Fishing Log

Fished north of dingmans landed 22 lost 8. Water temp under 50 degrees till late afternoon. Water clarity fair

Just talked to a guy who was hitting them off of Poxono island just out from the eagle's nest on the PA side early afternoon. There is a nice little hole there.

FISHED EASTON YESTERDAY AFTERNOON FOR ABOUT 3 HRS WITH CAPT DAVE, NICE MIX OF ROE & BUCK..CAUGHT 17..LOST ABOUT 7 OR 8...WATER TEMP 54

Hit the Lehigh/Del water this am for about 2.5 hours (7:30-10). Went 6/9 despite being all thumbs today. Mixed bag of roe/buck. A couple of very nice roe that took some time to get in. Mostly on smaller silver spoons with any door working. About 2 feet off the bottom in 8’ of water. Water temp 53 and air about the same. Guys bun the fish ladder getting a few-not sure I put the EASTON boat launch guys. Other boat seemed to be doing about the same.

What do prospects look like for fishing from the shore in Easton? I haven't been there yet this year and it's one of my favorite fishing spots. I think the water level needs to come down a bit based on what the river looks like when I'm crossing it at Scudders Falls on my way to work every morning.

FISHED EASTON YESTERDAY AFTERNOON WITH STEVE..CAUGHT 16 FOR ABOUT THREE HOURS FISHING..MOST ON PLUGS..ONLY 2 ON RIGGERS

Joseph C.: Like Randy mentioned, that was some heavy rig you were throwing. Were you hooking them or hitting them over the head with it ? Me and my buddy hit them pretty well, wading way above Port Jervis today. Landed 20 and many were lost. Chartreuse darts worked much better than others when the sun went below the horizon. Caught 8 smallies as a bonus. All fish were high-spirited and tenacious. Fished downstream of an incoming stream, so water clarity and debris were not a problem. Thursday looks good, too.

The forecast for rain this week has been changing for this week hopefully it stays under .75" for the entire week. I'll give it a try later this week. Joseph C. you were slinging some heavy weights. Nice to see you are catching them and it is tough to leave when the fishing is good even tho the weather is bad. Sometimes it seems to go hand and hand.

I stopped by the Schuylkill on my way home this afternoon. Only one other guy there when arrived, and he had only arrived in front of me and was fishing for stripers. It was tough conditions with the water running fast with residual rain flow and the wind picking up the whole time I was there. I was thrilled with my first American hook up, which I had on long enough to see. I ended up with 8 or 10 Americans and another 10 Hickories. The wind did terrible things to my casts per dart average. I ended up leaving at least half a dozen darts in fish, trees and who knows where. One fish, I'm guessing a cat, fought like hell and then wedged itself under a rock. 2 good sized Americans were landed with the hook in their backs. Those fought really hard! It got so windy that I couldn't fish any more. I'd lost all my heavy darts and it wasn't worth it without them. When I had the ideal setup, a half ounce in front and 1/4 oz behind, both white with red heads, I was hitting fish every 2 or 3 casts. Not a bad couple hours.

Joseph C. you live a charmed life. I'd take the bluefish with poppers.

River coming down rapidly, about 22 inches per day. Depending on the level you like to fish it at, it will be ready sooner than it first appeared. I like wading when it's 3 feet over summertime level. Do your chores and get your equipment ready, you'll be fishing sooner than you think.

More immediate response might be achieved by posting requests to open the fishing parking on the Wothington Facebook page. Ask politely. Maybe offer to report any unauthorized campers.

SHAD RACKER; When you stated in your original post that you were told only half the campsites were open I inferred that one of the campsite roads had to be open. Thanks for clearing it up that both are closed. I caught my first shad in front of site 3 in 1964 and have fished there ever since. I made a call after reading your first post. Got an answering machine with a promise to call back. I am still awaiting a callback from the call I made a month ago.

To give everyone a clear picture of Worthington, the driveway off of Old Mine Road into the park office and boat ramp is open. The driveways both north and south of that point are closed. I have been fishing Worthington at campsites 1 - 5 since the 1970s. For many of those years, those campsites were reserved for anglers and you were permitted to access through that southern driveway despite campers not being able to camp until near the end of the shad season. I ask that any of you who have interest in fishing Worthington or even if you don't but could help the few of us who do to call the Worthington dispatcher at Worthington State Park 908-841-9575 and ask that those campsites be opened for fisherman. The reason they have closed them is because 4 campers ignored the "Closed to Camping" sign and were ticketed. They have park rangers patrolling there constantly and can certainly enforce the restriction. Over the past few years I have frequented those sites and unlike the 70s & 80s I am usually one of probably no more than five fisherman who fish that area at one time. We can certainly practice physical distancing and still enjoy a nice day on the river. Please give me your help. Thanks.

SHAD RACKER; Only the road to campsite one is usually open for anglers. The upstream campsites were not supposed to be open to anglers for many years now. If you were using that part of the campground in previous seasons, it was unauthorized.

I'm also watching the Schuylkill. The flow over the dam has dropped from its high of +14,600 CFS to just over 10,000. At this rate it might be fishable tomorrow. I think anything under 8,000 CFS works, especially when the tide is running up. We'll see.

Ken: Yes, I have heard of Reel Butter. I collect antique spinning reels and have tried several lubes. The main qualities I'm looking for are, as you mentioned, something that stays in place, that is, it sticks to itself and doesn't get flung off. Also, need something that doesn't change properties when water gets in the reel, as sometimes happens when wading. The third property I need is something that doesn't thicken-up tremendously when air temps dip below 50. I make long casts and always fish with lures and I'm not sure any oil can standup to that kind of punishment over time and also would not have the shock absorption like a grease would have. But I'm all ears on this.

Ardent Reel Butter Grease is good stays in place Any good light oil like three and one also wal mart used to sell reel butter grease ken . Ardent Reel Butter Grease

SHAD HOTLINE.....River stage at Reigelsville is 9.5.....Water temp 48....River is high and rising especially up north. Stay away lots of debris coming down. Water is in trees. River rescue this am in Easton. Will not be fishable until middle of next week...Stay safe.

1.25” southern New Tripoli

I just checked river. It is high, fast, and a lot of debris. Not clay muddy but definitely not clear. I think it will get worse before it gets better. If it starts looking like clay, it will take some time to clear up. Montague is unfishable.

Yikes!

Caught four above the gap all were feisty fighters. One roe was good size. Interesting that shad in the northern waters can be repeat spawners. Southern spawning shad have a more demanding journey if all shad summer of the coast of Maine. Many cold water fish live many years. Orange Roughy can live for over 100 years and a bass in Canada lives longer than a bass from Florida.

Thank you guys for your well written and comprehensive answers. Also sounds like shad have a longer life in a more highly oxygenated environment.