Can One Lake Have it All?

A couple of days ago a lake reminded me why it’s been one of my favorites for a long time. While I’ll admit that there are times when I don’t make it there often, it’s rare that this body of water lets me down. The body of water I’m speaking about is Greenwood Lake which is in both New Jersey and New York states.

This 2,000 acre lake produces Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, lunker Walleye, a large Pickerel population and some of the largest Muskies in the region. Top this off with launch ramps along the entire length of the lake and plenty of places to stop for a bite mid-day and you have one of the best fisheries in the state.

Greenwood Lake is not a horsepower restricted body of water, but does have a 40 MPH speed limit during the daytime and a 15 MPH speed limit at night. Couple the speed limit with some secluded northern coves and it’s a place nearly anyone with a boat can fish.

The lake actually has three vastly different areas which means anglers wanting a change of scenery or water type should have no problem finding it. Like to fish docks? There are hundreds if not a thousand to cast to. How about weeds? You can fish shoreline vegetation, mid lake grass beds and everything in between. Deep structure anglers will find many humps and other underwater features to check out in a day’s angling.

My latest trip with Bob yielded no less than 30 mixed bass and pickerel in about 5 hours’ time. None of the fish were giants, but most were respectable size with the largest bass being about three pounds. The highlight of our trip was several doubles where both Bob and I were fighting fish at the same time.

If you decide to check this lake out and want a short cut to catching fish, check out our new 1 hour DVD. It features the 40 best spots on the lake with GPS coordinates and tackle recommendations for each hotspot. CLICK HERE TO BUY DVD

Focus on Fluke (Go Light or Go Home!)

by Capt. Steve Horvath

One of the most frustrating fisheries in the area is about to kick off as the waters warm by the end of the month. Not only is the Summer Flounder or Fluke one of the tastiest fish that swim in our waters, but at times keepers can be elusive. Anglers routinely go to the same places and fish with the same bait and rigs with exactly the same results. Imagine that if you will!

How does an angler avoid the pitfalls of few fish and no keepers? It might seem overly obvious, but the easiest way is to catch more fish! Before you flip to something else, keep reading and you may indeed see that I’m not just being a wise guy. Today’s Fluke fishing is a numbers game, and the more fish you catch the more keepers you will land also.

Here’s my .02 cents on this subject. Most anglers I see on the water are using tackle much too heavy for the largest Fluke out there, let alone anything they are likely to run into. Let’s talk about bay anglers for instance. I see many anglers using tackle more in line with Party Boat Blue fishing than fishing 10’ feet deep with a ¼ or 3/8ths ounce buck tail. Most anglers have a light freshwater rod they use in the local ponds and streams that will work just fine.

Take that light rod and fill the reel with either 10 or 15LB test braided line and you have tackle that will handle even the largest back bay Fluke you will ever encounter. The next thing you will need to do is use a lighter leader. Most rigs are tied with 25 to 40LB test leaders which aren’t exactly stealthy if you know what I mean. I recommend a leader no heavier than 15 LB test fluorocarbon unless there are a lot of small toothy Blue fish around.

The next change I make is to go to smaller hooks on my rigs and lighter wire hooks on buck tails. Store bought rigs are tied with either a 3/0 or 4/0 hook in a gold finish. By using a #1 or 1/0 hook in a black finish we are again using tackle much more difficult for Fluke to detect.

What does all of this mean to the Fluke angler? It means that you can use a lighter weight to reach the bottom, your leader is much less visible and your baits will be much more natural looking as they pass by a hungry Fluke. All of this adds up to more fish caught and more keepers in the box. How many more will an angler catch? Our average catch for a day of Fluking is 50 or more fish for 3 of us with days of over 100 Fluke quite common. The average angler can expect their catch rate to at least double by going with lighter tackle.

For more details remember to check out our “Catching a Flounder is no Fluke” DVD which goes into details on tying your own rigs, Slip Bobber fishing (top secret) and other methods we use to catch many more fish than most anglers on a regular basis.

Floundering Around?

Lots of anglers go fishing for Fluke (Summer Flounder) and most of them catch fish when they go. Unfortunately, many of them catch a dozen fish for the day without catching a keeper and go home hoping they do better next time. It might come as a surprise to some that other Fluke anglers are catching 75 to 100 fish per day on most days they are out. The difference between the average angler and the “sharpies” is very small but important.

By changing the tackle slightly and making some modifications to popular rigs we regularly out fish most or all of the other boats we see on the water. We have now made all of our “secrets” available on our Catching a Flounder is no Fluke DVD

In this DVD we unlock the secrets to:

*Slip Bobber Fishing for shallow water

*Adjusting to the “Mood” of the Fluke

*Tackle and Techniques for Deep Water

*Fishing in difficult conditions

NJ Delaware River ramp fees

Attention all river fishermen!! New Jersey is instituting a ramp fee for all NJ Delaware River ramps beginning in a couple of weeks. The fee will be $60. per year for NJ residents and $80. per year for non-residents. I believe that the fees go into effect on May 15, but I may be off a little on that. You have to go to a state park office to obtain the permit

I stopped at the State Park Office at Bull's Island. Here's the news.
 
This permit is called the "Five Area Annual Boat Launch Permit"

Applies to: Corson's Inlet State Park; D&R Canal State Park (Bull's Island); Byram Ramp, Lambertville Ramp, Fireman's Eddy Ramp, Kingwood Ramp; Hopatcong State Park; Parvin State Park (Fisherman's Landing), Wharton State Forest.

Applies to: Boats; Canoes; Kayaks; Jet Skis
Permit Cost; $80. for non-residents; $60. for residents
Must be purchased at State Park Office

Phone number for Bull's Island State Park 609-397-2949
Fines for not having the permit and using the ramps; $75. - $125. plus court costs

(Officers will not be selling permits, only writing fines)
Effective Memorial Day to Labor Day  

Interestingly, the person I spoke to at the office said that feedback from the public has been "positive". I paid my $80.

Thanks to Big D River Guide for the tip.

RCN Cable TV airs Delaware Valley Outdoors

Delaware Valley Outdoors is proud to announce a new member of our broadcasting network.

RCN Cable Viewers:

Lehigh Valley, PA – Channel 4 in Standard Definition, Channel 1004 in HD
Delaware County, PA – Channel 8 in Standard Definition, Channel 608 in HD

Mondays 1:30pm and 9pm

Channel 4 in Standard Definition, 1004 in HD in the Lehigh Valley, PA
Channel 8 in Standard Definition, 608 in HD in Delaware County, PA.