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.
