Dela-whack! (Pics)

[Kid Catch]

Been a terrific week on The Delaware, wading every day, fishing flats in Bucks County. 

Thought I'd include a few of my better fish from this week thus far. 

Smallies have been very active under mid day bluebird skies. Best numbers have been on soft paddletail swimbaits on a light weighted hook. During overcast periods or when the wind has made finesse less effective, walking baits have gotten big blow ups worked nearly as fast as I can retrieve on a 7:1 baitcaster. Short strikes or slaps mean I go into hyper-speed and burn, burn, burn - they come back for it ticked off. 

First cast of the day on Tuesday, I just about jumped outta my shoes when this channel cat whacked my swimbait. Fun fight on 6lb fluoro. Caught several more channels on swimbaits while casting for smallies.

Striper have been blistering walking baits on breaklines beside flats all week. I like the Strike King Sexy Dawg, again - fast as I can burn it. Lots on large paddletails and four on a Lucky Craft Pointer 100sp, always on the pause. 

All fish released as always.

Hope you guys are hammering them wherever you’re at!

 

[bowhunter63]

Good ones there,Congrats

[Darren.]

Welcome aboard!

Nice catches!

[Kid Catch]

Thank you guys! Been out there every day all day as I normally am, nice to know I've now got a friendly crowd to talk shop with. 

[buzzed bait]

nice smallie.  really cool pic there with the catdaddy too!

[flyfisher]

i grew up fishing the delaware in that area myself.  Great place to fish for sure.  Nice fish

[Kid Catch]

1 minute ago, flyfisher said:

i grew up fishing the delaware in that area myself.  Great place to fish for sure.  Nice fish

Oh nice man! See you're in VA now, you fish The New at all?

[flyfisher]

nah, I live in central VA so i hit the james but mainly i fish for largemouth in the lakes around here.  I do make a few trips a year to meet my dad on the susky though in central PA....

[NorcalBassin]

Nice job and cool pics!

[Kid Catch]

On 6/9/2016 at 10:02 PM, flyfisher said:

nah, I live in central VA so i hit the james but mainly i fish for largemouth in the lakes around here.  I do make a few trips a year to meet my dad on the susky though in central PA....

Very cool. I'll actually be visiting The James for the first time August 18-20 for a project for work. Really excited about it as I've heard it's a smallie factory. Hopefully I'll get some time to throw a couple in between work days. 

On 6/9/2016 at 10:39 PM, NorcalBassin said:

Nice job and cool pics!

Appreciate the kind words brother! 

[BassB8Caster]

nice fish and nice pics!

[Hurricane]

Nice pics man...

[Kid Catch]

5 hours ago, LastCastChris said:

Nice pics man...

Thanks man, I guess mixing work (photographer) and play isn't always bad lol. Taking expensive camera gear shielded by only 3 layers of zip lock bags is however, a very bad idea. Really need to invest in a dry bag - been looking at the stuff by Watershed.

[Gundog]

Nice fish. I fished the big D around Matamoras PA 20+ years ago and it wasn't easy. But on those special days it seemed the fishing gods smiled on me and it was awesome. Everything from rockbass to muskie were biting.

[Kid Catch]

13 hours ago, Gundog said:

Nice fish. I fished the big D around Matamoras PA 20+ years ago and it wasn't easy. But on those special days it seemed the fishing gods smiled on me and it was awesome. Everything from rockbass to muskie were biting.

 

Hey cool, very familiar with that stretch! And yes, The D is a tough river when compared to others (even local, i.e. Susk, Skuke). But as you know, the efforts seldom go unrewarded. What was your best catch on the Delaware? 

[Gundog]

My best catch was a fat 5 lb smallie I caught in the fall fishing around a downed tree. My most memorable was a small musky who thought he was a tarpon. He kept leaping over and over again till he finally broke my line. If I hadn't been shad fishing with light line I might have landed him. 

[Kid Catch]

2 hours ago, Gundog said:

My best catch was a fat 5 lb smallie I caught in the fall fishing around a downed tree. My most memorable was a small musky who thought he was a tarpon. He kept leaping over and over again till he finally broke my line. If I hadn't been shad fishing with light line I might have landed him. 

5 lb bronzie?! That's what makes the tough days worth it eh? Closest I've come to that actually came out of (and put back into), ready for this - The Neshaminy Creek. 22 1/4 inches on a sinking worm I poured, on 6lb mono (had yet to make the switch to braid/fluoro. Subsequently I take my time on the Nesh very seriously now . 

That muskie must have been a trip, huh? I chase them on a fly rod every now and then but most often see them when they snipe a smallie I'm reeling in. They almost always swirl, bite, and freeze with in their mouth. That sudden flash scares the daylights outta me every time lol. 

Any chance you have a pic of the 5lb smallie? 

[Gundog]

Sorry, no pic on the smallie. Those were pre-cellphone/camera/internet days. Yea I'm an old-timer. I've met people who have fished the Neshaminy Creek and say it was a blast. Especially in the spring. 

[Catch 22]

That is some impressive catching WTG. Nice write up.I used to wade the Susky quite a bit yrs ago before the public found it.60 to 80 fish days were the norm.

C22

[Kid Catch]

6 hours ago, Catch 22 said:

That is some impressive catching WTG. Nice write up.I used to wade the Susky quite a bit yrs ago before the public found it.60 to 80 fish days were the norm.

C22

Thanks Catch! I've been told that 20 years ago it was absolutely nuts. 

Between myself and another fisherman I've seen an 80+ day or two on the North Branch, especially in the fall when they really stir up. It's also terrific smallmouth fishing in the winter. Big fish. No rats in January

 

 

[Catch 22]

20 hours ago, Kid Catch said:

Thanks Catch! I've been told that 20 years ago it was absolutely nuts. 

That is true. All thru the winter ,it was me and a few duck hunters.

[Matt Van]

On ‎6‎/‎9‎/‎2016 at 8:41 PM, Kid Catch said:

Thank you guys! Been out there every day all day as I normally am, nice to know I've now got a friendly crowd to talk shop with. 

Went and fished the big D yesterday on the Jersey side just past Washington Crossing and didn't catch anything. I was fishing poppers, spooks, senkos, and keitech paddle tail swimbaits...conditions were great...can't believe I didn't catch anything.  Maybe I'll have to try the PA side since the NJ side has a lot more grass than last year.

[YoTone]

sweet, ive always wanted to fish further up. i do my fishing in south philly mostly and im dying to catch a small mouth.

 

[Kid Catch]

5 hours ago, Matt Van said:

Went and fished the big D yesterday on the Jersey side just past Washington Crossing and didn't catch anything. I was fishing poppers, spooks, senkos, and keitech paddle tail swimbaits...conditions were great...can't believe I didn't catch anything.  Maybe I'll have to try the PA side since the NJ side has a lot more grass than last year.

I was about 4 miles down river from you in the morning, before I left for the Raritan. Did okay in the AM, all on paddle tails. Funny thing is I've tried, and tried, and tried to get a consistent Delaware bite on the keitech and regardless of size or color it's been sparse action at best. Done better with them on an umbrella rig fishing largemouth in lakes. Although, my Girlfriend had a striper swipe at the 4 inch last Thursday but didn't swing and missed it. My personal experience has been that a Reaction Innovations or similar style swimbait gets a whole lotta attention on The D. I rig it on as light of a weighted hook as wind and current will allow, and am looking for a nose-down, very slow fall rate. Later in the summer I'll throw it heavier when smallies move into the faster nervous water. I (and the striper especially) like a blue/purple back with a white belly. I maintain that it's all about the fall, let that tail thump on a controlled-slack line and be ready to swing when they nab it. Not many mushy bites on the swimbait. Usually a very easily detected strike though I'm also *awesome* at getting too jumpy, swinging too soon, and blowing out the fishes mouth before the hook's had a chance to pin it. Easily lost triple what I've caught on swimbaits in my first year or so fishing them. Over time I've learned to calm myself down as best I can and familiarize myself with an effective hookset method. But it ain't always easy, know what I mean?

40 minutes ago, YoTone said:

sweet, ive always wanted to fish further up. i do my fishing in south philly mostly and im dying to catch a small mouth.

 

Catch a nice one, and game over - hooked for life. If you're looking for a fight, you'll find it in the bronze ones,  

[Matt Van]

41 minutes ago, Kid Catch said:

My personal experience has been that a Reaction Innovations or similar style swimbait gets a whole lotta attention on The D.

Good to know! Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it man.