South Jersey Bass Fishing

[Ole man Fazul]

Pulled out two small guys at Ceres Park, Emerald Pond (southernmost pond). They looked thin. Felt bad for them. 

 

First one on the Eastern bank and the second on the Western bank, standing on the fallen tree.

 

They both hit the Christie Critter in 93 degrees. They must be hungry! 

 

[Ole man Fazul]

My son and i were both fishing ultra-light for panfish.  My son caught this impressive (for around here) American Shad, from a discharge stream out of Alcyon Lake.

*Edit: correction, not an American Shad but instead a Grass Carp. 

 

Just behind Peter Lumber's there is a huge hole formed by downed trees from the early August t-storms. Here my son caught a little LMB to both of our surprise. The little guy must have washed through and is now king of the hole. 

 

 

[Ole man Fazul]

Kandle Lake in early August; caught on a drop shot dangling a keitech swim bait (regular not fat), on the shade edge created by a fixed dock, mid-afternoon.

 

[Ole man Fazul]

I wanted to do some reconnaissance so I took a detour on my way home from work and stopped by Greenwich Lake in Gibbstown. It was approximately 2:30-3pm.

 

I pull in and notice a Greenwich Township police car parked in the main lot. I pull up to the police officer to chat as it was my first time there. I asked him how one goes about launching a kayak or boat since the gate just before the one-lane  bridge was padlocked. He seemed surprised that it was locked and said the County is responsible for opening and locking it. The posted sign indicates 8-4pm as launching hours. He didn't know who I could call if I found it locked again, but suggested the county Sheriff's office. Seems odd to me. 

 

Has anyone encountered this before? Does anyone know how to proceed if the gate is locked when it should be open?

 

I did take a walk around. Beautiful lake! Saw a bald eagle soaring above. I threw some from the banks just for kicks but no bites. I really wasn't putting any effort into it. I am definitely going back especially since I recently learned how deep some spots get, 30' in some spots, although this is hearsay. Can anyone confirm? Any lake map for Greenwich?

 

Any and all thoughts, past experiences, and/or feedback is greatly appreciated!

 

Fred

[YoTone]

i fish greenwich a few times  a year. i went once when it was closed and proceeded to another lake close by, the DOD. I think those hours are for the weekend and it stays closed during the weekdays. during the times i did kayak there we fished the creeks instead with moderate success. early in the year my friend caught a nice one bank fishing in the secondary ponds. the main lake is decently clear so its tough to catch them during the day  so most of our catches were at night in that area you picture you posted. bring your bug spray and wear long sleeve clothing and throw top waters and you can catch a big bass when they cruise the shallows to hammer the blue gills. oh and theres a good chance you can get kicked out, if they come just politely leave or even ask to stay and that youre only there to fish. 

 

 

Fished for a few hours at Elmer again just before dusk. Top water wasnt working so i decided to try a drop shot for the first time. this was on a roboworm in the morning dawn color. after that it was a dink fest  but at least it kept my attention to how effective the drop shot can be.

 

[Ole man Fazul]

58 minutes ago, YoTone said:

i fish greenwich a few times  a year. i went once when it was closed and proceeded to another lake close by, the DOD. I think those hours are for the weekend and it stays closed during the weekdays. during the times i did kayak there we fished the creeks instead with moderate success. early in the year my friend caught a nice one bank fishing in the secondary ponds. the main lake is decently clear so its tough to catch them during the day  so most of our catches were at night in that area you picture you posted. bring your bug spray and wear long sleeve clothing and throw top waters and you can catch a big bass when they cruise the shallows to hammer the blue gills. oh and theres a good chance you can get kicked out, if they come just politely leave or even ask to stay and that youre only there to fish. 

 

 

Fished for a few hours at Elmer again just before dusk. Top water wasnt working so i decided to try a drop shot for the first time. this was on a roboworm in the morning dawn color. after that it was a dink fest  but at least it kept my attention to how effective the drop shot can be.

 

Thanks for your insight Yo Tone! That's an impressive catch man! Nice job on reading the situation!

[Junger]

Anyone here fish Silver Lake in Gibbsboro? Gonna be in the area tomorrow and thinking about going there.

[YoTone]

Woke up and decided to hit Marsh Creek in PA but 5 minutes into my drive I hit traffic.  I turned around and decided to go to Tackle Direct since they had a sale. Picked up a St croix  rod and chatted it up with Adrian Avena, super cool guy and seemed pretty chatty so that was cool.  Anyways after that I found the closest body of water which was Lake Lenape. I went 2 for 3 with the chatterbait bringing in the biggest one which was a touch over 3.

 

Too bad its almost an hour drive from me or else I would hit this lake up again.

 

 

 

[Ole man Fazul]

On 10/5/2018 at 7:59 PM, Junger said:

Anyone here fish Silver Lake in Gibbsboro? Gonna be in the area tomorrow and thinking about going there.

Never. Always lurked over it on Google maps but could never quick figure out the access point(s). Do you park at the dam or in the back of one of the businesses? If you made it out there how did you fare? 

 

5 hours ago, YoTone said:

Woke up and decided to hit Marsh Creek in PA but 5 minutes into my drive I hit traffic.  I turned around and decided to go to Tackle Direct since they had a sale. Picked up a St croix  rod and chatted it up with Adrian Avena, super cool guy and seemed pretty chatty so that was cool.  Anyways after that I found the closest body of water which was Lake Lenape. I went 2 for 3 with the chatterbait bringing in the biggest one which was a touch over 3.

 

Too bad its almost an hour drive from me or else I would hit this lake up again.

 

 

 

Great catch(es)! 

 

Several questions, if you don't mind...

 

Which model St. Croix?

Where did you find them with the chatter bait?shallow, veg, pads, deep... 

How did you retrieve? Fast, slow, yo-yo... (I always feel awkward fishing it and feel I'm doing it wrong)

Where is the TackleDirect in PA? 

How in the world are you getting to Sellersville from S. Jersey in one hour?!?!?

 

Sorry for the questions... Just curious.

[YoTone]

Bass X 7'1 MH/F,  I nabbed it for $75. I chickened out on getting the Avid X for $150.

 

The Chatterbait bite was probably around 20ish feet from the shore with a steady mediumish retrieve. Not sure on the depth but id guess it  to be it was around 10ish ft.

 

Tackle Direct is in NJ and i drove from South Philly, i didnt even make it a few miles on the highway before i hit the traffic going north so i went the opposite direction.

 

[Ole man Fazul]

21 hours ago, YoTone said:

Bass X 7'1 MH/F,  I nabbed it for $75. I chickened out on getting the Avid X for $150.

 

The Chatterbait bite was probably around 20ish feet from the shore with a steady mediumish retrieve. Not sure on the depth but id guess it  to be it was around 10ish ft.

 

Tackle Direct is in NJ and i drove from South Philly, i didnt even make it a few miles on the highway before i hit the traffic going north so i went the opposite direction.

 

S. Philly departure makes sense. Thanks for the details on the catch. I always store these accounts in my head and try to access them later out on the water. It's very helpful. Thanks!

 

Awesome deal on the rod! Holy cow! I would've walked out with one or two myself.

[Junger]

23 hours ago, Ole man Fazul said:

Never. Always lurked over it on Google maps but could never quick figure out the access point(s). Do you park at the dam or in the back of one of the businesses? If you made it out there how did you fare? 

Went to the Chop House for dinner and to partly do some reconnaissance. The lake is private property and has signs everywhere that say no fishing. Ended up taking my kids to Laurel Acres Park and fished that pond. Got 3 LMB on a GY single tail grub in about 30 mins by the pond sprinkler. Saw another kid pull a good sized mudcat using cut hotdog.

[YoTone]

21 minutes ago, Junger said:

Went to the Chop House for dinner and to partly do some reconnaissance. The lake is private property and has signs everywhere that say no fishing. Ended up taking my kids to Laurel Acres Park and fished that pond. Got 3 LMB on a GY single tail grub in about 30 mins by the pond sprinkler. Saw another kid pull a good sized mudcat using cut hotdog.

go up a few blocks from laurel acres and try those ponds. 

[Thomas Christian]

what happened to this thread?  seems like it was really active?  I'm getting back into fishing after a LONG hiatus.  kids were little. Now, they are bigger and wanting to fish.

[YoTone]

I haven't fished jersey this year. Figured since I'm in philly use the $5 in toll for gas to make trips to Marsh creek and nockamixon.

[Ole man Fazul]

3 lber at Alcyon Lake, Pitman. Off the kayak.

 

I as well got back into fishing after not touching the rods for a few years. Put on all new line on my bass & ultra light reels. 

 

Panfish fishing has really been enjoyable. 

[YoTone]

Looks like you need some decent replacement treble hooks.

[Ole man Fazul]

25 minutes ago, YoTone said:

Looks like you need some decent replacement treble hooks.

I hate treble hooks! As a strict catch-n-release angler they cause too much damage for me. I cut two sometimes one of the three hooks off. The jitterbug works fine but my cranks suffer with their action. I need to research proper size replacement of trebles with single hooks, at least to balance out the weight.

[YoTone]

Well you can try using a buzzbait for top water and a chatter bait instead of cranks. Both are single hooks.

[Ole man Fazul]

31 minutes ago, YoTone said:

Well you can try using a buzzbait for top water and a chatter bait instead of cranks. Both are single hooks.

Good call. This was my second lure after the frogs came up empty. Grass there is a bit thick for chatters as in my experience they function better subsurface. Buzz baits run fairly well over top of the grass. 

[Ole man Fazul]

Supposed to be great fishing in the AM. Anyone going out?

 

Got my jitterbug, spro frog, and a Texas rigged senko ready to go on on three rods. Plan is to be on the water at twilight. I'll be checking back in with an update, hopefully with a personal best. 

 

 

[Ole man Fazul]

I've been taking the yak out on Alcyon in the early AM. Spinnerbaits and the jitterbug have been killing it! Reeled in over a dozen LMBs and a handful of slime rockets (Pickerel). Largest LMB was 4lbs. For around here, that's hefty! All of the others were in the 2-3lbs range. Lots of fun!