2014 Fishing Goals

There is a thin line between New Jersey and Pennsylvania and it is buried beneath the cool, clean water from New York.  This cool, clean water from New York races with a swift current and prances along the rocky shoals; reminding us what beauty really is and the natural dangers mother natural possesses, all at the same time.  This simple line, cutting through eastern side of the Appalachian Mountains, I have come to know as the Delaware River; I have found no greater gift in the State of New Jersey than her mystifying shorelines and the wonderful fishery she is.

Walpack Bend

To that, I spend these cold winter months outlining all the things I yearn to accomplish this coming season of 2014... and here they are in descending order of difficulty:

6. Fish the Walpack Bend.  From boat or from shore, it does not matter but I want to see this.

5. Spent one day fishing Silver Lake for Perch

4. Land a 5 pound largemouth bass

3. Land 20+ Smallmouth from the Delaware this year

2. Land 6 walleye this season.  (2a) one from Monksville Reservoir and (2b) one from Swartswood Lake

1 Land a Delaware River Grand Slam; 3 walleye (18+ inches each) and 5 smallies (12+ inches each).

November Walleye Fishing on the Delaware

November 16^th, 2013

Water Temperature was 41.5 to 42 degrees

Water Clarity was 16 feet

I hit the Delaware River Saturday (2013-11-16) evening from 3:30 PM to about 7:00 PM.  There really is something beautiful about the Delaware River in the fall; the fall foliage, the low seasonal gage level of the river and the clarity at which her water flows.  In 16 feet of water, I could see my jig bouncing off the bottom; hopping and skipping over the dark colored shale.

One of the more challenging aspects of fishing in November is trying to figure out the walleye pattern for the fall turnover.  The old adage is true, I am here to say, “What works in the summer, does not work in the fall.”  For late summer, my go to tactic is the bottom bouncer with a fire-tiger Colorado spoon and a worm harness.  I struck out in late September.  This weekend I was going to try something new; an orange & yellow 3/8 once jig tipped with a shiner.

It was a slow evening.  The walleye would not cooperate.  I did get a hookup after dusk though and there was no doubt it was a walleye.  The light hit, the constant head shaking and the slow rise from the depth of the river.  Call it intuition, call it experience, but during the retrieve I never felt like I really got a good hook-set.  Sure enough, before I saw the fish at the surface, he spit the bit.  I don’t think it was a big fish and most likely was under 18 inches, but it sure would have been nice to see him.

In the end, a bad day fishing beats a good day of work.

4th Quarter Turn Around Nets 4 Smallmouth

Sunday I got to go fishing and being October, I was 100% focused on walleye.  I arrived at the Delaware River abotu 6:41, about 30 minutes before sunrise.  I was able to soak in the brisk morning air and appreciate the beauty of the river.  Being October, my hopes were high!  I found a couple spots that seemed to hold schools of fish towards the bottom; one at 22 feet and another at 28 feet.  I fished the entire length of the backwater with my Little Joe Fire-Tiger worm harness and did not catch anything.  I probably fished for the walleye for 150 minutes.  

I was trolling back to shore when I decided, "Well, since I am here, I should try and fish the other side for smallmouth."  My back-up pole was already outfitted for the senko, so I beached the kayak and made a cast.   I was probably a good 15 to 25 feet upriver from an inlet hooked a 12-inch smallmouth on my first cast.  I walked down the entire shoreline without another bite. Again, I was contemplating releasing my 12-inch smallmouth and heading home.  I made a second cast into the same area upriver of the inlet and hooked up with a 13-inch small mouth.  A couple more cast and I had landed a 15-inch and 16-inch smallmouth.

Trip Tip:

This is my second consecutive Fall fishing for smallmouth in the Delaware River and I have started to put together a couple pieces of knowledge; 1) The bite is best with a low gauge level, that means under 3.0 at Port Jervis, NY Station [Link is always to the right] 2) The bite picks up late morning to early afternoon. If you are fishing during the NFL pregame shows, then you are probably catching fish.

Lake Mohawk - Sleepy Lagoon Shore Fishing Secrets

The word around the Lake (Mohawk) is the best fishing is in the southwestern end of the lake.  Since I have yet to register my kayak with the community yet, I have been reduced to shore fishing, so I have been doing a lot of fishing from Sleepy Lagoon, aka Beach #7.  It offers a nice "T" shaped dock as well as two pieces of shoreline.  On the left shoreline, there are some rocks off shore, two are visible above water. Here is the my recipe for success at Sleepy Lagoon.

Lure

I love the 4-inch watermelon\black fleck senko, rigged wacky-style with a size 1 hook.  For whatever reason, I have found an incredible amount of success withe lure.  And given the setup, it has cost me a lot of money as well.  One thing I have started to do is rig up the wacky-rig with a small black plastic O-ring.

Location #1

There is a drainage pipe exiting the small Lagoon and entering the Lake Mohawk.  About 4 to 10 feet out from this drainage pipe always yields a strike for me.  One tip to being successful here is not to to walk straight up to the water and start casting.  Try casting a good 4 to 5 feet behind the shoreline; you want to make sure the bass cannot see you!

Location #2

If you are standing on shore and facing the dock, there are two rocks jetting up above the surface to your left, which will usually hold a turtle or two sun-bathing.  Going in the direction further out into the lake, there are multiple other rocks, however submerged below the surface of the water.  After 3:00, if you walk along the shore of Beach #7 to the left and look back at the visible rocks, with the help of the sun, you will see these other submerged rocks.  Casting out in the direction of these submerged rocks always yield a strike, although I have never caught anything of significant size from here.

Location #3

The actual small lagoon.  Yes, there are bass in there and some may even be a pound or two.  I know, I have caught about 20 from the primary lake and released them in the lagoon.  At times you can sight fish for them here, or just try dropping the wacky-rig off the side of the floating yellow slide.  Be warned, the majority of the fish in this lagoon have already been caught by a 4-inch watermelon wacky-rig worm once, so don't be afraid to try something different here.

Location #4

If you walk out to the end of the "T" dock, make a right and walk to the end of the of the "T", try casting across the water to the opposite boat house.  This location yields (on average) the biggest fish of the three spots.  

1 pound, 4 ounce largemouth from Location #4 yesterday.

Location #?

There is one more location that consistently yields big bass, but I am going to leave this one a mystery.  I mean, it's not really fishing if you are not actively looking for better fishing holes, right?

I have had amazing success at Sleepy Lagoon so far this year.  I realized how successful I was last night, while sitting on my wife's computer, I could not help notice my thumb.  My thumb had developed a very rough and callous texture from lipping so many bass this week.

New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife - Walleye Stocking Program

For those of you who are just as interested in New Jersey Walleye as I, here is the stocking program over the past 5 years for the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife Page.

Walleye Stocking Program

The Bell - Gives up a 2-Pound Walleye

As I have searched the Delaware for walleye, I may have found my favorite walleye fishing hole.  The spot is just north of the Milford, PA bridge where a creek enters the Delaware.  There, I found a nice 25 foot hole in some backwater and hit the bottom with a lindy-rig, baited with a nightcrawler.  This hole has no significant landmarks (unlike Dingman's Bridge or the Milford Bridge) and the bend in the river is a long, bending arc; I thought it resembled the bottom of a large bell...and thus decided to name it "The Bell".

 The creek entering the Delaware River, now know as "The Bell"

I departed Saturday morning before sunrise and pushed off from shore about 6:30 AM.  I was armed with  a 3/8 once weighted bottom bouncer and a fire-tiger Colorado spoon Lindy rig...rigged up with a large nightcrawler.  I paddled the kayak around the mouth of the creek and there was a significant drop from 6 feet to 12 feet just downriver of the creek that was holding lots of fish and lots of big fish!  The current was a bit more swift, as my paddling did not result in much upriver headway.  Given the feedback of my fish finder, I was going to give this little spot a go.  After about three drifts over this spot (fish finder lighting up like a pinball machine each time), I got zero hook-ups.  That is the funny thing about a depth finder (fish finder), it tells you if fish are down there, but not what kind of fish they are.  Those big fish could have been carp, catfish, musky or God knows what else, so I moved on.  I paddled up-river along The Bell and eventually found a nice 20 to 25 foot hole.  Not shortly after, in about 16 feet of water, I got a hook-up!  I immediately know it was a walleye as the fish at the end of my line was holding steady to his position and shaking it's head - instead of going on a typical epic smallmouth run.  As I got him closer to the boat and off the bottom, he made a small run and took some line off.  My hopes were high for a possible 5-pounder!  I decided to let him fight a little more before bringing him next to the kayak and try the balancing act of holding a pole and a net within the confines of my kayak.  I saw a couple of nice flashes under the surface and my heart may have skipped a beat.  I pulled out the net, brought the walleye towards the kayak and scooped him! As I did, I saw him open his mouth to show his rows of teeth ... as he barely fit into my net.  My immediate thought was, 'this was a big fish'.  

I put the walleye on the stringer and chose not to measure him, thinking he easily cleared the 18 inch minimum. However, when I got to shore and measured him, I was shocked to see he was only 19.5 inches. After my initial thoughts of some disappointment, my next thought was, 'I may need a bigger net' when I come back to this spot!  

Two of my daughters (Dagney and Lillian) holding the fish.

My favorite photo technique, asking my 6-year old daughter to put her hand on the cutting board for perspective.  Almost looks 30 inches now, heh?

Andrew Martinsen's Top 10 Tips for Fishing for Walleye in the Delaware River

Andrew Martinsen's Top 10 Tips for Fishing for Walleye in the Delaware River

I cannot say I have had a lot of success for fishing for Walleye in the Delaware River, but this would be my personal tips for fishing for walleye in the Delaware.

1. Look for deeper water, away from the current.  Ideally, the backwater area needs a hole of about 20 feet or more.  However, I find the magical depth to be around 16 feet of water near the hole and little to no current.  Dingmans Bridge and the Milford Bridge pop to mind as good locations to fish for walleye.

2. Look for rocky or sandy bottoms, preferably near a tributary which is bringing in fresh water.

3. Down rig with a Lindy Rig or Little Joe worm harness.  Maybe I am in the minority, but I like the ones with two floats and a spinner.  I find the two floats keep the worm about 12 to 16 inches off the bottom.

4. Chartreuse and orange are popular colors; however my preference is the fire tiger color for spoons.

5. Fish slow.  If you think you are going to fast, you probably are.

6. Fish the early morning or late evening.  Apparently night time fishing is optimal, but I have had plenty of luck during the morning and twilight.

Revenge

Since moving to Lake Mohawk, I have been casting a 7-inch power worm.  It has been extremely convenient and I had actually grown attached to my little 7-inch power worm.  So much so, I had named him Charlie.  Last week I was driving down East Shore Drive and saw a little stream dumping some fresh water into Lake Mohawk around Beach #5.  On a whim, I elected to throw my 7-inch power worm from the boat launch dock.  For whatever reason, I was satisfied with fishing the drop, this time I retrieved the worm with a   'flick & drop'.  I would flick the worm and then let it settle.  No expectations.  All of sudden, halfway between the boat docks and the boat ramp docks, "BAM!", I got a strong hit!  And when I set the hook, nothin.  In fact, not even the worm; clearly what I had hooked was a pickerel and he took 'Charlie' on a little ride.

So this week, on my way to get a haircut, I thought I would hook up my perch patterned Rat-L-Trap and give it a couple casts.  I over estimated the number of casts, because on the first retrieve, "BAM!", I got the strike I was looking for!  Let me tell, I was quickly reminded why I love fishing for pickerel because the fight between myself and this 22-inch pickerel was epic on my light tackle.  I eventually landed him and I had to ask him a question, "Mr. Picks, you know anything about a green 7-inch power worm who disappeared around these parts about a week ago?"

 Mr. Picks, "HA, HA, HA!"

2013 New Jersey Fishing Regulations

Never fished the Delaware two weeks ago as she was high and muddy.  Consequently there has been a lot of rain in Sussex County the last 30 days so I have not done much fishing at all.  However, I took the afternoon yesterday to review the 2013 New Jersey Fishing Regulations.  I have also added the hyperlink to my list of external links to the right, right under the Pike's County Fishing link.  But since all fisherman are lazy, I'll put it here too.  Enjoy!

2013 New Jersey Fishing Regulations (Including Delaware River)

Heading Out to the Delaware River This Weekend

This weekend I am taking two good friends out to the Delaware River for some sallies.  The first thing when fishing the Delaware is to check the Gage Height at USGS Station, Port Jervis, NY.  What I am looking for is a Gage Level at or around 3.5 or lower.  For future reference, this link can be found on the right side of my blog under "Weather and River Conditions".  

I should also mention this Saturday is the opening of bass season in New Jersey, so I could not be more excited!  Our plan will be to fish a couple shore points with Wacky Rigged 5-inch Senkos.  One of those spots will be Dingman's Ferry on the PA side as well as the New Jersey side.

I am putting the over\under for keeper bass at 7 for this weekend.

The Lake Mohawk Monster

There comes a time in man's life when everything he has worked for, finally comes together.  Mine occurred 5:45 AM the morning of June 9th, 2013.  I had finally moved into the house my wife and I can only describe as, 'the last house we'll ever need.'  It is a humble little house on the outskirts of Heaven; or more commonly called, Lake Mohawk, NJ.  I have heard rumors about the fishing in Lake Mohawk, how 'the lake is private, only lake residents can fish it' and 'it's all catch and release.'.  In the short time I have had to fish, given the packing, moving, unpacking, staging previous home and staging the new home, I only managed 15 minutes the prior day (Saturday) and landed a beautiful 18-inch largemouth.  As I carved another 15 minutes Sunday morning, I remember telling myself, "What am I doing?  I am not going to catch anything bigger than the 18-incher I had caught the previous day.  Boy, was I wrong.  

When I fish for largemouth, I fish a little differently.  I fish my plastic real slow and I like to fish deep water.  Not having my kayak registered for Lake Mohawk yet, I was forced to fish from the docks.  Like the previous day, I went to the furthest point out from the docks so I could fish my 7-inch power worm in the deepest water available to me.  After a couple of cast, I finally got 'the take' I was hoping for.  Taking extra precaution with my hook-set, I immediately knew I had a big hog on the line.  It is an odd feeling to feel something sooo heavy moving around under the water.  When it was all said and done, I measured her with my tape measure at 21.25 inches.  Using the weight conversion chart  she could have been 5 3/4 pounds; given the enormous size of her belly, she might have been about 6 1/4 pounds.

This is a day and a catch I will never forget.

"Setting the Hook"

This weekend I landed an 18 inch Largemouth on Saturday and then a 21 1/4 inch Largemouth on Sunday.  Both of them were hooked with a green 7-inch power worm on a Texas rig.  I am fairly certain of two things which enable me consistently catch really big fish; 1) Fishing deep water 2) Using a big bait.  

But today I wanted to share my knowledge on how I set the hook on these big fish.  

The first thing I do when I feel a fish pick up my worm is to point the rod tip at the fish and slowly reel in any slack.  Once I feel I have taken up all the slack, I know I have pressure on the line.  The next step takes a bit of imagination, but at this point I imagine the bass' mouth is shut and he is swimming around with my plastic worm and hook inside his closed mouth.  I will then raise my pole from the 9:00 position to about the 10:30 position, or until I feel the weight of the fish.  What I am trying to do here is bring that worm and hook to the front of the bass' mouth.  For an analogy, imagine somebody pulling a spaghetti noodle out of your mouth and all you can do to try and stop it is to hold the noodle with your lips; unless at the end of that noodle there was a big meatball you could hold on to.  This is how I imagine the fishing line coming out of the bass' mouth.  At this time the eye of the hook is at the front of the bass' mouth (with the worm) and the pointy side of the hook is resting against the inside of  the bass' mouth, lined up like a surgeon resting the head of a needle against your skin.  When I bring my rod from the 10:30 position to the 12:00 position, I simultaneous give a the line a quick jerk by flipping my wrist to "pop" the hook quickly through the bass' mouth (hopefully, the top).

 In all, it is a little exhaustive process but I feel it gives me the strongest hook-set without without "ripping" the fish's mouth, gutting him with the hook or poking his eye out.

Here is the 18 inch Largemouth I caught Saturday using this hook set technique.

Texas Rigging in Early Spring

Last year I was really turned on to the Wacky-Rig 4" and 5" Senkos for fishing the Delaware.  And I learned what kind of awesome tool the Senko is in the river.  However, this Spring I am back to lake fishing and there is no greater setup then the 7" Power Worm on a Texas Rig.  My color of choice is dark green with black flecks.  I also like to put 3 or 4 red beads on my line as I feel their 'clacking' together resembles the Largemouth Bass' #1 predator during spawning season, the crawdad.

I usually put the Texas Rig worm weight on as it gives me more range and accuracy when I am fishing from my kayak.  However, given my new home at Lake Mohawk and my fishing from the docks, I suspect I'll do more flipping and will go with the natural fall of the worm.

My First Lake Mohawk Larry

It has been a crazy 2013 so far as I have had many big milestones to tackle; a destination wedding in Cozumel, MX, bachelor party in Las Vegas, a visit with Dad and taking the family to Disney.  The last of milestone I had was closing on a new home in Lake Mohawk, moving all my furniture and now renovating the old home for rental.  However, this past Friday we had a 3-family BBQ at Lake Mohawk and I got to make about a dozen cast with a green & pumpkin seed senko around sunset to nab my first Lake Mohawk Larry.

I have really grown fond of the Senko and almost exclusively rig it Jersey style.  Could be a good summer.

Filleting a Esox Americanus (Pickerel)

Last year was my first big year fishing in many years and my first big year fishing in Northern New Jersey.  I got an opportunity to eat some perch, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, pickerel and walleye.  My personal favorite (and yes, I am bias being born in Minnesota) was the walleye, however my wife's favorite was the pickerel.  So this means two things for me in 2013:

1) If I want to be allowed to do more fishing next year, I better catch more pickerel

2) If I catch more pickerel, I have to do a better job of filleting the thing than I did last year

So I searched Youtube for some tutorials on filleting a pickerel.  I also search for videos on filleting a northern pike as they have the same bone structure.  Youtube is a tremendous resource for learning new skills and I was not let down again.  However, although most of the videos were pretty good, I never got that "A-HA" moment of exactly what the Y-bone looked like, exactly where it was in the fish and which direction the Y-Bone was positioned.  So I tried searching for images and I came across this very useful image.  As they say, a picture is worth a 1,000 words.

This image was created by Canoe Camp Fish