hengstthomas
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- Sep 26, 2008
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1-25
Started at about 8am .. Temps were about 20 degrees and no wind with the tide halfway out and very nice clear water .. Only problem was it was 50 percent ice .
I landed as few small LMB and Yellow Perch and after about an hour I was able to hit the island . I landed some nice Crappie in the 10 to 13 inch range and a few more small LMB .. Wish I had took the camera on the island but it was muddy so I left it shore bound . Another hour or so passes by and I am FINALLY able to hit the back island for the first time this year
It was Ice so I took the camera but didnt stop to take many pics because it was just nuts
It was on ..
Yellows
And small LMB
Pounded them for 1.5 hours and landed about 60 fish with around 6 YP to 1 LMB ..
Average YP were 6 to 11 inches with some nice fat Females but none of the BIG NEDS ... Later on when the spawn gets hot the average will be 12 inches with some up to 15+ inches
Left the back island with fish biting .. Had no choice as the water had risen enough that I knew I had to go ..
No problem .. I hit the front island again and something that always puzzles me is this ..
I find lots of old Milk Bottles and Soda Bottles and every once in awhile I find old "Cough Syrup" Bottles . I guess there is an old Bottle dump nearby ? And why is a LEWIS DAIRY Milk Bottle in Seaford .. I am sure there are dumps here in Lewes at that time .
I continued to pick up Crappie but now smaller and averaging 8 to 11 inches ..
Of course the Gills had warmed up by now and were on the feed as well ..
And some LMB in the 12 inch range played as well ..
Ok so now another hour has passes and it time to get off the island so I hit the Spillway next .
Before I could cast I saw 2 Bald Eagles but not enough time to get the camera to catch both them ..
Tried to get another better shot but wanted to fish more as this was the best bite yet this year .
More LMB ..
And one with a hold under his chin big enough that I could have put my thumb through it with ease ..
For awhile it was only LMB with 2 break offs and 2 pickerel bite offs as well ..
A guy walks by as I hook up and he watches till I land a 13 inch LMB then asks me what all the dead fish in the Lake were ?? I had no clue because I didnt know anything about it . I released the LMB and took a stroll and sure enough he was right ..
I even ventured out on the ice for awhile ..
All the white spots on the ice are either fish (Shad) or "PECK" marks from birds trying to get at them through the ice .. It was comical at times because the birds would crash into the ice thinking it was water (Clear Ice)
The ice cracked and water squirted up from a hole (peck mark) and I in turn busted my a$$ .. My head actually left a concave mark .. The ice was 4" thick ... I know because my head went through it
I layed spread eagle and slowly creeped back towards shore .. Thank God I didnt go through because I saw stars when I hit and was dazed .
You can see the birds (Gulls) in the background ..
they were picking away and eating well back there because there was more open water there than anywhere .
I went back to the spillway and was about to cast when I saw all the Gulls go into flight with a few Ducks and Geese too so I go take another look and I see the 2 Eagles again approaching fast .. Just as I was about to run for the camera I saw that other HUGE Bird again and it came from the other way and twice as fast as the 2 Eagles .. I froze wanting to get a close look to identify the Bird ..
It came right over my head at about 40 feet up and it was BIG !! If I had to guess I'd say it's a juvenile Eagle ... I know a bit about Eagles more than any other bird and I am 95 percent sure that is what it is . Oh well I'll get a picture sooner or later
Back to the Spillway and picked up about 8 more Crappie like this ..
Then spent the next 2 hours without a bite .. Cant complain as I was in the triple digits easy
Due to the loss of 6 jigheads and 2 bobbers I decided to go to Walmart in Seaford ..
Grand total was $3 Bucks for 6 packs
I would haved love to see what this day would have brung with no ice ..
It cant be January :roflmao:
1-26
I got there around 9am and it was lightly snowing the whole ride and still coming down . I caught few Yellows ..
LMB
And 2 Gills ..
I took a few scenery shots ..
I caught about a dozen fish before Joe (bent rod) showed up slightly passed 10am . Joe and I shot the bull for a bit and I ventured out on the island and he stayed and fished the spillway .
I caught 2 small Yellow Perch and lost a nice Crappie and a few casts later got a nice Pickerel right to the bank and as she took off sideways my line parted . I just could not find the Crappie and went back to fish with Joe . He tells me he had quite a few bites but was unable to hook up .. A few casts later he hooks up and its a nice 5+ Pound Pickerel .. It thrashes about right after hook up and spits the hook .. Sorry you lost that fish Joe .
We walked below the green bridge and since Joe had no boots we fished the bank instead of the island ..
Joe's first cast
As he is reeling I get hit and missed the fish .. I landed another small YP and then Joe hooks another Pickerel ..
We stayed and pulled in a few more small YP and watched the Eagles soar overhead .. We had 5 of them at one point ..
The mysterious big bird flew over and Joe also thinks it an immature Eagle .. Just hard to believe how big it is already ..
Anyhow we had plenty of foul to watch again today with some Geese , Ducks , Crows , Seagulls , Eagles , a Hawk and a Kingfisher .. It was also neat to hear the warning cry from some of the birds when the Eagles would swoop down .. Seagulls warning other Seagulls ??
Joe decided to leave around 1:30 ish and I stayed to try to find some Crappie .. I fished everywhere and just could not find one .. I caught a few Gills and LMB but no Crappie and around 2:20pm the bite completely shut down .. The tide was coming in strong so I lowered the jig and found ..
Lost 2 more like that and landed one more and last cast at 3pm ..
On my way here I saw a pond I wanted to try for LMB .. Kinda odd how the pond on each side was frozen solid but this one in the middle was completely open .
So I end with a small LMB and head to this pond and dontcha know it The one thing you dont want to see ..
I was ready to fight because I knew I was not speeding .. I promised the lady I would not SPEED .. So I did a rolling stop .. Oh well I actually laughed about it and talked with the officer who plainly said to refrain from anything like that on that road .. It is being watched daily ..
Good enough for me
Joe it was a pleasure to fish with ya and sorry you lost that big Pickerel .. but dont sweat it you still got the biggest fish of the day
Started at about 8am .. Temps were about 20 degrees and no wind with the tide halfway out and very nice clear water .. Only problem was it was 50 percent ice .
I landed as few small LMB and Yellow Perch and after about an hour I was able to hit the island . I landed some nice Crappie in the 10 to 13 inch range and a few more small LMB .. Wish I had took the camera on the island but it was muddy so I left it shore bound . Another hour or so passes by and I am FINALLY able to hit the back island for the first time this year
It was Ice so I took the camera but didnt stop to take many pics because it was just nuts It was on ..
Yellows
And small LMB
Pounded them for 1.5 hours and landed about 60 fish with around 6 YP to 1 LMB ..
Average YP were 6 to 11 inches with some nice fat Females but none of the BIG NEDS ... Later on when the spawn gets hot the average will be 12 inches with some up to 15+ inches
Left the back island with fish biting .. Had no choice as the water had risen enough that I knew I had to go ..
No problem .. I hit the front island again and something that always puzzles me is this ..
I find lots of old Milk Bottles and Soda Bottles and every once in awhile I find old "Cough Syrup" Bottles . I guess there is an old Bottle dump nearby ? And why is a LEWIS DAIRY Milk Bottle in Seaford .. I am sure there are dumps here in Lewes at that time .
I continued to pick up Crappie but now smaller and averaging 8 to 11 inches ..
Of course the Gills had warmed up by now and were on the feed as well ..
And some LMB in the 12 inch range played as well ..
Ok so now another hour has passes and it time to get off the island so I hit the Spillway next .
Before I could cast I saw 2 Bald Eagles but not enough time to get the camera to catch both them ..
Tried to get another better shot but wanted to fish more as this was the best bite yet this year .
More LMB ..
And one with a hold under his chin big enough that I could have put my thumb through it with ease ..
For awhile it was only LMB with 2 break offs and 2 pickerel bite offs as well ..
A guy walks by as I hook up and he watches till I land a 13 inch LMB then asks me what all the dead fish in the Lake were ?? I had no clue because I didnt know anything about it . I released the LMB and took a stroll and sure enough he was right ..
I even ventured out on the ice for awhile ..
All the white spots on the ice are either fish (Shad) or "PECK" marks from birds trying to get at them through the ice .. It was comical at times because the birds would crash into the ice thinking it was water (Clear Ice)
The ice cracked and water squirted up from a hole (peck mark) and I in turn busted my a$$
.. My head actually left a concave mark .. The ice was 4" thick ... I know because my head went through it I layed spread eagle and slowly creeped back towards shore .. Thank God I didnt go through because I saw stars when I hit and was dazed .
You can see the birds (Gulls) in the background ..
they were picking away and eating well back there because there was more open water there than anywhere .
I went back to the spillway and was about to cast when I saw all the Gulls go into flight with a few Ducks and Geese too so I go take another look and I see the 2 Eagles again approaching fast .. Just as I was about to run for the camera I saw that other HUGE Bird again and it came from the other way and twice as fast as the 2 Eagles .. I froze wanting to get a close look to identify the Bird ..
It came right over my head at about 40 feet up and it was BIG !! If I had to guess I'd say it's a juvenile Eagle ... I know a bit about Eagles more than any other bird and I am 95 percent sure that is what it is . Oh well I'll get a picture sooner or later
Back to the Spillway and picked up about 8 more Crappie like this ..
Then spent the next 2 hours without a bite .. Cant complain as I was in the triple digits easy
Due to the loss of 6 jigheads and 2 bobbers I decided to go to Walmart in Seaford ..
Grand total was $3 Bucks for 6 packs
I would haved love to see what this day would have brung with no ice ..
It cant be January :roflmao:
1-26
I got there around 9am and it was lightly snowing the whole ride and still coming down . I caught few Yellows ..
LMB
And 2 Gills ..
I took a few scenery shots ..
I caught about a dozen fish before Joe (bent rod) showed up slightly passed 10am . Joe and I shot the bull for a bit and I ventured out on the island and he stayed and fished the spillway .
I caught 2 small Yellow Perch and lost a nice Crappie and a few casts later got a nice Pickerel right to the bank and as she took off sideways my line parted . I just could not find the Crappie and went back to fish with Joe . He tells me he had quite a few bites but was unable to hook up .. A few casts later he hooks up and its a nice 5+ Pound Pickerel .. It thrashes about right after hook up and spits the hook .. Sorry you lost that fish Joe .
We walked below the green bridge and since Joe had no boots we fished the bank instead of the island ..
Joe's first cast
As he is reeling I get hit and missed the fish .. I landed another small YP and then Joe hooks another Pickerel ..
We stayed and pulled in a few more small YP and watched the Eagles soar overhead .. We had 5 of them at one point ..
The mysterious big bird flew over and Joe also thinks it an immature Eagle .. Just hard to believe how big it is already ..
Anyhow we had plenty of foul to watch again today with some Geese , Ducks , Crows , Seagulls , Eagles , a Hawk and a Kingfisher .. It was also neat to hear the warning cry from some of the birds when the Eagles would swoop down .. Seagulls warning other Seagulls ??
Joe decided to leave around 1:30 ish and I stayed to try to find some Crappie .. I fished everywhere and just could not find one .. I caught a few Gills and LMB but no Crappie and around 2:20pm the bite completely shut down .. The tide was coming in strong so I lowered the jig and found ..
Lost 2 more like that and landed one more and last cast at 3pm ..
On my way here I saw a pond I wanted to try for LMB .. Kinda odd how the pond on each side was frozen solid but this one in the middle was completely open .
So I end with a small LMB and head to this pond and dontcha know it
The one thing you dont want to see ..
I was ready to fight because I knew I was not speeding .. I promised the lady I would not SPEED .. So I did a rolling stop .. Oh well I actually laughed about it and talked with the officer who plainly said to refrain from anything like that on that road .. It is being watched daily ..
Good enough for me
Joe it was a pleasure to fish with ya and sorry you lost that big Pickerel .. but dont sweat it you still got the biggest fish of the day
