What did you Catch Today?

[MB3]

Keitechs are super soft. They rip easy BUT they are a go to paddle tail. I use a light jig head or weedless without weight. I love throwing them but on a good day I'm heading back to the store for more at some point. I still like smaller 360GT search baits.

Today was a repeat of Friday at Shahola. 6 Bass (smaller), 6+ Bluegills all very solid, 2 more Crappie in the 13-14" range and another 20 Pickerel easy.

Brainless fishing which is my strong suit. 3-6" curly tail grubs, light colors but everything I threw worked. At the end I was throwing small jig heads with spinners and a small curly tail grub. Everything bit it.

 

[Don]

Gangin up on me Eh? yaw wait'n see. I'll beat this thing. I'll be the Keitech King! I'll beat this so Badly that my over-all stock of these will have to be stored in MB3's new shed.
What can I say Gem? Got room for Me?

 

[Gremcat]

My go to always whether fishing active or passive is bait fish. If I ever become a true Fly Fisherman I’ll have to give up the crutch but if they aren’t biting the active “fry” sized minnows they aren’t biting from what I can tell regardless of sport fish or tropical aquarium fish.

 

[Gremcat]

I’ve got room, we do the STR thing so not so sure you can float the bill but I happily take gear I trade. Think she’s getting $100/night plus cleaning and service fees, LOL, you might be out of collateral before I’m out of space, then again maybe not.... there’s 3 car garage of space left, F+F discount is $200/night,
Feel free to park a boar here anytime

 

[Don]

I’m gonna see what MB3 gets for a room in his new shed before I commit. Stand by.

 

[MB3]

Let us clear out all our secret lures and such before you move in lol

 

[Don]

Don't worry MB3 and Gremcat. I seem to be back on track. Remember me Grumping and complaining like a little Kid that I didn't ever catch anything on El'Cheapo rubber baits? I left the Kietecks at home by accident . So I had these ugly black things that the guy in the store sold me for bottom fishing. They are for Wacky Rig type fishing which I have no Idea how to do. So I put one on a wide gap worm hook and trolled it all over Gouldsboro. When I would catch a bass I would drop the anchor and fish nightcrawlers for panfish. I went through 6 dozen crawlers. Caught two nice Brown Bullheads, 6-15"+ LMB and around twenty-five Gills, Punkinseed and Perch. One Pickerel. Sadly no Crappy.

This guy almost had it when I pulled away.


14"

 

[MB3]

We hit up Goldsboro now and again. They have some nice Perch in there.

 

[Don]

Yes they do.
Please don't hurt the Pickerel. I have a reserve on all of them. Ironically I've only ever caught one of legal size there. Someone has to like them, I do. Here's a question: where are the big legal ones. Do they not hardly exist or are the just harder to catch? I am always surprised how fat the open water Gills and Pumpkin see are in that lake. Not necessarily long but indeed very full bodied. The Bass are average 13-16. Not worthwhile for Ed Cowan I guess.

 

[A-5]

Pickerel is a sore subject for me. On my home waters catch and kill them all. I totally get the pocono pickerel. But where I fish they are not needed.

 

[Don]

They are needed Brother. They're there to humble you and develop your attributes. So far it only developed your attriBrutes. Just kidding. I wonder why the keeper size has gone to up to 18". I'm pretty sure it was 15" not too long ago. In the Poconos I meat allot of folks that used to pickle them and the bones would dissolve.

 

[MB3]

Pickerel keep us active. Like everything I catch I make every effort to return them back unharmed. Just by volume and aggressive nature they tend to get eye hooked or deep gill hooked so their numbers are lessened.

I fished Tobyhanna for ~15 years before landing a pair of 25" in the same year. I don't think I had one over 20" all that time then 2 beasts. I throw a lot of curly tail grubs, a lot, and they seem to hammer them. I haven't had any large ones in Goldsboro yet. I won't make any promises on avoiding them if we get there!

 

[Don]

Lol, I love'em for their spirit. Always a nice by-catch. I had one on yesterday that would've been close but it hopped off at the boat. another was over 15". But something happens above that size. Instead of being Hammer Handles they get more of a belly and even more spunk, sort of like a pike. You were right about the Bass being on Fire though. I didn't go there looking for them but got six. If it would have been open season I'd have kept the two that swallowed the hook.

 

[A-5]

Don It’s not so much the fish but the location. Crisp clear lake with great pa fish and trout with some bass. And they put pickerel in doesn’t make sense

 

[Don]

No doubt, I agree, but I'm trying to ruffle your feathers, however, in some cases, if that type of lake weren't there and only the original creek then pickerel would be there but not the trout. You know where 113 crosses the Tohickon? Before The knock was there that stream was a wonderful Pickerel stream......from Stovers up past 313 in west Rockhill Twsp. No Smallies, lots of Pickerel and eating sized rock bass. It was a beautiful Valley, little dams all up and down. 18-20" Channels would come up as far as Stovers every spring and man they were slim and strong. You're old enough to remember allot of how it was over In your area. Wish it were still that way.

 

[HenryDavid]

I just woke up and feel like a drunk as I'm not used to the all night thing. I felt that the zoo qualities were normal summer craziness and is largely why I have rarely gone there. Typical fish commish. they have the nerve to ask to see your boat and license but they refuse to police the ramp. The high amount of drunks that come and go plus the loud stereos are hard to take. Then just after dark Mary Juana stinks the place up as well. The Commish would not need to have done anything ( I heard allot of folks complaining) it they would do their job and kick out drivers that can't back down the ramp on their first try at it without crossing lines. Thats the way some Jersey ramps used to be......you show up, the assign you a lane and it you blow it youre outta there. pretty embarrassing that people cant back a long skinny trailer. Okay this was my Mr Negative post.

Next is the Good stuff. Out in the cove where I was at I hopped around and really enjoyed weaving in and out of the shoreline nailing pans. I hadn't caught Rock bass in many years and a few were size able. I was surprised that no catfish showed up.
The first bait balls showed up a hr before dark with no predators there until 9-9:30. I fished the to and the bottom along the shoreline and as deep as 40' and Nothing. No bumps, no catches, just Jumping everywhere. I couldn't hook up. I also saw no boat catch any, so I feel vindicated. I'm sure they did catch some but I never hear one guy say he hooked up. The shore fishermen did better with a few 7 lb'ers showing up. Footballs and regulars. One guy used only Rapalla ( I got a nice Repala out of a tree that someone had just lost as it was brand new). Would I catch more if I spoke Brooklynite?
I'll go again but not soon. They said that the bass will be there through mid-judy. Is that true. Would a blackjighead worm have worked. I'm 62 and have never ever caught a fish on the KiTeck crap they alway sell me. Waste of money. Now once again I have rotting melting plastic crap in my box. I could have bought Repala for the same money and they store well.
I caught as many or more Pans on the fly as I did on the worms. Saw lots of snakes and a couple turtle.
All in all it was a great night out and I'll do it again sometime soon but hopefully with family.
Many thanks to A-5 for all the hooks jigs and good vibes.
Battery was dead and had to row in.

Don, did you try any top water poppers for the panfish?

 

[Don]

Not much yet. I did get hits on a weedless triangle bugs. Now that I've filled my freezer the surface game will begin. I was spincast fishing in order to use up all the 6 dozen worms I had purchased for the rained out trip to Promised Land on Memorial Day weekend. I call that a meat run. Now back to flys.

 

[A-5]

I wasn’t born when they built the lake.

 

[Don]

Ouch.

 

[Gremcat]

Wait “eaten” sized channels at “18-20”??!?! We talking bout the same fish?! Caught a few monsters in Erie runoff before moving south catching them but…….. gotta be 5-8 lbs or not even on the cooler worthy side. Pickerel? Gotta be spooking pike or just throw backs, I’m starting to think A-5 is right on NY fish being better, no doubt PA has the trout stocking thing down, upstate NY to the ‘Dax can’t hold a candle but pickerel here pretty pathetic by comparison and channels I’ve never heard of in PA. If they are big enough to grab the 2-3’ eel you buy at bait stores in the south maybe, even then they are just bait for the blues……