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.