Extreme Philly Fishing: June 2012

Reports (Rob Z.): Core Creek, Bucks County, PA

Posted by Extreme Philly Fishing at 5:49 PM

Rob Z.'s report on Core Creek (Lake Luxembourg) - May 26th.

For previous reports from Rob Z.'s:
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/06/reports-rob-z-wissahickon-creek-pa.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/06/reports-rob-z-core-creek-bucks-county.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/06/reports-rob-z-fishing-at-fdr-park-pa.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-rob-z-fishing-in-south-jersey.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/04/reports-rob-z-fishing-in-scranton-pa.html

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Written by Rob Z. - edited by Leo S.

As mentioned, I wanted to return to Core Creek to catch the fish that broke me off twice (see previous report on Core Creek). I'm guessing they were Catfish. However, when my girlfriend and I got there, the spot was taken, so we ended up taking a spot that was more crowded than I like. We had people on both sides of us, but we had just enough room to be comfortable.

I setup two rods with Powerbait and cast them out, shooting some chum out as well. My girlfriend and I were catching Sunnies and sunshine as we waited for the big one. We had lunch, and nothing was taking the Powerbait by then. I was hoping to maybe pull in a Trout or a Catfish, but neither was working out. At this point, we saw some Carp jumping, and my girlfriend asked if the Carp would eat the Powerbait. I told her no, and she questioned if we should put corn on one of them. It sounded like a fine idea, so one got thrown out there with corn.

30 minutes later, I told her that I was going to fish on the other side of the shrub - about 25 feet to my right. I went over, made a cast or two, and then heard a bell ringing wildly! It was the bell that was attached to the rod with the corn! I ran back in my flip flops as fast as I could. As I rounded the shrub, I saw my girlfriend up from the blanket, holding the rod, with everyone watching on both sides! The line was screaming off of the reel. She, who has fished less than 10 times, was trying to reel in, but the line was going out fast, and her reeling was not really doing anything. There was not more than 3 or 4 seconds worth of line on the reel when I got to her, grabbed the pole, and tightened the drag. On the other end was a muscular monster, the likes of which I had never felt before.

I kept the pressure on, and the rod tip up. I did not want to risk letting it get under a rock, where my braid might have gotten sliced again. Because of this, I kept the drag real tight, as I could not afford to give it room to tie me up and break me off. Because of this, the battle was extra brutal: fish vs man. I had sandals on, and the fish was pulling so hard that I decided it was time to take a walk into the lake. I went in to about my knees, and kept the pressure on. At one point, the butt end of the rod slipped off of my forearm, and the rod-tip went down fast! Practically dropping the rod, I recovered from the fumble, and the fish was still there.

I kept battling, and eventually saw the golden tail, and I knew it was a big Carp. Once again, no net, so I had to land this fish on my own. The first two times it got in close, I swear it looked at me and ran away. On the third attempt, I swung it around me and led it right up to the shore, and then gave it a push onto land from its tail. That hardly worked, so I just picked up the fish. This fish went 13.33 lbs, and is my new Carp PB and freshwater PB.

After a quick photo session, it was released unharmed. I can only be grateful that my girlfriend was there to help manage the rod until I could get there. Will I ever learn that it is NOT okay to walk away from a Carp rod? I hope so, but I can't be sure. Again - sunburned. It was time to leave after that fish. I still want to go back to get a monster Cat.

Pictures are below:

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Haha...nice, Rob! Congrats once again!

Leaving a Carp rod alone is certainly very dangerous, unless you have good ears to hear the drag, and a lot of line to spare! Now, back to work =)

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

Recent Catches...(June 20th+)

Posted by Extreme Philly Fishing at 3:17 PM

June 23rd - Pennypack Creek at Old Bustleton. Redbreast Sunfish on a piece of Corn.

June 23rd - Pennypack Creek a little bit after Old Bustleton road. Redbreast Sunfish on an in-line Spinner.

June 24th - Schuylkill Banks between Chestnut and Walnut, with Nadir G. Channel Catfish caught on a piece of Nightcrawler.

June 24th - Schuylkill Banks between Chestnut and Walnut. Channel Catfish caught on a piece of American Eel.

June 24th - Schuylkill Banks between Chestnut and Walnut. Little Striped Bass caught on a piece of Nightcrawler.

June 24th - Schuylkill Banks between Chestnut and Walnut. Little White Perch caught on a piece of Nightcrawler.

June 24th - Schuylkill Banks between Chestnut and Walnut, with Nadir G.. Channel Catfish caught on a piece of Nightcrawler.

June 24th - Schuylkill Banks between Chestnut and Walnut. Channel Catfish caught on a piece of American Eel.

June 24th - Schuylkill Banks between Walnut and Locust, with Jay D.. Channel Catfish caught on a piece of Corn.

June 25th - Pennypack Creek at Axe Factory Road. Smallmouth Bass caught on a piece of Corn.

June 25th - Pennypack Creek at Axe Factory Road. Smallmouth Bass caught on a Trout Magnet.

June 25th - Pennypack Creek at Axe Factory Road. Nice Rock Bass caught on a Trout Magnet.

June 21st - Schuylkill River at Fairmount Dam, with Mike H.. Striped Bass caught on a Zara Spook.

June 22nd - Wissahickon Creek before Forbidden Drive. Rock Bass caught on an in-line Spinner.

June 22nd - Wissahickon Creek at Forbidden Drive. Smallmouth Bass caught on an in-line Spinner.

June 22nd - Wissahickon Creek before Forbidden Drive. Smallmouth Bass caught on an in-line Spinner.

June 22nd - Wissahickon Creek. 4 Rainbow Trouts caught all on Spinners.

Best of luck for all of us!

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

June E-mail FAQ

Posted by Extreme Philly Fishing at 2:33 PM

Starting from the left: on top - a couple different spinning reels; on the bottom - my baitcaster (Shimano Antares DC7 LV), and a fly reel. On the floor: a couple plastics that I have, hooks, and some lures (shad dart there! haha). On the right: the metal pole is actually one of my nets, and the Okuma stand is for my fishing rods.

Another view of the same spot. Now you can view the Rod stand better, as well as the rod holders on the left.

This table is actually to the right of the previous picture, and it contains most of my small fishing accessories: lures on the bottom-right, sinkers on the right, flies and lines on the top-right. Gulp! baits and powerbait on top-center, different types of floats on top-right, hooks on bottom-right. There's also a small assortment of jig-heads, swivels, etc...

The process is to gather whatever I need for my next fishing session and pack it up! After coming back, I put all the items back, and so forth. I have everything organized, and ready to go! =)

2. "I saw you a couple times fishing at the Schuylkill Banks, but I never see you with your license outside. I'm assuming that you have your license with you every time you are fishing?"

Yes! Although the law states that showing the fishing license at all times on a piece of garment or so is a must, I rarely leave it exposed. I prefer to keep it safe, and show it when necessary. Below are pictures of all my fishing licenses for 2012. It's good to purchase them and be legal, not to mention that your money is going to be wisely used towards local fishing issues and so on.

New Jersey fishing license with Trout Stamp

Pennsylvania fishing license with Trout Stamp (purchased on 12/31/2011. Haha)

Maryland fishing license with Trout Stamp.

New Jersey Saltwater Recreational Registry Program ("License" for Salt-water fishing).

3. "Hi. I follow your Blog constantly, and I'm a big fan of Mike's. I purchased the same lures he uses, go to the same spots, and I don't catch anything! Are you sure he's using what you say he's using? I mean...I know some people like to keep their secrets, you know? Can you tell me what he's REALLY using?"

Well...I thank you on Mike's behalf - I'm sure he would be very happy to read this. In reality, he catches all his fish on the lures he says he used. There are no secrets AT ALL! Maybe there's a difference in terms of techniques - those are unique even among fishermen. As we both know, a single lure can be used in many different ways by different people. Below are a couple pictures of Mike's set of lures (not including Plastics!). Again - he does use those to fish.

4. "Hello. I love your Blog and everything, but I totally disapprove of the font colors that you use. They are so hard to read. I think you should change them."

That's a very interesting point that you are pulling out there - the font colors are certainly unusual. It's not the first time I hear about this complaint, and I will reply to you the same that I've replied to others: you can always follow the Blog news through the "RSS feed" (the link on top-right), which has a white background. If it still troubles you, you can select the text to make it white font with blue background.

However, let me emphasize that choosing the colors was not purely accidental. If you read the Blog in whatever version you like (original, RSS, or selected) with enough light, it will not damage your vision. It's the opposite - the red font helps your eyes get used to visual focus, which is actually an essential skill in fishing. Whatever way you prefer to do it, I'm glad you love the Blog!

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

Reports (Peter S.): A Lake in Abington Township

Posted by Extreme Philly Fishing at 1:28 PM

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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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A couple announcements before starting this report:

-- My friend Nadir G. made a photo-video for the blog on Youtube with our newest pictures, featuring me, my father, Mike, Rob, and Nadir (main contributors to the Blog). The video is Copyright © 2012 Extreme Philly Fishing; and the music is Copyright © 2007 Carly Comando - all rights reserved to her. The link is below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-dEVhdgni0

-- About the previous poll...Winner was "Frogs and Rats" with 50% of votes, followed by a tie between Crawlers and Buzzbaits. If I think about it from a local perspective, the most suitable topwaters for the bodies of water that we have here are definitely Poppers and Frogs and Rats, although every one of them requires different fishing conditions! Anyways...new poll is out: "How long have you been fishing?". Vote, Vote!

-- About costs...The Blog is a free domain for storage; however, I just found out today that this storage apparently had a limit. I also found out today that I passed that limit, so I was unable to post ANYMORE pictures in this Blog unless I purchased a "Google Storage Plan". Well...it's a fact that the pictures that I post here are high quality pictures, ranging from 4-6 mbs each (previous camera was 17 megapixels, 16x zoom. Actualy camera is 18.1 megapixels, 10x zoom), so I'm not surprised that I passed this quota that not a lot of people pass. I'm now paying a monthly fee for the extra storage, so I can post my photos as usual, and the Blog remains Free - without you having to pay any costs to access it (no membership), without any annoying advertisements (no commercials), and no "monetizing" (no legal tender). Free information for everyone! So, enjoy, readers!

Peter S.'s report on a lake in Abington Township - May 25th.

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Written by Peter S. - edited by Leo S.

I started at 8:20 a.m. and saw the fog. The lake was dead, so I decided to fish a top-water frog. After a couple casts and no success, i believed that live bait was going to be the only way to go on that foggy overcast day, so I gave live bait a try. I started using a bluegill - I threw it out in the Lake. After a few casts, nothing! Then, i finally felt a nice hit. I opened the bail to let the fish eat the bait, and then i closed it. I then hooked into something huge that fought for 15 minutes and peeled off my 4lb test line. It swam all over with my medium light spinning rod bent over, and my spool singing as close to 25 yards of four pound test getting ripped off. I got it in, and realized it was a huge catfish. To my estimates from photos and rod-measurement, it was 25-30 inches...and fat - full of eggs. Both pictures below are of the same fish.

I fished a little bit more with live bait and got one Largemouth Bass on a Madtom, giving me the "triple crown" - Bass, Sunnie, and Catfish. Then, I got another Bass on the same bait, both back to back, almost in the same spot, although the second was bigger than the first.

I got nothing for a while, so I decided to fish another part of the lake - one that was heavily weeded, and with frogs. So, I decided to use specifically the Scum Frog that I just purchased from Bass Pro Shops. I got a little colorful dink on it. I had one more that blew up my bait, but the Bass missed and gave up on it.

I looked at my watch, and noticed it was 12 p.m. I only had half hour left before my bus came, and the sun was also out by that time. So, i was determined to see if i could get more Bass! I cast out a live Bluegill and saw it get swamped by another nice Bass. I set the hook and got my 4th bass of the day - a nice one too.

I gave a few more casts in that spot: nothing. So, I moved to another spot. I threw out a Senko, since I didn't have time to get a Bluegill. As i twitched the Senko, I felt some weight. I lowered the rod, reeled in the slack, and set the hook: result - a nice Bass around 14 inches or so. I snapped a photo, released the fish, and threw my senko in the exact same spot. It got picked up again! i set the hook and caught a nice Bass, bigger than the last one. I snapped a photo, released him, and then had to leave to pack for the shore. A great morning spent with no school!

Pictures are below:

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Nice job, Peter! Unfortunately, due to the owner's wish to keep the name of this lake a secret, I'm unable to tell you guys where it's. However, I can definitely say this: this body of water holds very good quality Bass for a local body of water. Even according to Mike H.: "I never saw a Lake that gave me so many hits in one day"

There's a good concentration of Largemouth Bass, Catfish, Crappie, and Sunnies (Pumpkin Seed, mainly) in that lake - pretty impressive considering its size and depth!

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

Roports (Mike H.): Haddon Lake, NJ.

Posted by Extreme Philly Fishing at 9:12 PM

Mike H.'s report on Haddon Lake, NJ - May 25th.

For previous reports from Mike H.'s:

http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/06/reports-mike-h-lakes-at-fdr-and.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-mike-h-fairmount-dam-pa_28.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-mike-h-fairmount-dam-pa_26.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-mike-h-fairmount-dam-pa.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-mike-h-and-lawrence-font-hill.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-mike-h-schuylkill-river-pa.html

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Written by Mike H. - edited by Leo S.

May 25th - Had a great day of fishing today with an interesting story to boot!

First off - Leo, Leo's dad, and Vince all joined me down at Haddon lake. Leo was kind enough to give me a Kopper's Live Target Bluegill Imitation Crankbait worth $13. After 20 minutes of casting the crankbait around, I hooked into a huge bass! I fought it for a minute or so, and right as I thought the Bass was ready to be landed, I got ready to lift him onto 3 feet up - onto the ledge I was standing on. As I was pulling him up, my line snapped! I couldn't believe it, and on impulse, I plunged into the water, grabbed the Bass with my hands, and placed him onto the shore.

I don't think I could've channeled my inner Mike Iaconelli if I wasn't wearing my hat with his signature on it... The bass weighed a whopping 3.5 lbs, a PB for Haddon Lake, and as I was holding it in the water, waiting for Leo to come take a picture, the Bass squirmed and got himself free! It was all good though, since I managed to get my new lure back. Using that exact lure, I caught 3 more bass weighing 1 lb, 1.5 lbs, and 1.5 lbs. My buddy Vince mananged to catch a 2.5 lb bass and a 1.5 lb bass (first image) flipping a soft plastic craw into the pads. Lastly, I caught a feisty 20 inch, 2 lb pickeral using a suspending jerkbait (second picture).

Pictures are below:

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Haddon Lake has been exceptional lately! Maybe it's exceptional the whole year... =)

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

Reports (Mike H.): The Lakes at FDR and Fairmount Dam

Posted by Extreme Philly Fishing at 8:39 PM

Mike H.'s report on the lakes at FDR Park and the Schuylkill River (Fairmount Dam) - May 20th-24th.

For previous reports from Mike H.'s:
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-mike-h-fairmount-dam-pa_28.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-mike-h-fairmount-dam-pa_26.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-mike-h-fairmount-dam-pa.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-mike-h-and-lawrence-font-hill.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-mike-h-schuylkill-river-pa.html

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Written by Mike H. - edited by Leo S.

Hey guys, I fished like crazy these past 5 days and have a few good pics/stories to share.

First off, on May 20th, I hit up FDR park for a couple hours and had a few good catches. I started the day nailing a nice 1 lb 10 oz bass on a crankbait (first picture). I then caught another 1 lb bass (second picture) and a .5 lb bass off the docks using the same bait. My biggest catch of the day was on a fluke at the docks, I hooked into a 3-4 lb bass that somehow managed to snap my line after 10 seconds or so... I suspect that I had my drag set too tight/my line was frayed.

May 22nd - I hit up FDR park again. It was really tough fishing as I only caught two fish the whole day. I managed to catch a 1 lb bass off the dock with a crankbait. I spend a large portion of my time fishing the "Snakehead pond," which was completely choked with grass. I saw a lot of activity back there, fish jumping and frogs swimming around. Despite working a frog over the grass for an hour, I only managed 1 strike, landing 0 fish. My best catch of the day was also a personal best, I managed to catch a 2 lb Snakehead off the docks on a crankbait (third picture).

May 23rd - Hit up FDR park yet again! Right off the bat, I nailed two bass on a popper fished along a weedline. One was only about 10 ounces, and the other was 1 lb 5 oz (fourth picture). I didn't really have anymore action for the limited period of time that I fished there.

May 24th - I finally changed it up and fished the Skuke about an hour after high tide. There were 6 people crowding the ledge, which made fishing very difficult... Despite the inconvenience, I manage to entice a 1 lb 14 oz bass to take a grub on a jighead. Using the same lure, I also caught a 8.5 inch crappie (last picture) jigging the lure under the falls. Right as I was about to leave the Dam and go home for some dinner, Vince invited me to join him at FDR park. We fished there for an hour before nightfall with no luck. However, once it was completely dark, I noticed a lot of bass activity in the back creeks. I'll have to sneak into FDR one day at night and slay those bass with topwaters!

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I've heard many people say that there are no fishes at the lakes at FDR Park. Well, Mike...thanks for always sharing your photos with me! They are certainly living proof that there is still a healthy population of fish there, although that place is overfished.

Mike has been doing good recently too! I'll keep you all updated!

Mike, I hope you do good on your second Bass tourney tomorrow! As you said, and I agree: go for a 20lb sack, man! I know you can do it!

Best of luck for all of us, Mike included!

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

Reports (Rob Z.): Wissahickon Creek, PA

Posted by Extreme Philly Fishing at 8:02 PM

Rob Z.'s report on Wissahickon Creek - May 20th.

For previous reports from Rob Z.'s:
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/06/reports-rob-z-core-creek-bucks-county.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/06/reports-rob-z-fishing-at-fdr-park-pa.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-rob-z-fishing-in-south-jersey.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/04/reports-rob-z-fishing-in-scranton-pa.html

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Written by Rob Z. - edited by Leo S.

I still wanted some Trout, since I could not find any the day before at Core Creek. So, I decided that a trip to the Wissahickon Creek was necessary. I re-read Leo's Wissahickon posts, and prepared for my goal: catching my limit (5 Trouts). I had never done this before in any state, but I was ready to try. This was only my 3rd trip to the Wiss. After walking a good amount into the park along the river, I setup at my first spot. There was a nice SMB lurking around, but I could not interest him with anything. There were also some nice trout swimming by, but they weren't interested in anything neither.

I tried many different lures: baby shads, and then trout magnets, but I was picking up only Sunnies on them. Even the bite was slow compared to the Sunnie bite weeks before. After a few hours, and without any Trout, I was most certainly sure that I was not going to get my limit there. So, I moved on to a second spot - I probably should have started there!

I set up 2 rods with powerbait, and sat down right next to them. Over 2 or 3 hours, I managed to land 2 nice Rainbows, both around 11 inches. I told Leo that I had a good spot and asked him to join me (he was there with his Dad at that day). Shortly after, Leo and his dad were there, and we were all fishing together. (Leo, it was great to meet your dad!)

Within 15 minutes, of course, Leo was hooked into a real nice SMB, and landed it. I was unable to catch this fish before Leo got there, but Leo nailed it! It was released unharmed.

I kept fishing, and had a nice little spurt of activity, landing two more Rainbows on power bait, around 11 inches again. This flurry of activity brought my total up to 4. I was one fish away from my first Trout limit.

Somewhere in the late afternoon to early evening, Leo's dad started fishing with some powerbait, and then there was some action! We looked over to see him bringing in a nice Rainbow Trout. I was very happy to see his dad land a new Species, and I was more than happy to help make that happen.

We had strict plans to leave at 7:30 p.m. It was 7:20! I was thinking - "I'm not going to get another one". I started packing up my things to be ready for the walk out at 7:30. Well, the fishing Gods must have been smiling at me, because at 7:23 p.m., my line starting showing signs of life, and I ended up bringing up my 5th Rainbow of the day. I pulled my stringer out of the creek to put this last fish on it, and then put the fish in my bag for the walk out. I was a very happy guy. Next time, I will remember to get a photo with me holding the stringer so that the fish can spread out for the photo-op.

They were cleaned, refrigerated, and consumed. MMM...delicious, and about as healthy as can be. The two below were sizzled on both sides, and then finished in the oven. Sides included sauteed green beans and snap peas with mixed nuts, and garlic potato wedges. Yum...

Picture are below:

Leo with his nice Smallie

Rob: Hah! I was able to take this picture of you with your limit, so...nothing to be afraid of! Beautiful fish, Rob! Congrats!

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That was truly an awesome day! My dad had lots of fun landing the Trout, and Rob was having bursts of adrenaline while landing all the Trout! I must say...Powerbait never worked for me, but oh well...I guess it works! Hahaha

Congratulations, Rob! In just a month or so (now it's June 23rd), you hit the Limit more than 5 times already! that's 25+ Trouts in one month! Awesome! One of these days, you should make a count of how many you can fish a month, and always try to break your old record.

Trout are certainly finicky fish, not to mention that they are very smart! Their instincts are sharp, and they will not bite anything that looks suspicious to their eyes.

Uffs...took me a while, but there you go! Another post up! Hah!

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

Extreme Philly Fishing

Reports (Rob Z.): Core Creek, Bucks County, PA

Recent Catches...(June 20th+)

June E-mail FAQ

Reports (Peter S.): A Lake in Abington Township

Roports (Mike H.): Haddon Lake, NJ.

Reports (Mike H.): The Lakes at FDR and Fairmount Dam

Reports (Rob Z.): Wissahickon Creek, PA

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