Walleye Fishing in the Delaware River

For those who know me best, I have been adamantly chasing walleye outside of the State of Minnesota (primarily in warmer climates) for some time, and with limited or no success.  So this summer was big for me as I was determined to eventually catch a keeper walleye.  This August I made another big push for walleye at Swartswood Lake and I only caught one fingerling (who my nightcrawler brought to the surface in a rear-naked-choke) and a 16-inch walleye after putting forth maybe 20 to 40 hours of lake time.  So I finally changed my tactics, gave up fishing for walleye in the summer and decided to revisit walleye fishing in October.  Well, Sunday was October.

To fish the Delaware in October, I bought myself a set of neoprene waders from Field and Stream to help stay dry and warm.  Comfort is everything when fishing and when the water is this cold, it is one of those things where you don’t realize how ‘not cold’ you are when you are ‘not cold’.  I am sure if I did not have these neoprene waders on  Sunday, I probably would have caught no fish and had a miserable time.

So Sunday morning I woke up and headed to Dingman’s Ferry.  The sun came up around 7:00ish and I was probably fishing by 7:30.  I focused on fishing behind the bridge pilings at Dingman’s Ferry as well as the backwater on the Pennsylvania side of the bridge.  Everything seemed perfect regarding water conditions as well as my presentation; a lindy rig with two floaters and a perch colors spoon on a worm harness.  As soon as my pole bent over and I picked up the pole, I immediately recognized the fish as a walleye with his lethargic fight and constant head-shaking!  I am sure my eyes were as big as saucers when I first saw this walleye about 2 feet below the surface.  He did not take me long to net him and he measured out at 20 inches and 4.1 pounds.  

New Jersey is starting to feel a bit more like home...

And a hand for perspective....