Hello, Readers!
The cold front has finally reached us, huh? Higher 20's...ugh! Maybe this week will be ideal for some Ice Fishing, if the weather allows! Today, particularly, was FREEZING!
Well...My Spring semester at Temple University started today. Same old talk, guys - I'll have to post less for now, and dedicate myself more to Physics! HOWEVER, this doesn't mean that the Blog will "stop." I'll still post one post per fishing session, but the number of fishing sessions will very likely decrease (it depends on how well I am performing, and time management) until May. The Facebook page will still be VERY ACTIVE, hence I access Facebook on a daily basis.
Well...a couple updates/reminders:
- 1-on-1 fishing sessions are still on, even though college has started. In other words, feel free to shoot me an e-mail if you want to tag along one day. Send me an e-mail for more details. Kids are highly encouraged.
- I am planning to write a little "article" for the Schuylkill Banks' website about fishing in the Schuylkill River during Spring. The little article will cover Channel Cats, Flatheads, Common Carp, Striped Bass, and maybe Shad. Once it's done, I'll let you guys know about it - it will have TONS of information on it. I am planning to get it done by the end of this week.
- I've uploaded a couple more videos on my Youtube channel. The first 2 are about my secret "dapping" technique for baitfish. It's basically using NOTHING to catch small fish! It's the same as manipulating a bare hook in a way that it fools the fish. It's 90% technique! The last 4 are from my Carping session with my friend Erik K.. Enjoy:
Note that I'll emphasize these videos once again, once I write the fishing sessions for Audubon (01/20) and Upper Cooper River (01/21), which should be coming soon (before the end of January).
The post for today is pretty short, hence I got skunked on the 10th! =(
After I got my first Catfish of the year on the 9th, I went back to the Schuylkill Banks for some more action. It was colder, and the tide was almost the same as when I arrived the day before: high to low (the tides change a couple minutes per day). I managed to get to my spot around 1 p.m.: Same rods, same bait, same set up (see my previous post for more details).
The fishing session went from 1 to 3:30 p.m., with only 1 Catfish bite. I was very very excited when I saw the bite, and ended up setting the hook too early. In other words - I missed the fish!
Curiously enough, something else was biting on my nightcrawler. It was quite the mysterious phenomenon, since I wasn't able to visually detect the bites...Usually, people look at the line and the rod for signs of fish bites. In passive fishing (still-fishing), when a fish bites, it creates an extra force on the line, which either makes the tip of the rod bend - if there's no slack line, or makes the line straight - if there's slack line. It's usually by looking at these signs that a fisherman knows that there's a fish on the other end of his/her line. Whatever was biting that day did not show any of these signs AT ALL! I kept reeling my rod in from time to time, and no bait - the nightcrawlers were always totally gone.
I've worked with nightcrawlers since I was 8. I hook them in a very effective way, and there's absolutely no way that they would just fall off the hook. Even with the wildest amount of Newtons (Force), the nightcrawlers would still stay on the hook!
It's funny to mention this because I recently got into a discussion on a certain fishing forum about the differences between artificial and live bait. As I mentioned there, both are different arts, and both have their own merits! Some believe that anyone can throw a nightcrawler into the water and catch fish. I won't deny that - it's a fact. Any regular person - an inexperienced angler, or even a person who has never fished before, is able to go to a body of water and throw a nightcrawler in, and that same person will probably get a bite by a Bluegill (just an example) and catch a fish. This is one of the beautiful traits of fishing: it's a sport that is really open to ANYONE. As far as a person is willing to try and improve oneself, the same will succeed in fishing.
The main factor when using live bait is not only in "catching the fish," but in the AMOUNT and SIZE of fish that you can get. For example - small fish can be fooled when a person puts a nightcrawler without covering the entire hook; big fish, however, can very well identify the hook and not bite the bait, especially the ones that were previously caught and released. Presentation of the bait, fishing location, knowledge on the targeted Species (habitat, feeding behavior, spawning) - these are all parts of the art of fishing with live bait.
But anyways...something kept biting on my nightcrawler without leaving me signs! My logic conclusion was that the fish biting were probably very small (minnows), since I wasn't able to hook them up using size 10 hooks. I can assume even further: they were probably Yellow Perch, since this Species of fish spawns at this period of the year in the Schuylkill River. I'll keep fishing the Skuke until I find out what is going on. Heh.
No pictures of fish today, guys! =) There's a picture of the Banks, though, below:
Beautiful afternoon on the Schuylkill Banks.
Best of luck for all of us,
Long Days and Pleasant Nights,
Sincerely,
Leo S.