River Water Trail, encompassing 250
miles from Hancock, NY, to Trenton, NJ, is under development by the Delaware River Greenway Partnership. Visit
www.drgp.org.
The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission offers regional maps that list accesses and amenities. Visit the
Commission’s web site, www.fish.state.pa.us, and on the
main page’s left side, click on “County Guide.” You can
view, download or print these maps. To order the Commission’s Fishing & Boating Map, see the order form in
this issue on page 62.
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9