Delaware Valley Tackle

I fish the Delaware here in PA and I've been seeing the bite change suddenly throughout the day. Try throwing some top water poppers and jerk-baits as well as swimming grubs, spinnerbaits and tubes.

Hello from the Water Gap! Welcome to the forum, you'll love it. Seems like more and more PA guys signin' up.

Welcome! I'm in the Delaware River Gap and love the river smallies too. Some good small lakes & ponds in NE PA. What part of PA are you from? PM if you want.

Look for seams in the current and current breaks like rocks and logs. Also check the tail end of pools and around any islands. Good luck!

Where are you noticing the weight? In the rod or the cranking the reel?

x2

Welcome back to fishing. Check out the articles on the site. They cover topics from the most basic all the way up. Experimentation by anglers often results in a bait being fished or rigged in ways the manufacturer never thought of. Post specific questions when you're ready and you'll get lots of thoughtful replies. Enjoy the forum and good luck! Mike

The brown weeds might be more of a factor than time of day. The dying weeds rob oxygen from the water where as green weeds oxygenate the water.

Like the others have said IPT is more important but you can get the ratio by putting a piece of tape on the spool, marking it and counting the revolutions in one full rotation of the handle.

Drywall screen works well for taking off alot of cork. Be careful to not get the grip out-of-round. Leave some product so you have room to smooth the finish. If you end up spliting the grip you'll probably end up refinishing the blank you expose.

I'm much newer to reel repair but worked in the oil/lube industry for 18 years. Lubricants have varying "tack" properties but do not bond to metal or change the metals properties. It's not a horrible idea to double check just make sure new equipment is lubed period. The most important thing is to clean thoroughly and not mix lubes. Use quality products but don't expect miracles from any of them. Regular maintenance is the key. Now go catch some fish already!

:-[ :(Has anyone heard a rule of thumb as to when you're better off just cutting the fish loose? I got a nice smallmouth the other day that got all three trebles, one in his chin and one in each gill plate. I finally got him free but it took so long he almost suffocated.

Nice fish! I live near the Delaware River and have been flirting with the idea of catfishing. You might have just put me over the edge

Have you been to Shohola Reservoir or Greeley Lake? Both in Pike Cty.

Looks, quality and performance are not mutually exclusive of each other. If you can have the high performance you desire in a package you find aesthetically pleasing, that's the appeal of a custom rod. Some mass producers will try to substitute style over substance the same way some cars are held together with a paint job. You just gotta do your home work before you buy.

Welcome. I've been to Quincy IL a couple times on business. Always wanted to fish the river but haven't been able to squeeze it in. Enjoy!

Welcome to the forum! Be sure to check out the PA thread in the Northeast Regional forum for local info and tactics. Lots of good water large and small in Pike County and surrounding areas! Good luck. DV Mike

You tried the rest, welcome to the best! ;D

Scott, What do you have for a printer?

What software (&hardware) do you use to make decals and lettering for handmade rods? Any tutorials would be appreciated also. Thanks! ML

I just tried the line conditioner spray for the first time and found it to help a lot with casting and line twist. You'll still have to unwind once in a while but not as often.

Glad to see someone post this. I do a lot of wading also and it's more a matter when than if you're gonna get wet! Be safe all!

Some guys will tell you color has more to do with our own confidence than anything else but here's what I've noticed. When the water is really clear I do better with natural colors. That's where the chartreuse comes in resembling bluegill or perch. White seems good when the water has some color but still good light penetration and black and purple seem to be best in dirty water and low light situations. Small mouth are a little different in that they can change color preference from morning to afternoon.

The smallmouth are biting on the Delaware here in the Milford PA area. I've been hooking up on some largemouths in the private lake where I live but the strikes have been very light, just a pick up and swim away.

Thanks much for the feedback. This will be my second build and first fly rod. The first was a 6' graphite Med Fast spinnerbait rod that came out decent. Any advice regarding the fly rod is greatly appreciated. ML