When I was younger, I lived in NYC. My dad's high school buddy was the first-mate on a fishing boat. I have to dig through some of the other old photos, but I'm fairly certain that it was the "Queen Mary" out of Sheepshead Bay. We fished tons - almost every weekend when the weather cooperated (and even some weekends when it didn't!). Fishing was one of the few common interests that my dad and I shared.
Pic of the old man on one of the many trips out of the bay
When we moved to NEPA the summer I turned 14, we had quite the learning curve. We were using surf gear with 50# test mono and treble hooks. A very friendly and helpful local fisherman during one of our early trips gave us some smaller gear and then suggested we go to Sugermans Outlet and browse their fishing section, asking for assistance from one of the many experienced associates in the store.
As we adjusted to inland fishing, we mainly focused on trout and crappie and caught out fair share over the years...
14 y.o. me
The old man's opening day score
One thing we never got into was bass fishing. We tried and tried and in the ~7 years I lived in PA (the first time), I probably caught a total of 4 bass. I've caught more stripers on a single fishing trip than I caught largemouth in all my time trying...
Fast forward to about 6 weeks ago: a local guy who comes and fishes the lake at the house was walking down the road with a stringer of bass a long as he was tall. I ran down to the lake and asked (begged!) him show me how he caught them, since I have tried fishing for them for a full year with not a single bite on nightcrawlers, worms, wax worms, fatheads, and basically everything that wiggles. Not only did he show me, he ended up giving me a few 5" Senkos and we set up my rod to start catching fish.
Since then, I've been slamming them - catching 2-3 per hour most days...
I caught so many one weekend that I had to start using my right hand to mouth them when pulling the hook as I had a serious case of Bass Thumb!
Since I'm only fishing from the shore and can't physically get to the deeper waters, most are 2-3#ers. Fun to catch and fight, though I have caught a handful >20" and pushing 6#s...
I've cleaned up my tackle boxes (and bought a Carhartt fanny pack for quick trips down to the lake) and bought a new (and a few used) bass specific rods and reels (my 5-1/2' light action rods with 6# line made for fun fights but a lot of missed hooks). Been looking at getting a small, 10-12' aluminum boat that I can take around the lake but haven't found anything nearby yet. I suspect that I'm more likely to find a good deal on one as the season comes to an end, which is fine for me as I can bring it in the garage and clean it up and get it ready for next year over winter.
It is pretty addicting, even more so than fly fishing was when I was younger. I've picked up some other lures but none have given anything near the catch rate of these soft plastic baits. I'll see what it's like once the weather cools down and the fish get a bit more aggressive with hunting in preparation for winter. This lake is only 27 acres and ~25' at the deepest spot, so it cools and freezes quick. I've been told that once it cools down to ~50º at night that the water temps drop quick and this triggers the bass to hunt and feed aggressively. I've got some spinner baits, plus a handful of crankbaits to go to see if I can get hits on those.
Pic of the old man on one of the many trips out of the bay
When we moved to NEPA the summer I turned 14, we had quite the learning curve. We were using surf gear with 50# test mono and treble hooks. A very friendly and helpful local fisherman during one of our early trips gave us some smaller gear and then suggested we go to Sugermans Outlet and browse their fishing section, asking for assistance from one of the many experienced associates in the store.
As we adjusted to inland fishing, we mainly focused on trout and crappie and caught out fair share over the years...
14 y.o. me
The old man's opening day score
One thing we never got into was bass fishing. We tried and tried and in the ~7 years I lived in PA (the first time), I probably caught a total of 4 bass. I've caught more stripers on a single fishing trip than I caught largemouth in all my time trying...
Fast forward to about 6 weeks ago: a local guy who comes and fishes the lake at the house was walking down the road with a stringer of bass a long as he was tall. I ran down to the lake and asked (begged!) him show me how he caught them, since I have tried fishing for them for a full year with not a single bite on nightcrawlers, worms, wax worms, fatheads, and basically everything that wiggles. Not only did he show me, he ended up giving me a few 5" Senkos and we set up my rod to start catching fish.
Since then, I've been slamming them - catching 2-3 per hour most days...
I caught so many one weekend that I had to start using my right hand to mouth them when pulling the hook as I had a serious case of Bass Thumb!
Since I'm only fishing from the shore and can't physically get to the deeper waters, most are 2-3#ers. Fun to catch and fight, though I have caught a handful >20" and pushing 6#s...
I've cleaned up my tackle boxes (and bought a Carhartt fanny pack for quick trips down to the lake) and bought a new (and a few used) bass specific rods and reels (my 5-1/2' light action rods with 6# line made for fun fights but a lot of missed hooks). Been looking at getting a small, 10-12' aluminum boat that I can take around the lake but haven't found anything nearby yet. I suspect that I'm more likely to find a good deal on one as the season comes to an end, which is fine for me as I can bring it in the garage and clean it up and get it ready for next year over winter.
It is pretty addicting, even more so than fly fishing was when I was younger. I've picked up some other lures but none have given anything near the catch rate of these soft plastic baits. I'll see what it's like once the weather cools down and the fish get a bit more aggressive with hunting in preparation for winter. This lake is only 27 acres and ~25' at the deepest spot, so it cools and freezes quick. I've been told that once it cools down to ~50º at night that the water temps drop quick and this triggers the bass to hunt and feed aggressively. I've got some spinner baits, plus a handful of crankbaits to go to see if I can get hits on those.
