Catching a Smallmouth on the Delaware River.

This is my first fishing video, taken with my new GoPro.  We are south of the Milford Bridge here (we could see the bridge behind us still) and trying to fish the current.  This smallmouth was caught in about 4 to 5 feet of water, with some steady current.  I use #1 circle hook with a 4-inch senko.

Delaware Float

Got to float down the Delaware River on Saturday and what a glorious day it was.  Aside from catching 5 smallies, we saw a load of fish.  The water level was low and the clarity was as clear as gin.  We must have seen 100 shad (or were they chub minnows, we were not sure).  I have floated the Delware many times but had never seen so many fish, nor this early in the season so it leads me to believe these must have been shad.  We saw about 10 carp, each over 10 pounds, a giant walleye in shallow (28 inches maybe), a couple catfish and of course a load of smallies.  

Now is a great time to float the Delaware.  The gage level is low, the water is clear and the landscape just beautiful.  We also saw a bald eagle and a couple deer.  

I also took my brand new GoPro Hero, so hopefully I can start doing some videos too.

Taking the Electric Kayak on to Swartswood

Friday, I finally took my electric kayak out on Swartswood Lake, looking for walleye.  I still have some kinks I have to work out with my electric kayak, as she would not run once I got her to the boat launch.  After some tweaking (loose connection inside my plastic tube), I finally got out on the water, and it was nice.  She shot through the water like a torpedo and while heading across the lake, I could sit back, relax and set up my lines.  I cannot tell you what a convenience an electric kayak is.

Once I started fishing, I found the West side of Swartswood just booming with structure.  There is a point on the west side in which it gets very shallow, with a pair of rocks jetting up about 40 yards off shore and a weed line.  As trolled my down-rigger down the drop off, that is where I caught my 16 3/4 inch smallie below.

I ended up on the south side of the lake around 8:30 and decided to head home, north, across the open part of the lake and into the wind.  This is where it got a little hairy for me.  With my 12-volt deep cell battery in the bow of my boat, the nose still cut through the wake, but the water would splash into my kayak.   With so much additional weight in the kayak (battery, trolling motor and myself), I did not dare pull the the scupper plug.  Again, having a trolling motor and being hands free, I was able to bail water on the trip home.

Pretty sure the next time I will finally catch that elusive walleye.

Delaware Shad Darts

Having taken 2015 off (from blogging, not fishing!), it has been a while since I performed an update. Since I have settled into Sussex County and believe I will be here for the remainder of my life, I decided this Spring I should try my luck at Shad fishing.  May is always a busy month for me, so it still may be a challenge for me to get out.  But I took the initiative to order some shad darts from Delaware River Shad Fishing Association (DRSFA).  You can now find their link to the right, under Related Local Fishing Sites.  Below is a picture of what I received. 

What a great bunch of guys.  I had unfortunately made the order with my Pay Pal account but I had no updated my mailing address with Pay Pal.  Unfortunately the shad darts were mailed to my former residency.  A gentleman by the name of Rusty promptly emailed me when the shad darts were returned to him.   After providing my new mailing address, Rusty got the shad darts in the mail right away, so I may still have a shot at shad fishing this spring.  I highly recommend ordering shard darts or spoons from the DRSFA.

Below is a snippet of who and what the DRSFA is.

Overnight at Namanock Island on the Delaware

Finally, after much anticipation and much planning, I finally experienced my first overnight stay on the Delaware River.  It was everything I had hoped it would be!  We left Milford Beach, PA around 1:00 PM and landed at Namanock Island around 5:00.  Technically, our float was not long enough to justify using the campsite (floats are suppose to be 14+ miles), but I believe that rule is to assure campsites fare available or those individuals performing the longer floats.  Because it was mid October and temperatures were going to drop to near freezing, 

Some fall foliage near Milford's Canoe and kayak launch, looking up the Milford Bridge. 

For the preparation, we used my friend Dave's canoe for our primary source of transportation and loaded supplies up on my Wilderness kayak.  We brought one tent, two sleeping bags and two pillows.  We used two inexpensive buckets from Wal-Mart to store some extra dry wood (we wanted to make sure we had dry wood) and we also planned on using the buckets as chairs.  we tied the kayak to the front of the canoe but quickly learned the canoe (deeper profile) would be pushed down the river faster.  When we left Namanock Island on Monday morning, we tied the kayak to the back of the canoe.  We also put the heavier of the two of us (me) in the front of the canoe.  Both adjustments (heavier canoer in front) and tying the kayak to the back of the canoe ensured the canoe mostly went down straight and the kayak stayed out of our way.

The setup at Milford Beach, PA

We found ourselves doing more paddling and managing our boat position more than doing any actual fishing.  The Fall turnover had occurred and we found fewer smallies in the current than we had in the summer.  It should also be noted the gage was as high as 5.5 (Port Jervis) on Thursday and had descended down to a smidge below 3 feet when we launched.  So maybe the waning gage level had pushed most of the fish out of the current, or maybe it was the temperature.  Some time around 5:00 we landed at Namanock Island and elected to have our fire right on the river bank so we could stay warm while shore fishing.  We didn't catch anything but checking out the water the next day, it seems relatively shallow water where we were fishing.

Fire on the shores of Namanock Island

Despite the temperature dropping to 38 degrees at night, it was still relatively comfortable in our tent. I would recommend a suitable sleeping bag designed for 0 degrees weather.  We had caught one smallmouth, but had brought some potatoes and kibasa to eat in the possible scenario we did not catch a lot of fish.  Dinner was fantastic!

Smallmouth and Potatoes 

 Kibasa

We proceed to fish Monday morning from Namanock Island down to Dingman's Bridge.  This is the second time we have down this paddle and there is not a lot of current, so there is a lot of paddling here.  Most the of water was about 13 to 15 feet deep, but we did find a couple 20 foot holes.  When it was all done, we had caught two more smallies in this stretch.  Our three keeper smallies were caught in about 4 to 6 feet of backwater.  the river temperature was about 58 degrees on Sunday (in the sun), 57 degrees in the shade and 54 degrees the next morning.

2014 - Snake in the Lake

Over the last week there has been a developing story in Lake Hopatcong.  The story is of a giant snake patrolling the water and sleeping in boat docks.  Stories of stinky snake poop which indicates the snake has been eating.  There are reports of the snake's length to be 12 feet, 14, feet, 16 feet and 20 feet.  Boa Constrictor?  Green Anaconda?  Not a lot of facts to this story yet, but one fact I can tell you is the movie Anaconda is 100% fiction.  Don't let these movies set your expectations about this snake.

The story now revolves around our local big snake hunter Gerald Andrejack of Common Sense for Animals. Gerald is a former big snake trapper for Reptile World Serpentarium in Kissimmee, FL as well as the respected Reptile House at the Staten Island Zoo.  Gerald has  claimed to have seen the head of the snake. Claims it to be a green anaconda and about 12 to 14 feet long.  He also claims he felt the snake slither between his legs.  Below is a photo of a green anaconda from the Reptile World Serpentarium in which Gerald previously worked.

The sightings have been in Byram Cove and Halsey Island.  (Northwest side of the Lake), which is prime walleye territory!

Since I am not part of the investigation, I have the liberty to make premature predictions.  I am not sure how a green anaconda got into New Jersey nor am I sure why an owner would release it.  Snake owners of these large snakes leave footprints.  They need to buy large rodents for many years to feed it.  Family and friends are usually aware someone in their circle owns a giant green anaconda.  So I am doubtful this was a pet from a Lake Hopatcong resident.  I also believe these professional reptile handlers are some of the biggest exotic snake collectors in the World.  So I wouldn't be surprised if a professional like Gerald Andrejack released the snake themselves.

Dingman's Ferry at the Delaware River

It was late afternoon on March 15th when my wife returned from work.  She had a bounce in her step and a smile on her face, one could sense spring was knocking on our door.  With a wink and a smile, my wife gave me the green light to head west with the Sun and see how far Spring is from waking the Delaware River from her winter slumper.  I didn't pause, I just reached fro the front door.  I packed the car with my shore casting gear and donned a grin that the Grinch would have stolen if had seen me driving West; car window down.

Unfortunately, upon my arrival and to my dismay, Dingman's Ferry was still frozen over.  It was clear to the eye where the backwater and deep holes lay as these areas were still covered with a slim cover of ice.  And I have no doubt in my eye the walleye I seeked, were active and feeding beneath those slim covers of ice.

But getting near the water and making a few cast sure did feel good.

Keep it or Release it?

The walleye spawn season is upon us, when those big females begin the circle of life.  So should John have released the potential Washington State state record upon netting the fish?  

Article: John Grubenhoff Sets Washington State Record

The NJ Pocket Ranger

On January 23rd, 2014 - a dark and miserable night when the sun sets at 4:00 PM on New York City, I found myself dawdling on the eve of a football-less weekend.  Hunkered down beneath Madison Square Garden with all the other mindless minions of the commuting World, I stared blankly at the train monitor to see which track my train would board on.  "Dover - Midtown Direct, track 3!" Of all the tracks we could depart from; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 ..., it was usually track 1, 2, 3 or 4.  As a mindless commuting minion, I contemplate such things on a 70 minute train ride home.  

Upon getting settled and not being able to sleep; like all good fishermen, my mind drifted to fishing.  Having just purchased a new Samsung Galaxy 4 (Product plug! Still no kickback from Samsung), I found this little gem in the app store - the New Jersey State Parks & Forests Ranger!  

Wow! And it is free!  The app connects with your Smartphone's GPS as well as all the New Jersey Fishing and Hunting regulations.  The first thing I did was looked at "Fishing Spots Near You".  As the Midtown Direct rolled through New Jersey, I gawked at all the fishing spots the Pocket Ranger pointed out to me.  I may not have been able to fish those spots that day, but I could there was always the spring! I found I could set way-points on my app using the GPS ; fishing spots; good or bad ... I have found lots of bad ones.  And apparently there is functionality to connect with your friends Pocket Ranger and enabling the two of you to find each other on a body of water if launching at different times or at different launches.  The information was bountiful!  There are fishing tips, breakdown of fish species, which lakes are public, fishing regulations and State records (which I am currently not listed on).  Who knows what else I will find in the coming weeks; God knows I got the train time to consume it!

This is must for all fisherman and hunters.  Yes, I spoke exclusively of the fishing pieces, but it has hunting as well.

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.