SITES AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY TO CHILDREN AND TO PEOPLE WITH CERTAIN PHYSICAL OR MENTAL IMPAIRMENTS
The following is a list of waters available to fishing exclusively for children 12 years of age and younger and persons who have certain physical or mental impairments in that they are unable to cast or retrieve a line or bait hooks or remove fish, or who are totally blind or are permanently deprived of the full use of a leg or both legs, or whose visual acuity with best correcting lens is 3/60 or 10/200 or poorer in the better eye, or persons whose vision is such that the widest diameter of the visual field of the better eye has contracted to such an extent that it subtends an angular distance of not greater than 20°. These restrictions apply year-round on some of these waters and only during certain times of the year on others.
It is unlawful for a person other than a child or member of special populations to fish in a designated exclusive use area.
All areas may not be suitable for all disabilities (see local posters).
(Source: http://pfbc.pa.gov/fishpub/summaryad/disabilities.htm):
Download the Accessible Fishing Flyer in Adobe Acrobat format.
TOBYHANNA CREEK
From 1,250 feet upstream from Main Street Bridge to 500 feet upstream from Main Street Bridge.
This accessible site in Tobyhanna offers stocked trout fishing; both brook and brown trout are stocked.
This site is maintained by the Tobyhanna Conservation Association for public use.
GOULDSBORO LAKE:
The common fish in the 250-acre Gouldsboro Lake are bass, pickerel, yellow perch, catfish and sunfish. The lake also has walleye and crappie. An ADA accessible fishing pier is near Parking Lot 4.
(Source: Gouldsboro State Park website, DCNR)
TOBYHANNA STATE PARK:
The common fish in the 170-acre Tobyhanna Lake are bass, pickerel, yellow perch, catfish and sunfish. Brook and brown trout are stocked. An ADA accessible fishing pier is in the day use area.
(Source: Tobyhanna State Park website, DCNR)
HICKORY RUN STATE PARK:
Fishing: Anglers find excellent sport in many of the streams and lakes within the park boundaries. Some streams are stocked with brook and brown trout. Mud Run is a delayed harvest, artificial lure only stream. The lower 2.9 miles of Hickory Run, from near the Saylorsville Dam to the Lehigh River, is a catch and release fishing only area.
A fishing pier for people with disabilities is on the CCC Pond, near the campground.
(Source: Hickory Run State Park website, DCNR)
BRODHEAD CREEK PARK:
A small pond that is stocked with brook, brown, rainbow, and palomino trout along with bass and sunfish is posted for children and special populations.
ZACHARIAS POND:
Common fish include bass and sunfish. There is a small ADA accessible fishing pier located near the parking area.
Future Sites Under Development
In 2017, Chestnuthill Township received an Open Space grant that includes plans for the development of an accessible fishing pier. This will be located on Silver Valley Road, just north of 209, in the old Lehigh Valley Sand and Gravel facility filled in with water on the west side of the road. For further information, please contact:
West End Park and Open Space Commission
Chestnuthill Park Building
Route 715
P.O. Box 243
Brodheadsville, PA 18322
(570)992-9733