April Fishing Sessions: 04/23: Fishing for Striped Bass on the Delaware River (PA)

Hello, Blog Readers! 

Here's my short fishing report for April 23rd:

--- April 23rd, 2015 ---

Location: Delaware River (@ the Correctional Facility -- "Delaware at the Pennypack" Park)

Time: 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Fishes caught: 

-- None

Video:

Since there were no fishes caught for this session, there is no video for it. :(

Goal:

The goal for the day was to land any sized Striped Bass from the Delaware River.

Setup: 

I used two rods for this fishing session. The first setup consisted of a Cortland Endurance 9' noodle rod with a Shimano Symetre 4000FL and 12lbs Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon line. The second setup was a heavy action Daiwa Samurai rod + reel with 20lbs Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon line. I used a traditional slip-sinker setup with a 2 oz. egg sinker, a medium sized Eagle Claw snap swivel, and a snelled 7/0 Gamakatsu octopus hook. 

Summary:

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.

Best of luck to all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.