Captain Ahab
Well-known member
My part of the County (SE Pennsylvania) was blessed with some great weather for the big Memorial Day weekend. I fished so **** much it is almost a blur, but that is fine as I operate best when I am a little blurry 
Saturday morning dawned bright, clear and rather warm. Pappa Glen arrived for me at 7:00 am for a trip to Washington's Crossing National Park. For those a little rusty on history, this is the spot where General George Washington and men of the Continental Army and militia crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 and marched to Trenton, New Jersey. There they attacked and defeated Hessian troops quartered in and around the village. This surprise attack and victory set the stage for Washington's subsequent victories at the Second Battle of Trenton and Princeton. The Crossing and the Trenton/Princeton campaign have become known as the Ten Crucial Days — a campaign that saved Washington's army from defeat, allowing them to fight another day and achieve ultimate victory.
Anyway, it is a very historic place, with cannon set out along the river and some very scenic views. It is, and this is more important to my tale, a GREAT spot to fish. We arrived with the sun rising over the hills on the New Jersey side and immediately spotted a large female smallmouth bass cruising the shallows. After a number of fruitless casts we gave up on this big girl, for the time being. We waded across some rapids to a small island and I could not help thinking of the Continental Army soldiers who waded through the very same spot on that cold Christmas night 231 years before. Reaching the island, we saw several water snakes also out fishing that morning, we gave them a wide berth and trudged onward. A large snapping turtle was resting on the sand from a night of egg laying, I looked around and spotted the fresh tracks leading to the turtle's nest. I warned Glen not to step on the eggs and we proceeded to the main river side of the island.
We reached a likely spot, a small eddy of current and a deep shoreline hole that marked fish. On his second cast Glenn nails a smallie that jumps three times in the morning sun. I tie on a Case Big Jacks worm in green pumpkin and gently flip it into the current. On the third cast I see the line jump and set the hook into a white bass, my first of the year.
Glen hooks into a few more smallies and I finally get a nice fat bass to attack my bait. I switch over to a crankbait and a bass explodes out of the water on the first cast to take the crank before I even start the retrieve.
I wade further down the island to an overturned tree with a large pool of water under the roots. I gently flip the bait in the pool of water and the line jumps after the bait settles, I set the hook, feel a tug and then the fish lets go. Repeat three more times and finally get this LM Bass to take the lure:
I now have Delaware river triple, Small Mouth Bass, Large Mouth Bass and White Bass. I need a Striped Bass for the grand slam!
By this time Glen has hooked and released about 8 smallies and I need to catch up. I work the boils behind a several large rocks and land three smallies in quick succession. We wade out off the point of the island looking for some trophy size SM Bass. After some searching, I spot a real big female holding near a large boulder. We both run a number of baits at the fish but she is clearly not interested in anything we have. She either turns away or just continues to swim slowly around between the boulder and a deeper section of the river. We find several other large females and they all do the same thing, not even a glance at the baits. This is so frustrating, we can see large bass but they will not feed!
By this point the sun is now baking us and we agree to try another body of water. We leave the river and proceeded to a small stream a mile or so from my house. There, we see more large smallies cruising the water, sitting in the sun and all not eating anything. The smaller males acted like smallies should, aggressively chasing bait and hitting lures with gusto, but the big females were not interested in anything other then basking in the sun.
Glen ties a very small jig on his ultralight rod and begins catching the numerous sunfish. We are joined by a few other friends and we all proceed to catch LM Bass. Jake nailed this nice bass with a swim tail senko that he buzzed over a weed bed:
Suddenly I hear Glen yell and see splashing in the water, he has a real nice bass on his ultralight rod and is having trouble landing the fish on the 5 foot pole with 4 pound test. After a brief struggle he pulls out the fish:
We finish the morning with smiles and high fives for a great day of fishing.
NEXT: Monday and the Small Pond
Saturday morning dawned bright, clear and rather warm. Pappa Glen arrived for me at 7:00 am for a trip to Washington's Crossing National Park. For those a little rusty on history, this is the spot where General George Washington and men of the Continental Army and militia crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 and marched to Trenton, New Jersey. There they attacked and defeated Hessian troops quartered in and around the village. This surprise attack and victory set the stage for Washington's subsequent victories at the Second Battle of Trenton and Princeton. The Crossing and the Trenton/Princeton campaign have become known as the Ten Crucial Days — a campaign that saved Washington's army from defeat, allowing them to fight another day and achieve ultimate victory.
Anyway, it is a very historic place, with cannon set out along the river and some very scenic views. It is, and this is more important to my tale, a GREAT spot to fish. We arrived with the sun rising over the hills on the New Jersey side and immediately spotted a large female smallmouth bass cruising the shallows. After a number of fruitless casts we gave up on this big girl, for the time being. We waded across some rapids to a small island and I could not help thinking of the Continental Army soldiers who waded through the very same spot on that cold Christmas night 231 years before. Reaching the island, we saw several water snakes also out fishing that morning, we gave them a wide berth and trudged onward. A large snapping turtle was resting on the sand from a night of egg laying, I looked around and spotted the fresh tracks leading to the turtle's nest. I warned Glen not to step on the eggs and we proceeded to the main river side of the island.
We reached a likely spot, a small eddy of current and a deep shoreline hole that marked fish. On his second cast Glenn nails a smallie that jumps three times in the morning sun. I tie on a Case Big Jacks worm in green pumpkin and gently flip it into the current. On the third cast I see the line jump and set the hook into a white bass, my first of the year.
Glen hooks into a few more smallies and I finally get a nice fat bass to attack my bait. I switch over to a crankbait and a bass explodes out of the water on the first cast to take the crank before I even start the retrieve.
I wade further down the island to an overturned tree with a large pool of water under the roots. I gently flip the bait in the pool of water and the line jumps after the bait settles, I set the hook, feel a tug and then the fish lets go. Repeat three more times and finally get this LM Bass to take the lure:
I now have Delaware river triple, Small Mouth Bass, Large Mouth Bass and White Bass. I need a Striped Bass for the grand slam!
By this time Glen has hooked and released about 8 smallies and I need to catch up. I work the boils behind a several large rocks and land three smallies in quick succession. We wade out off the point of the island looking for some trophy size SM Bass. After some searching, I spot a real big female holding near a large boulder. We both run a number of baits at the fish but she is clearly not interested in anything we have. She either turns away or just continues to swim slowly around between the boulder and a deeper section of the river. We find several other large females and they all do the same thing, not even a glance at the baits. This is so frustrating, we can see large bass but they will not feed!
By this point the sun is now baking us and we agree to try another body of water. We leave the river and proceeded to a small stream a mile or so from my house. There, we see more large smallies cruising the water, sitting in the sun and all not eating anything. The smaller males acted like smallies should, aggressively chasing bait and hitting lures with gusto, but the big females were not interested in anything other then basking in the sun.
Glen ties a very small jig on his ultralight rod and begins catching the numerous sunfish. We are joined by a few other friends and we all proceed to catch LM Bass. Jake nailed this nice bass with a swim tail senko that he buzzed over a weed bed:
Suddenly I hear Glen yell and see splashing in the water, he has a real nice bass on his ultralight rod and is having trouble landing the fish on the 5 foot pole with 4 pound test. After a brief struggle he pulls out the fish:
We finish the morning with smiles and high fives for a great day of fishing.
NEXT: Monday and the Small Pond
