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Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Fishing at Haddon Lake in NJ


Heya, People! It's been a while, but I finally have a little bit of time right now. So, let's get down to it...

Today I'll be introducing the Haddon Lake, which is located in Haddon Lake Park - Haddon Heights, NJ. Please, Philadelphians...don't "freak out" just because the location is in NJ. It's actually very close to Philadelphia, and it can even be accessed through public transportation.

My friends and I have been fishing that location for a month or so. We found out that the lake is extremely rich in terms of fish species, not to mention that it's a nice ambient to fish at.

--- Note ---
Please, note that I'm sharing all this information in the Blog because I want to promote fishing as a sport. Therefore, I highly suggest catch-and-release. Also, I'm not against harvesting fish, as far as the person follows the laws. 

I'm pulling this subject up because I recently received an e-mail about "burned spots". The term is used when spots are "burned". In other words, when those spots become available to the general public from secrecy.

As a fisherman, I want to believe that people are good until they prove me otherwise. I'm always promoting catch-and-release; the littering issue; the overfishing problem; fishing laws and license; etc.

Therefore, I hope people use all the information I've written so far in a wise way, and not in an unlawful way.
--- Note ---

Anyways...let's continue with the post!

--- The Location ---
Haddon Lake is inside the Haddon Lake Park. It's located in a very nice area of NJ, having beautiful surroundings. There's a pathway for exercise and biking, structure for fishing, a picnic area, two playgrounds, and so on...Anyways, we should be concerned only with the Lake anyways.

The Lake has an income flow and outcome flow. Therefore, the water doesn't stay stagnant. Most of the Lake is shallow (< 5 feet), having its deepest part next to the water outcome. Since it's a Lake, there's no current. Most of the areas do not have snags, and there's annual Trout stocking (it cannot be forgotten that a TROUT LICENSE is required for fishing/harvesting Trout).

--- Transportation ---
It can be easily accessed by car, and has good parking spots along the Lake. I would recommend using Google Earth to locate the Lake, and then plan the trip. Otherwise, a GPS is always handy for new locations.

It can also be easily accessed by public transportation. Buses number 457 (Moorestown Mall/Camden - stops at Kings Highway and Edgewood Avenue) and 400 (Sicklerville/Philadelphia - stops at Black Horse Pike and Prospect Ridge) pass next to Haddon Lake. I would recommend getting Patco Speed Line first until Broadway (NJ), and then getting the Bus 457.

Walking from Philadelphia is not recommended. =)

--- Fish Species ---
Every time I go to a new location, I google my favorite website for "fish species": New Jersey Fish Finder. The website is below:
http://www.njfishfinder.com/haddon-lake-26260-location.html
Now, seriously...The website got a LOCAL weather report, a MAP, all the fish Species reported so far, Birds Eye View, and nearby locations to fish. "OMG", right? What else do we need?

The information is certainly out there. We just need to confirm. So far, my friends and I were able to confirm the following species:
--> Large Mouth Bass (Biggest 2.5lbs)
--> Calico Bass/Black Crappie (Biggest <10 inches)
--> Bluegills, Red breast Sunfish (Biggest <8 inches)
--> Chain Pickerel (Biggest 4lbs)
--> Trout (Biggest <15 inches)

--- Fishing Trips ---
We have been fishing that location for the past month or so. The place itself was introduced by my friend Steve, who had been fishing there for quite a while, but never caught anything big (seriously, right?). Therefore, many thanks to Steve!

After we started, I got completely addicted to the Sunfish, hence it's one of my favorite Species of fish to fish. I usually use ultra light/light equipment - they put up a good fight, and the action is constant. My friend Rob was targeting Crappies and Trout; Steve was targeting whatever moved; and Mike Lee was still pursuing his Bass. The results of our trips are in the photos below:


Rob's Trout. Unfortunately, this was the ONLY picture I recovered from the Fish. I guess you guys can see how Rob is a good cook, huh?

Rob's Calico Bass

Mike's 1st Bass on a Tube jig.

Another Bass...a bit bigger than the last one.

Another Bass...a bit bigger than the last one......

Another Bass...a bit bigger than the last one............. Just kidding. This one was Mike's biggest one, topping 2.5lbs.

Mike's Chain Pickerel. He actually caught this one TODAY. Congrats, Mike!

My 7.8 inches Bluegill. My biggest for this year (so far).

My obsession for Sunfish. Notice the size of the hook, and the size of the bait: light.

Comparison/contrast: Sunfish and Pen.

Another Bass by Mike.

The same Bass above (Tube jig).

Scenery Pics: Still fishing at Haddon Lake.

Scenery Pics: Mike casting at Haddon Lake.

Scenery Pics: Water reflection


Alright guys...hope you enjoyed it! No pics from Steve this time, even though he caught some Large Mouth Bass, and a bunch of Sunfish! On the next post (Audubon Lake), there's a nice picture of Steve with his Common Carp. That one will be coming up shortly...

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

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Follow my Facebook page for updates on every single one of my fishing sessions:
http://www.facebook.com/ExtremePhillyFishing
There are fishes around us! Follow my Statistical Chart for 2012 for my catches during this year:
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/01/statistical-fishing-chart-for-2012.html
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Updated:
--> Added Data from PennyPack Creek (01/11/12), Haddon Lake (01/14/12; 01/28/12), Schuylkill River (01/21/12; 02/01/12; 02/04/12), Audubon Lake (02/05/12), and Wissahickon Creek (02/08/12)
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