May Fishing Sessions: 05/28 - Fishing Meadow Lake (FDR Park) for Bass and Snakeheads (South Philadelphia, PA)

Hello, Blog Readers!

Here is my report for May 28th:

--- May 28th, 2015 ---

Location: Meadow Lake (@Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park, South Philadelphia, PA)

Time: 12:00-4:30 p.m.

Fishes caught:

-- 2 Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus)

-- 1 Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)

Video:

Below are the highlights for this fishing session:

The video is divided in three parts: (1) Introduction (0:00-1:30); (2) Setup (1:30-5:15); and Fishing (5:15-end). Don't forget to watch it in HD quality (1080p50)! If you enjoy watching my videos, please support my YouTube Channel by liking and subscribing. :)

Goal:

The main goal for the day was to catch some Northern Snakehead (Channa argus) and Largemouth Bass on Zoom Flukes.

Setup:

My setup in the video consisted of a Cortland Endurance 9' noodle rod with a Shimano Symetre 4000FL and 12lbs Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon line. Throughout the course of the video, I used the following types of baits/lures: (1) a Zoom Fluke Texas rigged on a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook; (2) a 1" Gulp! Alive Minnow hooked on a 1/64 oz. Trout Magnet jighead.

Summary:

I arrived at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt park after taking the Septa Broad street line all the way to the AT&T station (final stop). As mentioned previously, the original goal for the day was to catch some Largemouth Bass and Northern Snakehead on the Zoom Fluke! Therefore, I Texas rigged a Zoom Fluke and walked around the main Lake in search of the elusive and "aggressive" Northern Snakehead.

After a good amount of time walking and casting, I caught only a little Largemouth Bass down by the Gazebo! Therefore, I decided to leave the main Lake (the biggest one) and walk to the stream at the back of the Park (where the skate park is at). Upon arrival, I actually saw four Northern Snakehead just chilling close to the surface of the water! I immediately threw my lure at them and here is the frustrating part -- instead of grabbing on my lure, they actually got spooked by it...

So, yes folks -- in case you didn't already  know, the myth that Northern Snakehead will attack anything that comes close to them doesn't check out! Despite what the common folks believe in, Northern Snakehead can be quite tricky to catch. They can be very elusive and finicky at times. Also, according to the Science of Ichthyology, they are classified as a "lie-in-wait" predator, which is the same classification that is given to the Esox family (i.e. Pike and Pickerel). 

After a bunch of hours without a single Snakehead and a thunderstorm moving in, I finally decided to shift gears to a smaller jighead and soft plastic! That's when I caught my two Black Crappie.

Overall, it was an extremely tough day down at "The Lakes," as the locals like to call it. 

Photos:

Below are the photos for this fishing session:

A view of a Mulberry Tree at Meadow Lake! Even though I didn't try Carp fishing on that day, Mulberry trees are Carp magnets. Therefore, always keep your eyes opened for those little yummy mulberries. 

Probably one of the biggest Black Crappie that I have ever caught at Meadow Lake. The "catching" for the day was horrible; however, this fish made my day! It was safely released.

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.