Delaware Valley Tackle

Live craws and hellgies if you mind getting pinched once in awhile.

When I hear someone advocating promoting the sport, I take it in the context of keeping the next generation involved. As an example, the number of active hunters is dwindling, making the ones left a less powerful group to fight the antis and lower revenues from licenses and excise tax to fund government support of the sport. Fishing's not quite in the same boat (no pun intended) but we don't want it to be.

When I drove truck the pounding gave me chronic back pain. Like others suggest, make sure your core muscles are strong (and flexible). I used to wear one of the elastic support belts. They wont weaken you like a brace can, but they force you into good posture. The other thing you might want to consider is a visit to a chiropractor. Good luck.

I've been throwing a weightless senko with a spinning rod with good success. They're dense and compact enough that you can throw them a mile and control depth with retrieve speed. Push the head up over the eye and knot like bigtimfish said.

The weather's been keeping the Delaware high and muddy for a week or two. Does anyone have suggestions for these conditions? I was thinking some dark jigs and Colorado blade spinner-baits in the flooded cover.

RW, I got completely swept up in that old post. Nice!

Don't you think to catch fish you need to: 1. Find the fish 2. Choose a bait 3. Present the bait properly to initiate strikes in that order? Each step has multiple options making many combinations that will get strikes. Obviously in a tournament setting time is of the essence and you don't have all day to experiment. You play the averages based on your experience under similar conditions.

I Googled "Aquatic plant identification" and got this: http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/database/. Hope it helps. ML

Zel or anyone, Can Aeroflex be fished from the banks or is that a waste of time there? Thanks

I'm not technically a Jersey Guy, I live across the river in Milford, PA. But anyway, I've been having great luck fishing shallow, pitching worms, Senkos mostly, from the banks. My catch rate is at 2.75/hr with some nice ones. 4 over 3lbs and one 5.75 lbs. Anyone else catching good ones shallow?

Is there a material that can be used to fill-in a gouge in an EVA grip? Any other suggestion short of stripping and replacing handles? Thanks.

It's probably extra hard on a small fish but you'll know when you've caught your first smallie by the vertical bars and less prominent lateral line. Also check the mouth when closed extends beyond the eye on a large mouth. You'll also think you've hooked a bigger fish when you feel the smallie fight! Keep at it you'll smallies when you find'em.

I'm in north-west NJ an PA and the bass and pickerel share the lakes here too. My experience has been that the pickerel like moving presentations and will leave finesse presentations alone. Wacky rig, drop shot rigs and jigs tossed at cover are some choices that have been working for me. Also look deeper as others have said. Good luck.

I'm just getting on the braid bandwagon myself so I can't speak tp brand preference. I posted a question a few days ago regarding whether or not to use a flouro leader with braid and got lots of replies but no real concensus. Check it out.

Hey basser89 thanks for the link. Hopefully I can return the favor!

I have a friend's baitcast reel to look into. It's marked CX200 by Quantum. I can't find a schematic and Quantum doesn't seem to be able to help. Has anyone ever seen one of these or possibly know if it might have been made by someone else and rebranded? I'm pretty sure it's what many would call a throw away but it does work. We just want to clean it up and I don't like to take anything apart without a reference in case something goes wrong. We've all heard of "Murphy's Law" and I suspect Murphy was a fisherman. Thanks.

c17Lat, The south part of the lake around Whitehall and Ticonderoga NY has good weedbeds. There's also a a weedy bay that runs along the interstate south of St Albans on the VT side. Can't give you anymore detail I haven't been up there for a while.

I'm just starting to research the same type stufff and came across this place myself: http://www.do-itmolds.com/default.aspx I've also heard the name Barlows regarding tackle making. Hope it helps.

Has anyone fished Saanother sitell or Steenykill Lake in High Point State Park in Sussex County NJ? What did you think?

To add one more old saw: "Those who matter don't mind. Those who mind don't matter" In the end you'll be judged by the way you conduct your business, not on the ramblings of some jealous fool. It is amazing that you got an admission and apology though. I guess you got to give the devil his due for that.

Does anyone still use pork trailers? You almost never here about them since the rise of plastics. I've been thinking I'd try some and maybe show the bass something they haven't seen in a while. Any thoughts or tips?

For what presentations do you add a flouro leader to your Fireline or other braid/superline? For example, I/ve been warned about braid fouling the trebels on a Zara Spook.

Night fishing is great way to beat the heat, pleasure boaters, and get a crack at some big fish that don't show themselves any other time. Baits with dark color combined with sound/vibration will produce.

I also do alot of shoe fishing. I've had luck pitching and flipping an unweighted senko to visible structure like the laydowns, weeds and stumps. I just caught a 5+ pounder this way last weekend. Just remember to be stealthy approaching the bank, much like trout fishing. You can also throw a 3/4 spinner bait quite a ways if the fish move out deeper.

I voted flippin' & pitchin'. When a big one hits that short line you know it. Getting close up is also why I like bowhunting. Worming is probably how I get 80% of my catch though.