Hello, Readers!
Just a couple more weeks, and Spring will finally be here! The Striped Bass run, the Largemouth Bass, the Snakeheads, and a lot more is coming up! This year started with some pretty extreme weather, didn't it? I feel quite bad about this snowstorm that is hitting the northern portion of the country. Although, I'm very curious to see how this crazy weather will affect the different Species of fish here in Philadelphia.
I'm bringing you a short post today (after all, I got skunked on this fishing session - 01/11). My original plan was to fit all my January fishing sessions in January; however, college has been pretty intense lately (especially my Classical Mechanics homework). Therefore, there will be a couple January fishing sessions on the month of February, and hopefully I'll be able to normalize the posts this month! I'll try my best to create a little bit more of time for the Blog. =)
Before I start my report on my skunked fishing session on the Schuylkill, I'm posting a couple scenery pictures that my father sent me by e-mail. They are all very beautiful, and portray my old fishing spots in Brazil:
Some Brazilian "fashion" for you guys, haha: notice the dude in Yellow and the one next to him... The guy in Yellow is fishing just a couple INCHES away from the platform, and using unnecessary boots.
A larger view of the same place. This place was famous back in the days for a specific Species of fish: "Piau." Accidentally, I caught my first one over there when I was 12, on a piece of mozzarella cheese. Nowadays, people still use cheese, and other weird baits: ham, spaghetti, etc.
Back in the days, the spot between the little island and shore was one of the best places to fish for Tilapias. Unfortunately, big Tilapias are very scarce nowadays, since they have been over harvested without regulations or creel limits for at least the past 2 decades.
My spot for Fresh Water Wolf Fish. Casting around the shallow vegetation at night time with minnows was the best technique! Since Brazil doesn't really have a "Winter" (coldest above 40F), the Fresh Water Wolf Fish stay at the Shallows the whole year. I am very confident that they would hit a frog lure on top water too!
My father and I used to fished on that side of the Reservoir, which is position 4 on the map. Due to urban sprawl and the "favelas," this area became an entertainment spot for the lower classes. There are big fishes there, however: mainly Caras (Pearl Cichlids) and Tilapias.
A beautiful view from position 4 to position 2. In reality, the first Koi I ever caught was in this area - 7kgs.
Kids and adults fish alike in Brazil. Not only that, the gender ratio is much smaller - there are female anglers almost everywhere! Due to poverty, most of the fishes that are caught are consumed by the population. Therefore, kids start to learn fishing from a very early age with the intention of "bringing food home" and helping the family.
Some kind of small fish. Truly, I'm not very familiar with these Species. I don't recall catching them a decade ago. =)
As you may have noticed, the environment is pretty different between Brazil and USA (for a better idea, click here to read my other post on this subject). I hope you were able to pick up some cultural differences, specially in the picture with the lady getting a tan among some wild chicken (notice that the ratio between female and male anglers in Brazil is lower than USA's), and in the other picture, where tons of people are swimming in the Reservoir. Years ago, that area used to be empty, and open fishing spots were everywhere. Nowadays, it's more of an "entertainment" area.
Now, to my fishing session on the Schuylkill Banks...
On January 11th, I went there again (recall that I went there 2 times before). I was using the same set up (you can read more about it here); however, I changed my hooks for smaller hooks. I really wanted to get whatever was biting my nightcrawlers off! On one of my rods, I even changed the hooks to #10.
Temperatures were not bad (above 32F). I fished from noon to afternoon. I spent a couple hours at the banks without any success! As always, there was one Catfish bite, which I missed because of my impatience. As soon as the fish hit, I felt the urge to set the hook: fatal mistake... Excitement is very hard to control when fishing, seriously. Hehe.
It's quite frustrating because I wasn't able to get whatever Species of little fish that was biting my nightcrawlers, in 3 consecutive fishing sessions. For my conclusions, I truly believe that I should have put an even smaller hook - perhaps a #14... For now, it will all remain a mystery.
Best of luck for all of us,
Long Days and Pleasant Nights,
Sincerely,
Leo S.
On January 11th, I went there again (recall that I went there 2 times before). I was using the same set up (you can read more about it here); however, I changed my hooks for smaller hooks. I really wanted to get whatever was biting my nightcrawlers off! On one of my rods, I even changed the hooks to #10.
Temperatures were not bad (above 32F). I fished from noon to afternoon. I spent a couple hours at the banks without any success! As always, there was one Catfish bite, which I missed because of my impatience. As soon as the fish hit, I felt the urge to set the hook: fatal mistake... Excitement is very hard to control when fishing, seriously. Hehe.
It's quite frustrating because I wasn't able to get whatever Species of little fish that was biting my nightcrawlers, in 3 consecutive fishing sessions. For my conclusions, I truly believe that I should have put an even smaller hook - perhaps a #14... For now, it will all remain a mystery.
The Banks after rain. Watch out if you go fishing there after heavy rain - make sure you don't slip in the mud!
Best of luck for all of us,
Long Days and Pleasant Nights,
Sincerely,
Leo S.