After a brutal day of fishing on the PA side of the Delaware River, I decided to attempt it once again -- this time from the NJ side! My friend Peter S. and I went to the River at the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge in Northeast Philadelphia: a well known Striped Bass spot for the PA and NJ locals.
Before fishing, we ended up going to the tackle shop for some extra supplies. My friend Peter ended up purchasing some bloodwords, leader line, etc; and I ended up getting a fresh Bunker for the day. The weather conditions were still as brutal as yesterday's: chilly morning with plenty of wind. And even so, we arrived on the spot around 8:00 a.m..
I gotta be very sincere with your folks now -- good or bad spot, we ended up getting skunked! And throughout the course of four hours of fishing, we saw only one Striped Bass landed. My friend Peter S. actually had a couple nibbles, but no hook ups. My three rods were just dead in the water...like, the whole time! Hah.
Photos:
A nice scenery view of the Delaware River from the New Jersey side. Anglers, do not forget that the New Jersey Wildlife and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission have a deal on the Delaware River: both licenses can be used on both sides of the River.
"Things that you don't see when you stay at home:" A shady syringe by your fishing spot. Pretty dangerous stuff too, so we all gotta make sure to throw trash in the trash.
A nice far away view of Center City, Philadelphia.
The Tacony-Palmyra bridge opening its "doors" to big vessels. Heh.
Lowest tide at the bridge -- a 6 feet drop in the tide can let you wade from the banks to the first pillar of the Tacony-Palmyra bridge.
"Things that you don't see when you stay at home:" An authentic local Delaware River clam!
After hearing multiple reports of Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) from the Delaware River in Northeast Philadelphia, I decided to go out there and attempt it myself! I adventured myself in "new waters" (or better saying, new spots...) by going to a place that I had never fished before: the Gazebo at the "Pennypack at the Delaware" Park.
I picked that spot for two main reasons: (1) I heard from my friend Chris E.* that he did well over there in the past, catching his share of small White Perch (Morone americana) and small resident Striped Bass during the Summer months; and (2) I also heard that the place was a sandy flat with a negative slope.
So, a day or two before the promised session, I went to Brinkman's Bait and Tackle on Linden Avenue to purchase some fresh bait. I ended up getting a pack of Bloodworms (and boy, they are getting more and more expensive over the years); a quart of salted clams; three packs of nightcrawlers for my multi-species fishing; and a dozen of live Mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus).
I fished the Delaware River for about three hours, enduring the windy cold front that came on April 22nd. During the course of my fishing session, I had multiple small nibbles. However, no solid takes! Therefore, I ended up getting skunked...
It's as they say, folks: "One day belongs to the angler, another day to the fish." Heh.
*You may follow Chris E. through his page on Facebook.
Photos:
Stocked on my live bait at Brinkmans Bait and Tackle. Don't forget, fellas -- support your small businesses as much as you can!
A nice photo of my two rods under the clouds. It was a windy and chilly day! Definitely not the most pleasant day to be outside fishing...
A nice view of the Delaware River at its lowest tide. The water is barely hanging on that fishing pier. Heh.
The month of November is here, and so is Thanksgiving! Turkey time, huh? =)
I really expect this month to be super slow when it comes to fishing, especially knowing that water temperatures will be very low. It's about time to shift gears from the Bass and the Catfish to the Crappies and the Carp!
Before starting the "November Fishing Sessions," let me update you on a couple things:
-- There's a Catfish Derby coming up on November 16th (Saturday). It will be held at the Frankford Arsenal in Northeast Philadelphia. I'm participating in it, and I'm inviting all of you to do as well! If you don't mind the cold, give it a try! All the information I know of it is below:
"Cavemans Catfish Contest at the Frankford Arsenal 7 a.m.-12 p.m. Saturday, November 16th, 2013 Adults $10. Cash prizes are based on the number of people. Must have a fishing license. This is a fishing derby -- whoever catches the most Catfish wins, biggest fish will be the tie breaker. Catch and release."
-- The "Catfish Tourney on the Banks" competitions are done for this year. I made a summary of them yesterday (click here to view it). The 5th Catfish Tourney on the Banks is scheduled for March 23rd, 2014 (Sunday). So, enjoy your Winter fishing for now!
Here's your picture of the month:
"Things that you don't see when you stay at home:" A Dinosaur statue in the middle of the city! Every time I go fishing at Haddonfield -- NJ, I see this big fella there. I don't know why, but there's only 1 dinosaur, and it's just there...
As a bonus, here's a video of Don with his 38lbs Flathead Catfish from the Schuylkill River that I found recently! Watch out for the language! Enjoy it.
Now, for the November fishing sessions...
--- November 2nd, 2013 ---
Location: Delaware River
Time: 1:00-6:30 p.m.
Fishes caught:
- None
Tough day on the Delaware River! I fished it with my friend Don G. in Northeast Philadelphia, after the Tacony Bridge. We came at high tide and left at low tide, finishing only with a couple bites and only one Channel Catfish for Don.
Some scenery photos are below:
"Things that you don't see when you stay at home:" The Tacony bridge closing up! Neat, huh? =)
Peacefully fishing on the Delaware River. Temperatures were great last Saturday! It was warm and nice outside.
"Things that you don't see when you stay at home:" Neat rays of light coming down through thick clouds. And perhaps an UFO as well? =)
When you have no fish bites, this is what you do: you start a fire in a safe location.
Don looking at his rods while the fire builds up.
The last step: you cook some hot-dogs for dinner.
--- November 3rd, 2013 ---
Location: Cooper River Lake/Audubon Lake
Time: 1:00-4:30 p.m.
Fishes caught:
-- 2 Common Carp (3.5, 6.5lbs)
I started the day at Cooper River Lake; however, the bite was pretty dead. Therefore, I ended up fishing with my friend Steve OT at Audubon Lake, which is located in Haddon Heights. I ended up catching 2 Common Carps on kernel corn: 3.5 and 6.5lbs. For my surprise, there were quite a few people fishing at Haddon Lake, even though it was super cold...!
It was windy, chilly, but at least I got some fish! Good stuff.
My Carp fishing set up at Cooper River Lake.
My first Carp of the day: 3.5lbs
Same Carp, different angle. Thanks for the photo, Steve!
And here's a video of the second Carp that I Caught:
Before watching it, I HIGHLY recommend you guys to read the description of it on Youtube, especially because you will waste quite a lot of your time if you watch the whole thing. It's a 24 minutes video, but it gets informative only for about 10 minutes or so.
--- November 13th, 2013 ---
Location: Upper Cooper River
Time: 10:15-3:00 p.m.
Fishes caught:
-- 5 Black Crappie -- 1 Brown Bullhead
I went fishing with my friend Matt A. at the Upper Cooper River, Haddonfield, NJ. Since he never caught a Carp, I invited him to tag along!
It was a little bit chilly; however, we managed to stay warm! I finished the day with 5 Black Crappie and 1 Brown Bullhead -- nothing big. Matt finished not only with the first Carp of his life (a 2.82lber), but the second as well! The biggest fish of the day is portrayed below: a 8.33lbs Common Carp on the kernel corn.
It's cold...but the fishing is still on!
Little Black Crappie -- first fish of the day!
Another small Black Crappie from the Upper Cooper River, caught on a small minnow imitation.
My friend Matt A. with the first Carp of his life: a small, but beautiful 2.82lbs Common Carp.
Say "hi" to my little friend -- a Brown Bullhead from the Upper Cooper River.
Biggest fish of the day: 8.33lber Common Carp, caught on a piece of kernel corn.
--- November 16th, 2013 ---
Location: Delaware River
Time: 7:00-12:00 p.m.
Fishes caught:
- None I participated at a local Catfish derby with my friend Don G.. We fished for 5 hours on the Delaware River (Frankford Arsenal), and Don finished in first place! As for me...I finished in last (I got skunked). Somehow, I always get skunked on the Delaware River. Haha.
Hopefully I'll do better next time! =)
Don G. with his first Channel Catfish of the day, caught on a piece of marinated chicken liver (yes, marinated...)
Don's 2nd and last fish of the day. The competition was pretty slow; therefore, the winner took the prize home with 2 fish only. Still, congratulations on winning it, Don!
--- November 17th, 2013 ---
Location: Schuylkill River
Time: 11:00-2:00 p.m.
Fishes caught:
- None
Tough day on the Banks. I went there with my friend Matt A. and we both got skunked in three hours of fishing! I had only one Catfish bite and I couldn't land it. It was that bad. =/
--- November 25th, 2013 ---
Location: Manayunk Canal
Time: 11:00-2:30 p.m.
Fishes caught:
- None
I headed for the Manayunk Canal with my friend Matt A.. The plan for the day was to Carp; however, most of the place was frozen once I arrived there!
The day before was super cold (33 max), but I didn't expect the canal to be halfway frozen. Nevertheless, we got skunked after 3:30 hours of fishing. Not a single bite! =/
Tough...
One of the portions that were "fishable."
The canal...frozen! =(
"Things that you don't see when you stay at home:" cool ice patterns in small spillways.
--- November 26th, 2013 ---
Location: Linden Lake/Kirkwood Lake
Time: 1:30-4:30 p.m.
Fishes caught:
- 6 Bluegill
I decided to hit Linden Lake, Lindenwold, for some Black Crappies. The weather has been pretty cold recently, so I figured that the Crappies would at least entertain me!
For my surprise, Linden Lake was frozen when I arrived there! It was raining for almost an hour before my arrival, not to mention that air temperatures were above 32F. Regardless, the little Lake was still frozen. I was so disappointed! =(
Without many options, I ended up going to the Kirkwood Lake, which was close by. I finished the day with 6 Bluegills on nightcrawlers.
I did hook up with a nice fish, but it swam into something and got snagged. Unable to see the fish or pull my line, I ended up snapping it. From my perspective, it was probably a nice Largemouth Bass. It bit on a whole 4 inch Bluegill, 5/0 hook.
Hopefully the next sessions will be better. I'll be focusing more on spots where I know I'll catch fish. Heh.
Enjoy the photos below:
"Things that you don't see when you stay at home:" This gigantic bra was just sitting next to Linden Lake, on the floor. I don't even dare ask myself how it got there, or how big is the cup...ginormous.
First Bluegill of the day, caught on a piece of nightcrawler. It was raining, cold, but at least I didn't get skunked! Ha!
One of my favorite spots on Kirkwood Lake. I call it "The Pipe." This is where I lost my big fish of the day. I cast my rod all the way into the pipe with a 2oz sinker, 5/0 hook and 4 inch Bluegill. After sitting there for an hour or so, something pulled it really hard! I got so excited, but my hands were lethargic from the cold. The fish pulled drag and swam deep into the pipe, eventually getting stuck on something. I tried to pull the fish out of there, but it didn't work. After 30 minutes or so, I snapped my line...
Another little Bluegill on a piece of nightcrawler. The good thing about them is that they are super fun to catch on ultralight gear during the Winter time.
As you browse through this blog, please keep in mind that Extreme Philly Fishing (a.k.a. EPF) is all about recreational and sustainable fishing in the United States of America!
EPF encourages an "educational approach." In other words, EPF believes that a good and positive fishing community can only be achieved by sharing proper information and educating anglers about the pros and cons of their actions. Good stewards of the sport know about the concepts of selective harvest and aquatic sustainability/environmental conservation; they know about the consequences of non-point source pollution (i.e. littering) and over-harvesting; they know about good manners and etiquette towards fellow anglers; safe fish handling skills for Catch-Photo-Release; etc.
I hope you do enjoy the readings and the information that I have to offer here! And, of course, tight lines and FISH ON!
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