September Fishing Sessions (Last Update: COMPLETE)

How is it going, Blog Readers?

I hope everything is well with everyone!

September is finally here, and so is Fall. This climate change business is making things quite weird (finishing Summer with 80F); however, it's a fact that good fishing is coming upon us.

For a starter, my classes at Temple University have started once again: the Fall semester is up. I'm currently taking some classes in Mathematics and Physics; however, I'll still have some time to fish! My availability won't be the same anymore; therefore, please, be patient with me when it comes to e-mails and personal messages on the Facebook Page. I'll eventually reply to them, but it may take a little bit longer than expected.

For the month of September, there's the annual Philly Fun Fishing Fest coming up on the Schuylkill Banks! This event is FREE and open to all ages and levels of experience regarding fishing. For more details on it, click here for my post on it.

The 3rd Catfish Tourney on the Banks is also schedule for the 15th of this month. As a reminder, the Catfish Tourney on the Banks is a profit free event, where 20% of your entrance fee goes to the Recycled Fish organization -- a non-profit that works with aquatic sustainability. The rest of the money is then distributed as prizes. There are also trophies for the winners! If you are interested in participating, please read about its regulations and how to register for it here.  

Here's your picture of the month:

"Things that you don't see when you stay at home:" September 9th, 2011 -- The Schuylkill River, totally flooded, after Irene. September is usually the month for floods and other disastrous catastrophes on the East Coast. If anything bad happens, do not attempt anything crazy! I fished during Irene, and it wasn't fun: everything was flooded, the wind was crazy, and I got skunked. Haha. Be safe, guys. 

Fall is an awesome time of the year! It's during this time of the year that many different Species of fish start to feed aggressively in preparation for a cold Winter. Flatheads, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass -- any type of game fish that you can think of will probably be feeding before Winter comes.

It's also during this time of the year that the Striped Bass stop by once again -- this time moving from the North to the South. Therefore, I've updated an old post on the migration of the Striped Bass in Philadelphia. You can access it here.

Now...for the September Fishing Sessions:

--- September 4th, 2013 ---

Location: Schuylkill River

Time: 7:30-11:00 p.m.

Fishes caught:

- 3 Channel Catfish (4, 4, 5lbs)

I went fishing on the Schuylkill River with my friends Don G. and Kevin W.; however, it was super slow! I ended the night with 3 Channel Catfish, all around 4-5lbs. Don and Kevin didn't end up catching much.

Thankfully, I didn't get skunked. Hehe.

A nice view of Kelly Drive at Sunset.

Don G. getting ready for some monsters. Unfortunately, not a lot of action that night.

I ended the night with 3 Channel Catfish. At least they were all good sizes -- 2 4lbs, and one 5lber.

--- September 7th, 2013 ---

Location: Schuylkill River

Time: 7:00-11:00 a.m.

Fishes caught:

- 12 Bluegills

I participated in the Philly Fun Fishing Fest 2013! It was lots of fun! For a complete coverage on it, you may click here.

A beautiful "Skuke Bluegill."

--- September 8th, 2013 ---

Location: Multiple bodies of water in Haddonfield.

Time: 11:00-6:00 p.m.

Fishes caught:

- 96 Bluegill

- 7 Pumpkinseed

- 3 Sunfish Hybrids

- 1 White Perch

- 1 Yellow Perch

- 3 Largemouth Bass

- 1 Channel Catfish

- 12 Brown Bullhead

- 1 American Eel

- 3 Black Crappie

- 2 Mosquitofish

I went Multi-Species fishing in Haddonfield, New Jersey! I explored the Wallworth Lake, Upper Cooper River, Driscoll Pond, Evans Lake, and Hopkins Pond. I ended the day with 12 different Species of fish (includes 2 different types of Hybrids) -- a total of 127 fishes. I also caught some decent amount of fish at Hopkins Pond, which was very surprising, considering that I often got skunked over there.

Photos are below:

A small Bluegill from Wallworth Lake.

A Pumpkinseed X Green Sunfish hybrid from the Wallworth Lake. Notice how the upper half of its body is "Pumpkinseed" and the lower half is "Green Sunfish." Pretty neat, huh? Interesting phenotypes, as always.

Another beautiful hybrid from Wallworth Lake: a Green Sunfish X Bluegill hybrid. Notice the "blue" in the fish's operculum from the Bluegill, and the elongated body and shades of yellow in the anal and caudal fins from the Green Sunfish. Note that Sunfish hybrids can often be found in muddy/polluted bodies of water. The visibility is lower in those places, making it hard for different Species to find their mating partners. They often confuse each other in the middle of the muddiness! =)

A small Yellow Perch from the Wallworth Lake (my first one out of there, actually). Getting unusual Species of fish in certain bodies of water always make me wonder: "How did they get there?"

A nice sized "colorless" Bluegill from the Wallworth Lake. Many dependent variables influence in the fish's color, and one of them is the water clarity.

A small Largemouth Bass from Wallworth Lake.

A White Perch from Wallworth Lake.

A small Largemouth Bass from Evans Pond.

A Western Mosquitofish (I counted the anal rays under a microscope) from the Evans Pond. The place is actually filled with them! Interesting place for Microfishing, and a great food supply for bigger Species of fish (i.e. Black Crappie).

A beautiful Brown Bullhead from Driscoll Pond.

An American Eel from the Upper Cooper River.

A nice Bluegill from the Upper Cooper River.

My first Eastern Painted Turtle on a line and hook! It was safely released, by the way. Now I have in my collection the Red-Ear Slider Turtle, Snapping, Red-Bellied and this one! =)

The little fella, from another angle.

A Pumpkinseed from the Upper Cooper River.

I chopped a little Bluegill and used it as bait. Soon after I cast, this Channel Catfish came up from the shallows of the muddy Upper Cooper River! My biggest Channel Catfish out of there (believe it or not) was 5lbs even! Considering the depth of the place (1-2 feet), it was truly an awesome discovery!

Of course I couldn't finish the day at the Upper Cooper River without a Black Crappie! Overharvest in the Upper Cooper River diminished Black Crappie populations; however, there are still some there.

A scenery photo of the Hopkins Pond. During the last couple years, this Lake had many Fish Kills during Winter and Summer time. This year, finally, the government decided to install pumps in the Lake. Now there's enough oxygen for the Carp and the Bullheads, at least. Hopefully they will stock it with some game-fish in the next years to come.

A nice-sized Brown Bullhead from Hopkins Pond (and my biggest so far).

The smallest Brown Bullhead of the day! I decided to take it home. He's living calmly in my fishing tank now (and he eats A LOT).

--- September 23rd, 2013 ---

Location: Schuylkill River
Time: 11:00-5:00 p.m.

Fishes caught:

- 2 American Shad

- 1 Striped Bass

After so long, I finally decided to give the Fairmount Dam a try! I fished there for 6 hours, ending the day with only one decent fish: a 2.8lbs Striped Bass on a rattle trap. After landing it, I was in a tough position (on the rocks, with incoming tide), so it took me a while to unhook and weight it. Since the fish was out of the water for quiet some time, I released the fish without taking a picture. I revived it, and it swam away just fine!

I also got 2 little American Shads on size #26 hooks (micro-fishing! oh yeah!). They are everywhere right now; therefore, it's tough to catch the game fish. There are too many baitfish swimming around at this time of the year.

Pictures are below:

An American Shad fingerling. They are everywhere in the Schuylkill during this time of the year! If you have polarized glasses, you can see them swimming just below the surface of the hidden River.

Even if you don't catch anything, the West side of the Fairmount Dam will still bring you joy and excitement! It's home to many different types of monsters (big Carps, Flatheads, and the rare Clear Muskies) and rarities (all year Striped Bass, big Black Crappies, small Tiger Muskies). That feeling; that possibility of catching something nice...hard to beat!  

--- September 29th, 2013 ---

Location: Schuylkill River
Time: 1:00-3:00 p.m./9:00-11:00 p.m.

Fishes caught:

- 7 Channel Catfish

After some painful days at college and tons of work, I was finally able to get out for a couple hours to fish.

I decided to hit the Schuylkill Banks (around Walnut) for 2 hours during daytime, since it's a convenient spot. I got a couple Catfish bites, but I couldn't land a single fish in the end. I ended up getting nothing; however, I chummed the place up with my bait before I left.

I went back at night time, just at the end of high tide (around 9 p.m.). The chum certainly worked! I got 7 Channel Catfish in two hours at the chummed spot, and no bites out there whatsoever.

I also used one rod for lures, and I had 2 juvenile Striped Bass follow my pink Zoom fluke under the lights of the Banks. Although they didn't strike, it was still a beautiful sight to see them follow it.

Pictures of the Catfish are below:

Schuylkill Banks during day time!

Schuylkill Banks during night time! (notice the lights -- they are always on at night time)

Smallest Catfish of the night. It was a little bit below a pound.

The biggest one of the night. None of them passed the 2lbs margin. It was still a lot of fun to catch them, as always.

Unfortunately, the month of September wasn't very productive for me in terms of fishing. After all, college started! In other words, fishing time is pretty much limited from September-December. =/

Hopefully I'll have more fishing session during the month of October! The fish will still be biting good. =D

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.