What's up, fellow readers?
Here is my fishing report for January 10th, 2017. The statistical fishing chart was updated as well.
Location: Upper Cooper River
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Fishes caught:
-- 16 Golden Shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas)
-- 3 Spottail Shiner (Notropis hudsonius)
-- 3 Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens)
Video:
Below are the highlights for this fishing session:
My first outing of 2017! Don't forget to watch it in HD quality (1080p60)! If you enjoy watching my videos, please support my YouTube Channel by subscribing to it. More likes and more subscribes = more time to make videos.
Summary & Photos:
With the objective of catching my first fish of 2017 in mind, I decided to hit the spillways and the over-saturated waters of the Upper Cooper River in Haddonfield, NJ. After all, everyone knows that those places are the last ones to freeze over when Mother Nature is not so forgiving. Heh. With a minimum of 19F (-7ºC) and a maximum of 32F (0ºC), I really decided to give the place a shot.
I started my fishing adventure at the spillway that connects the Wallworth Lake with Evans Pond. With the exception of the little spillway, everywhere else was pretty much frozen solid. I set up two rods with slip-sinker setups, chummed the spillway with sweet corn kernels, and waited for some Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) action. Last but not least, I set up a third rod -- an ultra-light -- with a small 1/64 oz. ice fishing jighead, tipped with a small piece of nightcrawler.
A view of the Evan's Pond spillway. Still-fishing with two rods for Carp.
A view of the Wallworth Lake. Don't let your eyes fool you -- 95% of the photo here
is solid ice
I jigged and I jigged, and I jigged some more. I jigged the fish ladder. I jigged the pieces of structure around the area. I jigged on the bottom. I jigged one feet above the bottom. I jigged two feet above the bottom. And in the end, not a single bite. Once I realized that the jigging wasn't doing me any good, I added a float and jigged some more. :) After three hours of still-fishing and jigging, and not a single bite, I finally decided that it was time to move on. I decided to scout the Upper Cooper River below Driscoll Pond for some open water. On my way there, I wasn't too surprised to see the tundra at Hopkin's Pond.
A view of the frozen Hopkin's Pond. Dead, folks. Dead.
After arriving at the Upper Cooper River, I was very pleased to see some open water. I wasted no time! Once again, I set up two rods with slip-sinker setups; however, this time, I baited both of them with pieces of nightcrawler. As for the third rod...the jigging remained.
A view of the Upper Cooper River, below Driscoll Pond. Due to its saturation level,
the River rarely freezes over entirely during the Winter
It was one hour after setting camp there that the first bite came. By then, I had grown tired of the jigging. Consequently, I had placed a float above the jighead, in hopes that some lost fish would hit my dead-sticking presentation. For my surprise, the bite was subtle! The float wobbled only a little bit. And then, the fish was gone...I was seriously pissed at my own laziness at that point! Hahaha
Thankfully, I got another hit seconds after the first one. I set the hook. Fish on! And as I was reeling in my first ever 2017 fish, my other rod was also getting a hit! That's right, folks...after four hours of no signs of fish whatsoever, the action was finally heating up! Sooner than I realized, I was reeling in Golden Shiner after Golden Shiner.
My first 2017 fish: a Golden Shiner! Greedy creature attacked my nightcrawler with a revenge
I seriously thank the fish Gods for sending me that school of Golden Shiner. Heh. And on a serious note, being a Multi-Species angler paid off. After all, a Multi-Species angler is satisfied with anything that bites, regardless of sizes or Species. :) Among the Golden Shiner, I was also able to land a few Spottail Shiner and Yellow Perch.
A typical Yellow Perch from the Upper Cooper River. Typical = full of parasites. :)
A Spottail Shiner from the Upper Cooper River. Very strong colors during the winter.
And that is how my first fishing session of 2017 ended, folks. 22 fishes caught. 3 different Species of fish. Plenty of Golden Shiner! I couldn't ask for more! :) Even as I was leaving, the school of minnows was still there. And it may still be there for a while...So, if you are up for some fishing, why not hit the good old Upper Cooper River for some micro-fishing?! :P
Best of luck to all of us,
Long Days and Pleasant Nights!
Tight lines!
Sincerely,
Leo S. a.k.a. Extreme Philly Fishing
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