tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12721071370574136042024-03-10T18:20:05.822-07:00Fishing in New JerseyBruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-30663731502382925132018-06-13T23:57:00.004-07:002018-06-14T20:33:29.788-07:00Tilcon Lake Buzzbait and Worm Action<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0inkfSxv8RoieiEuzWtTsdKfi-LrahPM-J-lGTMTyavUpMeXURH1a3bcHLs7X4_8MC8_bRFx6m247iFCclRD819msx1xYTvmNmBMqGXiPIIOcAxJo33CAQTS1dTYaVP530OD3C9ytxPyu/s1600/Bluegill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0inkfSxv8RoieiEuzWtTsdKfi-LrahPM-J-lGTMTyavUpMeXURH1a3bcHLs7X4_8MC8_bRFx6m247iFCclRD819msx1xYTvmNmBMqGXiPIIOcAxJo33CAQTS1dTYaVP530OD3C9ytxPyu/s640/Bluegill.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<div style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
My old habit involved preparing the night before for the day's fishing but things don't necessarily go south for entirely bad reasons. I got up this morning, though, and just couldn't find energy to really want to fish today, but I consigned myself to loading each item, along with the help of Matt, and even as I turned the ignition key shortly after 12:30 p.m., I generally rued the loss of my GoPro as we packed out from a recent Hopatcong outing. Two years ago I got footage of a largemouth, and though the still shots didn't come out well, clear water Tilcon Lake really makes the malformed images striking. Naturally, I wanted to try again. Suppose I will, once I buy another.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Once everything was in motion, headed up U.S. 206, my nasty state lifted and I felt all this would be worthwhile. About 40 minutes later, we got to my friend's house where I'm hiding my stash from the condo association and loaded that stuff on top of the Honda for the world to regard. We got to Tilcon, and I found that one of the cart tires I had just inflated back in Bedminster was about 30 % deflated. So, what will happen when we would load 250 pounds or more of canoe and accessories?</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
If you've ever heard a tire rupture clean and the air hiss, you would think no cobra can do it better.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
The good tire.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
The bad tire had simply coughed out. In the middle of discussing the apparent need of loading back up and trying the back of the lake, where the walk in is fewer yards but very, very steep, I asked Matt if he could just carry the 70-pound marine battery the two football fields' distance. I would carry a load, and then we would try the deflated wheels for the canoe with light stuff in it.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
The wheels got us there. We had positioned the cart near the rear, so Matt had a lot of weight in front to carry. He had gum surgery yesterday. Warned about heavy lifting causing blood pressure to rise.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
No matter. I'm his father after all, so my advice is pretty good.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
I pushed us away from the bank with a paddle, clicked on the electric, and found the battery was low. It's not just my stressful job, I was explaining to my son, it's an entire shift of my habits. I told him I can't wait until I'm deep into writing the trout book. I had worked for about six months on a 24-page essay I hope to get published in one of the world's top literary journals, and although I toggled between that and many other writing projects, that big essay was always there to get involved in by forgetting everything else. The feeling of compensation for a gutsy hard day working in the supermarket was exquisite, and the same sort of feeling accompanies writing about trout.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
You don't consciously intend to overlook well-established habits, such as charging the battery two days ahead of schedule; they just get forgotten along a way that's become less deliberate.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
I ruled out pressing back to the rear of the lake. "With this headwind, we might never paddle home," I said. Trolling speed for elusive Atlantic salmon was too slow, as we approached a spot only some 900 yards distant from base, but I caught the bluegill photographed above out over water 32 feet deep distant from relative shallows, on a Phoebe.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Force of habit: We fished one of our two favorite spots hard, me using worms. I tried a 12-inch Mann's Jelly Worm, having taken advice from an article in<i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> On the Water</i> magazine, and after 20 minutes of focused fishing, I switched to Chompers eight inch. I had said, "I can't quite feel I'm fully in earnest." How could I be after seven years of nothing but Chompers and Senko-type worms?</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
I had given the big worm a shot. The habitual choice was no hit with anything, either.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
"Looks like rain," I said. It kept on looking like rain, and after we moved around a tight corner and over the 10-foot depths of a weedy flat, I finally got the day's first good idea, thanks to my son. Water temperature was 71. Almost perfectly optimal for largemouth bass. Low bunchy clouds overhead looked as if they passed over us at silent movie speed. I voiced the situation, "Wind is really blowing."</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Matt was throwing a spinnerbait. You could tell the wind was blowing by how far he could cast in a certain direction, if not by any other means. "Might be good...for a buzzbait…" The way he said this tentatively emphasized value in the possibility. As if a buzzbait might cause some special change in the way things really are.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
"How many buzzbaits did you bring?" I had forgotten my topwater case. Nothing was more stupid than that omission.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
"Two."</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
"Pass one on."</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Big and black. On the fifth cast, I had a pickerel on that came off.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
It's not just a chemical reaction. Brain science is way too immature to really know what it talks about, <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">if </b></i>it says serotonin, or whatever other neurotransmitter, functions only in an individual brain, unrelated to objective possibilities in the environment that brain inhabits. There's a whole<i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> ecology</i> between a good human brain and natural environment. But I always make this distinction: I didn't<i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> know</i> we were on to something. But I<i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> did</i> know that hundreds of other times I've felt like I felt after I lost that pickerel...those hundreds of other times led to gain. Some people just don't have brain chemical spikes like I enjoy. "Some are born to sweet delight/Some are born to the endless night." And that's a legal quote. Jim Morrison stole it from William Blake. I take it from Blake. My fish sense lit up. <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Here we go.</b></i></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></i><b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></b><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
"Maybe back in those shallows," Matt said. He put on a yellow buzzbait just a little smaller. We moved 10 yards inward. Soon I caught a chunky 14-inch largemouth. Minutes later, Matt wailed a cast--you don't actually hear the line peel, you imagine that part--to a weedline, and something huge exploded on that buzzbait. I heard the POW! without seeing it just then, but even when I looked, water flew wildly about as if a hippopotamus got stocked along with those half-real salmon. Missed that one, but he soon caught a pickerel. And then something pretty big slurped his lure, not getting hooked, and <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">one</i> second later, another slurp. I was onto a good fish. The bass would have taped out at nearly 19 inches, but I didn't have Matt photograph it by use of my wide-angle lens, so maybe that's about how big it looks in the picture below, instead of five inches longer. Looks about 18 to me, but it was longer than that.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Matt was talking about all the acreage around us, but my fish sense was already sagging. If that's manic-depressive, it sure is prophetic, because we fished those buzzbaits all over about five acres, or so it seemed, before the sun came out 20 minutes after all the action had faded. That's something else I notice time and time again. Fish seem to sense what's coming and behave accordingly. Seems to us absurd for them to fear the sun, but not to them.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
And then we lost a couple of hours or more, just not getting it right, trying another favorite spot completely barren, trying a shoreline downwind of that. We went back to the edge of that five-acre flat, anchored, and I felt like slowing way down. I remembered Lake Hopatcong years ago and how rewarding fishing live bait. I was fishing a Chompers. A bass took after fifteen minutes or so. The flat is so full of thick vegetation, and the bass like to get in so thick you might not get them out. I set the hook and felt <i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">powerful</i> muscular pulsation, then I felt so much weed mass I couldn't budge the bunch. Finally the weight gave, but with no bass on the line. I caught a pickerel while working that worm very slowly through the weeds. Then I caught the weedy bass photographed below. That too I couldn't budge where it had got to; I couldn't budge it before my St. Croix almost broke. Action seemed to slow; I felt possibility in another sort of cove between two weed edges. We eased over to it, and I had a big bass on right away, line catching on weeds, and during the disturbance of that connection made suddenly and jarringly irregular, that bass got off.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
Matt almost caught a pickerel on a Jitterbug. Neither of us have ever caught a fish on that lure.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
We got off the lake about 45 minutes after the sun went behind hills, well into dusk, and the cart with the flat tires kept working its way to the square back of the canoe and past the edge of the canoe's total length. We had to haul the thing out. Matt kept remembering football practice, he told me later. My participation involved compressing very bad discs in my lower back, a certifiably insane exercise, and I wondered, without any solemn emotion, if financially the best bet was to leave the canoe there and say the hell with it. I won't be due for back surgery.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
The clock is swinging its way towards 3:00 a.m. now, and my back feels as if it's OK, so, as I felt when I committed myself, I think that haul was no mad exercise. We went to my friend's house, pulled the bear steeply uphill into dark woods, my headlamp essential, the intense light provoking no one to fling open a window a fire a pump-action shotgun at its source, and after all was done, we got home at 11:00 p.m. sharp.</div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></div>
<div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: both; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkhMLUCdQRdW31-gZ6vGdIwCN5GQVytrKEVsMNVXpe4X-srkNtTRRQnZheG2ewss2gxEy5OdF3QuHN-x4QBvX2Ma0evNsbn_WiWzBXUQy4KyNptbVud1j9wDtRcT9HKQpm1ANrSS423BS/s1600/DSC_7651-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px;"><i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></i><i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></i><i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></i><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkhMLUCdQRdW31-gZ6vGdIwCN5GQVytrKEVsMNVXpe4X-srkNtTRRQnZheG2ewss2gxEy5OdF3QuHN-x4QBvX2Ma0evNsbn_WiWzBXUQy4KyNptbVud1j9wDtRcT9HKQpm1ANrSS423BS/s640/DSC_7651-1.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="426" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: both; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: transparent; clear: both; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibz0Gm_GHqr5GXVyf9E8O460l3fk0IBXLzDTgA02yeiaM84B924K84eG0tUqOyUYrGgVJ9QwCk7IPkp2gFCnIlRQBlMf549CfAYPxSoF6JkWnX4V-BGBApbi9-UE4L8wKYoc-uKwrLspun/s1600/Matt+Pickerel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibz0Gm_GHqr5GXVyf9E8O460l3fk0IBXLzDTgA02yeiaM84B924K84eG0tUqOyUYrGgVJ9QwCk7IPkp2gFCnIlRQBlMf549CfAYPxSoF6JkWnX4V-BGBApbi9-UE4L8wKYoc-uKwrLspun/s400/Matt+Pickerel.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: transparent; clear: both; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAO9D3nPyqoR2eSsV9uO9mDi-pHMdT487MjyHLOZXSGt98zBVV_335q8MQVo34Daz16RI-HmLcUrY6orGA2wxn3pqepKLZT0qaL4G7zzZDNRY1_LtUFS47J10oUhjL9Lo7PwQhEhoAjO4/s1600/Dad+Pickerel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAO9D3nPyqoR2eSsV9uO9mDi-pHMdT487MjyHLOZXSGt98zBVV_335q8MQVo34Daz16RI-HmLcUrY6orGA2wxn3pqepKLZT0qaL4G7zzZDNRY1_LtUFS47J10oUhjL9Lo7PwQhEhoAjO4/s400/Dad+Pickerel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXyc37CC1M9N7J0Gpm0bnRqXhpKUcPNvAGPc8mQDuoILD4UXs-wGS3-P0MHxgki4-ZUJmeh5bPlTSETxGsU4z2QjLFBv64pBIOB4zmBBEOaIGs-3uBmlcP59XMZ1uHmEC05F3tLB7j9Y/s1600/Blog-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1064" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXyc37CC1M9N7J0Gpm0bnRqXhpKUcPNvAGPc8mQDuoILD4UXs-wGS3-P0MHxgki4-ZUJmeh5bPlTSETxGsU4z2QjLFBv64pBIOB4zmBBEOaIGs-3uBmlcP59XMZ1uHmEC05F3tLB7j9Y/s640/Blog-1.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxABNoAQnQ7DCTcapL7yDbT_vE8nKx1bLqVAoA1ftv686tyoEZR3K36GfsPBcO6YZr8KcBOFi1kk3Qq-xd3Ek3mG10Mclo_FAEJdItfRzAMmbiS_kaIBMdQYoJnnbJ_tweQbpEp3DBvh0/s1600/Weed+Thick-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxABNoAQnQ7DCTcapL7yDbT_vE8nKx1bLqVAoA1ftv686tyoEZR3K36GfsPBcO6YZr8KcBOFi1kk3Qq-xd3Ek3mG10Mclo_FAEJdItfRzAMmbiS_kaIBMdQYoJnnbJ_tweQbpEp3DBvh0/s400/Weed+Thick-2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: transparent; clear: both; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: transparent; clear: both; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: transparent; clear: both; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="http://littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/2016/07/new-jersey-salmon-lost-and-largemouths_89.html">http://littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/2016/07/new-jersey-salmon-lost-and-largemouths_89.html</a></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-25360216902545776932018-01-26T19:30:00.003-08:002023-05-21T22:02:54.197-07:00Native and Wild Trout of New Jersey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">New
Jersey’s Little Secret: Wild and Native Trout</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVoMAn7gLm7LMmU276W9ftEFn9IwdK_V8FADkI7G5-sYzKtF2iSCkC95Ymqa8yp2mvAaEHEvnSyTgcxvgRnGJeNdk-EVAjNvLS8tPVyzwTm-RY2YZcgA7WRB2_HbO7PhI1xbd9FSnPiS0/s1600/Passaic+River+3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVoMAn7gLm7LMmU276W9ftEFn9IwdK_V8FADkI7G5-sYzKtF2iSCkC95Ymqa8yp2mvAaEHEvnSyTgcxvgRnGJeNdk-EVAjNvLS8tPVyzwTm-RY2YZcgA7WRB2_HbO7PhI1xbd9FSnPiS0/s1600/Passaic+River+3.jpg" width="400" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Wild Rainbow Passaic River Headwaters</div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Native and Wild Trout of New Jersey</b></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How I learned about native brook
trout in Dunnfield Creek is permanently obscured, but memories of catching them
in the late 1970’s remain clear and colorful like the aquamarine spring-fed
water. I made pilgrimages during the 1980’s with a brother of mine and also a
girlfriend, catching both native brook trout and wild browns. In 1993, I hiked
with my wife-to-be, Patricia, on a 90-degree July afternoon. Into the deepest
pool I dove, clad in shorts. That’s when I learned just how cold the Creek stays.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Charts and statistics online indicate approximately 50% of original
native brook trout range remains in New Jersey, some of the lines of genetic
inheritance going back about 12,000 years to the Wisconsin Glacier recession. From
Somerset County northward, the New Jersey State Fish, designated by former
Governor James Florio, is a multi-colored, fleshed-out jewel not all that rare.
I’ve found them in a Somerset County rill, a shallow run not listed among 175
New Jersey Wild Trout Streams, which the Division of Fish & Wildlife
designates. My son and I hiked the one-mile length, finding a single hole five
feet deep with half a dozen brookies as large as seven inches finning at
bottom. To the south of the state, native brook trout inhabited parts of the
Pinelands in spring-fed streams and reportedly still do today in Big Timber
Creek, tolerating high acidity. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Not every high quality stream in the state
has brookies. Passaic River headwaters in Sherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary’s
vicinity flourish with wild rainbows and browns, absent of any brook trout.
Rockaway Creek has wild browns, but no rainbows. Flanders Brook has all
three species. Countless other examples have their unique characteristics. On
the whole, wild brown trout are most resilient, native brookies not quite as
common a survivor of our state’s environmental pressures, and wild rainbows are
not rare but least to expect.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>All three species offer you an
opportunity to count small fish as valuable, although on occasion, I’ve got
news of a true wild brown—not a holdover—more than 20 inches long. I saw a
photo of a five-pound brook trout caught somewhere in Warren County. At the time, I couldn't quite believe this fish was native, but what else could it have been, caught far back in remote forests? Some brook trout do holdover from stocking and work their
way far upstream to reproduce. Not as natives, but as wild brook trout, their progeny live on, but it seems less likely to me that a giant brook trout from a remote forest stream was a wild fish, instead of native. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Not every small, spring-fed stream
is small its entire length. During seventh grade, a friend and I used to sneak into
the woods during lunch recess, hiking to the headwaters of Little Shabakunk
Creek in Mercer County where we planned on building a dam as beavers would make.
I had the address and contract information of a trout hatchery. We were just
kids. Before complications ensued over a brook trout order, my father asked to
see the site with wood already piled on. I took him there. He said, “You would
need an engineering degree and equipment to build this dam.” </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Beavers do it, though.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You will find most wild and native
trout in free-flowing creeks and river headwaters. Some exceptions include
small impoundments of such streams. In the creeks and small rivers, trout don’t
always hold in the deepest pools. I’ve caught nine and 10-inch brookies in
Dunnfield Creek riffles by casting small shad darts on an ultra-light spinning
rod, though in recent years, I stick to my two-weight fly rod. To catch a
seven-incher of any of the three species is to gain an opportunity to witness a
fine specimen. Nine-inch fish prove less common, and yet among brown trout, 14
to 17-inch fish are not drastically rare in streams small where you might not
expect them. They live out their years by very wary behavior.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Rules posted online by NJ Division of
Fish and Wildlife govern designated wild trout streams, limiting anglers to use
of artificial lures. Ultra-light spinning is a perfectly thrilling way to go.
Trout Magnets and tiny jigs of any variety work best. I never bothered with
spinners, because these clear water habitats make the metal seem too flashy for
my taste. Besides, treble hooks are a nasty way to treat the trout, so if you
do use lures with trebles, it’s a good idea to crimp the barbs to ensure clean
release. Use no more than two-pound test low diameter line and you have all the
casting range you need. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Plenty gets written on small
stickbaits for wild browns, especially around spawning time in the fall. I own
tiny one-inch Rapalas I’ve caught plenty of stocked browns on in the past, and
though they would work, longer lengths—yet small—tease out larger fish.
Committed now to my six-foot fly rod, I never look back with any regret to the
jigs I used, nor to the worms browns chewed in February before artificial lures
became the rule on the Dunnfield. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Bead-head nymphs like pheasant-tails,
stonefly imitations, olives, and you-name-it in a variety of smaller hook
measures have proven most versatile, although especially smaller streamers like
Wooly Buggers and Muddler Minnows have had their moments. So do dry flies. If
you’re new to our state’s little secret, consulting local hatch charts is a
good idea, although all-around patterns like the Adams, Elk Hair Caddis, and
Hendricksons are good to begin with especially for eager brook trout. The
plethora of fly patterns available—and of stream entomology—will confuse you
plenty, as it still does me. But if you read Art Scheck, former editor of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fly</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fisherman
</i>magazine and former New Jersey resident, you might find him claim the only
pattern he cares to fish for summer brook trout is the floating black ant.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Light tippets of 6X and 7X may not hold a big
trout but prove fitting for the little ones. A diopter can ease the uncertainty
of finding the tie loop of a tiny fly. Just wear a vest and you’re good to go,
unless the stream demands waders in the cooler and cold months.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Summer trout fishing is easy compared
to this time of year. If water temperatures remain as cold as they do in the
Dunnfield Creek, trout will survive their struggle with you. As a rule, I don’t
pursue trout in water above 68 degrees. Right now is a special time to seek out
new streams and fish them. Cold weather inspires zest in the hardy, but if you
feel averse to line freezing in the guides and numb fingers reaching for a hand
warmer, a mild afternoon is a pleasant reminder of days to come. And yet if you
find the deepest pools and fish them patiently while forgetting summer memories
that distract you from the present, you may find persistent winter days are
plenty to comfort the need to get out.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdhLLboQpgt8ZP3VFsEvIjvqWZDYQ4Uml2FEbqn9ASZ8pVG4i7cSiu2SsVRBTvQh5c51CYqETdPv62Om_DWh6we9HJFYnYsG7MNUCRfVOJfe5mLuW7XF2yl1dLjdbb8FlsoTr51D2UNfY/s1600/Blog-10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdhLLboQpgt8ZP3VFsEvIjvqWZDYQ4Uml2FEbqn9ASZ8pVG4i7cSiu2SsVRBTvQh5c51CYqETdPv62Om_DWh6we9HJFYnYsG7MNUCRfVOJfe5mLuW7XF2yl1dLjdbb8FlsoTr51D2UNfY/s400/Blog-10.jpg" width="400" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
<div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike><br /></strike></div>
<div align="center">
Wild Brown Peapack Brook Caught by Jorge Hildago<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuv892rxqC0ef3AZmepbSo1FnxjfXlCaIwmSQ0sRakcIPk6fNlFbS4GiuBw_LVe4Bz5Ig6OoUa5BZ8VyOqfw_-KHzjlYH7zH84rbYyPT1bX3-exrFwMeujxECN_eqfZF7ZgC6YiSxTA7c/s1600/Brook+Trout.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1500" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuv892rxqC0ef3AZmepbSo1FnxjfXlCaIwmSQ0sRakcIPk6fNlFbS4GiuBw_LVe4Bz5Ig6OoUa5BZ8VyOqfw_-KHzjlYH7zH84rbYyPT1bX3-exrFwMeujxECN_eqfZF7ZgC6YiSxTA7c/s400/Brook+Trout.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Native Brook Trout Dunnfield Creek<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qqweiRVmVrQxt7jDIA_YRyHIv2v4UTqIz9hauKSoEAqYRKLPiPaXag2xMCpENjQmg6xjKCRunGabBh0rsDoVlJPsh4O-MCEDPFxlpErjy1jclIfuTj_KDttHzjQwOwlRXIH-s-DPIsw/s1600/Low+Water.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qqweiRVmVrQxt7jDIA_YRyHIv2v4UTqIz9hauKSoEAqYRKLPiPaXag2xMCpENjQmg6xjKCRunGabBh0rsDoVlJPsh4O-MCEDPFxlpErjy1jclIfuTj_KDttHzjQwOwlRXIH-s-DPIsw/s400/Low+Water.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
Headwaters North Branch Raritan<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnFUH8HwnZ2SuSg55gKpt5cH6w7YdeBA0L3HEBVxjpN7e7sfD3fcQbqAXr4Z6cHKtYqZGZBnYXaPFZpjulMcyOLvE-Kj1psr43JK_97NYBYzFSaWdSS0xjPutsFy8nzcqMtlBztQ8IVLE/s1600/SB+Capoolong+Creek.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnFUH8HwnZ2SuSg55gKpt5cH6w7YdeBA0L3HEBVxjpN7e7sfD3fcQbqAXr4Z6cHKtYqZGZBnYXaPFZpjulMcyOLvE-Kj1psr43JK_97NYBYzFSaWdSS0xjPutsFy8nzcqMtlBztQ8IVLE/s400/SB+Capoolong+Creek.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
Capoolong Creek<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJkSTuY8Fq8SLNsIe8NoaOhFZi1VM7-pj6OP6vHtaMYscw8M_D1hgupKww-OQB4gfQYzgcCt9gX116-91-rcR7Pbif09z4fPYf0F1bwgsJYu9QoGymiYaY0cDmfd-fkvBf9g03gwjElU/s1600/DSC_0501.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJkSTuY8Fq8SLNsIe8NoaOhFZi1VM7-pj6OP6vHtaMYscw8M_D1hgupKww-OQB4gfQYzgcCt9gX116-91-rcR7Pbif09z4fPYf0F1bwgsJYu9QoGymiYaY0cDmfd-fkvBf9g03gwjElU/s1600/DSC_0501.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
Hakihokake Creek<br />
<br />
<img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1440" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQSdj3UdY5qISXGULRT5fTaOGfCN8z3yBW8rbHhBb6eybqrL2uML1CnUJ92wksBSosyHP7Ad4sOjzqgzKnL3L13sgcuQHkGfy-Js4UlutR2zXfPeOvlXQr8c-OVn54vn8nkLSZKhepH_J/s400/76.jpg" width="400" /><br />
Pohandusing Brook<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOp5xflLmZF7b2OcE615QvEu_BQXU_TgTpx6N0bEQntGXmdEa2DIai2Ozfc8BbYOW8TuWngC-Z9sovbrCK8kgzB4UJ04wyzuAyLdlW8-csdHrZXhYx2L6fPTm6PK2N5LWkQ8o5URNvD38/s1600/Little+Flatbrook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOp5xflLmZF7b2OcE615QvEu_BQXU_TgTpx6N0bEQntGXmdEa2DIai2Ozfc8BbYOW8TuWngC-Z9sovbrCK8kgzB4UJ04wyzuAyLdlW8-csdHrZXhYx2L6fPTm6PK2N5LWkQ8o5URNvD38/s400/Little+Flatbrook.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
Little Flatbrook<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQnB4NmO3ByXXURjkKHZvidBftJXSf-Wm7S2xTpOJNZds2mr6822an3YW1gwPC5SeTvqe5nrcHT12F44P5UV3Jdsvu0da3cNqgtl61u665InvjR_mwSlY2NFKww8HlJYjiJ2wlnwJNpqo/s1600/Rockaway+Creek.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1600" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQnB4NmO3ByXXURjkKHZvidBftJXSf-Wm7S2xTpOJNZds2mr6822an3YW1gwPC5SeTvqe5nrcHT12F44P5UV3Jdsvu0da3cNqgtl61u665InvjR_mwSlY2NFKww8HlJYjiJ2wlnwJNpqo/s400/Rockaway+Creek.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Rockaway Creek<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrShZqrTOOki-ZBqJhyHHFBOu8-o7iiEDFVmve23HKwzW6MUJSKg-M4J9jmaNiUXHVYOqT47ndDRD6PiJokAD8J8pth5pZSQs6U4BBSDX0tw4PMjE_F-MUDBR3gHOmpyGvmm_dehyoda0/s1600/SB+Lamington+3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrShZqrTOOki-ZBqJhyHHFBOu8-o7iiEDFVmve23HKwzW6MUJSKg-M4J9jmaNiUXHVYOqT47ndDRD6PiJokAD8J8pth5pZSQs6U4BBSDX0tw4PMjE_F-MUDBR3gHOmpyGvmm_dehyoda0/s400/SB+Lamington+3.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
Lamington River above CR 665<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLR_jWai5GdyAHyHJ9LAJ7V5_hPogYFJXKLYmlBK9E4V9KJNOm-2-3fIlZElKuTXL2-_bCXXUSHwCayAmUUHOVCTbQrkYCrrX6wHVjbGLATup2WZBReFoeLmhMQuSYpAIE3CPR9x0EPMU/s1600/663.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLR_jWai5GdyAHyHJ9LAJ7V5_hPogYFJXKLYmlBK9E4V9KJNOm-2-3fIlZElKuTXL2-_bCXXUSHwCayAmUUHOVCTbQrkYCrrX6wHVjbGLATup2WZBReFoeLmhMQuSYpAIE3CPR9x0EPMU/s1600/663.JPG" width="428" /></a><br />
Van Campens Brook<br />
Link to a piece on a stream hosting wild browns in its upper reaches: <a href="http://littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/2016/04/trout-entomology-sampling-lamington.html">http://littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/2016/04/trout-entomology-sampling-lamington.html</a></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-58749944104925282142018-01-16T16:49:00.000-08:002018-01-17T18:48:08.816-08:00Ice Fishing Round Valley Pond<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD2MagT-UAXke3u7T2l-uosmsg1ZaY2L8IJiJsrK6rEzEsu2mZJkP5xr24YeEeCaEi9aOcskHvosdYsJ2oopPXbZFTOAICxRHivZ7PLtG0ez5nrEZhitYwKW-LQXFuXSGcD_LBjiTIj2g/s1600/74.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="1300" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD2MagT-UAXke3u7T2l-uosmsg1ZaY2L8IJiJsrK6rEzEsu2mZJkP5xr24YeEeCaEi9aOcskHvosdYsJ2oopPXbZFTOAICxRHivZ7PLtG0ez5nrEZhitYwKW-LQXFuXSGcD_LBjiTIj2g/s400/74.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I drove to Advanced Power Equipment in Martinsville to pick up my auger with blades I assume were worked on. I paid some $23.00. We got to Round Valley Pond and found no difference whatsoever in the equipment's performance, compared to the recent trip to Lake Hopatcong.<br />
<br />
I'm not pissed. Not only did we have an excellent time out, I leaned on the auger, burned at least $4.00 worth of Husquevarna 95-octane fuel, and cut three holes, not pressured under negative 20 wind chill as last week. We were offered a hand drill from a guy who caught a 12-inch perch and an 18-inch pickerel, and I admit I felt of twinge of guilt, wondering about the longevity of his blades, but Matt got holes cut as I did not refuse. Maybe I'll buy a grinder. Maybe I'll go protest in Martinsville, but whatever, I will be examining the blades with Mike Maxwell, who understands things practical a lot better than I do. As Matt cut the third hole, I called over to him, "the existential concrete lived experience!" This I get. But it's not the same as making<i> things</i> work.<br />
<br />
I felt fully confidant about catching fish here, although I was a little concerned that the pond is getting pounded. I talked to Tom Tosco at The Sporting Life, and he told me to expect a couple of guys. I quipped that as long as they're not on my spots, that's would be OK, and to tell you the truth, as I walked into view...that's where I was looking to, my spots, as if whoever was out there was just an object. As he turned out, in truth--a real nice guy, and I have to credit myself in spite of evil intent at first. Once I stepped out, I looked to the guy at a distance (and not on my spots), anticipated our meeting glances....and raised hands of greeting. The bonds of relationship are so important. Things matter not at all without the concrete lived existential experience.<br />
<br />
Before action flurried in a straight line near the straight-edged shoreline from about 12 to 20 feet deep, two young women approached Matt and me. Jena goes to Raritan Valley. I regret to say I didn't get the graduate's name, but she went to school in Pennsylvania. We hung out and talked for an hour or so before I noticed a high flag. Matt caught a 22-inch pickerel. Afterwards, I went to get the Husqevarna, fearing a stripped transmission, which I soon found out, to my great relief, was OK, while Jena caught a 20-inch pickerel. A gift from Matt.<br />
<br />
A minute later, I caught my 18-incher. Later, as we began packing it in, Matt fought a pickerel of at least 22 inches, which broke off at the hole. Cut through 15-pound test fluorocarbon, which does happen on other rare occasions.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwqbUHz9kuq9ubqQ5jG7g8L1Kz_HGKscl9TKerSrw2quHB0xQCRhta4JW6Sx8OBmNaXIRpWPwwwpLaSfKPRd5CqAj3CELNTJEfIuemJvvADhdy3j2tvUtuy-pbrsvqUgE7uopTUli-9o/s1600/75.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><i></i><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1306" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwqbUHz9kuq9ubqQ5jG7g8L1Kz_HGKscl9TKerSrw2quHB0xQCRhta4JW6Sx8OBmNaXIRpWPwwwpLaSfKPRd5CqAj3CELNTJEfIuemJvvADhdy3j2tvUtuy-pbrsvqUgE7uopTUli-9o/s400/75.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih8DyJO4uvjUOpQNXyFk4XYSEirvUL2KWLhIyjplobhCF5bVUD4i_gVBRdEadN2pif9YShZJZM4o1gw0AOafjWWU-BQInbayexv_galii2AgFL8tKnZ9AZnsybgDOc213qIJesYjevEO4/s1600/76.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1440" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih8DyJO4uvjUOpQNXyFk4XYSEirvUL2KWLhIyjplobhCF5bVUD4i_gVBRdEadN2pif9YShZJZM4o1gw0AOafjWWU-BQInbayexv_galii2AgFL8tKnZ9AZnsybgDOc213qIJesYjevEO4/s400/76.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvo5aRqIMs0n7MMMaGzqc2ZtVGQIrAJpxJmoXjXLoJ6Vifjfdrk2wCpGEk7L5CKW5GZ5E3c6Rhg6n9xaWTIOa9yRoPIEiOtSA5E44a_tXEVglugAoDhKhuBlJHkTjFtxMOyBGNgf2ywVA/s1600/77.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1440" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvo5aRqIMs0n7MMMaGzqc2ZtVGQIrAJpxJmoXjXLoJ6Vifjfdrk2wCpGEk7L5CKW5GZ5E3c6Rhg6n9xaWTIOa9yRoPIEiOtSA5E44a_tXEVglugAoDhKhuBlJHkTjFtxMOyBGNgf2ywVA/s400/77.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-20680209873083601412017-02-01T13:25:00.001-08:002017-02-01T13:45:32.337-08:0010 Top New Jersey Picks for Early Largemouth Bass<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43pHLE4HLGQywR79bvnRqtvsBuMB0hu518r-2snRepzI3reoA1CxMQrE4wFYo1Xg0hgSVVa27Vo2_Ms9AcbEl-dNQ4IeDaQw_2b-FzlsorPIh4XzvF1JUSkB92G4Hz17Uf7NBi4QWGFM/s1600/Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43pHLE4HLGQywR79bvnRqtvsBuMB0hu518r-2snRepzI3reoA1CxMQrE4wFYo1Xg0hgSVVa27Vo2_Ms9AcbEl-dNQ4IeDaQw_2b-FzlsorPIh4XzvF1JUSkB92G4Hz17Uf7NBi4QWGFM/s640/Blog.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Ice-Out Largemouths Bottom to Top</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">By Bruce
Edward Litton</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">By early March, lakes and reservoirs of
our region typically become ice-free, largemouth bass responsive to a variety
of lure techniques. Last year was the great exception with ice-out complete
near trout Opening Day. Shallow, stained ponds, especially those with a feeder
creek open first. Years ago, a friend and I caught bass on the surface of a
two-acre pond in Somerset County, four feet deep at most, on an 80-degree March
afternoon. I got news later of ice fishermen doing well on Lake Hopatcong as
ice melted rapidly. Nevertheless, the late winter/early spring fishing usually
begins at bottom, and bass can be caught in a pond not yet entirely iced-out.
The hotspot? Any edges of ice over some of the pond’s deepest won’t warm the
water any, but may hold bass. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">A crappie or twister tail jig cast on
the ice and allowed to fall over the edge is more effective on descent than
weightless plastics, but once on bottom, should be retrieved inches at a time
by twitches. With water temperatures in the 30’s or about 40, bass don’t seem
to notice a slow-sinking plastic as they readily do in summer, when bass
metabolism is at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">peak, </i>though slow
behavior conserves calories. The senses of a summer bass are manic compared to
winter’s slowdown, and they pick up on slow offerings immediately. During
ice-out, partial ice creates a shadowline bass and baitfish respond to and
hover near. If you’ve ever witnessed a baitfish in really cold water, you might
recall a few inches of movement at a time along bottom by hesitant impulses. That’s
why twitching a jig a few inches and then pausing works. Once we get those
welcome warm fronts, things will get more interesting on waters of all sizes,
but starting basic—at bottom—is sort of foundational to bass fishing in
general.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Bottom</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Cold water gravel or hard bottoms of
8-20 feet in any bass environment invite an old standby, the Johnson Beetle
Spin, and I bet a lot of bass fishermen have never heard of this spinnerbait
with a detaching arm. Real spinnerbaits have a frame solidly attached to the
lead, but the detachable metal of the Beetle Spin adds special effectiveness. I
used to call the method “tick spinning” in my teens, because the second hand of
my watch rotated around the dial almost as slow as the crank of my reel
completed a turn. The cupped Colorado blade just waggles along, doesn’t spin
and emit those regular vibrations. But here’s why this sort of very subtle,
erratic motion implies the advantage of the loose blade and tie loop arm.
Instead of holding a fixed place, as the jig head crawls over gravel or along
hard bottom, the arm subtly moves about also. It’s not an issue of imitating a
crawfish or any other sort of creature, but creating a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">presentation </i>that the very slow metabolism of a bass responds to.
The jerking about of that arm and blade worked for me consistently at Baker’s
Basin, a Delaware and Raritan Canal basin pond. My son and I checked up on the
fishing during fairly recent years and scored.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Tube jigs are proven effective in cold
water by a great many more bass anglers. Plastic tentacles vibrate and sway
when a shimmy is sent down the line, even if the jig head anchors the lure in
place. For this technique, I recommend quality braid because unlike
monofilament, its inability to stretch means less play in the line, imparting a
trembling shake of the rod directly to the jig. A fast action rod is essential.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">In a toss-up between the two, I would
put my money on the Beetle Spin, because the cricketing metal seems just the
ticket to getting the attention of metabolically deficient bass. Bass see
enough tube jigs anyway.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Mid-Column</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Another old standby. In-line spinners
achieve performance perfection early in the season for a number of reasons. The
most obvious, perhaps, involves the lack of vegetation to foul those trebles.
If you fish timber, a willowleaf spinnerbait will better suit, but residual
weeds hold baitfish and bass. A Mepp’s Aglia Long upwards of size 3 or a C.P.
Swing size 6 pulsing over diminished weeds is deadly. Another reason. In-line
spinners possess a subtler appearance than the large profile of spinnerbaits.
At most, the red tube on the treble of a Mepp’s is all you need, and perhaps it
rarely serves as a plus. I never use Colorado or Indiana blades because, in my
opinion, they emit too much vibration in cold water, so the standard Mepp’s or
Blue Fox is declined. The willowleaf long blades hum along, attracting just
enough attention with water temperatures in the low to mid 40’s or higher. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">With water taking a warming trend, at
least some bass venture towards the shallows, and a slow to moderately
retrieved spinner finds them and provokes strikes. This is not pounding the
banks and docks, shoreline brush or stickups, but plumbing the middle zones
between the depths and the shallows. Baker’s Basin’s 12-foot belly features
ancillary seven to four-foot depths, and fan casting the mouths of the two
deepest corners, for an example, is effective. Lake Assunpink has at least a
few submerged ditches or depressions leading off the main creek channel with
structural breaks where bass stage. The massive stone faces of Split Rock Reservoir
get warmed by morning and early afternoon sun, allowing bass a short
expenditure of energy to move relatively shallow from depths beneath, spinners
effective at intercepting them.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">But don’t rule out crankbaits at slow to
moderate retrieves with an occasional pause breaking the pattern, particularly
in association with stone structure. A close cousin to crankbaits, suspending
jerkbaits offer the advantage of remaining stationary in the water column when
paused. They tantalize bass if nervous life is imparted to them. A number of
suspending jerkbaits engineered to run as deep as eight feet can advantage
critically, although the more standard varieties may be effective four or five
feet down. Find sort of bowl-shaped depressions towards the backs of Spruce Run
Reservoir coves, or cast while walking along the jetty at the mouth of Spruce
Run Creek. Plug action appropriate to the water temperature, displacing its
presence to bass’s lateral lines, can provoke a lunker nursing her eggs to
clean up with vacuum jaws.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Shallows and Surface</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">How is bass fishing complete without
surface catches? Any sort of shallow water action seems to comprise most of
what bass fishing is about, and as a rule, when water temperatures reach and
surpass 50, bass invade the shallow flats of Bedminster Pond, or begin to pay
the docks of Lake Hopatcong visits. Bedminster Pond is considered poor fishing
by everyone I speak to who knows of it, besides two guys who helped get me
interested enough to catch bass in numbers and up to three pounds. Other
ponds—Burnham Park Ponds, Colonial Park Pond, Ghost Lake—also present a real
problem with weeds after April, but none of these is as bad as Bedminster Pond
with its scum algae. Some might associate this pond with Trump National Golf
Course, since the ugly appearance, once weather warms, may suggest a Jurassic
backwater that became part of a modern-day oilfield, but in fact, Bedminster
Pond is on public land in the same township as that golf course. And since
Trump’s golf course is privately maintained, I would assume any pond on the
property would enjoy better conditions. This said, however, I like Bedminster
Pond as it is. To destroy the substandard—and the pond is substandard—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">because</i> it is substandard, would be
tantamount to an unforgivable violence that reduces itself beneath the level it
seeks to eradicate. Regarding another pond with difficult but better appearing
warmwater conditions, I’ve caught Colonial Park Pond bass by reeling weedless
plastics over the duckweed in June, but will never bother at Bedminster,
although, as things turns out, I know a local teenager, Tom Slota, who did just
this at Bedminster Pond—after this article more and less as it now stands got
published in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Fisherman </i>magazine
last February—and caught bass last summer. On a warm day in March, Bedminster
Pond can result in a few good bass, and I’ve heard the unlikely story of a
six-pounder. Nevertheless, this pond is abundantly fertile, and while
carp-choked and mud bottomed, enough forage may be present for a few bass to
reach lunker size.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Fifty degrees isn’t really a magic mark.
Whoever got us all in the habit of the reference point, it makes plenty of
sense, but bass get caught on the surface in water as cold as 47 at most. In my
opinion, there’s a specific way to do it, and I bet no bass has <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ever</i> hit a hula popper chugged along in
water this cold.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">First, the conditions. Steady sunlight
throughout a mild or warm day, so the water warms to 47 or so just as evening
approaches is the ticket. Secondly, the stage. If a pond—like Bedminster
Pond—has a northeast corner with enough fertility and proximity to deeper
staging points, that sunlight will have warmed the corner the most. Whatever
the temperature difference, even if slight—it’s in your favor. Surface must be
dead calm. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Now how to fish a Rebel. This plug is of
that lone lure company providing fish-catching minnow plugs for decades, a
floating jerkbait unlike most others, although perhaps other companies make
lures that work about the same. The plastic 2 ½-inch Minnow sits on the surface
at an angle, rear submerged, only head and shoulders breaking surface tension.
By twitching the plug only enough to raise that rear, and then let it sink
back, enough of a message is sent in all directions that something like food is
there for the taking. Give the lure no excess in the form of jerking or popping.
You can wait as long as a full minute between twitches. This truly is an
exercise in slowing down and exploring patience you’ve completely forgotten
since those idle hours and minutes of adolescence. During the 1970’s, I caught
a lot of bass this way in Baker’s Basin. If a bass comes up and sips the plug
as subtly as a trout taking a dry fly, it’s something you may never forget.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">10 Top
New Jersey Picks for Early Largemouths</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Lake
Assunpink, Monmouth County, accessible by I-195, is a favorite for tournament
clubs this time of year. Fish the rip-rap of the dam dike (holds heat) with
crankbaits. Pinpoint structural breaks and fish in-line spinners, suspending
jerkbaits.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Manasquan
Reservoir, Monmouth County, by I-195, is another club favorite. Small, snagless
jigs in the timber don’t only catch crappie. Allow spinnerbaits to flutter on
descent beside timber.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Lake
Hopatcong, Morris and Sussex counties, by I-80. Opportunity for in-line
spinners over residual weeds. Weedless tube jigs.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Split
Rock Reservoir, Morris County, by I-287. Johnson Beetle Spin, Jigs crankbaits and
spinners in relation to rock faces.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">5.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Baker’s
Basin, Mercer County, by U.S. 1 and Carnegie Road. Johnson Beetle Spin, in-line
spinners, Rebel Minnow—bottom to top.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">6.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Bedminster
Pond, Somerset County, by U.S. 202/206. In-line spinners, spinnerbaits, Rebel
Minnow. Don’t bother unless on a warm day, only March and April. Or so I had published in <i>The Fisherman. </i>Tom Slota proved me quite wrong.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">7.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Hainesville
Pond, Sussex County by U.S. 206. In-line spinners, Rebel Minnow. Notoriously
weeds-in after April.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">8.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Ghost
Lake, Warren County, Shades of Death Road. Weedless tube jigs, in-line
spinners, suspending jerk baits, Rebel Minnow.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">9.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Merrill
Creek Reservoir, Warren County by I-78. Johnson Beetle Spin, Jigs, In-line
spinners, crankbaits. Rocky shorelines tend to absorb heat.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">10.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Shepherd Lake, Passaic
County, by Sloatsburg Road. Weedless tube jigs, in-line spinners, suspending
jerkbaits. Fish the slight coves. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 16px 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-39504430439661068612012-03-25T16:53:00.000-07:002012-03-25T16:53:39.315-07:00Sunset Bass Fishing in Bedminster with Mild Weather Lingering<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9wNXjFGcPqw7b0aH9qQ-HtrHGj7tXrr7hYSHQRyZF5hYwtpOsCKSeg3PKLQfEnXx4HZpFMuYuvaCVmT0aGo8wgLDVNTng3VeNsXtQIDmVdhQOeUexrbweKOEjE7NwKjqugcPMkFf8LU/s1600/277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9wNXjFGcPqw7b0aH9qQ-HtrHGj7tXrr7hYSHQRyZF5hYwtpOsCKSeg3PKLQfEnXx4HZpFMuYuvaCVmT0aGo8wgLDVNTng3VeNsXtQIDmVdhQOeUexrbweKOEjE7NwKjqugcPMkFf8LU/s320/277.JPG" width="320" /></a>Gave my neighborhood pond a try at sunset for 20 minutes or so catching three largemouths: a pound and a half and couple of others, one about an ounce under two pounds, the other an ounce over two pounds on a 3/8th ounce spinnerbait, large Colorado blade, twister grub. The blade seemed too large forcing a slow retrieve, but the bass struck right at the surface under wake like on an ordinary evening in mid-April. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today hit only 60 or so, and we have some real cold weather on the way, 51 forecast for the afternoon, but 24 at night! So will my supposition that we've moved into the stable warm weather pattern hold up? It's supposed to be in the 50's and back into the 60's by next week, so this may not be a slip back to water temperatures in the early season 40's.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/">http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-47825407319160672292012-03-17T19:49:00.003-07:002015-02-28T20:15:48.956-08:00My Biggest Largemouth yet this Year Takes Senko Small Ponds Seem to be Stably Fishable<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikyKDz43l5aQQM7AASFNXyQRMZBKJlvuZJ-kIbYo56FG1Dai059XLHAUhcs3gGgqzi7FFgbNcj-jkzp1aswf3LD7JOtahro62X9OBZim6yEWdhWMs1O7n-fnAAE6_lEH2nVF2owNBGXbI/s1600/269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikyKDz43l5aQQM7AASFNXyQRMZBKJlvuZJ-kIbYo56FG1Dai059XLHAUhcs3gGgqzi7FFgbNcj-jkzp1aswf3LD7JOtahro62X9OBZim6yEWdhWMs1O7n-fnAAE6_lEH2nVF2owNBGXbI/s320/269.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a>Around sunset I caught a couple of bass in my neighborhood pond.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This largest struck a chartreuse Mini King Spinnerbait right off the top; it weighed somewhere between a pound and a half and two pounds. I lost another bass of perhaps two pounds, then a smaller snapped the line, the knot having weakened as they do sometimes. I tried a black Mini King for more than five minutes without a hit, changed to a five inch Senko-type worm, and hooked a much larger bass that stormed off on a surprisng five yard run before the hook pulled. The bass took the worm dead sticked for more than 10 seconds right at that edge between deeper and shallower water where I caught the four bass on March 6th or so, whatever that date was I posted. I felt the weight before I set the hook, figuring it was a bass about the size of the first I caught today. I forget just what brand it is I pay less for than Senko brand, and can't find the packaging; essentially the same worm as a Senko, heavy bodied and all, rigged wacky. A while later I caught a 12 incher further out towards the middle of the pond on the same worm. The bass felt before I set the hook like the lightweight it was.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9zCIWfvDfzQwmmNTVH7-RmipW907qMuAKi3c-Onm4_SXNUIw0O1mzei_cxoU0KEzzB25kAERs171V-MBBWqQZ6Pu8j6gRuUQkS_CKLyjgMa-XnF-u9qxeWdQBZZidfjHtgPrmu65TsA/s1600/268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9zCIWfvDfzQwmmNTVH7-RmipW907qMuAKi3c-Onm4_SXNUIw0O1mzei_cxoU0KEzzB25kAERs171V-MBBWqQZ6Pu8j6gRuUQkS_CKLyjgMa-XnF-u9qxeWdQBZZidfjHtgPrmu65TsA/s320/268.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vxRhhlXLo0YhNNKNOn73N7dyoHKks8Nswn6Ezqkur-arrUSd2cLI8SM1W8feQtnUccpBnUC_Gv8ZY4MoSS5GgJulqpU8mvImvbjfUqYxc2QikJxq2sJUVPXdUEySZoIbRC1KYGrNlJg/s1600/266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6vxRhhlXLo0YhNNKNOn73N7dyoHKks8Nswn6Ezqkur-arrUSd2cLI8SM1W8feQtnUccpBnUC_Gv8ZY4MoSS5GgJulqpU8mvImvbjfUqYxc2QikJxq2sJUVPXdUEySZoIbRC1KYGrNlJg/s320/266.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Algae has thickened considerably since 10 days ago or so.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Water clarity has clouded somewhat as would be expected.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
(Not that bass can't be caught when a pond isn't "fishable." That was for the sake of a title, meaning that we seem to be on the warm side already.)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/">http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-59966715998105305282012-03-17T07:20:00.001-07:002012-03-17T07:36:44.859-07:00Trout Prep: Tips for New Jersey Trout Opening Day Fishing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv1yYIKoNiqpTD8J58aEdrJuq6YYLJ3Yzl2Xn-20AEOnyzdyGeLcZi8xhmCVIHxMkmavD78ma_h6wrgu4YF5FVPgmVClcB28HFVnvG0lVdWe1sKysJkMBg9GgLaFVKC8D6bGl8LGUFaHk/s1600/214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv1yYIKoNiqpTD8J58aEdrJuq6YYLJ3Yzl2Xn-20AEOnyzdyGeLcZi8xhmCVIHxMkmavD78ma_h6wrgu4YF5FVPgmVClcB28HFVnvG0lVdWe1sKysJkMBg9GgLaFVKC8D6bGl8LGUFaHk/s320/214.JPG" width="214" /></a>Every early spring a special overlay of subtle excitement conditions my responses at times to the new season. It's not that I get the trout Opening Day jitters in my middle age (as young as I do feel inside) like I did as a boy and in my teens, but I'm reminded of them, and feel something of them from time to time. The birthing season just cannot convince me that the trout are just hatchery fish as if they have no value. The busting through of skunk cabbage and the yellow explosion of forsythia among hundreds of other green variations poking through is as real and wild as the dawn of the planet (even though forsythia is a quasi-domestic plant).</div><br />
If the order stays the same this year, brookies will be first. They do take salmon eggs, but it's a good idea to bring two rods, one rigged for eggs with two pound test, a small snap, and two leaders with size 14 snelled hooks, the other with four pound test and the tiniest sinking Rapala, about an inch long. Particularly the large trout, if any present, will strike the plug. Try a two or two and a half inch size for the big one also. Another trick--live line a medium shiner using four pound test and a plain shank, size six hook, no weight unless it's a very deep hole.<br />
<br />
Salmon eggs are expensive. So if you can find a shop that sells eggs from last year for a buck a jar as Lebanon Bait and Sport did last year and may be doing the same now, harden them up with just a pinch of salt on top. Add too much salt and the entire jar's worth will be ruined; I've done it before.<br />
<br />
If water is slightly off color, use bright eggs. Otherwise, the usual dull colors all work.<br />
<br />
You still have time as of this date to buy Loon Wader Repair UV light reacting polymer for your wader seams from Cabelas. If you are confident the waders are water tight, bring along a tube of this wet application that cures completely in seconds in bright sunlight, even on wet waders, just in case some subtle incident breaches them. Just make sure you don't expose the open end of the tube to sunlight. I use my hand to shade it as I apply. Most situations require only hip boots, but the breathable chest waders are so easy to wear that I don't waste money on boots besides.<br />
<br />
Buy an inexpensive cloth creel perhaps, and attach your fishing license and trout stamp by a standard license pin holder to it instead of poking holes in clothing, unless you have already poked holes through a fishing vest to accomodate the game warden.<br />
<br />
Holding my breath, but it looks like this year water conditions will be low and clear, temperatures very mild. I wish the state would stock rainbows to begin the season so that I could have full confidence in salmon eggs as I used to, catching perhaps 30 rainbows by early afternoon. But after many years of stocking rainbows for Opening Day, the state got the logic: brookies are the coldest water trout (actually char), rainbows are second to brookies, and browns tolerate the warmest and begin to get stocked in early May.<br />
<br />
Get to your chosen starting spot early, a full hour before 8:00 a.m. That's the ritual, standing in the stream for an hour doing nothing but anticipating the hour ahead and conversing offhand with others doing the same. It's never been a difficult exercise to get through.<br />
<br />
I will post a piece specifically dealing with fishing salmon eggs on Litton's Fishing Lines, my other blog, link below the photo.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhyfB4UByV-yMTlbGvu6UurhoCRK2A_opt0xYUs__qzQhmPVyoJ4XIFEfOIxrxzH5rHPCCfb8UPBde7togc1pEkblSnW54ZZ2M6ya1M26uryKAwFqWZyZIVnUTVTmzLAsAQc0zoyPKSs/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhyfB4UByV-yMTlbGvu6UurhoCRK2A_opt0xYUs__qzQhmPVyoJ4XIFEfOIxrxzH5rHPCCfb8UPBde7togc1pEkblSnW54ZZ2M6ya1M26uryKAwFqWZyZIVnUTVTmzLAsAQc0zoyPKSs/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/">http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-72917324037710098502012-03-15T15:53:00.000-07:002018-01-19T19:38:14.778-08:00Dows Boat Rentals Open at Lake Hopatcong Fishing Underway<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozSaaeyeF8qKhxy717xqPaAoYxuebRAX-f37Sa8HmTKKiMZqPkW8aPg9x5fQhtEvEFhUHLIb7rnQL_XDfpeglq4TlO-7acbCk5a92JjvrdugDRQp4MGYSuL2b7nysyzDQF5_BWLtTXRg/s1600/209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozSaaeyeF8qKhxy717xqPaAoYxuebRAX-f37Sa8HmTKKiMZqPkW8aPg9x5fQhtEvEFhUHLIb7rnQL_XDfpeglq4TlO-7acbCk5a92JjvrdugDRQp4MGYSuL2b7nysyzDQF5_BWLtTXRg/s320/209.JPG" width="214" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Dow's Boat Rentals is open for service! Walleye, muskies, pickerel, largemouths and smallmouths, crappie, plenty of perch, and even hybrid stripers are all there begining to cooperate now. I got news of a 27-pound musky caught this past week. Trout will be in the lake in three weeks.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
That's Joe Landolfi with a walleye vertical jigged at the end of September this past year in one of Laurie's boats. September the jigging commences, but isn't in full swing, since the lake is not completely turned over, although we did mark fish as deep as 33 feet that day, cool in the 50's. Sounds and looks a lot like the weather now, but water temperature was 66 in September, and we do have a way to go yet to reach this level. However, walleyes strike Rapala Ice Jigs and Gotchas under ice, and they will now. It's catch and release until the season for the table resumes for this species, but pickerel will slam spinners trolled behind an outboard in 47 degree water. Largemouths may not be so feisty, but they will take tube jigs (smallmouths too) and small frame spinnerbaits with a heavy head retrieved slowly along the outside edge of weedlines about 16 feet down, to give a ballpark figure.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/">http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-88858238504605078362012-03-11T19:21:00.001-07:002015-02-28T21:20:05.800-08:00Fishing Zebra Midges on Pequest River for Brown and Rainbow Trout<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRaf_ezLGbUnWeJmAHgo8Juwk8J4BiD74Cu02Zy6oR0NNsWcRVzNn09cpLwURcVRrlhzwB7VIu9ZdY8dzbEB1dvm_L6Eyd61RSzv-KbPGwO3gjqNVKfYtp_mactba8522i9EfT4grfXM/s1600/223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRaf_ezLGbUnWeJmAHgo8Juwk8J4BiD74Cu02Zy6oR0NNsWcRVzNn09cpLwURcVRrlhzwB7VIu9ZdY8dzbEB1dvm_L6Eyd61RSzv-KbPGwO3gjqNVKfYtp_mactba8522i9EfT4grfXM/s320/223.JPG" height="320" width="240" yda="true" /></a>Our first time on the Pequest, my first impression was of green algae thicker than I would have expected to see even in summer, a slightly disgusting surprise. A river regular told me it's because of the mild winter. The Pequest reminded us of the Salmon River: water was not especially clear. With all the limestone springs that feed it, I had almost expected water as pure as the Dunnfield Creek's. The way I remember the Pequest where it empties into the Delaware--we were fishing for stripers that evening and night--is not how it was in the Trout Conservation Area today. That was summer and the river seemed especially clear. </div>
<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: left;">
We saw a 16-inch brown caught (photographed being netted above). My son missed a strike from a 14-incher, which turned on its side the moment Matt felt the hit to give him a clean flash of fish. We went downstream a half mile or so to evade the crowd. We used no strike indicators, kept the flies at bottom, but we both are novices at this, although my casting is sure and precise compared to how I began last year. Lots of good water, the deepest we encountered about four feet, but plenty of good cuts and sluices, big rocks everywhere. I do suggest you really walk the river, however, and trails are well defined. Most of the anglers stayed very close to the parking lot. At sunset, I would have been wise to switch to a Wooly Bugger for low light. I didn't think of it until I had seen a trout rise and refuse to hit the midge as I worked the area very carefully, which it may not have been able to see by then for all I know, although trout have very special vision according to what I've read.</div>
<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: left;">
Speaking of which, Tom Gilmore's book <em>Fly Fishing the Big Apple</em> clued us into zebra midges. According to Gilmore these tiny flies--ours size 18, I think--work almost always on this river. At Efinger Sporting Goods a happenschance angler insisted I buy brown midges the same size along with the zebras, which I did, and tried one. Gilmore has imparted to me great confidence in this river long before I have actually fished it (my son did explore upstream a way with his rod that summer evening mentioned). I certainly knew better than to let some greenery on rocks ruin my experience. However, I feel as if I will always prefer the Dunnfield to any other New Jersey stream, although I'm biased with my amazing experiences on it during my youth. To this day when I go to the Dunnfield, I drink straight from it above where the AT verges left. I've been told by at least one deep New Jersey environmental mind not to do this and I feel as if--not that I am crazy, not that at all--but that I may be to divulge this so openly. But why not? I have only one life to live.</div>
<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: left;">
That water is pure aqua green as if it comes directly from springs and the water that doesn't is moss-filtered, etc. I've been there after very heavy rain, and although the stream nearly broke its banks, it still ran clear.</div>
<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: left;">
Speaking with the regular on the Pequest, we both agreed the Trout Conservation Area should be catch and release only year 'round. I bet that's how most who fish it feel.</div>
<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="border: currentColor; clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxiPWdSj06KfJGPO4l0F-3hyphenhyphenw5MAs0LZTxEE6ZsEWql_ofisbMbYXfX3HvQ8b-NV7smZwTMI20JqMORAsigVjGMH44NPy3h8RXI_CbWjx3wfAwFykCwY7ebuvtzpR3YAfMGqFOMG25flc/s1600/247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxiPWdSj06KfJGPO4l0F-3hyphenhyphenw5MAs0LZTxEE6ZsEWql_ofisbMbYXfX3HvQ8b-NV7smZwTMI20JqMORAsigVjGMH44NPy3h8RXI_CbWjx3wfAwFykCwY7ebuvtzpR3YAfMGqFOMG25flc/s320/247.JPG" height="214" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsadqLKWICjchLsy8L_XBlMLREjDGBius_BB6qs7CR2qE9yf6UZIngJvjcjInhLwYr7w5B3ZaPfT05mZmQUtcJ_m9QgV_yOd9AkohL0tFokvfdVo8nYejUMLWiUg7J90-R8Z9iYizoZI/s1600/245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsadqLKWICjchLsy8L_XBlMLREjDGBius_BB6qs7CR2qE9yf6UZIngJvjcjInhLwYr7w5B3ZaPfT05mZmQUtcJ_m9QgV_yOd9AkohL0tFokvfdVo8nYejUMLWiUg7J90-R8Z9iYizoZI/s320/245.JPG" height="240" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQNx8voCdB90JDMcf7xHYc2A1woMIlt_EdSblawRvGtsYvh7vVbApMgspwQHEjslEu4-4Fb3Hb2GbsnOK6eC5m1KN7JFYaKN2yVXfpHwa7eMqpCnKUNzX7I0IcquxE8WLhTxAiDXpplUA/s1600/249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQNx8voCdB90JDMcf7xHYc2A1woMIlt_EdSblawRvGtsYvh7vVbApMgspwQHEjslEu4-4Fb3Hb2GbsnOK6eC5m1KN7JFYaKN2yVXfpHwa7eMqpCnKUNzX7I0IcquxE8WLhTxAiDXpplUA/s320/249.JPG" height="240" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8kaiEDasCRdn52OOH9yZFmo-0MTpjjtqVti_U5NW1NsR51i0eOSwf_OKoD9EWmAt6EbVHO227zLZHcjhWAJyYXA23PH_ifuv8KEFv5p1fElvMM_TWCXY4LSJT3YY4NsH5ynLh4i1MHc/s1600/252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8kaiEDasCRdn52OOH9yZFmo-0MTpjjtqVti_U5NW1NsR51i0eOSwf_OKoD9EWmAt6EbVHO227zLZHcjhWAJyYXA23PH_ifuv8KEFv5p1fElvMM_TWCXY4LSJT3YY4NsH5ynLh4i1MHc/s320/252.JPG" height="240" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6WeBboEMjqlG6k88TKWCPLWqWjgl_BYPbAt31diTZWsoOIYCqpTmrIHYI3ovjFpsE0b674Lh8s16L8C8487jbqkXwDygR9493rBTFsnvALgMRuw3IlnUxpHipbAzXTPFn2fOlTqI7P4/s1600/227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6WeBboEMjqlG6k88TKWCPLWqWjgl_BYPbAt31diTZWsoOIYCqpTmrIHYI3ovjFpsE0b674Lh8s16L8C8487jbqkXwDygR9493rBTFsnvALgMRuw3IlnUxpHipbAzXTPFn2fOlTqI7P4/s320/227.JPG" height="240" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
Zebra Midge</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZI5tkwPkHbQTJ-ixGt3z8OoV0taRgIpwbr-_y4zkf1hfqJDxd3_hZXEswRZn91e1aVorf6IlcX10NlMjv5uybVudFocgp3vvcV4ERF1kR3P1S1V_rV1-WqEuWpCPjh3kENmjJVgEcmY/s1600/236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZI5tkwPkHbQTJ-ixGt3z8OoV0taRgIpwbr-_y4zkf1hfqJDxd3_hZXEswRZn91e1aVorf6IlcX10NlMjv5uybVudFocgp3vvcV4ERF1kR3P1S1V_rV1-WqEuWpCPjh3kENmjJVgEcmY/s320/236.JPG" height="320" width="214" yda="true" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/">http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-1832488931214001582012-03-08T15:53:00.002-08:002012-03-09T15:14:38.180-08:00Mini King Spinnerbait Bass and Rebel Minnow: Spring Largemouth Tips<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJt60uRhXEn0CPCgDAUl2Q1gohD1AzIE1ZT_NpyRkJIjhS00VF2QIXOcJTAnHPbt83kZwZtrz4mMa3PXNYhbtO8yYlpe92Bq4TY7mSkLUDwjsfDY2xQZ2zXGqagmBSTqYOgquE2T_caY0/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJt60uRhXEn0CPCgDAUl2Q1gohD1AzIE1ZT_NpyRkJIjhS00VF2QIXOcJTAnHPbt83kZwZtrz4mMa3PXNYhbtO8yYlpe92Bq4TY7mSkLUDwjsfDY2xQZ2zXGqagmBSTqYOgquE2T_caY0/s320/005.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></a>The surface was choppy today unlike this photo from last year. I went out after sunset minutes ago and caught four largemouths in this reliable corner on the Strike King Mini King spinnerbait. I would cast well out, retrieve at a good clip, then slow down. The hits came right at the edge between very shallow and somewhat deeper water, on a couple of occasions hits were short. I'm sure the water reached at least 50, but didn't warm much more than this. With surface chop, the spinnerbait worked. The bass were all about a pound besides a two pounder, another that large lost, and another about a pound came off the hook. But here's a tip for calm water 47 degrees or warmer after a mild afternoon. If water temperature is falling, it won't work.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Rebel Minnow</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Spring bass on the surface in 47 degree water? Possibly. If a northeast corner of a pond or shallow lake is structurally sound for bass, it may have warmed a little more under afternoon sun to the southwest. The Rebel Minnow floater/diver plug sits at an angle on the surface. Rapalas made of balsa don't. By a subtle rod twitch, the rear of the plug lifts to the surface. Just dimple the surface every 10 to 30 seconds with the 2 1/2 inch size. Bass may take the plug as subtly as a trout sips a dry fly, just sucking in the tail end of the plug beneath surface. It's topwater fishing. And the only lure I've caught bass with off the surface so early. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpCY33EfzCCF1F922Cz-qwCcQTGez35nf7PkaQ-OKGOE7QkK7aALAGBtNPY_5iDXRNweMsMsTDVhPLgwtsYU2UIhnGt8viNaAWzBl8SPTTMPOZlW32ZaVvvs5wGSN17qN0i0h2kxCL5DI/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpCY33EfzCCF1F922Cz-qwCcQTGez35nf7PkaQ-OKGOE7QkK7aALAGBtNPY_5iDXRNweMsMsTDVhPLgwtsYU2UIhnGt8viNaAWzBl8SPTTMPOZlW32ZaVvvs5wGSN17qN0i0h2kxCL5DI/s320/007.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/">http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-14864874174243769602012-02-26T13:02:00.003-08:002015-02-28T20:24:49.991-08:00Round Valley Reservoir Shoreline Brown Trout and Lakers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAyVZgRUEFmMaaAHKaoya0oGy7QaJx8WHNk0GD6t79Q0puV3wrGfErEOKlzlVxzHt0R8TEhVZNsa03rURyh09j3bXpnGOufcn1zAYnl-sHHVZjcVAkbd6HL_5_tHp3tC4xpuWr4ah4Bfk/s1600/151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAyVZgRUEFmMaaAHKaoya0oGy7QaJx8WHNk0GD6t79Q0puV3wrGfErEOKlzlVxzHt0R8TEhVZNsa03rURyh09j3bXpnGOufcn1zAYnl-sHHVZjcVAkbd6HL_5_tHp3tC4xpuWr4ah4Bfk/s320/151.JPG" height="214" lda="true" width="320" /></a>Friday was the third or fourth visit I've managed to make at Round Valley this year. I really wasn't paying attention to the auspicious weather for fishing, but did think to try at the South Lot instead of by the main boat ramp. I walked downslope to lake's edge to talk to the sole angler fishing in the wind and rain, his hood up, traversing in orange gear between two light rods and a bucket of shiners. His excitement affected me immediately--oh yeah...I looked at the roiled water and barely visible shorelines as if I hadn't been aware at all in the moments just previous of the fishing potential. He had a 20-inch laker, 16- inch brown, and had just released a 15-inch brown in 45 minutes or so. "They're really hitting today!"</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I fished 45 minutes and caught a 15-inch brown on marshmallow and mealworm, photographing the fish at my feet in water muddied by wind-blown little rollers. Trout have been caught steadily since October, but usually by numbers of one or two here and there, rarely lakers, more browns than rainbows. October was better with catches of a dozen on one outing possible. Merrill Creek Reservoir is good from shore too; I read a report in <em>The Fisherman </em>this past week of a six pound brown caught on an injected nightcrawler. Don't underestimate those Berkeley and Lindy Worm Blowers. My son catches more bass that way, but I certainly can see the effectiveness for trout too, especially with baby nightcrawlers.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<strong>Method</strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Some like to use slip bobbers for shiners. I've even witnessed a standard round bobber used effectively with a single salmon egg on a size 12 hook two and a half feet under the float over 10 or 12 feet of water in October, cruising rainbows rising from a couple yards or more deeper to take the egg without hesitation. But the most effective way to fish shoreline rainbows and browns is probably with m&m's (marshmallow & mealworm), a method of attaching one or two small marshmallows to a size six, light wire plain shank hook, then a mealworm, tying off a four foot leader (six pound test or lighter) to a small barrel swivel, and a half ounce steel egg sinker with the main line slipped through behind it. The marshmallows float the rig just enough so that the bait is clearly visible to trout in the reservoir's gin clear water; floatation will not pull additional line through the egg sinker so that the bait ultimately would float at the surface.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Otherwise, it's hard to say that shiners are any worse. And they will catch lakers on rare occasions, as well as largemouth and smallmouth bass, and pickerel. Use the same length of leader, line test, barrel swivel, and egg sinker to simply allow the shiner to swim freely right near bottom. Sometimes the shiner will find residual vegetation and foul the leader in it, or even tangle line among stones, although these instances are infrequent and may be remedied by adding a little Styrofoam to the line. Just slice the foam with the line so it holds in place above the shiner or use Lindy walleye floats you slip line through as you would a slip sinker. The shiner tends to swim erratically and attract trout anywhere from about 10 to 30 feet deep. In October I've witnessed rainbows in a foot of water.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTKF7IXLpnwNjTIWPxATcxbay6S9wOX81UtzUBOgqwUp8vazw8QDWJvdUxGbSCTmJJ76KIm0MShZFL94ZCeOrUzfaQ649mRWfH-Aa1MEj-20XFmxuVBSeaC-nazg2muW6ZeiLjYjPoXQ/s1600/153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTKF7IXLpnwNjTIWPxATcxbay6S9wOX81UtzUBOgqwUp8vazw8QDWJvdUxGbSCTmJJ76KIm0MShZFL94ZCeOrUzfaQ649mRWfH-Aa1MEj-20XFmxuVBSeaC-nazg2muW6ZeiLjYjPoXQ/s320/153.JPG" height="214" lda="true" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacyIENohaQfB6S7LqK7QGbwwCVQXnaTfVOdFpgYthnLgOpCxjcjQn1jdYr6Wsr3EvgK5sw2_eARXFBdVEQd5HM9sDuhBzFrU57WkNxv1SSe1VmM7jaVM5gu0P8I6K1Fwv2wwo_4LD6C4/s1600/154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacyIENohaQfB6S7LqK7QGbwwCVQXnaTfVOdFpgYthnLgOpCxjcjQn1jdYr6Wsr3EvgK5sw2_eARXFBdVEQd5HM9sDuhBzFrU57WkNxv1SSe1VmM7jaVM5gu0P8I6K1Fwv2wwo_4LD6C4/s320/154.JPG" height="240" lda="true" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
For more about Round Valley, you can go to my other blog: <a href="http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/">www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com</a> and click under labels on the right margin: Round Valley</div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-78009448601717132022012-02-03T17:21:00.004-08:002024-01-28T19:24:22.146-08:00Fishing New Jersey Smallmouth Bass<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwLEkP4eivif6etAaBGJ5-RI5U2a4kEAP0oJWohxiTYaXio6bdwueL6-G82Pc5IruHpb_6wiEedTpHw3vS5iF_3BS60ygBoYis4Iqqh8MhRdZA39rj1ogtyBwc-yoZ5cMtxnyscN2yya0/s640/275.jpg" style="text-align: center;" /></div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
New Jersey smallmouth bass are a wild wonder worthy of pursuit principally because of the mystery and elusiveness they share with other fish. This should never be forgotton and overlaid by habits of effective angling, never forgotten completely, although easy familiarity is an enjoyment, a self-possession earned through getting out there and finding bass. I bet every boy who fished for the first time, or the first three dozen times, was captivated by the otherworldliness of water and the self-determined denizens occupying it.</div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br />
I began taking my son snorkeling in the clean water of the upper North Branch Raritan when he was seven. We both have observed many smallmouths over the past five years--and they us. They don't dash for cover as trout do when you approach, especially as brown trout do. Why do they bother to stare a diver in the face? They can't reason about us, but I bet they are fascinated with the perception.</div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Smallmouths are fierce. But above all they are lordly surveyers of their precincts. I love pickerel for their lightning strikes, but they cannot match the open, unabashed presence of bass. Pickerel stalk from within darkness of weeds and brush like deviant rascals.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNy0SYFSodtDrHXTcaM1A5jCrx2u7OigWWUKKB3NJFkKUvDwllmvUsSDmSMi886yuE9Y_hxCDV_bdJ_HmZnZbyWi3Qz44iLrAqFWnH5yiO-qn5m54uLg-0m5_PeyB_Mtg7RhvmRZKXoI/s1600/051.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNy0SYFSodtDrHXTcaM1A5jCrx2u7OigWWUKKB3NJFkKUvDwllmvUsSDmSMi886yuE9Y_hxCDV_bdJ_HmZnZbyWi3Qz44iLrAqFWnH5yiO-qn5m54uLg-0m5_PeyB_Mtg7RhvmRZKXoI/s200/051.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<strong>Where to Go</strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Smallmouths are not native to New Jersey--they were first introduced from the Midwest during the 19th century--but they are fully wild, reproducing as established populations in rivers, streams, and lakes mostly from Mercer County northward, but South Jersey has great fishing in Union Lake and Lake Audrey. Manasquan Reservoir near the shore and Garden State Parkway exit 98 is good fishing too with very good-size smallmouth bass. I know of only one pond--Saffin's at 12 acres--in New Jersey with smallmouth bass.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Delaware River is the greatest fishery besides perhaps Oak Ridge Reservoir. Plenty of streams from Mercer County northward are full of smallmouth bass. Stony Brook and Bedens Brook in Mercer used to be loaded with smallmouth bass, although from what I've gathered, the water table has been adversely affected by continued development. I haven't tried either stream since 2011, when my son and I fished Stony Brook and found its smallmouth population not nearly up to par with what it had been. Raritan River and its branches in Somerset and Hunterdon, Musconetcong River in Hunterdon and Morris, Pequest and Paulinskill Rivers in Warren and Sussex all have plenty smallmouth to catch and release. Throwing them back is important in these small waters, although most of those you will catch are under 12 inch minimum. However, smallmouth much larger are possible, such as the 6 pound, 6 ounce smallmouth caught in the South Branch Raritan, reported in<em> The Fisherman </em>magazine in 2010.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Lakes such as Hopatcong, Swartswood, Greenwood, Echo, Spruce Run Reservoir, Round Valley Reservoir (state record 7 pounds, 2 ounces), Split Rock Reservoir, Merril Creek Reservoir, Canistear Reservoir, Oak Ridge Reservoir, Clinton Reservoir, Monksville Reservoir have smallmouths.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<strong>Catch Them</strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Follow my two blogs or check the archives for specific pointers on techniques and wherewithal on various waters. Techniques are too varied to account for now without being unwieldy. My other blog, Litton's Fishing Lines, has a lot of posts about smallmouths to explore. Here's the link:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/">http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/</a> then click "smallmouth bass" under the labels heading to the right margin.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The most popular of those articles you might find: <a href="https://littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/2012/05/catching-smallmouth-bass-in-streams-and.html">Catching Smallmouth Bass in Streams and Small Rivers</a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6huEwzMUkqAKEBRryEs8WmtzN-kNH13CJUNuUT5kN8yqiD_6Oim1JZf7-WI-6rkuR4cB68xSkSNl-GAEYIt4NcA7OfYoc-bFOA3eLwxzAiAK-eZuqFK_4Qg4L8gXWphkFs2C8kga9Pm4/s1600/615.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6huEwzMUkqAKEBRryEs8WmtzN-kNH13CJUNuUT5kN8yqiD_6Oim1JZf7-WI-6rkuR4cB68xSkSNl-GAEYIt4NcA7OfYoc-bFOA3eLwxzAiAK-eZuqFK_4Qg4L8gXWphkFs2C8kga9Pm4/s1600/615.JPG" width="428" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSI5hWT5i4FmxPWv-wBfSUXz2bIP8Uev4RCsPowbqdWI6njzy0Za_QkeSc8ZuB4iwjtHL0t16XNmDDxhE6JbVzn0z-Jwbww8-bvjasXtewn752CnsL3fPHWaRuVUINKzC51oRn1ubfZ4M/s1600/Paulinskill+Over+4-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSI5hWT5i4FmxPWv-wBfSUXz2bIP8Uev4RCsPowbqdWI6njzy0Za_QkeSc8ZuB4iwjtHL0t16XNmDDxhE6JbVzn0z-Jwbww8-bvjasXtewn752CnsL3fPHWaRuVUINKzC51oRn1ubfZ4M/s640/Paulinskill+Over+4-2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8zGS-FTTrwTd1hD8j2QpMuljGtjKHABaR-gk1_9e8u0pXe53CscXcNcrBMw895z-lXOg7aHBv211l2oArrRXNqE5CzjGVeCsVN-osc0EFohlDgQjFXt6h5XRzOOesgicfwS_kEZkqdx_/s1600/Blog+Possibly.jpg" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #ff3300; float: right; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.53px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="1000" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8zGS-FTTrwTd1hD8j2QpMuljGtjKHABaR-gk1_9e8u0pXe53CscXcNcrBMw895z-lXOg7aHBv211l2oArrRXNqE5CzjGVeCsVN-osc0EFohlDgQjFXt6h5XRzOOesgicfwS_kEZkqdx_/s400/Blog+Possibly.jpg" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-image: none; border: 0px rgb(255, 51, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
</div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-49989275616987147592012-01-08T10:39:00.000-08:002016-03-20T04:17:03.201-07:00Fishing New Jersey Ponds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOL28UhDIPw3xF9DjVog1aJrWPvuue5-XKLHx3fNdnBL1kYIFdIHc5s618eobiKWNZmgBD60ODRj7R3yozFeWLx6pKjnyOyby5EyBTBnYKnZCn9SGyxiM8BGHbS3_SpBy_eVhMoSLsJ2k/s1600/127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOL28UhDIPw3xF9DjVog1aJrWPvuue5-XKLHx3fNdnBL1kYIFdIHc5s618eobiKWNZmgBD60ODRj7R3yozFeWLx6pKjnyOyby5EyBTBnYKnZCn9SGyxiM8BGHbS3_SpBy_eVhMoSLsJ2k/s320/127.JPG" width="266" /></a>New Jersey ponds especially offer fair to excellent largemouth bass fishing; some are loaded with pickerel, particularly in the Pine Barrens; some are stocked with trout. Unlike in Massachusetts, where I have caught smallmouth bass in a two or three acre pond, smallmouth in New Jersey seem mostly limited to streams, small rivers, the Delaware, lakes, and reservoirs. I know of one pond of about 12 acres with smallmouths. But even ponds you can cast clear across from almost any vantage have largemouths. I once caught a 20-incher in a quarter acre pond.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Ponds get overlooked by those of us who like lakes. So as long as those who do fish them release their catch, fish populations remain stable and often are found to be abundant. No better place seems to exist for a young person to develop a value for fishing than small ponds of a few acres or so.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And no better place exists to start the open water season if you want to catch largemouths early, even before the ice melts on Lake Hopatcong. Pond ice melts first. Since ponds are usually much shallower than lakes, they warm faster too. If a pond is shallow enough, an early March afternoon warm enough, bass may be caught on surface plugs while ice fishermen get the last flags of the season on Hopatcong. I know of ice fishermen who did this on an 80 degree March day.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This winter we may have little ice fishing at all. But ponds also freeze first. First ice is best ice, the "black" ice before any snow falls on it. Sometimes this clear ice is available only for a short window of time, only on small ponds.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<strong>General Approaches</strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Most of New Jersey's ponds are impoundments ranging from about an acre to 20 acres or more. Usually you can fish the bank all the way around, and bass will typically frequent shallow water during the warm water seasons.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The "once over" is the term of description the fishing mentor I knew during my teens used to describe the simple method of walking the bank and casting shallows usually parallel to the bank ahead. You progress as you cast ahead of where you casted last, covering all the shallows. Good lures for this approach include spinnerbaits, jerk baits, topwater plugs, Senkos, and other plastic worms.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Fishing a pond can be as subtle as you make it, although bass are selective to some degree themselves. If you want to catch a lot of them and raise the odds of hooking a lunker when they feed aggressively as a front approaches and barometer falls, don't waste time fishing plastic worms. That's too slow. Retrieve a spinnerbait at a good clip, and first try buzzing it at the surface, or try a buzzbait first.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
You can impose limitations on yourself as to how you wish to catch a bass. If the pond has 10 foot depths, you might try to catch any bass only in those depths. I knew of an elderly man who fished only Senkos at Sunrise Lake (actually a three acre pond). But he knew how to fish them and caught 17 bass at 20 inches and slightly better in a single year. I have no doubt he caught every 20 inch bass in the pond, which probably numbered fewer than half a dozen. But a five pound bass is usually no sucker. So to catch it half a dozen times inside a year took skill.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A very few people approach ponds as a place to exercise their skills with certain methods they are trying to perfect. They mess around with topwater plugs, for example, just to see if they spontaneously discover something they can replicate on a tough lake.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
But a pond is never a bathtub, and even a bathtub with a bass in it--would still have a bass in it, a living being with changeable sensitivities. In our teens my friends and I took our pond fishing seriously, and I still reflect on this with great respect.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/">http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/</a> For more on ponds: look to the right margin, click on "ponds" under the labels heading.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="left">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-85912174220980531282011-12-30T18:30:00.000-08:002017-11-04T20:57:58.723-07:00New Jersey Pine Barrens Winter Pickerel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QH5WJmH5EdqhcY41usRahpyzxEk5N9Hgh6qyNTbtXnvRPdkyEBWDdjkmPPrLJfa8he0WDw9MbitaQmosU0v7dLVTOfeihxkgLtxMw4wDuak9cERW4x8QQx12EEFSNlstw5E8xPFKe4E/s1600/539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QH5WJmH5EdqhcY41usRahpyzxEk5N9Hgh6qyNTbtXnvRPdkyEBWDdjkmPPrLJfa8he0WDw9MbitaQmosU0v7dLVTOfeihxkgLtxMw4wDuak9cERW4x8QQx12EEFSNlstw5E8xPFKe4E/s320/539.JPG" width="320" /></a>Imagine catching a 9-pound, 3-ounce pickerel. It happened in 1957 on Lower Aetna Lake, not named after the insurance company, thank God. Associated with the New Jersey Pine Barrens, though not deep within them to the best of my knowledge, it's unlike how some bogs virtually need to be stumbled on during a long hike to be found without a name. For about four years the Lake Aetna pickerel was the world record, and it warms my soul to know it came from the Pines, since this is a special place to me.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Nevertheless, that former world record, now state record, may not be New Jersey's largest. I take angler/author Art Scheck's word as the truth. Out of the remnants of a canal in Sussex County, not to be confused with the Delaware and Raritan, his wife caught a pickerel over 10 pounds--then released it. I would have taken the rewards, and possibly the trouble as so many record holders have taken heat, although they did messy PR jobs in some respects, but life tends to be messy in some affairs for everyone. However, I fully sympathsize with Art's story. The greatness and mystery of the world includes that it doesn't all get reported. I can't be an absolutely firm believer in this story because I don't know Art Scheck personally beyond his revealing book:<em> A Fishing Life is Hard Work</em>. But every indication I get from his writing style leads me to believe it's true. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Something in me wishes such a fish were limited to the Pines. They just aren't; the world record 9 pound, 6 ounce pickerel came from Georgia. Always, always, though, the Pine Barrens are home to pickerel, which tolerate that tannic acid in water that doesn't freeze as much during the winter as that of the state's northern counties, since the climate is warmer, and aquifer springs are fairly common, which helps somewhat if you have a winter fishing adventure in mind to these desolate sandy flatlands and bogs. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Lake Hopatcong pickerel are not native in their "Many Coves of Honey Water," a meaning the Native Americans are reputed to have given the lake, and which subtly suggests the dark, tannic, winding bogs found in the pines rather than Morris and Sussex Counties. Introduced in 1852, the Knee Deep Club's historical record is 6 pounds, 9 ounces. Plenty prowl Hopatcong, but in my experience fishing Lake Musconetcong (for years before it was virtually destroyed in 2010 by vegetation killing chemicals) how many over three pounds we caught I don't know off hand, many. They averaged about two pounds--but we never got one over three-and-a-half and 24 1/4". I heard a story about a 30- incher, but I also heard a story about a 32-incher from Mirror Lake at Browns Mills--in the Pines. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
From a 15-acre pond in Stafford Township, I caught numerous pickerel averaging 10 to 12 inches, with one 19-incher slamming my Rapala in April. I've had the same experience at Turn Mill Pond, where others report larger fish. At Lake Absegami they averaged about 19 inches. But the real lure of these waters may not be numbers or size--if the thought of a real gator existing somewhere back there is appealing as an ultimate goal you almost know you will only reach in your dreams. The intrigue involves finding lakes and bogs themselves, then plying them to discover fish or not. If you go about it crudely, just showing up and not taking notice of environmental subtlety, you may not be disappointed, you may find it nice, but unless nature is contemplated and studied with the sort of attention rightly given an art work, the joy of being out there will not make itself known to you, nor will it be communicable to someone else. I freely admit I do not notice everything, and my moods are very changeable, sometimes more focused than other times, sometimes swelling slowly to surprise me with an internal high tide.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Yes, the lure of the Pines ultimately calls from deep within your own consciousness. But you have to actually go there to experience yourself in relation to the Pines alone. Here are some helpers on how to catch winter Pines pickerel.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<strong>Method</strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The more you acquire practicality as your own second nature, the more it resembles art. But I don't know that any man has lived without some artlessness; not even Goethe was himself a perfect work of art. So take some winter pointers if you don't already know them and apply:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
1. Using lively shiners (unless you can pot or buy killies, they are hardier). Medium size work, especially for the smaller pickerel, but large, and even extra-large allow long casts, and are attractive to large pickerel from further away.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
2. Use no split shots or sinkers. A barrel swivel is enough weight (nearly none, it connects your leader) unless you fish water deeper than about six feet. In such situations, use a small split shot, or strip lead to adjust as you approximate. Lighter mono allows longer casts, and managabilty, but use no less than six pound test--a large pickerel and heavy cover may persuade the use of 15 pound performance braid. But braid will handle poorly if temperatures fall enough below freezing.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
3. The circle hook persuasion is on the rise, and some who use them claim no leader is needed. But 15 pound test fluorocarbon is not so thick, is abrasion resistant, is less visible than mono, certainly less so than steel, and prevents razor-sharp teeth cutting your line. Tie a 16 inch length to the swivel, other end to a simple, plain shank, size 6 hook. A long shank allows easier hook removal, but I prefer to use a regular length shank from long standing habit and proclivity to liking less metal on the line.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
4. Set that hook pretty soon so you don't gut hook--allow the pickerel's mad dash, wait about six seconds for it to turn the shiner headfirst into its mouth, and set.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
5. Always live line available cover--let the shiner swim and settle to bottom, then lift rod tip, retrieve, let settle. Often you must swim a shiner or killie over and into branches or stumps. (A hit, even in winter, may be a visible thrill.)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
6. Any evidence of residual aquatic vegetation with enough depth (about two or three feet or more of water that may be too tannic to see bottom) is fishy evidence.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
7. If you can fish a sunny, mild day, this is to your advantage, particularly in the late afternoon. If the afternoon has been especially mild and sunny, stick around into evening if you can. The magic hour around sunset may be most promising for a large pickerel.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
8. Cast plenty of range. Don't bobber fish unless you've brought along extra rod(s). Live lining is live finding, and laying a couple rods aside with bobbers out may only inhibit your freedom to fish an entire body of water, possibly not. It may be possible to fish multiple lakes, bogs and ponds, and even stream or river sloughs in a given day. You may not find cover or vegetation everywhere, so concentrate on fishing the "deeper" water, which is typically fairly shallow, when not much else is present. Springs may not be evident to you, but they are out there. During winter pickerel are drawn to the milder temperature of their influence. Keep them in mind even if you don't see them. If you get a strike, catch the fish (or miss it), and fish the same area in case it's a "hotspot." (Even though winter water is <em>cold.</em>)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<strong>Simple and Sweet (But Acidic)</strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Happy New Year!</span></strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">For more on pickerel, click under labels on the right of my other blog: <a href="http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/">www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com</a> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
</div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-90455165949413302872011-12-28T10:01:00.000-08:002014-08-25T19:29:47.611-07:00Budd Lake Solitary Ice Fishing Memories: Persistence for Pike<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
For a very many years, it seemed, I ice fished Budd Lake, NJ, alone. When my wife and I made a move from a Victorian home in North Plainfield to a second story apartment in Chester above a prominent antique shop, Pegasus Antiques, 1994, I considered trashing my tip-ups and whatever else remained of my old ice fishing equipment. As soon as I had felt that, a counter-rush of feeling came and stuck me to my gear like glue. That was August, we weren't married yet, and when January came we went and spent a couple days at a good friend's place on Little Swartswood Lake, along with my tip-ups. But the clincher was January or February 1997. My friend had moved, but close in vicinity to the lake. His son and I ice fished Little Swartswood, both of us catching pickerel. I had caught the old fever, and the next weekend went out on Budd Lake for the first time.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Budd Lake is a sort of glacial swath, not a deeply dug chasm, if 40 or 50 feet of depth is any chasm with magnificent rock structures in clear depths. It averages 6 feet deep, has almost no rock structure, and in a very limited area reaches 12 foot depths. I placed a couple of my allotted five tip-ups in these depths for a single flag that day. By the time I got to it, the fish had stripped all the line off the spool. Only metal remained. I guess I figured that if a fish ever got that far away, it can have its freedom, or that if I tied the braid to the spool--it might yet have its freedom, pulling along a piece of broken tip-up. But I suppose this fish had some 75 yards of heavy line to contend with against weeds or other obstructions. The shiner had been set about 12 feet down. I figured it was a nice bass, and it could have been, bass really run with a shiner. But a couple years ago I returned to Budd to fish alone. I caught a 15 inch channel catfish that had run like mad with a shiner. I had never before seen a tip-up spool turn so fast.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I like to think Budd Lake is meant for ice fishing. You can set a tip-up almost anywhere for a flag. During the warm months, the lake is bland. The water quality is not at all poor, but it isn't especially good. Budd's natural outflow is the very headwater of the South Branch Raritan River. What amazes me is that a quarter mile downstream from this weedy slough of a sluggish stream, brook trout are present! In that short tumble among stones and rocks that filter and purify water, fed by numerous cold mountaintop springs, the water quality rises to a nearly pure level.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A 15 pound, 39 inch pike came through a hole close to where I fished one afternoon in 1999. Until 2007, when I first took my son ice fishing, I pursued such a fish ice fishing Budd Lake alone, never catching it. I caught some pike, but most often I left skunked. I would walk the ice in solitude--more often than not I had the entire 376 acre lake to myself--and look ahead to my retirement. I remember looking ahead 26 years, seemingly trapped in wage work until then. I knew that I would like to spend time here, sometimes all day instead of 2 1/2 hours, which was usually all the time I had. A 15 degree breeze would make the skin on my cheeks rosy, and the pain of it was enlivening.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's said that the essence of depression is suspense, but on Budd Lake in solitude I would willingly suspend almost everything and it was a very pleasant, but very remote, feeling. Getting away from it all--I did that, even within a couple hours. I remember I would stop at the 7-11 afterward, perhaps for a pack of cigarettes, always guilty buying them, but peculiarly in need of the pain, for the sake of overcoming this pain for that little pleasure, one among many, but reliable, like a base to touch, a crutch, and the snazzy atmosphere inside of pop music and flashy advertisements always hit me like someplace very far away from where I had just been, even after a couple hours. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/">http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-69012894699299453442011-11-12T15:44:00.000-08:002011-12-08T17:40:33.809-08:00Slow Day for Salmon River Steelhead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe5dyK_X4d3aiSMRoix37ZDdzpI_tinLVtcsdTG_oA4n-G15fy3k5keYRcpQoTy1Iid7yOypbI3KbWwXmHzrrlOuZLWDcVvAub9jy3DzuwiURtiwa0wExDoYzLwae2Fe11aqknynW_dps/s1600/758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe5dyK_X4d3aiSMRoix37ZDdzpI_tinLVtcsdTG_oA4n-G15fy3k5keYRcpQoTy1Iid7yOypbI3KbWwXmHzrrlOuZLWDcVvAub9jy3DzuwiURtiwa0wExDoYzLwae2Fe11aqknynW_dps/s320/758.JPG" width="320" /></a>You can view fishing the day after you've been taught by a great steelhead guide as no more than a true test of your prowess, against which your ego stands or falls, depending on whether or not you catch a steelhead--on your own. And if it falls, what then? Aren't you going to get back out and fish? And to certainly catch plenty fish again. So what does the acid test matter? It's totally a fiction that has something to do with the necessities of our distant, primitive past. But it's an illusion demanding of respect; its essence, in fact, is no illusion or fiction at all. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I sat in the comfort of that little luncheon in Altmar when I considered my despair over failure, as if the question belonged entirely to the realm of psychology, as if now that we are just sportsmen, not living off the land, what does it finally matter--I'll go back and fish. The underlying issue is survival, those necessities of our primitive past. But we have not advanced beyond the need to survive, as if we ever will. This is why fishing is a serious recreation. At the least it sometimes reminds us that reality tests us, so long as we place our angling in difficult situations. If we have plenty of money and sheltor, it's easy not to take such challenges too seriously. But history judges every civilization. And in any historical period at least some people exist who are life and death challenged. We ignore them at our peril. To ignore others so challenged is to guarantee that dire and grave conditions will come around to bite us in the ass.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This doesn't mean altruism rules the day. Altruism typically doesn't see reality, when it doesn't respect the object of charity. And it very likely is not at all charity which someone in need desires, perhaps an exchange of words will do to mutual benefit. In essence, those of us who have very difficult lives may potentially have the most knowledge to address an ailing civilization, a society that does not necessarily have to fail <em>entirely</em> before it recovers, and improves in a new way. Even extreme difficulty and hardship does not by any necessity imply that such lives are troubled victimhood--it means that such a life is situated to take the problems of the age we are all living through the hardest. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After getting up late this morning--7:00 a.m.--and hurrying my son and myself out the door here at the Steelhead Lodge, as disheartened that I was at taking such a leisurely start on the day, since I like to have all in order and to depart on the earliest instant, and also to have sputtered away the entire morning without real conviction in what I was doing as we fished, I gave the last hour and a half or so of about three straight hours of afternoon fishing to sunset a dogged, honest persistence during which time I had three solid hits. This alone made the day. Without that, I would have compounded my awful depression, deepened as the local rock station blaring in the restaurant at Altmar produced visual obscenities in my mind. I muttered a few disparaging remarks to my son at the table just to recognize myself as human. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But I made myself fish hard afterward, much less out of any hope that I would catch another steelhead than the knowledge that if I just got a flow going, not a great stream of ecstacy within myself, just an honest process of doing it right, floating that egg sac in the way a steelhead would take it, then a bead--which three did hit--I would recharge the batteries in myself and be done with this stupid depression--which is what I tend to think of every depression. The exercise replaced all that confusion with an accomplished attempt.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Most people we spoke to reported a slow day. I spoke to only one person who had done very well. We walked well away from the crowds near the lots twice. Overland trails are convenient. The long walks freshly reminded me of our foray into the Douglaston Salmon Run a month ago. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Salmon River is truly a great river with an amazing history. Since sometime shortly after the glaciers 10,000 years ago, Atlantic Salmon made their way into Lake Ontario from the St. Lawrence--and up the Salmon River by the scores. This is what I hear; I haven't read factual documentation. This is the true origin of the river's name. It deserves better than my son and I, my brother Rick, my nephew Kyle, and Dennis Fairburn have given it, flying up here from New Jersey for mere long weekend stints. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeOcISLCh94ghyphenhyphen7TGruKh_Ti4ppDeLQ3mMSCIJHx_Gw7F95vazoIx2sKHLPQHUfKij-UaKna2HEEqc_qlIK53hNJite_CKNl1x__ydXk9b9j3_jzHNyFSQSwR6ft8epjIy_jiwLJO7ukU/s1600/763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeOcISLCh94ghyphenhyphen7TGruKh_Ti4ppDeLQ3mMSCIJHx_Gw7F95vazoIx2sKHLPQHUfKij-UaKna2HEEqc_qlIK53hNJite_CKNl1x__ydXk9b9j3_jzHNyFSQSwR6ft8epjIy_jiwLJO7ukU/s320/763.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>My son netted this gentleman's steelhead. Three hours or so later we walked the half mile or so back to the lot together, speaking freely. He suggested spending about $300.00 on a steelhead fly reel, after I had informed me about features and I had inquired about price.<br />
<br />
Not anytime soon perhaps. But once we got back to my room I imaginned given this river its due during my retirement, and told my son about this. He told me that it would be best if I spent long periods of time fly fishing. I got to thinking our noodle rods will go by the wayside.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgJrhoWqnERi5-gVuCmg22_D4Am0b94zBAAhhR3SxfZvObr-uY0GZF4pn_YHE09X3UhyphenhyphenUvnCf0n2pWVgaxu_9JqpX-58StGMHapwQFxAZlB-9KnjQZWpA6zmaMmYhjbBB_BjstRo_7dc/s1600/753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgJrhoWqnERi5-gVuCmg22_D4Am0b94zBAAhhR3SxfZvObr-uY0GZF4pn_YHE09X3UhyphenhyphenUvnCf0n2pWVgaxu_9JqpX-58StGMHapwQFxAZlB-9KnjQZWpA6zmaMmYhjbBB_BjstRo_7dc/s320/753.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhati-P8Gwh9z7GDp1_ejKxCMtUGE5VF6SP5Qwto_O_hHKt5JtSLMcRWSjkh52OnSyAx0F6c5boruETX0YdZmNR80L1pkBFrwuNzg7ITL4IhDyslzRyNp_UjoVZrxtCt7nYOtCjRR-ghyphenhyphenA/s1600/751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhati-P8Gwh9z7GDp1_ejKxCMtUGE5VF6SP5Qwto_O_hHKt5JtSLMcRWSjkh52OnSyAx0F6c5boruETX0YdZmNR80L1pkBFrwuNzg7ITL4IhDyslzRyNp_UjoVZrxtCt7nYOtCjRR-ghyphenhyphenA/s320/751.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-40607274897554230402011-11-07T20:38:00.000-08:002017-11-04T20:52:41.127-07:00Habitat Decimation in Delaware and Raritan Canal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4iijGCSkegqX8ueuadgRRCiDh0kh8Lp_Q92E82sH7_Msqt9GhqgboWYlJEeo2hp3vT5ERNnNf4tQ64or7xCocWb6i6ayDUA8IidMUK2usPR6WeBNNWkpp-i34pzY3EQMzxMl9SnPgZZo/s1600/538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4iijGCSkegqX8ueuadgRRCiDh0kh8Lp_Q92E82sH7_Msqt9GhqgboWYlJEeo2hp3vT5ERNnNf4tQ64or7xCocWb6i6ayDUA8IidMUK2usPR6WeBNNWkpp-i34pzY3EQMzxMl9SnPgZZo/s320/538.JPG" width="320" /></a>I've been shifting back to Litton's Fishing Lines for my New Jersey posts, but at least for this canal story, I want to follow through on my promise to "be back."</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm not sure I'll fish the canal again until next summer after today's boredom with it. The best I can account for being skunked after nearly an hour of fishing, 65 degree weather besides--at least I caught a pickerel last week in a half hour's fishing, and had that excitement I wrote about the previous week--is that so much brush in the water seems to have been cleared out that habitat is reduced and fish populations are down. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
For the past couple years I've been fishing the canal near Weston and Manville, summer and fall. I catch a single fish here and there, putting in no more than an hour at a time, pickerel and largemouths. But I'm drawn to the judgment that since the dredging in 1986, I believe it was, fish never returned to their previous levels of presence. I remember fishing the canal a number of times in the early 90's and feeling this is true. Either submerged brush never has accumulated back to what it was, or a State Park maintenance crew takes brush out--and decimates the environment in the process. I know for a fact a beautiful deadfall--a whole tree in the water--was removed last year just downstream from the bridge as Weston Canal Road turns towards Manville. I also observe that overhanging trees are occasionally cut at the bank, reducing habitat. It all seems to be done just to keep the canal somewhat "clean," to homogenize, simplify its appearance for those who walk the towpath.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I like a wild appearance. But most like things dull.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My fishing log is loaded with facts from 1975 until now. We caught quite a few fish--sometimes six within an hour--during the 70's and early 80's. Most were small but 16 inch pickerel were common, as were 10 and 11 inch largemouths. Sandbars at the Quaker Bridge Road bridge attracted shiners schooling in the shallows to avoid pickerel, which rushed out of depths to slash through these baitfish and take a meal. The dredging did away with them. But mostly the brush was great habitat in fall and winter for gamefish. We caught pickerel consistently through January and February when no ice locked everything under. A simple crappie jig did the job, just dancing it through and around brush.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
If I had State Park oversight I'd put habitat <em>in</em>, not take it out.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/">http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QH5WJmH5EdqhcY41usRahpyzxEk5N9Hgh6qyNTbtXnvRPdkyEBWDdjkmPPrLJfa8he0WDw9MbitaQmosU0v7dLVTOfeihxkgLtxMw4wDuak9cERW4x8QQx12EEFSNlstw5E8xPFKe4E/s1600/539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QH5WJmH5EdqhcY41usRahpyzxEk5N9Hgh6qyNTbtXnvRPdkyEBWDdjkmPPrLJfa8he0WDw9MbitaQmosU0v7dLVTOfeihxkgLtxMw4wDuak9cERW4x8QQx12EEFSNlstw5E8xPFKe4E/s320/539.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-76559630910601553492011-10-29T16:58:00.000-07:002015-02-28T20:39:39.732-08:00Lunch Date with the Delaware and Raritan Canal for Pickerel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6Uw4HmS4TL6D7KMn66-DLrztNL5cb-kIlAJIg9PEob2-G7yhzgeQb38gJcBHBk-rdtH-P_GdGU8wVqGAsfakEdGXosHIIE2ygTS1MKbmIwtY2Y2S-kkixhMWb9GSlfBG48PXFnIrgu4/s1600/086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6Uw4HmS4TL6D7KMn66-DLrztNL5cb-kIlAJIg9PEob2-G7yhzgeQb38gJcBHBk-rdtH-P_GdGU8wVqGAsfakEdGXosHIIE2ygTS1MKbmIwtY2Y2S-kkixhMWb9GSlfBG48PXFnIrgu4/s320/086.JPG" height="214" ida="true" width="320" /></a>Picture's a month old. I had some fun fishing the Delaware and Raritan Canal a few times, but the pickerel and largemouth were small. I went yesterday, which seems a season ago today now that six inches of snow has accumulated so far. I have to tell you I got a thrill at the end of my 45 minute stint. First, I had fished along the bank on the right side of this photograph taken in Weston from atop the lock trestle. No hits, nothing. But having re-crossed the lock, I was attracted--for good reason--to the cul de sac to the side of the flow through the lock passage. Duckweed covering a good three or four yards of deep water with a log jam would hold fish. Was it just too close to the exit way? Well, why would it be? Especially with that strong flow beside this calm pocket it could be special.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So I just dropped my killie (leftover from my Sandy Hook trip a month ago, but live and frisky) and it obliged me by swimming down and back under the duckweed. I watched as line slowly unwound from my reel spool. Nice. That killie was really going back where something might be watching it, gathering the juice of its own desire. But of course I remained skeptical. You have to or else exhaust yourself with hope.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Then that line just shifted into rapid motion as quick as a switch you never knew was flipped. I swear it peeled off faster than those hybrid stripers took our herring a week ago. I set the hook, felt nice, then the fish was gone. Baited back up, did the same.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Now most of the time when we shoot a lure or bait back into a spot where we just lost a fish--nothing more happens. That was the only fish around. Most often. I knew it all depended on whether this spot--yeah, a pretty substantial space, deep<em>, lots </em>of cover--actually held, well, possibly a number of fish. We think of pickerel as territorial loners (not bass necessarily), but this is not always true--if pickerel closely bunched together do ignore each other totally.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Just like the first time, the line raced off again. This time, when I set the hook--I got the log jam. The fish--whatever it was--had gone directly into the thick of the wood like the grain of it's age, which my hook held fast to like an anchor. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The line snapped, and that was all. I had somewhere else I had to be, quick. Who bothers to fish the <em>canal</em> anyway? But I have to tell you there's really nothing like it for just messing around with a few fish in wood cover. And I'll be back.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/">http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-36745536449303400262011-10-22T17:16:00.000-07:002017-11-04T20:56:09.658-07:00Jersey Hybrid Stripers: Herring and Vertical Jigging Produce<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb26pWEwPcH85NwRadIvXRvQSIJxzLvonMeYCfH521vfpD1winVI2s9DGTzOWzjGaTn8GprCsudCRkrZv7Sbe6y0lheslWRa35-ta1OUrQJCRMG0d-rXSaQUUH3JC40KR23_zdLOdDkHM/s1600/403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb26pWEwPcH85NwRadIvXRvQSIJxzLvonMeYCfH521vfpD1winVI2s9DGTzOWzjGaTn8GprCsudCRkrZv7Sbe6y0lheslWRa35-ta1OUrQJCRMG0d-rXSaQUUH3JC40KR23_zdLOdDkHM/s320/403.JPG" width="320" /></a>I like having daylight savings time this late in the season. I set my alarm for 4:30 a.m., but reset and got up at 4:50, walked the dog, and by the time my son, Matt, and I had finished breakfast I was alarmed to see it was 5:46. Normally we get to Dows Boat Rentals about 10 minutes before opening. But passing Morristown on Interstate 287, no sign of light had crept into the sky. I actually spent a leisurely five or 10 minutes speaking with Laurie, and we still got to Racoon Island well before sun-up.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The cold was not nearly so severe as it has been for us on Lake Hopatcong this time of year. About 40, with a light breeze: it was enough to chill Matt's hands and face, and I had him open vermiculite hand warmers first thing so he could use one while traversing the lake. The surprising event was such a chill all day--it never warmed above 55, I'm sure, if that. Surface water temperature held at 58--two degrees higher than this time last year.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My idea was to start with live herring, then switch to vertical jigging within an hour or less. Nightcrawlers served the purpose of placing a few yellow perch in the live well so I could put one out for a musky as we drifted and jigged. A few large sunfish, and a very small largemouth fell for the crawlers as well. But after about 20 minutes to a half hour of waiting for a walleye (I assumed) to hit a herring, Matt's first significant fish proved to be a hybrid bass, close to 16 inches, which we released. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
But it seemed that in no time we started to tally up quite a number of bass. Apparently pods of them were working the area of Racoon Island's large drop-off. We fished 25 to about 35 feet deep. After we had caught four or five between about two and slightly better than three pounds, I changed my mind about rushing into jigging. We were definitely in sustained action, the sort of thing that does not happen every time out. Would it last?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
By about 10:00 a.m. we had caught about a dozen, all of them close to two pounds, and better, one of them four pounds, four ounces, and our three and a half dozen herring had dwindled to under a dozen--fortunately half a dozen or so leftovers from previous renters swam witth our limit of hybrids in the other live well. I had intended to use more than two dozen of our herring going after pickerel with quarter ounce lead heads tipped with these fiercely active, shinery-than-shiners fish---and to stay out until 5:00 or so, which it turned out Matt wanted no part of.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I negotiated through until 4:00, it turned out, charming him along. He kept telling me the fish gods were not happy with how greedy I was after we had caught 17 hybrids. He was <em>more </em>than satisfied, he told me, smiling. He was. And I was happy that he felt such accomplishment. But anglers who are driven to <em>fish</em> more than catch will understand that I already felt all that action as past, much as I enjoyed it. My attention riveted on trying to get a walleye or another hybrid (one of mine hit a Rapala ice jig) to strike, and to fish places like Sharps Rock and Chestnut Point with some thoroughness. I did manage to try for pickerel and largemouth for a half hour, and had one hit. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I needed to exercise my alternate approaches. Otherwise I played Matt along, and made sure we left well before 5:00--although I got some agreement that <em>next</em> year we do stay to 5:00!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/">http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9LDStSX8JvKmjd_G53Q37glIf3h3Y4uoo5bhRvs4qcO7tNQe_z2BwlegvKCZe3PNN32eQt9jZkobTIsrnrRCHmIO5WgAwJQK3AdBnZdVU4-Ipv2niRDqFAkKu3udpvGlGia55X0VnTr8/s1600/396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9LDStSX8JvKmjd_G53Q37glIf3h3Y4uoo5bhRvs4qcO7tNQe_z2BwlegvKCZe3PNN32eQt9jZkobTIsrnrRCHmIO5WgAwJQK3AdBnZdVU4-Ipv2niRDqFAkKu3udpvGlGia55X0VnTr8/s320/396.JPG" width="214" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofREdYFSpDnX6q_HieUktTg9blkv-dL2iI4esKCZMFJZTWnGOgMSErmeQTLpxcQnJAnvx1XnXimX36NazHVUOcXjAELln9cHg63altgwDoKxw2aoymldSP_M5EH2Jfd5xTeMiVolxs8k/s1600/406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofREdYFSpDnX6q_HieUktTg9blkv-dL2iI4esKCZMFJZTWnGOgMSErmeQTLpxcQnJAnvx1XnXimX36NazHVUOcXjAELln9cHg63altgwDoKxw2aoymldSP_M5EH2Jfd5xTeMiVolxs8k/s320/406.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5CPLXdaRDQJBT6yf0SisbMsWejecOKQseJ34MAa5_gkJ4PDwfIS1QIV7onOFBaT57Lt0GRQ3eyqfbgB8PhBIaflFZoJygoqO0uGSJRaKdm1GiwAoi86v0o2Eij4sI03OaQS_OiI7mCM/s1600/428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5CPLXdaRDQJBT6yf0SisbMsWejecOKQseJ34MAa5_gkJ4PDwfIS1QIV7onOFBaT57Lt0GRQ3eyqfbgB8PhBIaflFZoJygoqO0uGSJRaKdm1GiwAoi86v0o2Eij4sI03OaQS_OiI7mCM/s320/428.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGQS-nkNTqi7C-ojbKN9AEeFyVbEw_sPC4UhyquPrCpgEmKmX8D116FsUMZDdzhUssOQ4XFOgkwkiqsPFAc_vavZPNoFjxs4TaaF3hOknBARCYXd2joDgJPTIhdbZIWcXXUTD6G3cfnM/s1600/446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGQS-nkNTqi7C-ojbKN9AEeFyVbEw_sPC4UhyquPrCpgEmKmX8D116FsUMZDdzhUssOQ4XFOgkwkiqsPFAc_vavZPNoFjxs4TaaF3hOknBARCYXd2joDgJPTIhdbZIWcXXUTD6G3cfnM/s320/446.JPG" width="214" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrAPpLW5A5xcnImOMbNxyQOj24D_gEoD5wUMHEsCbe7h-ChH_v9QPR1Y6reTy1L3K34zD2dAl1hwf_8-3iGWBlR7Y7WxMEFVO16xvYbnQGJ_oNntLmOoYAR7RYhz1p4BTbkjswMJarBXw/s1600/452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrAPpLW5A5xcnImOMbNxyQOj24D_gEoD5wUMHEsCbe7h-ChH_v9QPR1Y6reTy1L3K34zD2dAl1hwf_8-3iGWBlR7Y7WxMEFVO16xvYbnQGJ_oNntLmOoYAR7RYhz1p4BTbkjswMJarBXw/s320/452.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-46634822497978845622011-10-06T18:00:00.001-07:002012-03-17T15:16:51.325-07:00North Branch Raritan River Release: Thinking Trout, Fishing Smallmouth Bass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQxbwqwa6x8qXZjLumwMZDAEqVZUMv6JjFBDGQDo35U-WrCJLZ0QJbQxNHJGuAiY9itjxgvQfd4QqutAGpAX4mbQLAKH6f8n4dg5u3sycdhIcdt6Q8D0uOP0nUA_T5FbrkXJnOacRlQg/s1600/252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQxbwqwa6x8qXZjLumwMZDAEqVZUMv6JjFBDGQDo35U-WrCJLZ0QJbQxNHJGuAiY9itjxgvQfd4QqutAGpAX4mbQLAKH6f8n4dg5u3sycdhIcdt6Q8D0uOP0nUA_T5FbrkXJnOacRlQg/s320/252.JPG" width="214" /></a>I stepped into trout-cold, painfully temperature decimated water wearing only shorts and sneakers. Earlier air temperatures had reached 72, but last night fell through the 40's, leaving the North Branch Raritan at who-knows-what until it rose into the 50's--felt like lower 50's--by this evening.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You might think I'm jumping the gun, since the river isn't stocked until Wednesday next week, but I doubt I'll even bother with the hatchery supply. I thought about it while fishing, and the prospect then of catching even a glorious 22 inch brown or rainbow--no doubt such a fish is glorious--just didn't interest me, its having come from a truck hours or a day before. To catch one of these fish a week later--or in January--is more sporting. I like to catch trout the day of stocking in the spring; although most of those are small, but in such numbers that it's quite understood this is hatchery fishing. And it does have challenges.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">However, the hatchery scene can appear grim. The thought of us not so much reducing trout habitat--we still have about 50% of the orignial brook trout range in New Jersey, and <em>many</em> pure, spring water small streams flow in this state--but making <em>man</em> dependent on his government to supply trout from a truck can be deeply dismaying. Sure, I get out there with the other enthusiasts and have fun, too. Normally I don't think about this dark side at all. I'm one of those good natured guys who actually takes measures in his life to maintain a positive outlook. But it bothers me just now and this afternoon that so many seem to believe that a government social program is about all fishing in New Jersey can amount to. I have to admit that I like my solitude. And to a certain extent this solitude is protected by others being ignorant in this way. Or is it really?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It isn't as simple as that solitude is protected by others not knowing. I don't think ignorance in any form ever protects anything. It's almost as if many aren't--in a deeper sense--out to fish. Ostensibly--certainly they are, and enjoy it (but only some really). They got there by governmental publicity. Through <em>years </em>of it in the newspapers. Stocked trout are such a long tradition now that no one remembers how the flocks of people wore down stream banks in the first place. But it's a tradition of <em>government</em>--at least by the sheer numbers of frustrated fishermen--more than angling. However, at bottom the desire of each man, woman, and kid who purchases a fishing license and trout stamp trumps that governmental scheme. It's a close call, but I'm positive that what fundamentally moves these people is a pure and authentic desire to get out and pursue happiness by an attempt to catch fish. It is as individualistic as this, and readily shared with anyone--a son, friends--who someone bitten by the bug feels will respond and join him.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">No, I was after smallmouth bass this evening. And smallmouths were never stocked by a government, but by anglers who smuggled them in on freight steam locomotives from the Midwest. Smallmouth bass have hunted in this state for 150 years. They are absolutely wild. And I don't disagree with wild browns and rainbows, even if originally stocked by state government. Ultimately, it's an act of futility to disagree with the past. If you don't accept deeply the past for what it was, yet assert disagreements with wrongs, you will not understand those wrongs nearly as well you might if you dare to empathsize with those who committed them, which can be a very difficult act, if really successful at all, perhaps years later you realize something you tried to understand. Sometimes the present too needs to be absorbed even when wrong is done if all you can really do is witness. Sure, I get out and fish hatchery trout. And I view this scene in many different ways, not all of them consistent with the mood I'm in now, nor am I one of those who thinks "Government is the problem," that's not what any of this means. I think in essence what my position does mean is that economic solutions are better than governmental solutions...to what are in fact economic problems, not that I am blind to how mixed up things are today.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyhow, two weeks ago manic bronze bass rushed at top speed for shiners I retrieved back after missed hits. Once in the water today, I knew this would not happen. I was surprised that my first bass (after a missed hit) swirled my weightless killie off the surface. Both were the average nine inch, bulldogging bass.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I did better in the hour of fishing this evening than I did on two summer afternoon excursions to the South Branch this year, except that I did lose my largest stream bass of the year near Three Bridges, although I doubt it was better than two pounds. I fished my favorite North Branch honey hole once or twice for no big ones this summer, but did well otherwise further downstream. Plenty tell me the South Branch is New Jersey's best smallmouth stream (other than the Delaware), but I just haven't experienced this. I may be wrong, but my bet is that the Paulinskill is better than both North and South Branch. Yes, for smallmouths. I have caught smallmouths from Princeton Township's Stony Brook in November, plenty. I think I have from the Locatong Creek in November as well, although I won't trouble myself to look it up in my log right now, and I have in the Delaware in December. But this is it for me on streams this year, I think, unless I do try for such trout... and wild trout on the Pequest in December.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyhow, you see that shadow line along the undercut bank across stream in the photo. That's where I got one of them, and the other just upstream in deeper water along a fallen tree. Wading out there, something that seemed larger than a muskrat, smaller than a beaver came swimming up mid-stream, and when it turned towards me, I remembered being attacked by two muskrats (I <em>tore </em>away) wading Little Shabakunk as a young boy. They terrified me. I was ready to brandish my rod. My right knee is too bad lately for sudden, evasive moves like scrambling up a high bank. The beaver turned back to face forward in mid-stream--then slapped its tail and dove. Small beaver. And later I got a clear look at its tail.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's wonderful to get out and be released from all the demand out there. Not that demand is a bad thing! Plenty of us have been released from demand--jobless!--and it sucks. Lately I love my job, but it's all a performance, it's like trying to perfect a dance <em>routine</em> and no matter how much that is enjoyed, the freedom of just doing as you please to catch a couple bass on a nice stretch of clear water river away from it all--despite the pain of that cold water, after about an hour it really hurt this evening--such solitude returns you to life as it <em>must</em> be sometimes. Otherwise you can't be fully human. Something essential is cut off.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And that's a tradgedy no government will ever repair, by the way. The best they can ever do is protect this freedom for a man to get up and go out alone.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJJlQm3ktgLRQ51E24NpDwAgNWvrkh7MhHgtlsbHmhv2gzunvk5eVoJrVnDxEK1M05tkcTtbZz3pbvabGr5f1tXSgPDkFOLk8LyTaG4z8rlwvrs9R5OEQyIvgfn4V1qVfqiTVuRJ5v7k/s1600/254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJJlQm3ktgLRQ51E24NpDwAgNWvrkh7MhHgtlsbHmhv2gzunvk5eVoJrVnDxEK1M05tkcTtbZz3pbvabGr5f1tXSgPDkFOLk8LyTaG4z8rlwvrs9R5OEQyIvgfn4V1qVfqiTVuRJ5v7k/s320/254.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-91678958623136119282011-10-01T20:45:00.000-07:002016-02-03T09:23:06.703-08:00Lake Hopatcong Vertical Walleye Jigging Underway<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5R8KPsvnmQ4vWaZmYAPJU4tEyo_1Jqd0W2KIt68zXbmGeVRv48oi8jp0R2Nv4OqTcQTJhPKRUmfRdEM7dk5Jc4wAWhtTqRCJUdBkZ1Fn9O5h_YM3NtgLrH3nNY5HDdX3l9Uw_LRWkRK8/s1600/179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5R8KPsvnmQ4vWaZmYAPJU4tEyo_1Jqd0W2KIt68zXbmGeVRv48oi8jp0R2Nv4OqTcQTJhPKRUmfRdEM7dk5Jc4wAWhtTqRCJUdBkZ1Fn9O5h_YM3NtgLrH3nNY5HDdX3l9Uw_LRWkRK8/s320/179.JPG" width="320" /></a>Joe Landolfi has more experience vertical jigging walleyes than I do, so when he told me the action begins in September, not mid-October when the lake is just about, not quite, turned over throughout its depths, I listened. And I was very surprised that we marked fish at 33 feet today. All week it's been in the 80's, surface water temperature was as high as 66, but it <em>was</em> relatively cool at the end of August and much of September, at least some of the month. I suppose, however, that so much rain has to do with it. Laurie Murphy at Dow's Boat Rentals said the same after we came and discussed it.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After an hour of fishing my graph recorder went on the blink. Joe got it back up for a short while. We tried again and gave up on it; it was useless, some electrical disconnection. But in no time at all he didn't miss the device. Wind kicked pretty hard, so we snapped on 2 1/2-ounce striper bucktails and confidently judged depth, as well as kept a tight, vertical line with a fast drift. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Instead of worsening, wind softened. I jigged up a perch from 20 foot depths just east of Sharps Rock, having changed back to a half-ounce Gotcha jigger. But the real action came west of Raccoon Island, in the area of the ledge. First Joe jigged up a pickerel from 15 foot depths, then I missed a hit, and finally he caught a three-pound, five-ounce walleye, straight from the drop in about what clearly seemed 15 feet of water.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It had been a dark day, threatening and chilly, great walleye weather, and at the end of our last drift, at Nolan's Point, rain began to fall! Laurie assured us it's early yet for jigging. <em>The Fisherman</em> is still reporting catches after dark on live herring. But even for one walleye in the middle of day, I hand it to Joe, or photographed him anyhow, who's been catching them with his friends from September on for years.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_n8h3f235ZcUuv5ko2ZSbyfAST_ePQavbalJrDFvSehyphenhyphenRNFn2FGuvklK_SiBv_ftzRas1d0BG2E3YpyrVglMzebj97QMlPQp4EhAsfehyphenhyphenBohujUyvlWW0NXtc9fPEDln4yNxr8x2KfeQ/s1600/191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_n8h3f235ZcUuv5ko2ZSbyfAST_ePQavbalJrDFvSehyphenhyphenRNFn2FGuvklK_SiBv_ftzRas1d0BG2E3YpyrVglMzebj97QMlPQp4EhAsfehyphenhyphenBohujUyvlWW0NXtc9fPEDln4yNxr8x2KfeQ/s320/191.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCA-FK43rmq6hJNCNNhiqmkPYsooSw2DFgJu8_71tbptcn46A-gjaynDL7A0Mlbwm1dLXXO4Z4iEw_RONRXbpwUZ4oa8QDCPNCe8DSGZPGcOO_Ncy4gGi1f8GPN3zXbRAxTENaxwVb_30/s1600/195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCA-FK43rmq6hJNCNNhiqmkPYsooSw2DFgJu8_71tbptcn46A-gjaynDL7A0Mlbwm1dLXXO4Z4iEw_RONRXbpwUZ4oa8QDCPNCe8DSGZPGcOO_Ncy4gGi1f8GPN3zXbRAxTENaxwVb_30/s320/195.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VwprkYtptghMY3fO9xLPzd5UjTJnE6841EJfHOIm2nJL-wo0xFGCuJAZQeO4R51jFUIB2hswpTvuREKiGkKDKU6LND9DDnpXu-7uRNThKLhCkDGEDmdUYNmKbCkaE4epAemzIMKNWc8/s1600/201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VwprkYtptghMY3fO9xLPzd5UjTJnE6841EJfHOIm2nJL-wo0xFGCuJAZQeO4R51jFUIB2hswpTvuREKiGkKDKU6LND9DDnpXu-7uRNThKLhCkDGEDmdUYNmKbCkaE4epAemzIMKNWc8/s320/201.JPG" width="214" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/">http://www.littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/</a> <a href="http://www.theslipperytrout.blogspot.com/">http://www.theslipperytrout.blogspot.com/</a></div>
Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-37349034622578038712011-09-26T20:20:00.000-07:002011-10-29T18:00:33.596-07:00Fishing Sandy Hook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGo0yYcOn68GmKUJV77I8SxGWprWnqM_gm6sJLW8YsAfs2Jsj0inmdzXep6-8ABMNTKMuFt8QvVfq10N7O2KfVM9FgAYP9vpzTU_g3ddfZ4W6mL5AwgHHBH3bbkzQO_eshPYyC0cszqY/s1600/110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGo0yYcOn68GmKUJV77I8SxGWprWnqM_gm6sJLW8YsAfs2Jsj0inmdzXep6-8ABMNTKMuFt8QvVfq10N7O2KfVM9FgAYP9vpzTU_g3ddfZ4W6mL5AwgHHBH3bbkzQO_eshPYyC0cszqY/s320/110.JPG" width="320" /></a>Had a great weekend with my son's Boy Scout troop on Sandy Hook this past weekend. We arrived Friday night in an absolute downpour, but within 20 minutes the rain slowed. By the time tents were set up, it stopped, and never returned. Mosquitos are bad since Irene, but that was a slight nuisance and no worse. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Saturday morning I drove out to Julians Bait and Tackle for a pint of killies. If they looked like blackberries, the mushrooms in the salad the night before must have been the wrong kind, but this was a completely ordinary excursion. However, I managed to get left behind the troop as they hiked off for North Beach as things got complicated for me preparing tackle. I hiked out from the campsites, but ended up on Gunnison's alone.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Having soon managed to lose a good sized fluke on my medium power, 5 1/2 foot St. Croix (same rod I use for smallmouth bass in the North Branch Raritan) with just a split shot, size six plain shank hook, six pound test, and eight pound flouro leader for good measure against teeth, I fished hard for a half an hour, then decided to reach for deeper water.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I call it the Hopkin's Hop. Instead of a two or three ounce bank sinker, I use a Hopkins with the treble removed--no hook. It's the weight that attracts fish when pulled off bottom and allowed to flutter-fall back. Attach a swivel to the rear split ring and tie an 18 inch flouro leader to it, and a simple size six plain shank or larger to the end of the leader. With my eight foot Tica I flung casts six times as far out as I could with the split shot.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It works of course--for bluefish too. They don't hit the Hopkins. They are attracted by it, but see the large killie "chasing" the Hopkins, and compete, always hitting on a fast snap. It doesn't matter that the Hopkins is bigger. I've caught a lot this way, both blues and fluke--two blues close to three pounds on Saturday, and three fluke, one of them a keeper, as well as losing four other fluke in the early afternoon, two more at sunset on North Beach, and losing another bluefish Sunday morning at North Beach. After this weekend I'm ready to pitch my idea for a magazine story some day so consider the Hopkin's Hop my invention! But go ahead and beat it to the press. If invention were this simple we'd all be millionaires. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Before I left North Beach yesterday morning I watched the rod of the guy next to me go into spasms, and saw a 29 inch striper come ashore on a circle hook that had been baited with clam. I hope this bodes well for the months ahead. My chances are always slim because for me it's like playing the lottery. Well, for anyone it's like playing the lottery, but those really in the know both have a lot of time to play--and know a lot of the winning numbers to choose. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETfKfL-iz9nur2G02bfq8ZLlQwpOL8xND6F6v7WJlsJnIKi8ZEb3AoqM8B6vizD0WbHjUGsK3fSMOX4ibiXRePrLuLxrqkiR2yrRhf1oXuXnK6cAgIONPi4zmf7cN1HICSUL45OG_GwI/s1600/111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETfKfL-iz9nur2G02bfq8ZLlQwpOL8xND6F6v7WJlsJnIKi8ZEb3AoqM8B6vizD0WbHjUGsK3fSMOX4ibiXRePrLuLxrqkiR2yrRhf1oXuXnK6cAgIONPi4zmf7cN1HICSUL45OG_GwI/s320/111.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtEevf0jRL6TDDxAqxmF47gNlKqQ0kqOIGZmXmUKZHckonafn3TSp9CYxGR3Hu8FwOiaGIgd7HAdOnD6VP2oBo9YHUZqR2k_tL7o7KpHuA0_N7Ox1Mljx2ut4vb_RzMwZzXXhCvdMzPk/s1600/116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtEevf0jRL6TDDxAqxmF47gNlKqQ0kqOIGZmXmUKZHckonafn3TSp9CYxGR3Hu8FwOiaGIgd7HAdOnD6VP2oBo9YHUZqR2k_tL7o7KpHuA0_N7Ox1Mljx2ut4vb_RzMwZzXXhCvdMzPk/s320/116.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UeC6n3-OKwRoL5qqEvQ722JrkumNNnHnuzThjhF9tgbI7PU8Dr02uTRflEcHdHjYQIxggEMziTxxUrxRokDIfJlnjF_W8YT9DMxz9B0kWU50jy9MPPSsUE3t_5B6_ZLs_rIoN2fQCHk/s1600/145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UeC6n3-OKwRoL5qqEvQ722JrkumNNnHnuzThjhF9tgbI7PU8Dr02uTRflEcHdHjYQIxggEMziTxxUrxRokDIfJlnjF_W8YT9DMxz9B0kWU50jy9MPPSsUE3t_5B6_ZLs_rIoN2fQCHk/s320/145.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48V6PZ1c2QkALz9o_jydgGwaUcaz4I4ehE72NHt4hFMnD8qp9Ea1h3esP-aYpOdhoU_JI37SxmH1jo7M_K4k_pz2F3JSMkd3-p99Ok1KlrlIM1-ty8ORZ7yN4bd0NYbj_NXB-uWyjOcU/s1600/136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48V6PZ1c2QkALz9o_jydgGwaUcaz4I4ehE72NHt4hFMnD8qp9Ea1h3esP-aYpOdhoU_JI37SxmH1jo7M_K4k_pz2F3JSMkd3-p99Ok1KlrlIM1-ty8ORZ7yN4bd0NYbj_NXB-uWyjOcU/s320/136.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272107137057413604.post-68464196769933149362011-09-26T19:46:00.000-07:002011-09-26T19:46:55.562-07:00Welcome to Fishing in New Jersey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfQrcETNMpCa67WfKkFroUgidTowoUGb91NySz4mogRc679P36UwAiBOgvkwFclY4ygWpSgdL2kfiAAJWrwqxV0dJhmRPo1997tTt_r3kkF42TH1CLYzUFTQ8XUvyYFbkxG1c8Xl-wdw/s1600/175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfQrcETNMpCa67WfKkFroUgidTowoUGb91NySz4mogRc679P36UwAiBOgvkwFclY4ygWpSgdL2kfiAAJWrwqxV0dJhmRPo1997tTt_r3kkF42TH1CLYzUFTQ8XUvyYFbkxG1c8Xl-wdw/s320/175.JPG" width="320" /></a>No, it's not an oil refinery explosion, nor a nuclear blast over Manhatten, which you would either know about, or not. It's Saturday's sunset behind North Beach, Sandy Hook.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I decided to create a new blog for my New Jersey fishing excursions, and to keep Litton's Fishing Lines for out of state trips, as well as more general themes and possibly posts on techniques and tactics, all of which pertain to fishing for my readers. Fishing in New Jersey will also include posts from general perspectives on the northern, central, and southern counties down through Ocean and Burlington, possibly further south and over to Cumberland, it all depends on whether or not we get down there. My son and I have considered fishing in Cape May County.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've posted either 111 or 103 articles on Litton's Fishing Lines, so plenty is present to peruse through the archives, and plenty more will appear yet. Please <em>read</em>! Photos are attractive for being effortless to enjoy. But words, demanding more, bring better reward. </div>Bruce Edward Littonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029604072966031704noreply@blogger.com0