April Fishing Sessions: 04/28: Fishing for Striped Bass and Channel Catfish on the Tidal Schuylkill River (Philadelphia, PA)

Hello, FB Readers! 

I'm pretty sure that you guys have noticed the new tab on the right of the page already. Heh. I've added a new photo gadget entitled "Latest Public Album Entry on FB." Therefore, from now onward, the latest photo update on the FB Public Album will be presented here as well. If you are interested in submitting your photos to the Public Album, please click here for more details. Keep 'em coming, readers... :)

Here is my report for April 28th:

--- April 28th, 2015 ---

Location: Tidal Schuylkill River (@Spring Garden, Philadelphia, PA)

Time: 11:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

Fishes caught:

-- 1 Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis)

-- 1 White Perch (Morone americana)

-- 5 Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

Video:

Below are the highlights for this fishing session:

The video is about twenty-six minutes long. A brief introduction and setup overview is given in the first six minutes of the video. At the end of the video, there are two extra short clips for "Things that you don't see when you stay at home." Don't forget to watch it in HD (1080p50)! If you enjoy watching my videos, please support the YouTube Channel by liking and subscribing. :) 

Goal:

After failing miserably at the Delaware River for Striped Bass, I shifted my goals to the Schuylkill River in Center City. My goal for the day was to try catching some Striped Bass at a spot that I had never been to before -- a sandy flat by the Spring Garden Bridge. 

Setup:

I used three 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. Both setups were rigged with a 2 oz. egg sinker, a medium sized Eagle Claw golden snap-swivel, and a snelled 7/0 Gamakatsu octopus hook.

The third setup consisted of a high-low rig: two snelled #4-#6 Eagle Claw j-hooks on a three way swivel (about 1 foot apart from each other) and a 2 oz. river sinker on the bottom.  

Throughout my fishing session, I used the following types of bait: bloodworms, bunker, and salted clam.

Summary:

Taking the spring run in consideration, I decided to pick a narrower spot on the Schuylkill River with the logic that the fish must pass there in order to spawn. After looking through Google Maps and Google Earth, I reached the conclusion that the sandy flat at Spring Garden was my best option. 

I arrived there around 11:30 a.m., catching the high-to-low tide. I setup my rods with bunker and left-over blooworms. Just in case, I had salted clams as well. Soon after, the first hit came: my first Striped Bass of the day! Unfortunately, that was also the last one of the day. Heh. For the rest of the day, I had multiple Channel Catfish bites -- my biggest one being a 23 incher, 5.5lber. I also ended up landing a big female White Perch full of eggs, which I decided to release (recall -- gotta preserve fish fitness in the sport). 

Even though I landed only one small Striper, overall, it was a very productive day on the River! 

Photos:

A nice scenic view of the River. On the backgroud: the Spring Garden Bridge.

First fish of the day: a juvenile Striped Bass (~2 years old). Despite its size, a beautiful fish! 

A "big mama" full of eggs! I hope this White Perch finished its job. Heh. 

3.5lber Channel Catfish on a piece of Bunker.

A nice view of my three rods during low tide. 

"Things that you don't see when you stay at home:" A Groundhog eating some greenery on the banks of the Schuylkill River! Gorgeous creature.

"Things that you don't see when you stay at home:" Radioactive stuff on the River? After digging through the sand, I still had absolutely no idea what was that! In the end, it was just a heavy silver container with no lid whatsoever. Very very suspicious...It had a number "5" and a recycle symbol on it.

A view of the same object. It was buried pretty deep in the sands of the Schuylkill River. Hopefully one of you folks can tell me what this is...

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

April Fishing Sessions: 04/25: Morning Carping at the Frankford Creek (PA)

Hello, Blog Readers! 

Before anything else, I am happy to announce that the 6th Catfish Tourney on the Banks is definitely happening! As for now, I already have more than 15 participants/teams all together and I am expecting many more to show up on the day of the event! So, I have hopes that this will be big. For those who are not yet familiar with the event, rules and registration information can be found here. 

I hope to see everyone down there, and may the best win! 

Now, here is my short fishing report for April 25th:

--- April 25th, 2015 ---

Location: Frankford Creek (Port Richmond, PA)

Time: 9:00 a.m.-12:00 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 some Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) at the Frankford Creek in Port Richmond. Note that my friend and I did not pre-chum the location; in other words, the fishing trip was a last minute decision.

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. Both setups were rigged with a 1 oz. egg sinker, a medium sized Eagle Claw golden snap-swivel, and a size #6 Eagle Claw snelled j-hook.

Summary:

On a short notice, my friend Peter S. and I went to the Frankford Creek in Port Richmond for some Common Carp. We arrived at the location around 9 a.m., catching the high-to-low tide. We chummed the location on the spot and setup four rods with kernel corn. Unfortunately, we ended the day without a single bite! 

While we were fishing, local Carp expert Phil S. paid us a visit. He actually told us that he hadn't had success there for his past four fishing session, all over a period of two weeks. He was still pre-chumming his regular spots along the Creek, though.

Photos:

A nice view of my two fishing rods at Frankford Creek. As mentioned previously, not a single tap in three hours of fishing! Not even a Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)! 

A scenery view of the Frankford Creek by the industrial zone in Port Richmond. The highest tide is just below the road bridge.

  

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

April Fishing Sessions: 04/24: Fishing for Striped Bass on the Delaware River (NJ)

Hello, Blog Readers! 

Here is my short fishing report for April 24th:

--- April 24th, 2015 ---

Location: Delaware River (@ the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, NJ side)

Time; 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Fishes caught:

-- None

Video:

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

Goal: 

The goal for the day was the same as yesterday's: to catch any sized Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) from the Delaware River.

Setup:

I used three 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. The last setup was a Daiwa Samurai medium action rod with a Shimano Sedona SE2500FD and also 12lbs Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon line. I used a traditional slip-sinker setup with a 2-3 oz. egg sinker, a medium sized Eagle Claw snap swivel, and a snelled 7/0-8/0 Gamakatsu octopus hook. 

Summary:

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! 

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

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.

April Fishing Sessions: 04/17: Multi-Species Fishing at Newton and Haddon Lake (NJ)

Hello, Blog Readers!

Here's a my report for April 17th:

--- April 17th, 2015 ---

Location: Newton Lake/Haddon Lake (NJ)
Time: 9:00-11:00 a.m./1:00-5:30 p.m.

Fishes caught:

-- 1 Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)
-- 23 Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)
-- 6 Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus)
-- 1 White Perch (Morone americana)

Video:

Below are the highlights for this fishing session:

The video is approximately seventeen minutes long. Don't forget to watch it in HD (1080p50)! If you enjoy watching my videos, please support the YouTube Channel by liking and subscribing. :)

Goal:

I actually did this fishing session together with my friend Peter S.. Therefore, we ended up going to Newton Lake because Peter really wanted to land a Northern Snakehead (Channa argus). My personal goal at Newton was to catch my first Largemouth Bass of the year.

After lunch, Peter and I decided to hit Haddon Lake for different Species of fish -- mainly Largemouth Bass and Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio). Thus, I changed my focus to Multi-Species fishing.

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. Through the course of the video, I used the following lures/baits: (1) a nightcrawler on a size #6 Eagle Claw hook; (2) a Gulp! Alive 1" Minnow on a 1/64 oz. Trout Magnet jighead; and (3) a golden Trout Magnet on a size #10 Eagle Claw hook.

Summary:

My friend Peter and I started fishing at Newton Lake early in the morning. Peter was focusing on the Largemouth Bass and Northern Snakehead, whereas I was fishing for Multi-Species using a nightcrawler on a weightless rig. Ultimately, Peter ended up with a few small Bass and I succeeded in landing my first Largemouth of the year. I also caught a few Bluegill on the nightcrawler as well.

Around noon, we decided to leave Newton Lake for lunch. Here is the funny story, though: Peter wanted to have some Vietnamese food for lunch; thus, we searched the GPS system for the closest restaurant. Once we arrived there, the pointed location on the map turned out to be a residence! Hah. After calling the Vietnamese restaurant, we actually found out that the place was located in Philadelphia! Crazy, isn't it?! Heh. We certainly learned our valuable lesson that day: call before going there. In the end, we went to AppleBee's for lunch.

After having a hearty lunch, we decided to hit Haddon Lake in Haddon Heights. Peter circled the whole Lake in search of Largemouth Bass, landing a few in the process. As portrayed in the video, I decided to focus more on the inlet portion of the Lake, finishing my day with different Species of fish (including a nice landlocked White Perch).

In the afternoon, we finally switched gears and went for Common Carp. We chummed a spot and waited for the bite. I ended up getting no bites whatsoever; however, Peter had a nice bite around 4 p.m.! Unfortunately, he wasn't able to hook the fish. The most frustrating part for both of us was that we were actually able to see schools of Carp swimming around our chum. Just no hook ups...

Photos:

"Things that you don't see when you stay at home:" A dead beaver at Newton Lake, Collingswood, NJ. And believe me, folks -- it wasn't the only one around. I actually ended up seeing three of them! 

My first Largemouth Bass of the year, at 2.5lbs! Safely caught and released. Remember, folks: support CPR (Catch, Photo, Release) for better fishing in the future! 

A small Bluegill from Haddon Lake, Haddon Heights, NJ. Always cool to see one of those around.

My friend Peter S. with his first Largemouth Bass from Haddon Lake. The fish was caught on a Zoom Trick Worm. 

A Black Crappie with beautiful colors! As a matter of fact, most Crappie were in shallow water, getting ready for their spawning season.

My first ever White Perch from Haddon Lake. This fish surprised me a lot because White Perch are migratory by nature and their growth is dependent on that. Therefore, it's quite rare to find a nice landlocked White Perch around these areas. 

A nice scenery view of Haddon Lake. We were happily Carp fishing over there. Heh. Unfortunately, we didn't land any fish.

  

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

April Fishing Sessions: 04/16 - Tough Day of Fishing on the Tidal Schuylkill River (Philadelphia, PA)

What's up, Blog Readers?

It's been quite busy for me recently; however, I am still trying my best to keep everything updated! For the past two days, I've been working on my YouTube Channel (editing and updating videos), and now I'll finally work a little bit more on the Blog! Gotta catch up to May ~~

First, here are the latest updates:

-- I've just ordered the trophies for the 6th Catfish Tourney on the Banks. I currently have 7 participants/teams fully registered for it; therefore, the event is definitely happening! For those who haven't heard of it yet -- EPF is back with its non-profit Catfish competitions: the 6th Catfish Tourney on the Banks is scheduled for May 31st, 2015. For detailed information, rules, and registration procedures, click here. I'll post a reminder for this event every couple posts!

-- I've uploaded plenty of new photos on the Facebook Public Fishing Album. That includes a couple neat photos of stocked Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Salmo trutta), a gigantic Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) from Maryland, etc. Once again: anyone can submit photos to the album. If interested, please click on this link for more details.

-- There has been a very interesting fish article running on the Internet recently, so I decided to post a hyperlink here. That's why I always say: we gotta take care of our waters; otherwise, our fish will be gone as time passes by...

-- To save time and make the readers' life easier, all my fishing session posts will now have the following format: Video (in case I caught some fish); Goal (goal and plan for the day); Setup (Gear and techniques used); Summary (short description of my fishing day); and Photos (photos for the day, if available). To avoid questions by e-mail, products will have hyperlinks for description and photo.

Now, here's my report for April 16th:

--- April 16th, 2015 ---

Location: Tidal Schuylkill River (Philadelphia, PA)

Time: 2:00-7:00 p.m.

Fishes caught:

-- 1 Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

Video: 

Below are the highlights for this fishing session:

Be advised that the only fish caught in the video is a measly Channel Catfish. Heh. Don't forget to watch it in HD (1080p50)! If you enjoy watching my videos, please support the YouTube Channel by liking and subscribing. :)

Goal:

The goal for the day was to catch some Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) and Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu) during the high tide hours on the east side of the River, then shift for American and Hickory Shad (Alosa sapidissima; Alosa mediocris) on the west side of the Fairmount Dam during the low tide. Of course resident Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) were welcome as well. Heh. 

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. Through the course of the video, I used the following lures/baits: (1) a Gary Yamamoto 5" Senkos wacky rigged on a 5/0 Gamakatsu Hook; and (2) a nightcrawler on a size #6 Eagle Claw hook, with a couple split shots to add weight. 

Summary: 

I started on the east side of the Schuylkill River, fishing the stretch between the Fisherman Statue and the Fairmount Dam. As portrayed in the video, I missed a nice bite at the dam -- what would have been a 2.5lbs Largemouth Bass. I actually saw the beast for a few seconds; however, I was unable to get it on camera (the angle of the GoPro was off). I also saw a little Largemouth Bass swimming around the walls of the lower deck, close to the fisherman statue.

In the afternoon, I switched gears to the Shad. I ended up going to the west side of the River, "on the rocks." After a few snags and some lost gear, I finally gave up on the place! There were about three other anglers fishing there, including a "Shad afficionado," but zero fish landed. 

At the end of the day, I decided to catch a Channel Catfish to avoid the skunk. Heh.

Photos:

"Things that you don't see when you stay at home:" Mother Goose with 4 eggs in her nest! Behind her, the male is ready to peck on me. Heh.

"Things that you don't see when you stay at home:" The turtle battalion on the Schuylkill River. Lots and lots of Red-Ear Sliders sunbathing on a huge log.

"Things that you don't see when you stay at home:" My Rat-L-Trap Rattletrap immersed in junk fishing line. Sadly, half of my snags at the Fairmount Dam aren't due to rocks or stumps, but other people's wasted fishing lines. :(

A nice scenery view of the Fairmount Dam, with plenty of folks fishing around! Note: there has been a lot of illegal activity down there. The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission is aware of that and field officers will issue fines to those who break the law! Recall: it's illegal to fish 100 feet from the fishing ladder, and it's illegal to take or use herring as bait.

A nice scenery view of the rocks around Race Street. Back in 2011, this was one of my prime spots for Channel Catfish (when I didn't have a net yet). 

Best of Luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.

April Fishing Sessions: 04/15 - Multi-Species Fishing at the Delaware Canal in Yardley, PA.

Hello, Blog Readers!

Today I'm bringing you my fishing sessions for April 15th:

--- April 15th, 2015 ---

Location: Delaware Canal (Yardley, PA)

Time: 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Fishes caught:

-- 5 Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

-- 1 Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus)

-- 1 Bluegill X Green Sunfish Hybrid (Lepomis macrochirus X Lepomis cyanellus)

-- 2 Green Sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus)

Below are the highlights for this fishing session:

The video is about seventeen minutes long and the "catching" starts after three minutes. Don't forget to watch it in HD (1080p50)! If you enjoy watching my videos, please support the YouTube channel by liking them and subscribing. :)

I went to the Delaware Canal in hopes of catching some Rainbow Trout and Largemouth Bass. To tell you folks the truth, my expectations for the Trout were quite low. After all, many friends had told me already that they didn't limit out over there after the opening day. Heh...so, I went down to investigate. 

My setup in the video consists of a Cortland Endurance 9' noodle rod with a Shimano Symetre 4000FL and 12lbs Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon line. Through the course of the video, I used the following lures/baits: (1) nightcrawlers on a size #6 Eagle Claw hook; (2) a golden Trout Magnet; (3) a Berkley Gulp! Alive Minnow -- 1" long; and (4) a Thomas Fishing Lures E.P. Series in-line spinner, 1/8 oz., nickel-gold.

As portrayed in the video, I started fishing the Canal at Yardley right at its lower boundary for Trout Approved Waters. In other words, I was fishing very close to the water gate. On the map, that would be right next to the S. Canal St.. I tied up my in-line spinner and started casting at a 45º angle, downstream. I got a couple bites on the spinner, but no hook ups (one bite felt pretty good too). That was when I saw three folks fishing right next to the water gate -- each one of them was carrying a single Rainbow Trout and they were all using Power Bait! 

Since my spinner was already tied up and ready to go, I kinda wanted to fish the current in the outlet portion of the water gate before switching to a Power Bait setup. While passing through the shallow pool of water that divides the inlet and outlet portions of the gate, I noticed some fish in it! That's when my whole game-plan changed and I switched to nightcrawlers on a size #6 hook. Heh.

The rest is portrayed in the video: I was able to pull some nice Trout out of that little shallow area, as well as some Sunnies. There was also a nice Chain Pickerel (Esox niger) sunbathing over there; however, it wouldn't hit anything! 

Photos of the session are below:

One of the multiple Rainbow Trout of the day. :)

Another beautiful stocked Trout. Who would have thought that they were all hiding in that little shallow pool, eh? Heh.

A small Green Sunfish from the Delaware Canal.

Green Sunfish X Bluegill Hybrid. As mentioned in the video, the yellow coloration on the anal and soft dorsal fins are good indicators of Green Sunfish. The vertical stripes and blue operculum are Bluegill indicators.

A colorful Pumpkinseed. Small, but they are always beautiful! 

"Things that you don't see when you stay at home:" A dead Rainbow Trout at the Delaware Canal. It was a good size too!  

  

Best of luck for all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Sincerely,

Leo S.