^New Email Report, Apr 02,  2004 -Mark Boriek -marlboriek@earthlink.net -Delaware River American Shad Report. The commercial gill netter in lower Delaware Bay near the Maurice River Cove reported that American shad are still moving through, catching 7 to 9 lbers. One he weighed at 13.5 lbs. He feels that the shad are more abundant compared to last year, as he has been catching similar numbers using half the amount of net. He said that the number of stripers has decreased and that Atlantic Menhaden (bunker) are showing up, signaling that the first schools of shad have moved further up the bay to deeper waters off of Fortesque.
 

^New Email Report, Mar 31,  2004 -CONNERFISH@aol.com STEVE, FRED LEWIS' GRANDSON, REPORTS THEY HAULED 2 ROE AND 4 BUCK LAST EVENING. LET'S HOPE THIS RAIN DOESN'T SCREW UP THE RIVER. MARK BORIEK, NJ SENIOR MARINE BIOLOGIST, REPORTS THE STRIPERS ARE RIPPING UP THE SHAD FISHERMEN'S NETS. FOR EVERY SHAD THEY CATCH THEY HAVE TO RELEASE A 100 STRIPERS. KEEP REPORTING BY E-MAIL TO CONNERFISH@AOL.COM OR V-MAIL ,DURING THE DAY , @ 215-674-1117.
SEE YOU ON THE RIVER     Tight lines Conner
 

^New Email Report, Mar 27,  2004 -Pete AtoZ- Sorry for the late posting, I was barely lucky enough to squeeze out enough time to go fishing in the first place. Spent the middle of the day Saturday (3/27) fishing the Delaware River around Lambertville. Water was relatively clear with 3-4 foot visibility and some flecks of sediment/algae (resulting in green line on reels) flow rate around 13,000cfs. Starting water temp was 46 degrees, eventually warming up to 48 degrees by 5 pm. Tried shoreline and shoreline eddies early with no success using suspending jerk baits, tubes and twister tails. (The still water eddies were one degree warmer than the main river.) Also tried tubes in deepest water (7-9 feet) with no success. Spent some time using the electronics to scout the bottom. Marked fish sitting along the edge of the channel (in 5 feet of water,adjacent to the 7-9 foot depths). Tried fishing with live bait and lures there, but no luck. Finally started picking up our four smallies as water warmed to 47 and 48 degrees about mid afternoon -- two on suspending jerk baits and two on live shiners. All four fish were caught in 3-4 feet of water either in the protection of a shoreline eddy or just at the border with the current. All fish between 12” and 14”. Three hits were very subtle, only one of the fish attacked the lure, my first real “hard” hit after catching 18 on “soft” bites so far this year. All fish were healthy, although not with overly fat bellies from feeding. Hopefully, this week’s rains and colder temps won’t lower water temps too much for this weekend.
 

Email Report, Mar 12,  2004 -Brinkman's Bait and Tackle-Well things are starting to look up in the lower Delaware river for stripers. I just had a customer with a 25 pound, 40 inch fish taken at Bristol off the shore line. He also had a buddy that caught a 34 inch fish on Wednesday this past week. Both these fish were taken on bloodworms. I still have not heard of any fish at Station Avenue or Linden Avenue as of yet. But they are still catching a few fish at the Frankford Arsenal. Over all I think they have taken between 6 and 10 fish all under 24 inches so far. And again all were taken on bloodworms. Another customer was out in a boat around the Tacony Bridge and picked up 4 fish 15 to 22 inches this past Thursday. He also had several catfish all taken on bloodworms and clams. And several guys have been fishing the art museum and have picked up 6 fish, only one over 30 inches. The rest were throw backs. These fish are hitting 4 to 6 inch sassy shads, 6 and 8 inch twister tails and 6 inch Bomber Long A's. Now for the best fishing has been down river
around the Commodore Barry Bridge to Pennsbury. Here there have been several keeper fish taken. One customer was down last weekend and he boated 4 keeper size fish and another 10 throw backs. One other customer fished the jetty at the Delaware Memorial Bridge and has 9 fish with one 36 and another 34 inch fish with the rest under 24 inches. All these fish are being taken on bloodworms, clams and herring. So all this is good news and it should just get better and better each warm and sunny day.

    Trout have still been hitting real well in Core Creek and Levittown Lake. Both these lakes are still open for the extended season with a 3 fish limit. Power bait and wax worms were two of the better baits this week but they also have been hitting meal worms, earthworms, spinners and spoons. In Levittown Lake they have also picked up several largemouth bass and also some bluegills. In Core Creek the crappies have been biting real well off the dam and around the piers. They are still catching a few bass and walleye but not any numbers. The shopping center lake again this week was good for smaller catfish, crappies, bluegills and bass. These fish have been hitting minnows, nightcrawlers, spoons, spinnerbaits, grubs and plastic worms. Noxamixion off the dam had a great week for some bigger smallmouth bass and pickerel. One customer was up on Monday and he landed two smallies 3 to 4 pounds and had a couple of pickerel 18 to 22 inches. One other customer was up fishing off the dam and below the dam catching one smallie 3 pounds and several walleyes in the spillway 18 to 20 inches, 3 to 4 pounds. He caught all his fish on minnows and worms. They are also doing real well on bluegills, crappies and perch around the docks and piers around the lake. They have been using small minnows, mealworms, waxworms, twister tails and small jigs. Rohm Haas is another lake that is starting to turn on. A couple of customer have been up several times this week and have caught and seen several decent largemouth bass. One caught a 21 inch 5 1/2 pound bass on Tuesday with a 10 inch power worms. His buddy had two fish, 2 and 3 pounds, on a white spinner bait. They also talked to one other fisherman that picked up a few smaller fish with chrome rattle traps. They all tell me that there are a lot of gizzard shad starting to show up all over the lake. Now if you are able to snag any of these fish you have some of the best big bass bait on the
market.

The salt water stripers are another hot thing. They are fishing the upper Delaware Bay at Reed's beach to Fortascue and doing real well with bloodworms, clams and sassy shads. Most of the guys that I have talked to are catching fish from 24 to 38 inches. Most of the fish are keeper size. They are also doing well in all the rivers and inlets up and down the coast. The sea bass fishing is still been another great thing to do when the winds and seas lay down. This was not a great week with the bad weather we had. But when they are getting out they have been catching fish from 4 to 6 pounds. The blackfish are still hitting well off the jetties and in shore wreaks. And on the 18 hour trips ling, whiting and a few cod are being caught. If you are going out on
any of these off shore trips make sure you take plenty of lead with you.Most of the guys fishing have told me that you need from 20 to 32 ounces of lead to hold bottom.

Well that is all I have for you this week. We have plenty of bloodworms right now but I don't know how we are going to hold up over the weekend. Good luck if you get out.  Bill
 

Email Report, Mar 5, 2004 -Brinkman's Bait and Tackle- Don't hate me if this report is short but I have had little time to sit and write this report but did not want to let you know a few things. Our bloodworms are in for the season and the price is holding at 6.50 a dozen. And we have a great supply for the weekend. And by the looks of the rain coming in tomorrow we may be good into next week also. But you can always call and check.

They did get the first few stripers in the river this week. There were two fish taken on Tuesday and another two fish taken today. All were 12 to 18 inches. No keepers yet but a few fish is a good sign. I did hear of a 30 inch fish taken at the art museum but that was just word of mouth. They have also taken some catfish this week also but again here just a few. All these fish were caught down at the Frankford Arsenal. Several people have been fishing at Station Avenue and Linden Avenue but not a fish has been caught. But it is only a matter of time for these spots to turn on. The river temperature is around 44 degrees. Also in the lower river the largemouth bass, crappies and perch have been hitting real well in the Neshimany Marina, Dredge Harbor and Tullytown Cove. These fish have been hitting minnows, nightcrawlers, jigs and small crankbaits. Some of the crappies are 12 to 14 inches and I have seen a few yellow perch up and over a pound. The fish seem to be holding on the springs, around and rocks, any exposed structure and even the boat pilings. The upper river there have been lots of guys going up for walleyes and bass from Yardley to Point Pleasant. There have been a few walleyes caught but I have not heard of any smallies taken as of yet. The walleyes have been caught at Yardley, Washington's Crossing and New Hope. The fish seem to be holding bellow the wing dams and around the bridges. Nightcrawlers, minnows and leeches have been the better baits. One customer fished at the Delaware Water Gap last weekend and he only saw one fish taken and it was a 36 inch musky on a Mepp's spinner.

The trout are still hitting well at Core Creek and Levittown Lake. These fish are still hitting mealworms, wax worms, earthworms, minnows, spinners and spoons. The limits is still three for the extended season and most guys are catching between one and two fish. At Core Creek the crappies and bluegills are still hitting well and at Levittown Lake there are a few largemouth bass hitting as well.

The shopping center lake has turned on well this past week. We had three different customers hit this lake this past week and they have caught several perch, crappies, bass and catfish. They have been using nightcrawlers, minnows, spinnerbaits, plastic worms and rattle traps. One customer was back at Rohm Haas this week and picked up one little largemouth bass with a 6 inch power worm. This fish was only 14 inches around a pound.

The saltwater fishing is still been good for sea bass on the off shore trips. These trips are running out of Wildwood and Brielle. They have been catching fish from 3 to 6 pounds. I talked to one group that went on the Friday trip last week and they had 128 fish for 5 guys and most of the fish were around 4 pounds. They are still catching some blackfish around the jetties inshore. And there are several stripers being picked up. These fish are being caught in the mouth of the rivers. The Mullica, Maurice and the Little Egg Harbor. Bloodworms and clams are your better baits and sassy shad are the best in lures. Some of these fish are keeper size.

I know this is short and sweet but I have to get this in before we close tonight. I'm leaving the old reports on the bottom because of no new news.

Regards, Bill

Email Report, Feb 28, 2004 -Bruce Galinat-  Took the boat out for a shakedown cruise before my SC trip. Tried a couple of the outflows from Fairless Steel ...nothing. Spent an hour at the power plant; boated 2 18" Stripers on a stickbait & snagged a Shad. There were hundreds of Carp in there. The Carp and the Shad had some nasty looking sores on them. The Stripers were in good shape; one even jumped twice. Main river was 39* , power plant was 60*.

Email Report, Feb 27, 2004 -Brinkman's Bait and Tackle-  Well it has been a long time coming but a weekend in the 50's is here. And it  will be a very welcome change. We have been getting tons of calls for bloodworms and with the warmer weather in Maine we SHOULD have them in stock Sunday afternoon. Note the work should. I hate to promise anything until they are in  he store. But as of now we have not heard of any stripers in any part of the river. But we have heard of some fish starting to enter the Delaware Bay. These fish have been seen and caught by the netters. None hook and line as of yet. But up in some of the rivers in north jersey, the Mullica and Little Egg Harbor they have picked a few smaller fish up on shad tails and clams. But again only a few. But if you like to head off shore the sea bass fishing out of Wildwood and Brielle has been one of the best bets. They have been catching up to 20 fish per man with fish from 4 to 6 pounds. And they also have been catching a mix of ling, whiting and cod on these same trips. But if you are looking for cod New Jersey is not the place, you should be heading out of. Most of the better cod fisherman have been heading north to Massachusetts. Here some of the trips going out each man may come home with 10 to 30 fish with most fish over 15pounds. The main thing they use up north is cod rigs with a 18 to 24 ounce Viking jig.
 
    Up in this area the ice has left Core Creek and Levittown Lake with the trout still biting very well. With the ice out more people have been fishing these two lakes. But still wax worms, meal worms, earthworms, yellow + chartreuse power baits and also power eggs have been working the best. And some of the guys
have been using spinners and spoons with good success. And with the trout in Levittown Lake there have been some largemouth bass caught also. These fish
have been hitting minnows, nightcrawlers, plastic worms and spinner baits the best. And with Core Creek there are still allot of crappies, bluegills and bass hitting also. The best bet for these fish have been small twister tails, hair jigs, spinners and spoons. Live minnows and shiners are also a great bait this time of year.
 
    Several guys have been hitting the bridge at Churchville and have been doing well on small crappies, perch and bluegills. These fish are being caught with
minnows, meal worms, wax worms, twister jigs and small hair jigs. Fishing with a slip bobber is one of the best ways to fish under the bridge because of the deep water you can change the depth of your bait allot easier. Work your baits as close to the concrete and as slow as possible. But if you want to catch some bigger fish the largemouth bass should be getting ready to move in on the rocks that run along the road side. I have and have seen lots of bass taken off  the road with spinner baits, plastic worms and rattle traps. Now, a lot of different lures will work but I have found these three are always a winner. In  the spinner baits double blades with white, chartreuse and blue and charters are the best. In the rattle traps chrome/black, chrome/blue and a natural shad again are the best. In plastic worms and lizards pumpkinseed, purple, black, and black and chartreuse are the best colors. And over all I have found these to hold true in all lakes and rivers as a base start. But I have found days that no fish will look at these and will hit the most stupid things. But, that is fishing.
 
    The lower Delaware river is starting to pick up in the coves and harbors. I talked to several guys that have been up the Neshimany marina and have been
doing well on crappies, bass, perch, catfish and even a pickerel here and there. I don't know if the cove is accessible by shore yet because theseguys have been fishing in boats. Another great place if you have a boat has been Dredge Harbor. Plenty of bass, crappies and yellow perch are being caught in the back corner of the cove. This is around the sail boat marina. They are also catching some fish at the pipes and the creek feeding into Dredge. Both of these places are on different ends of the cove. For baits they have been using minnows, nightcrawlers, shiners and wax worms. And for lures they have been doing best  with small jigs, jig heads tipped with bait, slow rolling spinner baits and small crankbaits fished as slow as they can go. The main river is still just catfish with nightcrawlers, herring, clams, chicken livers and bagels. But with bloods coming I hope to hear of the first striper soon. Note the work HOPE
.
    A few guys have been heading up to the shopping center lake at 413 and have started to catch a few smaller fish. This lake the ice just left so there have not been allot of guys getting there yet. Rohm Haas is another lake that the ice just left with only one customer fishing this week with no success. One customer went back to the Wissahickon Creek and picked up a few trout in the fast water using wax worms and power eggs. He told me that the water is a perfect level and there are several fish to be seen but they are hard to catch. But as the water warms they fish will start biting better. Some of the catch and release streams have been another great place to head this time of the year. These trout will hit pretty much anything once the water warms to the right temperature.

    Also the lakes in center and south jersey have been good for crappies, perch, bass and pickerel. I talked to several guys fishing Medford lakes catching tons of panfish and several bass and pickerel 3 to 5 pounds. Another customer was down to lake Lenape and had a great day on bass and pickerel. He caught 12 bass and 6 pickerel. Two of the bass were over 4 pounds and he had one pickerel 21 inches. All he was using was medium minnows and a float. And on his way home he stopped at the bulk head just below the lake and several guys were doing well on bigger yellow perch and pickerel. If you have a jersey license all the waters in jersey are a great place to head in the spring.
 
    Well that is all I have time for this morning. I hope to start doing this each week as long as things pick up in the fishing or reports. Good luck and enjoy this beautiful weekend coming up.  Regards, Bill
 

Email Report, Feb 24, 2004 - From Pete AtoZ -  Here's a forward of a fishing report from Bill Pierce at Bill's Bait and Tackle in Phillipsburg, NJ.   The Walleye are starting to turn on in our section of the river. I have four listed on my web site that weighed from 5lb. to 6lb. The guy's are also catching quite a few small ones. ( 15" to 20" )     Bill.

Email Report, Feb 16, 2004 - From Kevin Ingram-

 Free  Fishing Seminar

      American Shad, Smallmouth and Striped Bass Fishing on the Delaware

When :   March 21, 2004 11am to 1pm 
Where:   20 Franklin Mills Blvd. Philadelphia, PA 19154
Featuring  :    Kevin Ingram- Lodge Manager
 
Kevin is the Franklin Mills Dick’s Store Lodge Manager  with over 20 years of  fishing experience . Kevin targets many species of fish including American Shad, Trout, Largemouth, Muskies, Walleyes, Herring, Smallmouth and Striped Bass in both Fresh and Saltwater. Areas fished include the Delaware River, Susquehanna and Lehigh Rivers along with many Pocono streams,  lakes in the Pennsylvania and New York /New Jersey areas. Kevin will provide informative, reliable and timely information on fishing techniques, tips and locations to fish from both boat and shoreline.  
 Additional Invited Guests :     
Women in the Outdoors- PA Chapter
Bear Paw Taxidermy 
National Wild Turkey  Federation-  Longbeards Bucks Chapter

Pre-register by calling the Lodge @ 215-637-3230
Come EARLY for best Seats
Raffle Drawing - Door Prizes !!!!!!
       Dick's Spring Fishing/Hunting sale will also begin the same day - 3-21-04 !!! Lots of great bargains and new tackle/spring turkey items will be in stock for this gigantic sale ! Please share this with your fishing and hunting friends
 

Email Report, Feb 15, 2004 - Brinkman's Bait and Tackle    Trout were stocked on Monday in core creek and Levittown Lake.  Well things have not gotten much better since my last report. The weather is looking good for this coming weekend but the real cold stuff is coming right back for the start of next week. But if you are an ice fisherman you will enjoy the next few weeks. And really there has not been much else to do except ice fish.

The two better lakes in the area are still Core Creek and Levittown Lake. Both were stocked this past week on Monday. Both received around 1000 to 1200 trout. From what I have heard the size is the normal 8 to 11 inch fish. But this time of year you can't complain when you get extra fish. Meal worms, wax worms and power baits have been the better baits with kastmasters, Swedish pimples and ice jigs for artificial. The limits are three for the winter season and most guys have been able to get their limits each day. But with Core Creek they are still catching crappies, perch and bluegills. And again they have picked up a walleye and bass from time to time. I did talk to one customer that fished Churchville under the bridge on Tuesday and he picked up a few small crappies and perch. He was getting them on small twister tails. The lake is still frozen and he told me that they were chased from going out and ice fish. So there was a little open water under the bridge and that is where he spent his afternoon.

Blue Marsh and Marsh Creek have been another couple of good lakes if you don't mind and hour or so drive. Crappies, yellow perch, pickerel, largemouth and smallmouth bass are being picked up through the ice. These lakes have over 10 inches of ice and should stay good for several more weeks. Minnows, shiners, wax worms, meal worms, nightcrawlers and earthworms are your better baits while jigs, spoons and ice minnows are some of your better artificial.

South jersey is another really good place to head for pickerel, bass, crappies, perch and bluegills. All the lakes are still covered with enough ice to head out and ice fish while al the spillways are open and are hold plenty of fish. Collins cove was frozen but I don't think the ice would be safe this weekend. But the bank fishing for the white perch is still good. Here they have been using grass shrimp, shiners, minnows, worms and kastmasters. Some good catch or perch up to 30 per man with fish weighing up to a pound. Another customer has been fishing the spillway below Batso lake and has picked up several pickerel 14 to 20 inches. And he has also picked up several small crappies and bluegills. He has tried to fish the lake with little success. One other customer has been ice fishing Union lake catching plenty of crappies, pickerel and even a few bass. He has stayed around the dam and using has been using minnows and wax worms.

Now the Delaware is staring to show a bit of light. The ice has left most of the river and people are starting to head out. Catfish has been really the only thing to talk about in the lower river by the bank fisherman. Station Avenue, Linden Avenue and Camrac Street have been the better places to head. Now only a few cats have been caught but each one makes spring come a little faster. Now a few boat headed over to Dredge Harbor but both guys that fished only talked about a few crappies and yellow perch. But that will get better and better each degree the water comes up. And the Washington Crossing and new Hope area of the river has shown a few walleye and one big smallie. This one customer has been up several times and has caught up to 3 walleyes in a day. Most days he has only had one but on Friday last week he had a 19 inch 4 pound smallmouth bass on a shiner. He told me that he has been the only one fishing the river. But again that will change with 50 degrees tomorrow.

Saltwater action has been slow to nothing. But allot of guys did head out for sea bass this week but I have not talked to anyone since to get any reports. But last few weeks the winds and the weather had been to bad for most of the boats to get out. So I hope by next week I will have something to tell you.

Well good luck if you get out and if you don't make sure you go over your boxes and see what you will need for this coming year.

Bill


Philadelphia Bassbusters fished the hot water discharge on the Susquehanna at Bruner Island on 1/31/04.Water temp was 75 at the pipe and 67 in the river. River was solid ice at Harrisburg. Air temp was 10 when we started and 22 when we finished fishing. This was a shore tournament for any legal fish. Most people fish for cats and carp. Only 10 people showed up because it was so cold. Four of them left at 10:00 because they were too cold. Five people weighed in fish. Top 3 were Dave Jwanier -3 fish for 13+ lbs., Bob Tiller 2nd with 5 fish for 14+ lbs., Mike Franco 1st with 8 fish for 43+ lbs.

TAKE TIME TO CHECK OUT YOUR RODS AND REELS NOW FOR ANY BAD GUIDES OR TIPS. I HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO THIS REPAIR WORK NOW BUT ONCE THE SEASON STARTS IT MAY TAKE UP TO THREE WEEKS TO GET DONE. AND WITH THE REELS IF SENT OUT NOW YOU SHOULD GET THEM BACK FOR THE START OF THE SEASON.
 
Email Report, Feb 5, 2004 - From Kurt Volk    Not sure who to direct this to, but be nice if we could have a forum posting as part of the memberships section of our site. The only real "posting" we have now is the Fishing Reports which usually dies during the year (around June or so last 2 yrs,) would be nice to open it up for different topics that would draw more members and share more information. It's a big river & people fish different areas and for different fish. Forums would open things up and bring the club a little closer together with constant communication possible via the site. Sure make for some better fishing and friend making!   Just a thought,  Kurt Vouk    (Done! See Member Services)

Email Report, Jan 30, 2004 - Brinkman's Bait and Tackle   Well I made it back from Jamaica and I hate to tell you that I'm really not that glad to be home. We both had a great vacation and the 87 degree weather each day was a treat from what we have been getting home here. But everyone always asks if I did any fishing and again I have a rod and reel that has another 5000 miles round trip without see water again. And same goes for the people that ask about our pictures, well this year I did take a whole disc full only to have my camera stolen the third day we were there. Well shit happens.

Fishing around here has been narrowed to ice fishing only. Core Creek and Levittown Lake have been two of the local places to hit. Trout, crappies, perch, bluegills and even some bass have been caught in these two places. Most guys have been using wax worms, mealworms and minnows for live bait and for artificial ice jigs of all sizes and colors, rapala ice minnows, kastmasters, Swedish pimples and hair jigs have been the best. Now they will be stocking trout this coming week in both of these lakes. So sometime next week things should even be better.
 
I have talked to a few guys that have been hitting Noxamixion and have been doing well on crappies and perch on this lake. The same baits and lures hold true here and everywhere else through the ice. One really good place to head has been Marsh Creek where they have been doing well on crappies, perch, pickerel and bass. Blue Marsh is another really good place to head with good ice. A couple of reports from up north at Peck's Pond for pickerel. Here they have been using rapala minnow ice jigs and live minnows and shiners. The pickerel have been 14 to 19 inches and it is not hard to catch 10 fish per man. Most all these lake have over 8 inches of ice now and the further north you go the thicker the ice becomes.

I have only talked to one customer that has been fishing the upper river for walleyes. He goes by the river each day and when the ice flow is down he has been fishing the Washington's crossing section catching a walleye here and there. The problem has been the ice flows coming down the river. Last week he was not able to get out one day. The same holds true for the lower river. Unless the wind is blowing to one side or the other the river has ice from bank to bank. Same holds true for the coves and marinas.

South jersey the ice fishing has been really good on all the lakes and even some of the rivers. Collin's cove the ice has formed to 6 inches and the white perch have shown up in pretty good numbers. Catches of 35 to 50 fish per man in not uncommon. Grass shrimp, jigs, wax worms and minnows are you best baits. Union Lake has 6 to 8 inches of ice and the guys fishing around the dam have done really well on bigger crappies. I talked to one customer that told me everyone around him did well last Saturday with crappies 12 to 14 inches. Small minnows and shiners have been the best baits. There are also yellow perch and pickerel around the same area. Another customers was out on Batso lake and did well on smaller pickerel with minnows and spoons. He told me the ice on this lake was over a foot thick. He fished the lower parts of the lakes that dump into the streams and found a few bigger pickerel with twister tails. The big bass river coves have over 8 inches of ice and the customer told me that pickerel and bass have been a hit or miss thing there all week. He did land one bass over 3 pounds on a wax worm.

Saltwater fishing has been a total waste. No one has come in this past three weeks with any reports. I did see the Cape May ferry stuck in ice this past week so I don't think any of the smaller boats will be getting out till we see some warmer weather. But once things break I think the sea bass, blackfish, cod, pollock and ling should be a good bet. And sometime soon the mackerel should show up. But till then we just have to wait and hope for warmer weather.

Well it is short but all I have. Don't forget that trout will be stocked in Core Creek and Levittown Lake sometime this coming week.

Regard,

Bill

TAKE TIME TO CHECK OUT YOUR RODS AND REELS NOW FOR ANY BAD GUIDES OR TIPS. I HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO THIS REPAIR WORK NOW BUT ONCE THE SEASON STARTS IT MAY TAKE UP TO THREE WEEKS TO GET DONE. AND WITH THE REELS IF SENT OUT NOW YOU SHOULD GET THEM BACK FOR THE START OF THE SEASON.

ANYONE THAT WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO OUR UPDATE LIST JUST SEND AN E-MAIL AND PUT MAILING LIST IN THE SUBJECT. THIS WILL GET THIS REPORT SEND DIRECTLY TO YOU E-MAIL ADDRESS AND ALSO ANY OTHER CHANGED THAT HAPPEN TO THE SIGHT.

DON'T FORGET ALSO TO SEND YOUR FISHING REPORTS IN SO I CAN ADD THEM TO THE BOTTOM OF EACH WEEKS FISHING REPORTS.

Email Report, Jan 9, 2004 - Brinkman's Bait and Tackle  Due to the lack of information this week I'm going to leave last weeks report on the bottom of this page. Also I will be heading to the islands this weekend so I wanted to get a report in before I leave. But with the weather mother nature has belt us this week things are a bit slow. The really cold weather has made the lake fishing a bit tricky. Some of these cold nights have put enough ice on the lakes that you have to wait several hours of sunshine to find a area of the lake to hit water. But when you can Core Creek and Levittown have been two great lakes to fish. The trout are still hitting well but the crappies, perch and bluegills have been the highlight to your day out. These fish have been hitting small jigs, small twister tails, wax worms, mealworms, earthworms and minnows. And Core Creek again this week there were a few walleyes picked up around the dam with minnows and nightcrawlers.

One customer has been down to Mays Landing. They have been fishing the river for perch, crappies and pickerel with minnows, grass shrimp, twister tails and spinners. The yellow perch they have been catching have been good size with fish up to 16 inches 2 pounds. But when the river is slow they have been heading up stream to Lake Lenape and have been doing just as well with perch, crappies, bluegills, pickerel and bass. Pretty much the same baits have been working in the lake. Another customer was down Sweetwater on the Mullica and had a great day on big pickerel. He had 7 fish 18 to 20 inches up to 4 pounds. He caught all his fish on shiners and yellow twister minnows.

The Delaware has been pretty much catfish and only catfish. I have not talked to anyone this week that headed out to the coves for bass or perch. I think the cold weather and the winds this past week has keep these guys home. But several guys are still hitting the shore lines for cats with nightcrawlers, chicken lives and blueberry bagels. Now they are not catching tons of fish but it seems each day a fisherman can land up to 5 fish. I did have one customer come back from the upper river for walleyes. He was up around the old paper mill and only fished an hour. He gave up to the high water and cold temps.

Now if you can take the cold weather and rough conditions the salt water action has been hot for sea bass and blackfish. These boat have been heading out 30 to 60 miles but have brought home sea bass up to 7 pounds. The blackfishing has also been very good with everyone catching their limits with fish up to 8 pounds. Still a few stripers in the rips and even a few left in the back bays in Wildwood. But just a few. Cod, ling and whiting is another option this time of year.

Well I will be thinking of everyone next week fishing those tropical waters. I don't know how much fishing I will get done but I know the drinking and relaxing will feel good.

Regards, Bill

Email Report, Jan 4, 2004 - Brinkman's Bait and Tackle     First let me wish everyone a Happy New Year and let hope this is a drier year than last. Also let me say how sorry I am for not getting to this report for the last month. First computer problems did not help but it really came down to me just being to lazy to sit at home and do what I usually do at work. I will still be on every other week till things pick up and next week I will be in Jamaica but then I will be back to normal.

Trout were stocked again in Levittown Lake and Core Creek Park the week of December 15th. They will also be getting a late season stocking again the week of February 2nd for the last time till April. The trout fishing in Levittown Lake has been pretty good with fish hitting on mealworms, waxworms, power baits, corn, kastmasters and Swedish pimples. Most guys have been able to catch their limits after several hours of fishing but the size of the fish have been 9 to 14 inches. Nothing big for this winter. Now in Core Creek the trout have been hitting well but only a few guys have been doing well. The trout have been hitting meal worms and wax worms the best. But in this lake the crappies, perch and bluegills have been hitting real well. Minnows, wax worms, mealworms and small jigs the best. They have even picked up a few walleyes here and there on minnows, leeches and jigs.

The shopping center lake at 413 and 13 has been another pretty good place to head for crappies, bluegills, perch and catfish. Minnows, wax worms and nightcrawlers have been some of the better baits here. Noxamixion has been a hit or miss lake with some nice bass coming off and below the dam. Both smallies and largemouth bass are there and the few fish they have been catching are of good size. I know of a couple of smallies over 4 pounds taken the past few weeks. But there are allot of day you will go up there just to catch a cold. And below the dam some walleyes are being picked up on minnows and leeches. A couple of these fish have been 4 to 6 pounds. I talked to one customer that was up to Rohm Haas and he told me the lake had some ice on it. It was just far enough off shore that you could not fish.

The lower Delaware river has been a one of your best bets if you have a boat. In Dredge Harbor, Neshimany Marina, Tullytown Cove and the cove at the power plant all have been hot for perch, crappies and bass. Dredge has been one of the best with some perch 15 inches being caught on minnows, jigs and small crankbaits. Here the bass have been hitting anything from crankbaits, spinner baits, soft plastics and bait. The crappies have been on minnows, wax worms or jigs. The Neshimany Marina also has been very good but you can only get in from a boat now. I don't know why but the shore fishing has been closed for the past month or so. If anyone hears why please let me know. The same holds true for the power plant but that is because of the orange alert back on. But Tullytown cove both bank and boat fisherman are enjoying some great fishing. The bank fishing is limited but there are several guys that do fish in this cove. But in a boat the cove is your own this time of the year. And all you have to do is find either structure or some kind of temperature change and that is where most of the fish are. Again bait is usually your best bet but crankbaits, spinner baits and jigs are always a good thing to try.

The saltwater fishing off shore has been fantastic when the boats can get off shore. The best of it all has been the sea bass fishing with numbers up and the size has been 3 to 6 pounds. These fish are being picked up off wrecks with clams and mackerel. There are allot of guys going out for cod, pollock and ling doing well also. And another great thing was the black fishing till they change the limits back down again. But there are plenty of good size blackfish around. These fish are being picked up off shore, off the jetties and around the bridges and inlets. Now for stripers some of the better fishing has been up the Delaware Bay with fish still being taken up to 25 pounds. The numbers are not what they were before Christmas but there are still some fish around. They are still picking up fish out of the rips in Cape May. Here most of the fish are slot to 30 inch fish. Bunker has been the best up the bay with clams, eels, bucktails and metal at the rips. Some fish are still being taken off the beaches and inlets but here again most of the fish are smaller fish to slot fish. Here clams has been the best baits.

Well good luck to anyone getting out this fine weekend coming up.  Regards, Bill

Email Report, Jan 3, 2004 - From Tony Seneca  My name is Tony Seneca and I am promoting a charter bus trip through the Ft. Dix Rod & Gun Club to the new Cabela's store in Hamburg, Pa. There are already a lot of couples signed up to go on the trip so this trip is for the entire family, just to get away for the day and have some fun. This is a great trip for hunters, fishermen, and outdoor enthusiasts. The bus is a 57 passenger bus with a bathroom, and 2 TV's on it, we are going to play comedy hunting and fishing tapes on the bus.

We are going to have 1 $50.00 drawing and 5 $20.00 drawings for Cabela gift certificates. We are using the money left over after paying all the expenses for the trip to pay for the gift certificates because no one is making any money on this trip since this is just a community trip. The trip is only $17.00 per person, it's cheap.

Open up the attachment that I'm sending with this message and the flyer will have all the information.   Attachment here.

If you know anyone who is interested in going, tell them to feel free to call me at home at any time for more information or to sign up for the trip. You can print out some flyers from the attachment and give it to anyone who is interested.

Thank You Very Much

Tony Seneca
7 Willow Oak Drive
Cookstown, NJ. 08511
609-758-2263 

Note: If you call Tony, tell him you're from the Delaware River Fishermen's Association.