Today I am bringing you guys my fishing report for February 14th, 2017. The statistical fishing chart was updated as well. Aren't you guys glad that we are only two months behind here now?! :)
Below are the highlights for this fishing session:
My 13th 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:
As the name of the video implies, this fishing session was a tough one!
The main objective for the day was to go to the Delaware Canal for some Carp fishing. I had two medium-action and one ultra-light rod with me, not to mention my huge Balzer Metallica net. After loading my bag with two cans of sweet kernel corn, I was ready for some action!!!
All hopes were lost upon arrival, though...Heh. After I arrived at the Delaware Canal, I came to realize that albeit the weather had been softly warm for the past two days (~45F), the watershed itself still had a thin sheet of ice on it.
An iced up Delaware Canal D:
Needless to say, a little bit of ice was definitely not enough to stop Extreme Philly Fishing. ;) Even though my prime Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) spot was frozen, I still looked around the canal for other potential Carp spots. After thirty minutes of search, I finally found a little place to chum. I ended up setting up two rods with slip-sinker setups -- 1/2 oz. egg sinkers with a size #8 Mustad hook.
Winter Carping right next to structure. To the right of this photo, a bridge.
I spent approximately three hours there, folks. And in the end, I hadn't had a single tap! So, yeah...that was definitely enough for me to give up on those Carp. Hah. That is when I thanked myself for bringing an ultra-light rod!
My secondary and last plan for the day was to catch some Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) and Bluegill. Thus, I tied on a Kenders 4 mm. Ice Fishing jighead, tipping it with small pieces of nightcrawler. Suspended jigging with a Comal weighted float was the main technique used. Sadly, the Crappie did not want to collaborate. Thus, at the end of the day, I was able to only land three measly Sunfish...
Fish #274 of the year. A Bluegill
On one hand, I was quite disappointed for the lack of Carp. On the other hand, I was pretty satisfied that I didn't really get skunked. Hah.
As I always like to tell my subscribers and followers -- "even one fish is better than nothing." And folks...that day was a tough day on the water!
Below are the highlights for this fishing session:
My 3rd 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:
Since the weather for today was unusually nice for the Winter season, with a minimum of 46F and maximum of 66F, my friend Mike Caruso and I decided to go out and explore! After tinkering with Google Maps for quite a bit, we finally decided to choose the D&R Canal in New Jersey, which stands for the "Delaware & Raritan Canal." Our decision was based on a few factors: (1) considering two days of warm weather (>32F), we weren't entirely sure that all watersheds around us would be thawed; and (2) spillways and locks are amazing fishing spots for the Winter time. ;)
Now...truth be told, I have fished the D&R Canal one time in the past! Back in May 29th, 2014, my father and I went to the West Trenton portion of the canal for a day of Multi-Species fishing. We ended up catching a few Bluegill and Redbreast Sunfish. My father caught one Pumpkinseed, and a very unexpected Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Thus, when I say that my friend Mike and I decided to "go out and explore," I mean that we went to portions of the canal that both of us had never been to before.
So, our quest started...
We met around 6:15 a.m.. Then, we went to our local tackle shop. We grabbed four dozens of shiners and a 24-pack of waxworms. We didn't need to buy nightcrawlers or corn because we already had them. Yes, sir -- as you probably deduced already, we were 100% ready for a full day of Multi-Species fishing. So, after a whole night of research (a.k.a. googling and online articles), we set our GPS to the lock 10 location of the D&R Canal. According to many different "credible sources," a "very productive fishing spot."
Upon arrival (after an one hour drive), those credible sources disappointed us right away. What the NJ Parks and Recreation classified on their website as a public parking lot by the D&R trail turned out to be an abandoned private lot with "no parking signs" everywhere. Damn son...we were certainly frustrated for about five minutes or so! Thankfully, we had a back up plan (6-7 back up plans, actually)...
Our backup plan was to drive further North for 6 miles and hit the Lock 11. We arrived there around 8:00 a.m.
A front view of the Lock 11, at the D&R Canal. Parking lot to the right.
A back view of the Lock 11, at the D&R Canal. Parking lot to the left.
I am not going to sugar coat it, fellas! The spot looked really neat. 7-8 feet deep above the lock, 5-6 feet deep below. Strong current right below the lock, with eddies at the end of the wall. Talking from a textbook perspective, that spot just had to hold fish!!!
Mike and I wasted no time. We immediately setup two rods each -- one with live shiner and one with jigheads. Our initial plan was to catch some Chain Pickerel (Esox niger) on the live shiners and some smaller Species of fish on the jigging rod -- Crappie, Panfish, Perch, etc. We stayed there for 90 minutes, and I will tell you one thing, reader: with each minute that passed and no bites whatsoever, our hopes and expectations diminished a bit. Hah. Once our watches hit 10:00 a.m., we were entirely burned out. "Screw those Chain Pickerel!" We decided to hit the road once again and try our luck elsewhere.
Our third pick of the day was a weird spot on Google Maps. From a satellite view (above), the location looked like a pond that connected to the canal. The problem was that the spot itself was located in the middle of the D&R trail, two miles away from the closest road/parking lot. In other words, we were talking about 30-35 minutes of walking to get to a spot that could be good or could be bad! Back and forth, that would mean spending 60-70 minutes just for that single place. I briefly mentioned to Mike that a satellite view was very little information to rely on; however, I also mentioned that I wanted to take a bet and check the spot out. We started to evaluate the pros and cons of hitting the place:
Pros:
-- the place was far away from any parking lots and roads. Therefore, less people would hit it. Less people = less fishing pressure = more chances of catching fish.
-- from above, the spot looked like a little pond connected to the canal. Textbook fishing indicates that a watershed's inlets and outlets are often productive spots for fishing!
Cons:
-- the only image that we had of the spot was from Google Maps, which is never a very accurate source for finding watersheds. The database itself is usually not up to date as well. In other words, there could be a possibility for the spot to be extremely shallow or even dry.
-- from above, the spot looked very small in comparison to the canal. Smaller (and possibly shallower) watersheds tend to thaw slower when temperatures rise. In other words, the place could still be frozen and unfishable.
Thus, we were in a dilemma. Heh. But after much thinking, we decided to take the risk! And 35 minutes and 2 miles later, this is what we found:
A view of the Tenmile Run, which passes below the D&R Canal
For our surprise, the "pond in the map" actually turned out to be an entire different watershed! And even weirder -- one that passed below the canal. Summarizing -- the run didn't have any connections with the canal whatsoever. The curse of having a 1-dimensional image, folks. Haha. On a positive note, the place was almost all thawed out; therefore, it was fishable (YAY). So, once again...my friend and I did not waste any time!
As soon as I cast my first rod in the water, with a drop-shot/nightcrawler setup, I got a hit! Set the hook. Fish was on! The first fish that came up for me was a Largemouth Bass.
Fish #23 and my first Largemouth Bass of the year.
Many nightcrawlers, shiners, and waxworms later, Mike and I ended landing a few more Largemouth Bass, as well as a few Bluegill and Fallfish.
Fish #25 and my first Bluegill of the year.
Fish #26 and my first Fallfish of the year.
After landing more than a dozen fish, we truly started to realize the power of the small Creeks that passed under the D&R canal! I mean...we never really expected so many fish to be stacked there. And guess what?! The Tenmile Run wasn't the only Creek under the canal around those areas. A few miles from us was another similar watershed -- the Sixmile Run. Thus, once the action slowed down, we walked to the Sixmile Run for a little bit more of Creek Multi-Species/Micro fishing. Heh.
A view of the Sixmile Run. Very similar to the Tenmile Run, but wider and deeper.
Once we arrived at the Sixmile Run, we didn't really get any bites there for our first 30 minutes. I had one rod cast about 15 feet straightforward, high-low rig. Another rod with a float and a jighead. Mike had similar setups as well. It was around 1:30 p.m. that I decided to change strategies: I took my float out and jigged along the concrete walls of the Run. That is when I had a little surprise...
Right after dropping my jighead, I got a bite on the bottom! A Bluegill came up almost instantaneously:
Fish #33. A Bluegill on a 1/64 oz. jighead, tipped with a piece of nightcrawler
I took advantage of the bite and dropped my jig once again in the same spot. Another Bluegill came up! I dropped my jig once again, and this time a Black Crappie came up:
Fish #35. A Black Crappie. Caught on the same setup described above.
The rest of the day was pretty much robotic, folks! After deciphering the pattern of the day, Mike and I caught fish after fish along the concrete walls of the Sixmile Run. Two and a half hours of packed action! Species included the Golden Shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas), the Largemouth Bass, the Pumpkinseed, the Green Sunfish, the Fallfish, the Redbreast Sunfish, and even a hungry and feisty Common Carp that found its way to my jighead. :)
Fish #36. A Largemouth Bass.
Fish #40. A Pumpkinseed.
Fish #43. A Green Sunfish.
Fish #52. A Fallfish.
Fish #59. A Common Carp.
Fish #70. A Redbreast Sunfish
After 7:30 hours of fishing and a nice gamble, I ended my third outing of the year with 8 different Species of fish and a total of 58 fishes caught! Mike caught much less; however, he did end his day with a total of 6 different Species of fish, including two Golden Shiners that never showed up on my line today. :)
Today I'm bringing you my fishing session on Caroline Lake that took place on September 7th:
--- September 7th, 2015 ---
Location: Caroline Lake/Queen Anne Creek (Fairless Hills, PA)
Time: 6:00-10:00 a.m.
Fishes caught:
-- 24 Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus)
-- 4 Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)
-- 2 Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)
-- 1 Green Sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus)
-- 1 Redbreast Sunfish (Lepomis auritus)
P.s. As much as I want to bring you guys FULL fishing reports of every trip that I do, unfortunately I don't have the time to do so! Thus, the goal, setup, and summary sessions of every fishing post will be blank for now. If you want to see full fishing reports on the Blog again, please support me on my Patreon page. Once I reach my goal there, I will not only have enough time to write full reports, but also didactic posts and event posts for better community engagement. Tight lines and FISH ON! Leo S.
Video:
Below are the highlights for this fishing session:
In the video above, I explore Caroline Lake and the Queen Anne Creek in Fairless Hills, PA. 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 to it. :)
Goals:
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Setup:
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Summary:
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Photos:
Below are the photos for this fishing session:
First blood -- A Black Crappie on an 1" Gulp! Alive Minnow! :)
Fat Bluegill from the Queen Anne Creek.
Redbreast Sunfish are usually expected to be in Creeks. I was very glad to see that this one was hanging just below Caroline Lake.
Micro-Fishing at its best! This small Largemouth Bass shows us that natural reproduction of this Species is going great over there.
Biggest fish of the day -- a Largemouth Bass on a wacky-rigged Gary Yamamoto Senko.
A very colorful Green Sunfish from the Queen Anne Creek.
Hello, Blog Readers! Today I'm bringing you my fishing session for June 28th: --- June 28th, 2015 --- Location: Wallworth Lake/Hopkins Pond/Driscoll Pond/Upper Cooper River (Haddonfield, NJ); Lake Alverthope (Abington, PA) Time: 1:30-5:30 p.m./ 7:00-9:30 p.m. Fishes caught: -- 5 Green Sunfish X Bluegill Hybrid (Lepomis cyanellus X Lepomis macrochirus) -- 2 Green Sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) -- 8 Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) -- 1 Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) -- 3 Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) -- 1 Spotted Bass (Micropterus punctulatus) -- 2 Brown Bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) -- 1 White Catfish (Ameiurus catus) -- 3 Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) Video: Below are the highlights for this fishing session:
This video is divided mainly in seven parts: (1) Introduction (0:00-3:20); (2) Setup (3:25-5:20); (3) Fishing the Wallworth Lake below the dam (5:21-11:28); (4) Fishing the Wallworth Lake above the dam (11:30-12:00); (5) Fishing the Hopkins Pond (12:01-13:17); (6) Fishing the Driscoll Pond (13:18-16:35); and (7) Fishing the Upper Cooper River (16;36-32:20). 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 goal for the day was to catch as many different Species of fish as possible in Haddonfield, NJ. Setup:
If you folks read my fishing Blog a lot, you should know that Haddonfield is one of my favorite places to go to when it comes to Multi-Species fishing! Anyways...
I started my day fishing the Wallworth Lake under the dam. I ran an in-line spinner against the current without much success. Therefore, I quickly switched my setup to a "Gulp! Alive Minnow" on a 1/64 oz. jighead. I caught a couple Species of fish and moved on! I followed the path after the dam and walked all the way up to the dam below Evans Pond, where my friend Peter S. joined me. I gave a couple casts here and there, switched to some nightcrawlers, and caught a decent sized Bluegill that I decided to save as bait!
Peter and I then moved to Hopkins Pond, where I caught a small Brown Bullhead. Hopkins is known for having winter kills due to lack of oxygen; thus, only Common Carp, Brown Bullhead, and a couple of other Species of fish inhabit that body of water.
After spending fifteen minutes there or so, we moved down to Driscoll Pond. I caught a small Black Crappie and Peter caught his first Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) in a long while. We fished there for a little bit more, ending up with a few extra Bluegill and Largemouth Bass.
Finally, we ended up fishing the Upper Cooper River below Driscoll Pond. Peter ended his day with two nice Common Carp whereas I ended up with a really nice White Catfish!
Even after all those catches, Peter's thirst for fishing was still up in the air. Thus, we decided to hit Lake Alverthorpe in Abington for some night-time Catfishing! We got there around 7:00 p.m., initially targeting Largemouth Bass and Sunfish. I eventually caught a couple neat Species, including a beautiful Brown Bullhead! Unfortunately, we ended the night with no monster Channel Catfish.
Overall, it was a very productive day in terms of Multi-Species fishing.
Photos:
Below are the photos for this fishing session:
A chubby Bluegill from the Wallworth Lake (below the dam).
Peter's first Yellow Perch in a long long time! It was wonderful to see that Driscoll Lake still had one of them in there.
A Bluegill X Green Sunfish hybrid from the Wallworth Lake. A couple folks have been confusing these hybrids with Warmouth (Lepomis gulosus) -- recall, folks: the soft-dorsal and anal fin on Warmouth are red colored and not yellowish.
An authentic Green Sunfish from the Wallworth Lake.
A Largemouth Bass with Hyperpigmented Melanosis. Up to date, ichthyologists are still not sure how the Bass obtain Hyperpigmented Melanosis; however, so far, there have been no signs of malignancy when it comes to it. In other words, our understanding up to date is that it does not hurt the fish.
A nice view of the Hopkins Pond. :)
My little Brown Bullhead from Hopkins Pond. :)
A beautiful Black Crappie from Driscoll Pond.
A small Spotted Bass from the Upper Cooper River. Anglers usually don't bother to differentiate Largemouth Bass and Spotted Bass; however, they are different Species (despite their similarities). Spotted Bass tend to have (1) tooth patches on their tongues; (2) a mouth that does not extend past the eye when the jaw is closed; (3) broken lateral stripes; (4) clear ventrolateral stripes; and (5) scales on its soft-dorsal fin.
Same fish, another angle -- this little fella had "toothy patches" on its tongue.
A Largemouth Bass from the Upper Cooper River.
Catfishing at the Upper Cooper River using an ultralight rod. :)
My White Catfish! Very nice sample for NJ.
Peter with his Common Carp from the Upper Cooper River.
A beautiful Pumpkinseed from the Alverthorpe Lake in Abington.
Video: Below are the highlights for this fishing session:
The video above is divided mainly in three parts: (1) Introduction (0:00-2:10); (2) Fishing at Little Mantua Creek (2:11-14:40); and Fishing at Meadow Lake (14:41-19:20). 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 explore this very common fishing spot in West Deptford, NJ -- the Little Mantua Creek (at the railroads). In other words, my goal was to try to catch as many Species as possible from there. Setup:
My friend Peter S. and I arrived at the Little Mantua Creek around 7:00 a.m.. It was our first time in this well-known South New Jersey fishing spot; therefore, we carefully followed our friend Bryan's directions on how to get there. The place itself seemed to be sketchy; therefore, I wouldn't recommend anyone to go fishing alone in that particular place!
Over the years, I heard much about that spot: the place itself was well-known among the community for having an abundance of Northern Snakeheads (Channa argus), good Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) and good Black Crappie. The whole place even went viral after some kids posted videos on YouTube of themselves killing the Northern Snakeheads in very cruel ways (i.e. tying them to the railroads and watching them getting crushed by the train).
But anyways...my friend and I fished the place for Northern Snakeheads for a good sixty minutes without any success. After that, I switched gears to Multi-Species with one of my favorite soft plastics -- the 1" Gulp! Alive Minnow. I ended up catching a bunch of White Perch, Black Crappie, and a few Bluegill on it.
It was then that I located a small school of Mummichogs! I immediately switched gears to a small hook with a sliver of nightcrawler. I caught a couple of them and used them as bait under a float. They worked very well, landing me a couple extra Black Crappie and good sized White Perch.
Unfortunately, we finished the day with no Snakeheads nor Largemouth Bass! My friend Bryan KL arrived there around 10:30 a.m., just when Peter S. and I were leaving for Meadow Lake. My friend Bryan did catch some neat fishes down there, including a Yellow Perch on a Dardevle Spoon.
To finish the day, I took Peter S. to my Mulberry stop at Meadow Lake for some Carp action. Heh. He ended up catching a nice one over there.
Photos:
Below are the photos for this fishing session:
My biggest Black Crappie of the day: 12 inches on the dot. This one was caught on a 1" Gulp! Alive Minnow on a 1/64 oz. Trout Magnet jighead, under a weighted float.
One of the many White Perch of the day. This little fella actually inhaled a whole Mummichog!
One of the many Mummichogs that I caught that day. Vicious little fish! Heh.
Today I'm bringing you folks my fishing report for June 10th:
--- June 10th, 2015 ---
Location: Meadow Lake @ FDR Park (South Philadelphia, PA)
Time: 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Fishes caught:
-- 2 Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)
-- 2 Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus)
-- 1 Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio)
-- 4 Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)
Video:
Below are the highlights for this fishing session:
The video is divided mainly in two parts: (1) Introduction (0:00-1:10), and (2) Fishing (1:11-12:30).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). However, my father and I shifted goals for Multi-Species Fishing after the first couple hours.
Since my father never caught a Northern Snakehead in his life, I decided to take him down to Meadow Lake in South Philadelphia to fish for them. We started our day with Zoom Flukes on a size 5/0 wide gap Gamakatsu hook. We fished for about two hours without a single Snakehead bite; thus, we finally decided to switch to Multi-Species fishing!
The action was considerably hot around the second and third bridges, which would be location 4 on this map. I ended up catching a few Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, and Black Crappie there.
Soon after, I spotted a Mulberry tree hanging onto the Creek. I just couldn't resist the temptation of easily catching a Carp under it; therefore, I switched gears to Mulberry Carp fishing. Heh. I ended up landing a nice Carp on a single Mulberry! That concluded my session for the day
Photos:
Below are the photos for this fishing session:
My "Mulberry Carp" at Meadow Lake. This fish was caught on a single Mulberry. No chumming necessary. :)
My biggest Largemouth Bass of the day. This fish was caught on a piece of nightcrawler by the second bridge.
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.
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.
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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