T.J.

New Jersey states type V must be worn at all times underway. See top of page 15 Type V Hybrid. https://www.nj.gov/njsp/info/pdf/marine/021606-boating-safety-manual.pdf

The large 5/8 oz One Minus was my best producer bank fishing in the swallow ponds around here. The shad color with a red/orange belly was my favorite. I could cast a mile and crank it back just above all the grass. I’d throw it on a 7’6 flipping stick. It would catch bass of all sizes down to some that the bait couldn’t even fit in their mouth. The big ones are hard to find anymore.

Spinnerbait crankbait ned rig

Here is my 2020 TXW with a 93sv. I went with a ram mount to the side so I would have easy access to the trim switch and tools and cup holder. The new models have a slightly different recessed tray I believe. I rotate the mount down parallel with deck if I put the cover on.

Shimano Siena already mentioned. I like the Siena combo at $50-55. The 6’6” Mediums I have are one piece. The cork grip is a smaller diameter than most so that could be a deal breaker.

I’m another PA smallmouth guy. Ned is my number one producer followed by a tube. I like the Zman shroom Ned hook in 1/6 or 1/5 with the Zman trd finesse. 8lb mono with M or ML spinning rod. Braid to leader is nice but I’ve been just keeping it simple with mono lately. I believe I have better results using the lightest jig head I can get away with and letting it move with the current after each hop. I fish down to the 20’ range. With the lighter weights I don’t feel I’d get a natural initial drop with a bait caster. I’d guess 25% of my bites come on the initial drop in the deeper water. In faster current I stick with a tube and heavier weights 1/4-3/8 and put the Ned aside if I feel the Ned is drifting more than falling. Or a swim bait with heavier head. Ned for largemouths, I go heavier and fish it more like a t-rig dragging the bottom.

The 175 console isn’t ideal to mount a graph in the center as noted by others. I have seen some with 2 mounted on the side with a taller mount for the one towards the bow. Here is mine with a 9” on the side of the console. I went with this style ram mount so that the graph could be rotated up close to the console to fit into my 8’ garage door. It will hit as shown out in photo.

Not owning a jet, a guide is my only option. Not 100% true but close. I keep pondering getting a jet just for the Susquehanna but in reality I’d probably only make 3 trips a year. The ROI would take a long time compared to the 2 guide trips I try to make each year. Plus as easy as it appears to get on fish like the guide does, only being the river once a season I’d probably would struggle finding them. If/when it comes time to replace my prop boat I will definitely have to think hard on a jet. My “home” lake is super shallow and a jet would be far better there as well.

I was just out last week with this guide from Tunkhannock on the north branch. https://redeyesmallieguide.com He is new to guiding but provided a great trip. I have been out with this guide group a couple of times from Lacyville on the north branch. They also guide in the Harrisburg area on the main stem. Excellent guides. https://reelriveradventure.com Both post a lot of photos of their trips on Facebook.

I have experience with Microsoft HoloLens glasses in the construction AR environment. No vision obstruction when overlaying a 3D BIM model on the glasses out on the job site. If things are headed the same place as construction, there will be Everywhere Facing Sonar with multiple transducers mounted around the boat with the angler wearing AR glasses. Wherever you look you will see something like the current FFS live images. Eventually the image will just look like you are seeing through the water and watching the fish swim around. There will be no need to screw around trying to just the direction of a single transducer. Just look where you want to see. Hololens are in the $5-6k range. But you would not need a 10+” graph for livescope anymore.

Flares Somewhere I was going required me to carry flares. I have some that stay in my dry box with boat registration, some tools, flash light, and spare drain plug.

The navionics that came “built in” on my echomap units only supported color shadings select lakes. I think there was a way to tell on the unit or a list on the web for the support lakes. I purchased a navionics subscription and download via the active captain app which supports color shading on all lakes. My echomaps are networked together and only require an sd card in the master unit.

Whenever running outboard I wear a PFD and the lanyard remains attached. Anyone else in the boat must wear a PFD as well. When I fish alone I also wear a manual inflation belt. That gets put on when I’m unhooking the transom hold down in the lot and doesn’t come off until I put the hold downs back on after pulling the boat out of the water. The full PFD still goes on over it when running the outboard. If the water is semi rough I will wear the belt even when someone else is with me. I will keep the regular PFD on to fish when the water was very rough. The states I fish require a PFD Nov 1 to May 1 whenever not anchored or tied off to dock.

I use All State. Same as cars. I fish a lake that requires $500k liability coverage to get a permit. It was only like $20 more a year over the standard $250k or $300k.

40/50/60 are the same motor and the 75/90/115 are the same. Different ECU and cam shafts I believe. No upgrading the 60 to more horse power. There were companies that would flash the computers but Mercury shut them all down. Only option is to replace the ecu with one for the higher hp motor and remove the restrictor plate.

I’m in south jersey. When I picked up my boat from maintenance in December, the dealer had about 50 new boats on the lot between 23 leftovers and new 24s. Almost all were fishing rigs or pontoons He’s a small mom and pop shop with one tech doing repairs. They are a ranger, tracker, nitro dealer and only 30 minutes from BPS in Atlantic City. They do seem to sell a lot of boats. The owner is a super nice guy and I was feeling a little anxious about how much he must have tied up in inventory. Hope things don’t stall out for him.

Sounded like he left rapala from a reply in a social media post to partner with someone else to design hard baits. Then yesterday he posted the krej from berkley (a reversed billed jerk bait).

Just booked my yearly trip to the St Lawrence in late June. I have 6 lakes in NJ/PA that I usually hit with the boat plus a couple from the bank. I want to get back to Wallenpaupack this year. Most likely will do another guide trip in the fall on the Susquehanna North Branch in PA. A coworker’s friend is retiring and starting a guide service on the Susky too so may give him some business in the spring.

NJ is $22.50 plus handling fee for calendar year. I also need to purchase a PA non-resident yearly for $59. I own a home in both states but don’t qualify as a PA resident 😕 And then I also purchase a NY license for $50 good for one year from purchase as I have been doing a week trip to the SLR each year. Thankfully the one reservoir I fish on the PA-Maryland boarder accepts either state license. 🙂

I haven’t fished the Lehigh but have seen smallmouth caught just south of the Jim Thorpe train station. From what I have read online, smallmouth gets better south of Lehighton.

I was going to say the same. I’m about 1 mile from new Brooklyn lake in south jersey. That lake is shallow and very weedy so it is hard use some lures. Johnson silver minnows are a good pick or weedless rigged plastic flukes. Inline spinners would be hard unless they are just below surface. The lake has limited shore access and gets a ton of pressure. I don’t fish there much and it is the closest lake to my house. Normally I will only go over like now through early March a few times a year. Just after ice out is good or with a few patches still floating around. Had some good days there while it was snowing. I think all my pickerel out of there came on suspending jerk baits including in the spillway. All the lakes around me have pickerel so we end up catching as many of them as bass. Fishing in the boat, we get them on crankbaits the most. Second would be lipless and spinnerbaits. We (my son and I) use 8-15lb mono all the time and I don’t recall having one pickerel break off in the last few years. We had some bass break off at the side of the boat tho. I also fish rocky water in PA a lot and have gone back to just using mono on all the rods. It works for me and Big Game is so inexpensive that I might respool ever month or two. I do carry steel leaders but I don’t bother using them even if targeting pickerel. I will use them for pike up north. I don’t take a lot of photos but here is one from Union Lake. Lenape has some nice ones as well.

I was out on the north branch of the Susquehanna a few times last year with a guide. We did well with Neds or small paddle tails on Ned heads in spring/summer and crankbaits in the fall.

I couldn’t get out today, other commitments. I did see results from Union lake derby. Some nice bass were caught. Pickerel action was good down here today based on posts on Facebook. I don’t think there was enough ice for any ice fishing this year so far. I think it is rare around me anyway. I’ve never tried it. I have never been to any of the lakes you mention (yet?). Hoping to travel north for a change this season.

I’m in south jersey. Union lake is clear of ice as of today. Sounds like there might be a derby there this Saturday. Forecast is pushing 60* so even without a tournament, I’d bet there are 20 boats out Saturday.

How would fishing be in late April? Also thinking about a run to Cayuga April or May from NJ.