Extreme Philly Fishing

Reports (Mike H.): Multiple Lakes...(PA, MD)

Posted by Extreme Philly Fishing at 2:06 PM

http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/06/reports-mike-h-lakes-at-fdr-and.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-mike-h-fairmount-dam-pa_28.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-mike-h-fairmount-dam-pa_26.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-mike-h-fairmount-dam-pa.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-mike-h-and-lawrence-font-hill.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-mike-h-schuylkill-river-pa.html

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Written by Mike H. - edited by Leo S.

May 30th - Hit up the Skuke, right off the bat I nailed a 1 lb 10 oz Smallie using a Twin Tailed Grub on a jighead. I also landed a dink Smallmouth. The best fight came from a 30lb+ Carp that I snagged; it spooled over half of my line. After fighting the Beast for 20 minutes, he came unhooked. The shocking catch came when I hooked something over 100lbs in the river! I threw my Twin Tailed Grub at the corner of the wall: I felt a thump, set the hook, and felt like I got snagged. I pulled out my lure retriever, and when I slid the 1 lb lead weight down my line, my line suddenly started moving! I unhooked the lure retriever as fast as possible and fought the unknown monster. It moved extremely slow and took line at a rate of about 1 inch per second, and eventually, I got to see what the river monster was. A 100lb+ Snapping Turtle that had a diameter of 3.5 feet in its shell and a head bigger than a football! Obviously, there was no way for me to get that beast up. I had to cut the line.

May 31th - Fished at Haddon Lake from about 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.. I started off well - caught a nice 1 lb 12 oz Largemouth swimming a jig around the pads. I then lost a 3 lb bass burning a spinnerbait around the grass. After those hits, the fishing slowed down, until I managed to catch a huge 7 lb 12 oz Channel cat (sorry for the poor picture quality) when I threw a swim jig on its bed, and let it sit for 20 seconds while I was sending a text message (lol). At first, I thought I had a monster Bass or Snakehead, and I was a bit disappointed to see the Cat, but I did enjoy the great fight. I grabbed the Catfish like I do with the Bass and it tore up my hand - that's the last time I lip a Cat...

June 2nd - I hit up Lake Elkhorn in MD with my buddy Lawrence. When I first got there, I met a nice kid named Jesse, who's a regular that fishes the lake 5 times a week. He told me his PB at that lake was a 9.5 lb monster Largemouth caught last year. The water was extremely muddy from the storm and the fishing was tough. Regardless, I managed to catch a 1 lb Largemouth Bass on a Chatterbait, a 1.5lb Catfish on a jig, and a dink Largemouth on a drop shot. My buddy Lawrence landed 1 dink, and Jesse landed 3 dinks. I'll definitely be fishing lake Elkhorn again when I come back to MD to hunt for that lunker.

June 3rd - I fished at Columbia lake (the Crappie lake where Leo and I fished in 20 degree weather over the winter) with Jesse today. I arrived at 10 a.m., and Jesse had already been there for an hour (he landed a 5 lb Largemouth Bass skipping a tube under the docks). Once I got there, we struggled to find active fish, and it took an hour until Jesse landed a dink on a Crankbait. I then hooked into a real solid 4-5lbs Largemouth Bass on a Rattletrap, but it got itself unhooked after about 6 seconds of fight. Another half hour passed until I got my next bite. I was flipping a jig into some brush and I felt a solid thump. I set the hook and saw a 4-5lbs Largemouth Bass jump completely out of the water while throwing the hook out. I ended up getting skunked, but it was nice to see some real lunkers lurking in that lake, as my previous PB for that lake was only 3 lbs. According to Jesse, a fisherman managed to catch a 10lb Bass from that lake during the spawning season at the shallow end, where the water comes in.

June 4th - I hit FDR park two days ago - around dusk - with Vince, for an hour. I struggled to get any bites while Vince was getting some good hits on a Popping Frog, but couldn't connect with his hooksets. 5 minutes before I was about to leave, I decided to hit the bridge with a tube. On the first cast, I nailed this 3 lb bass (sorry for the bad picture quality, my flash didn't go off).

June 6th - I went back to FDR park and only managed one fish. However, this fish was a solid 2 lb 14 oz Bass that was caught on a shallow Crankbait on a weedline. I also managed to snag this turtle by accident on the same crankbait at the docks (lol).

Pictures are below:

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Now...let me thow some informal comments here because I loved these reports.

Comment 1: Hahaha...Lipping a 5lb+ Catfish is quite suicide, Mike! Their teeth are like sandpaper!

Comment 2: Talk about even "controlling" that turtle...he was probably dragging you around! Wise choice to cut that line... Once I got a huge Snapping Turtle at FDR, and I didn't think twice: cut the line! (better than having my finger chopped off)

Comment 3: Snagging king comes back! This time, he performs this miracle of snagging a turtle! Hahaha...Mike, you are the best! Your art is sacred, man...

Well...Mike's having a blast, and so am I. I hope everyone else is having a blast as well!

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

Reports (Rob Z.): The Lakes at FDR

Posted by Extreme Philly Fishing at 1:27 PM

Rob Z.'s report on the Lakes at FDR Park - June 3rd.

For previous reports from Rob Z.'s:

http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/06/reports-rob-z-core-creek-bucks-county_27.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/06/reports-rob-z-wissahickon-creek-pa.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/06/reports-rob-z-core-creek-bucks-county.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/06/reports-rob-z-fishing-at-fdr-park-pa.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-rob-z-fishing-in-south-jersey.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/04/reports-rob-z-fishing-in-scranton-pa.html

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Written by Rob Z. - edited by Leo S.

This past weekend I went to the FDR Park for Carp and for Bass (with a 3rd rod). I setup two Carp rods with corn, and cast with my third rod - an ultralight. I didn't manage anything on the ultralight, and I had to endure several showers over the course of the day. But it was all worth it when one of my Carp rods once again started to go nuts.

This time I was there for it. I took the bell off, grabbed the rod, and started the battle. It was pulling line off like crazy. I had a medium action rod with 20 lb braid, but it was fighting so strong! I almost felt like I was not strong enough to win this fight. Just when I thought I had the beast tired out, he would run again! And just when I though he could not possibly run anymore, he ran farther and stronger than he had before, even after I tightened the drag! I just could not believe the power of this fish.

There turned out to be a reason for this: I saw when the fish was landed that it was foul hooked in its left pectoral fin. Since it was not hooked in the mouth, it could really pull as much as it wanted without "hurting itself." It was also able to swim straight away easier since I didn't have it hooked in its mouth, which would have made it easier to turn the fish around, and tougher for the fish to run. I'm not sure if I could have landed it at all if it were not for the help of another fisherman, who waded into the water and scooped it up with a net. This one went just over ten pounds on my scale, and is my 3rd Carp.

I am very much enjoying this type of fishing, and using the 3rd rod to stay engaged while waiting is a good method that works for me. My next goal is a 15 pounder, and then after that, I will be looking for a 20 pounder.

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There you go! Another picture of a beast from the Lakes at FDR Park. Again: there's plenty of fish there, depending on what Species you target. Nadir G. missed a nice Carp there too, not too long ago.

Carp fishing is certainly exciting; they are top quality when it comes to sheer strength!
Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

Reports (Rob Z.): Core Creek, Bucks County, PA

Posted by Extreme Philly Fishing at 5:49 PM

Rob Z.'s report on Core Creek (Lake Luxembourg) - May 26th.

For previous reports from Rob Z.'s:
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/06/reports-rob-z-wissahickon-creek-pa.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/06/reports-rob-z-core-creek-bucks-county.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/06/reports-rob-z-fishing-at-fdr-park-pa.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/05/reports-rob-z-fishing-in-south-jersey.html
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/04/reports-rob-z-fishing-in-scranton-pa.html

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Written by Rob Z. - edited by Leo S.

As mentioned, I wanted to return to Core Creek to catch the fish that broke me off twice (see previous report on Core Creek). I'm guessing they were Catfish. However, when my girlfriend and I got there, the spot was taken, so we ended up taking a spot that was more crowded than I like. We had people on both sides of us, but we had just enough room to be comfortable.

I setup two rods with Powerbait and cast them out, shooting some chum out as well. My girlfriend and I were catching Sunnies and sunshine as we waited for the big one. We had lunch, and nothing was taking the Powerbait by then. I was hoping to maybe pull in a Trout or a Catfish, but neither was working out. At this point, we saw some Carp jumping, and my girlfriend asked if the Carp would eat the Powerbait. I told her no, and she questioned if we should put corn on one of them. It sounded like a fine idea, so one got thrown out there with corn.

30 minutes later, I told her that I was going to fish on the other side of the shrub - about 25 feet to my right. I went over, made a cast or two, and then heard a bell ringing wildly! It was the bell that was attached to the rod with the corn! I ran back in my flip flops as fast as I could. As I rounded the shrub, I saw my girlfriend up from the blanket, holding the rod, with everyone watching on both sides! The line was screaming off of the reel. She, who has fished less than 10 times, was trying to reel in, but the line was going out fast, and her reeling was not really doing anything. There was not more than 3 or 4 seconds worth of line on the reel when I got to her, grabbed the pole, and tightened the drag. On the other end was a muscular monster, the likes of which I had never felt before.

I kept the pressure on, and the rod tip up. I did not want to risk letting it get under a rock, where my braid might have gotten sliced again. Because of this, I kept the drag real tight, as I could not afford to give it room to tie me up and break me off. Because of this, the battle was extra brutal: fish vs man. I had sandals on, and the fish was pulling so hard that I decided it was time to take a walk into the lake. I went in to about my knees, and kept the pressure on. At one point, the butt end of the rod slipped off of my forearm, and the rod-tip went down fast! Practically dropping the rod, I recovered from the fumble, and the fish was still there.

I kept battling, and eventually saw the golden tail, and I knew it was a big Carp. Once again, no net, so I had to land this fish on my own. The first two times it got in close, I swear it looked at me and ran away. On the third attempt, I swung it around me and led it right up to the shore, and then gave it a push onto land from its tail. That hardly worked, so I just picked up the fish. This fish went 13.33 lbs, and is my new Carp PB and freshwater PB.

After a quick photo session, it was released unharmed. I can only be grateful that my girlfriend was there to help manage the rod until I could get there. Will I ever learn that it is NOT okay to walk away from a Carp rod? I hope so, but I can't be sure. Again - sunburned. It was time to leave after that fish. I still want to go back to get a monster Cat.

Pictures are below:

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Haha...nice, Rob! Congrats once again!

Leaving a Carp rod alone is certainly very dangerous, unless you have good ears to hear the drag, and a lot of line to spare! Now, back to work =)

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

Recent Catches...(June 20th+)

Posted by Extreme Philly Fishing at 3:17 PM

June 23rd - Pennypack Creek at Old Bustleton. Redbreast Sunfish on a piece of Corn.

June 23rd - Pennypack Creek a little bit after Old Bustleton road. Redbreast Sunfish on an in-line Spinner.

June 24th - Schuylkill Banks between Chestnut and Walnut, with Nadir G. Channel Catfish caught on a piece of Nightcrawler.

June 24th - Schuylkill Banks between Chestnut and Walnut. Channel Catfish caught on a piece of American Eel.

June 24th - Schuylkill Banks between Chestnut and Walnut. Little Striped Bass caught on a piece of Nightcrawler.

June 24th - Schuylkill Banks between Chestnut and Walnut. Little White Perch caught on a piece of Nightcrawler.

June 24th - Schuylkill Banks between Chestnut and Walnut, with Nadir G.. Channel Catfish caught on a piece of Nightcrawler.

June 24th - Schuylkill Banks between Chestnut and Walnut. Channel Catfish caught on a piece of American Eel.

June 24th - Schuylkill Banks between Walnut and Locust, with Jay D.. Channel Catfish caught on a piece of Corn.

June 25th - Pennypack Creek at Axe Factory Road. Smallmouth Bass caught on a piece of Corn.

June 25th - Pennypack Creek at Axe Factory Road. Smallmouth Bass caught on a Trout Magnet.

June 25th - Pennypack Creek at Axe Factory Road. Nice Rock Bass caught on a Trout Magnet.

June 21st - Schuylkill River at Fairmount Dam, with Mike H.. Striped Bass caught on a Zara Spook.

June 22nd - Wissahickon Creek before Forbidden Drive. Rock Bass caught on an in-line Spinner.

June 22nd - Wissahickon Creek at Forbidden Drive. Smallmouth Bass caught on an in-line Spinner.

June 22nd - Wissahickon Creek before Forbidden Drive. Smallmouth Bass caught on an in-line Spinner.

June 22nd - Wissahickon Creek. 4 Rainbow Trouts caught all on Spinners.

Best of luck for all of us!

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

June E-mail FAQ

Posted by Extreme Philly Fishing at 2:33 PM

Starting from the left: on top - a couple different spinning reels; on the bottom - my baitcaster (Shimano Antares DC7 LV), and a fly reel. On the floor: a couple plastics that I have, hooks, and some lures (shad dart there! haha). On the right: the metal pole is actually one of my nets, and the Okuma stand is for my fishing rods.

Another view of the same spot. Now you can view the Rod stand better, as well as the rod holders on the left.

This table is actually to the right of the previous picture, and it contains most of my small fishing accessories: lures on the bottom-right, sinkers on the right, flies and lines on the top-right. Gulp! baits and powerbait on top-center, different types of floats on top-right, hooks on bottom-right. There's also a small assortment of jig-heads, swivels, etc...

The process is to gather whatever I need for my next fishing session and pack it up! After coming back, I put all the items back, and so forth. I have everything organized, and ready to go! =)

2. "I saw you a couple times fishing at the Schuylkill Banks, but I never see you with your license outside. I'm assuming that you have your license with you every time you are fishing?"

Yes! Although the law states that showing the fishing license at all times on a piece of garment or so is a must, I rarely leave it exposed. I prefer to keep it safe, and show it when necessary. Below are pictures of all my fishing licenses for 2012. It's good to purchase them and be legal, not to mention that your money is going to be wisely used towards local fishing issues and so on.

New Jersey fishing license with Trout Stamp

Pennsylvania fishing license with Trout Stamp (purchased on 12/31/2011. Haha)

Maryland fishing license with Trout Stamp.

New Jersey Saltwater Recreational Registry Program ("License" for Salt-water fishing).

3. "Hi. I follow your Blog constantly, and I'm a big fan of Mike's. I purchased the same lures he uses, go to the same spots, and I don't catch anything! Are you sure he's using what you say he's using? I mean...I know some people like to keep their secrets, you know? Can you tell me what he's REALLY using?"

Well...I thank you on Mike's behalf - I'm sure he would be very happy to read this. In reality, he catches all his fish on the lures he says he used. There are no secrets AT ALL! Maybe there's a difference in terms of techniques - those are unique even among fishermen. As we both know, a single lure can be used in many different ways by different people. Below are a couple pictures of Mike's set of lures (not including Plastics!). Again - he does use those to fish.

4. "Hello. I love your Blog and everything, but I totally disapprove of the font colors that you use. They are so hard to read. I think you should change them."

That's a very interesting point that you are pulling out there - the font colors are certainly unusual. It's not the first time I hear about this complaint, and I will reply to you the same that I've replied to others: you can always follow the Blog news through the "RSS feed" (the link on top-right), which has a white background. If it still troubles you, you can select the text to make it white font with blue background.

However, let me emphasize that choosing the colors was not purely accidental. If you read the Blog in whatever version you like (original, RSS, or selected) with enough light, it will not damage your vision. It's the opposite - the red font helps your eyes get used to visual focus, which is actually an essential skill in fishing. Whatever way you prefer to do it, I'm glad you love the Blog!

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

Reports (Peter S.): A Lake in Abington Township

Posted by Extreme Philly Fishing at 1:28 PM

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Follow my Facebook page for updates on every single one of my fishing sessions:
http://www.facebook.com/ExtremePhillyFishing
There are fishes around us! Follow my Statistical Chart for 2012 for my catches during this year:
http://extremephillyfishing.blogspot.com/2012/01/statistical-fishing-chart-for-2012.html
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A couple announcements before starting this report:

-- My friend Nadir G. made a photo-video for the blog on Youtube with our newest pictures, featuring me, my father, Mike, Rob, and Nadir (main contributors to the Blog). The video is Copyright © 2012 Extreme Philly Fishing; and the music is Copyright © 2007 Carly Comando - all rights reserved to her. The link is below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-dEVhdgni0

-- About the previous poll...Winner was "Frogs and Rats" with 50% of votes, followed by a tie between Crawlers and Buzzbaits. If I think about it from a local perspective, the most suitable topwaters for the bodies of water that we have here are definitely Poppers and Frogs and Rats, although every one of them requires different fishing conditions! Anyways...new poll is out: "How long have you been fishing?". Vote, Vote!

-- About costs...The Blog is a free domain for storage; however, I just found out today that this storage apparently had a limit. I also found out today that I passed that limit, so I was unable to post ANYMORE pictures in this Blog unless I purchased a "Google Storage Plan". Well...it's a fact that the pictures that I post here are high quality pictures, ranging from 4-6 mbs each (previous camera was 17 megapixels, 16x zoom. Actualy camera is 18.1 megapixels, 10x zoom), so I'm not surprised that I passed this quota that not a lot of people pass. I'm now paying a monthly fee for the extra storage, so I can post my photos as usual, and the Blog remains Free - without you having to pay any costs to access it (no membership), without any annoying advertisements (no commercials), and no "monetizing" (no legal tender). Free information for everyone! So, enjoy, readers!

Peter S.'s report on a lake in Abington Township - May 25th.

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Written by Peter S. - edited by Leo S.

I started at 8:20 a.m. and saw the fog. The lake was dead, so I decided to fish a top-water frog. After a couple casts and no success, i believed that live bait was going to be the only way to go on that foggy overcast day, so I gave live bait a try. I started using a bluegill - I threw it out in the Lake. After a few casts, nothing! Then, i finally felt a nice hit. I opened the bail to let the fish eat the bait, and then i closed it. I then hooked into something huge that fought for 15 minutes and peeled off my 4lb test line. It swam all over with my medium light spinning rod bent over, and my spool singing as close to 25 yards of four pound test getting ripped off. I got it in, and realized it was a huge catfish. To my estimates from photos and rod-measurement, it was 25-30 inches...and fat - full of eggs. Both pictures below are of the same fish.

I fished a little bit more with live bait and got one Largemouth Bass on a Madtom, giving me the "triple crown" - Bass, Sunnie, and Catfish. Then, I got another Bass on the same bait, both back to back, almost in the same spot, although the second was bigger than the first.

I got nothing for a while, so I decided to fish another part of the lake - one that was heavily weeded, and with frogs. So, I decided to use specifically the Scum Frog that I just purchased from Bass Pro Shops. I got a little colorful dink on it. I had one more that blew up my bait, but the Bass missed and gave up on it.

I looked at my watch, and noticed it was 12 p.m. I only had half hour left before my bus came, and the sun was also out by that time. So, i was determined to see if i could get more Bass! I cast out a live Bluegill and saw it get swamped by another nice Bass. I set the hook and got my 4th bass of the day - a nice one too.

I gave a few more casts in that spot: nothing. So, I moved to another spot. I threw out a Senko, since I didn't have time to get a Bluegill. As i twitched the Senko, I felt some weight. I lowered the rod, reeled in the slack, and set the hook: result - a nice Bass around 14 inches or so. I snapped a photo, released the fish, and threw my senko in the exact same spot. It got picked up again! i set the hook and caught a nice Bass, bigger than the last one. I snapped a photo, released him, and then had to leave to pack for the shore. A great morning spent with no school!

Pictures are below:

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Nice job, Peter! Unfortunately, due to the owner's wish to keep the name of this lake a secret, I'm unable to tell you guys where it's. However, I can definitely say this: this body of water holds very good quality Bass for a local body of water. Even according to Mike H.: "I never saw a Lake that gave me so many hits in one day"

There's a good concentration of Largemouth Bass, Catfish, Crappie, and Sunnies (Pumpkin Seed, mainly) in that lake - pretty impressive considering its size and depth!

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

Roports (Mike H.): Haddon Lake, NJ.

Posted by Extreme Philly Fishing at 9:12 PM

Mike H.'s report on Haddon Lake, NJ - May 25th.

For previous reports from Mike H.'s:

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Written by Mike H. - edited by Leo S.

May 25th - Had a great day of fishing today with an interesting story to boot!

First off - Leo, Leo's dad, and Vince all joined me down at Haddon lake. Leo was kind enough to give me a Kopper's Live Target Bluegill Imitation Crankbait worth $13. After 20 minutes of casting the crankbait around, I hooked into a huge bass! I fought it for a minute or so, and right as I thought the Bass was ready to be landed, I got ready to lift him onto 3 feet up - onto the ledge I was standing on. As I was pulling him up, my line snapped! I couldn't believe it, and on impulse, I plunged into the water, grabbed the Bass with my hands, and placed him onto the shore.

I don't think I could've channeled my inner Mike Iaconelli if I wasn't wearing my hat with his signature on it... The bass weighed a whopping 3.5 lbs, a PB for Haddon Lake, and as I was holding it in the water, waiting for Leo to come take a picture, the Bass squirmed and got himself free! It was all good though, since I managed to get my new lure back. Using that exact lure, I caught 3 more bass weighing 1 lb, 1.5 lbs, and 1.5 lbs. My buddy Vince mananged to catch a 2.5 lb bass and a 1.5 lb bass (first image) flipping a soft plastic craw into the pads. Lastly, I caught a feisty 20 inch, 2 lb pickeral using a suspending jerkbait (second picture).

Pictures are below:

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Haddon Lake has been exceptional lately! Maybe it's exceptional the whole year... =)

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

Extreme Philly Fishing

Reports (Mike H.): Multiple Lakes...(PA, MD)

Reports (Rob Z.): The Lakes at FDR

Reports (Rob Z.): Core Creek, Bucks County, PA

Recent Catches...(June 20th+)

June E-mail FAQ

Reports (Peter S.): A Lake in Abington Township

Roports (Mike H.): Haddon Lake, NJ.

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