Fall Foliage

I looked into the blog archive for September 2013 and early October blogs and guess what?  Nuthin' to report.  Now, I'm starting to realize why.  That's because the September/early-October timeframe is historically NOT a very productive time of year for me at the Pack.  Sure, I catch a few in September..but not the quantity or size like I do in the Spring.  And, not the size or quantity like mid to late October or early November.

I called my buddy Billy Albright up the othe day and asked him how the Pack was doing and he said they were getting the Largemouth pretty good.  Only a few Smallies but the ones he did catch were big.  There could be a lot of reasons for the fewer number of Smallies: falling water levels pushing the Smallies deeper, docks/boats being removed for the Season (Smallies lose cover), cooler temps (slows bass' metabolism so they don't eat as often), more frequent cold fronts (affects barometer and fishes swim bladder), etc.  

Perhaps, for me, it could be the wrong place at the wrong time.  I know from experience just because it's slow on one section of the Lake doesn't mean it's slow on the other.  But, that's just an excuse...at least for me it is.  What I need to do, is spend more time doing what I'm NOT doing.  For starters, instead of beating the bank, I should move off the bank and fish deeper (in 10-15 ft. of water).  After all, the Smallies will move deeper when they drop the water level.  And, they've dropped the water level dramatically at the Pack in the last 3 weeks.  Also, I need to start watching my fish finder closer for structure (weeds/rocks) and for food (baitfish swarms).  I know I don't do that enough in the Fall.  A lot of times the Smallies will force the baitfish into the coves and go on a feeding frenzy.  Creeks are a good place to fish in the Fall too, because the Fall rains bring a lot of food (like Crawfish) into the Lake.

Anyway, if you're like me, change it up in the Fall..I'm sure you'll get better results.  Fish ON!  Rob  

Fish ON!

Fished the Pack for the first time in 2014 on Monday, April 21.  It was a beautiful day..bluebird skies, no wind, temperatures in the high 60s, low 70s.  The water temp varied from the high 40s to low 50s depending on where you fished.  I didn't get on the water until 11am.  I fished from 11-4pm and the fishing SUCKED!  That's right..it was terrible.  I caught a couple fish..but that was it.  Missed a BIG Striper on Monday..right near the boat.  I did hook into a decent size Pickerel but that wasn't the game plan.  The game plan, as always, was to hook into a BIG Smallie.  Nothing doing.  I was throwing what I normally do this time of year- jerkbaits and swimbaits.

Tuesday, I decided to get on the water early.  I launched at Ledgedale which only had one ramp (of two) open.  On Monday, I launched out of Capri.  They too only have one launch ramp open.  The other ramp had a big concrete slab on it.  I have no idea where that came from. If I had to guess, I'd say it was from the end of either ramp.  It seems the ice/wind/etc. broke it off and moved it.  No telling when the blocked ramp will be open this year.  I hope they work on it soon.  I assume the State Launch Ramp is open but I try to stay away from that..because it's normally too congested with Marina's test driving new boats and leaving their trucks parked on the ramp.  I kid you not.  I've seen it in years past.  Plus, I've heard all kinds of horror stories at the State Ramp. i.e. trucks being broken into, trucks/trailers being side swiped, etc.

Anyway, back to the fishing.  On Tuesday, I launched at Ledgedale at 0700.  The sky was cloudy/overcast, no wind, temps in the low 50s.  I fished from Ironwood Point down to Ledgedale.  As soon as I dropped the trolling motor it was Fish ON!  I caught at least 6 Smallies in the first hour.  I also caught a small Striper (shown above).  I caught BIG pickerel and even caught a couple Yellow Perch.  And, I fished the same baits I got skunked on the day before.  So, it definitely wasn't the bait..it was the time of day and the weather conditions that made the difference.  There was an approaching cold front that I'm sure helped as well.  I fished from 0700 to 1200..before the rain.  It was a great morning.  I caught approximately a dozen Smallies..all 2-3 pound chunks.  The only short was the Yellow Perch that went about 10 inches.  Normally, when I get on to the Yellow Perch..they are near 15 inches.  Yes, 15 inches.

I'll be back to the Pack this weekend to pick up where I left off on Tuesday.  The fishing can only get better as the water warms up and the Smallies start feeding.  If you want to catch BIG Smallies at the Pack this is the time to get after them.  Also, if you want to catch BIG Stripers..this is the time.  When I say BIG, I'm talking 25 lb. BIG!  I haven't got one yet..but that's the game plan this year.

Until then, Fish ON!  Rob

Ice Off!

According to the video camera at Lighthouse Harbor Marine (on the Lake), the ice is officially off of the Pack.  I guess these last couple days of mid 70F temps melted the last of the ice.  You can go to  http://www.poconoweather.com  and see for yourself.

Now, I'm getting excited.  I've been out fishing already on the Susquehanna Flasts for LMs, but can't wait to hook into my first Smallie on the Pack.

I'll be up for a week in the next few weeks, so I'll post my first Fish Report at that time.  I may even do some Striper fishing this year..for the first time.  I saw a guy catch and release a 22 pounder last year.  He weighed it right there on his boat...so I know it was a legitimate 20+ pounder. I'm not sure what he was throwing.  If I had to guess I'd say live baitfish.  Big ones!  I'm not a bait fisherman but I may have to give-in this year, buy some baitfish and try to hook into one of these monsters.

Until then, Fish ON!  Rob

Open Season at the Pack?

Well..I just looked at the Pack and it's still got a bit of ice on it.  So, although fishing season is open, the Pack is not.  The snow however is gone..thank God.

To keep an eye on the Lake conditions (and ice), I discovered a great website that not only gives you the local weather at the Pack, it also has a Video Cam showing a live video feed of the Lake.  So, you can see for yourself when the ice is truly off.  From the looks of the Video Cam, it looks like another week or so.

The website is poconoweather.com  I'm not sure if it's hosted by Lighthouse Harbor Marine or not.  The marina is on the Lake near Ironwood (the cover over).  That is on the East side of the Lake off or Route 507.

Frozen Pack

The Pack is finally frozen thick enough to support a snowmobile.  From the look of this photo I took at Capri Launch, more than just snowmobiles were out on the ice/lake.  From the tracks, it looks like the ATVs and Side-by-Sides have joined the action.  I talked to one of the snowmobilers and asked how thick the ice was.  He said he talked to one of the ice fishermen up near the dam and they said the ice was 12" thick.  You can see at the edge of the Lake (in the photo), the ice only looks to be 6-8".  If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably about 8-10" thick at the dam.  For me to get out on the ice, it'd have to be about 24" thick.  Well, here's to Punxatawney Phil and another 6 weeks of Winter.  For me, it's more like 8 weeks until the ice is off the Pack and I start thinking about fishing it.  I'm gettin' cabin fever real bad now with all this snow.  We've been getting more snow down here in Bucks County than we have at the Pack this year.  Until next time.  Fish ON!  Rob

Cold Winter!

I can't remember the last Winter it was this cold at the Pack.  It definitely wasn't in the last 10 yrs.  Heck I can remember in the last 5 yrs. a year or two the Pack didn't freeze at all.  And, I'm kinda miffed that with all the subzero temps we've had recently why the ice isn't thicker.  (Actually, I think I do.  It's because the snow on top of the ice acts as an insulator keeping the ice closer to the water temp beneath it rather than the air temp above it)

  Here's a photo I took from the Briar Hill Summit last week (1/22).  You can see that there is water at the Lakes edge.  I know it's a lot thicker in the middle because as I was taking this photo there was a group of 4-5 people that were out on the ice near Cove Haven.  If I had to guess, I'd say at the thickest the ice was maybe 4-6 inches.  That's thick enough to support an average weight human but definitely not thick enough to support a 600 lb. snowmobile.  At least the snowmobile I'd be riding.  That is probably why I haven't seen one snowmobile out on the lake yet..it's just not thick enough.  Because if it were, I'm sure I'd see them on the Lake on the weekends.  Heck, I'd want the ice at least a foot thick before I'd ride a snowmobile out on it.

I've seen a bunch of ice fishermen up near the State Ramp each weekend.  I'd say there was at least a dozen of em last weekend.  I have no clue what they they are catching.  If I had to guess I'd say Yellow Perch, Pike, ocassional Bass, etc.  I just don't get the ice fishing thing.  Drilling holes in ice, sitting on a bucket freezing my a$$ off is not my idea of fun.  I'd rather hike, bike, ski, etc. in the Winter.  Regardless, I suppose ice fishing beats sitting at home watching TV.  At least you're out in the fresh air/outdoors and it still IS fishing.  So, to those of you that ice fish..kudos to you.

Here's thinking about ONLY 60 more days until I get the boat out on the Pack.  Historically, the ice comes off the Lake the first week in April..that is when it's frozen.  Like I said, there's been some years (like 2-3 yrs. ago) where the Pack didn't freeze at all.

To those hard water fishermen..FISH ON!  Rob

Happy New Year

The frozen Pack (photo)..at least it was starting to freeze this past weekend.  And, with the cold temps on the way this week (high of 8F, and low of -8F on Friday), the ice should only get thicker.

I'm not an ice fisherman.  Although having said that, I did a little bit as a kid (on the Pack) with a pick (to punch some holes in the ice) and a half dozen tip-ups (at $2/piece).  I never had any money to buy an ice auger or decent ice fishing equipment.

Three more months (90 days), whichever seems less, until the ice is gone and Spring fishing is on at the Pack.  This year, I'm going to take a vested interest in Striper Fishing in the Spring.  I never really targeted Stripers before..probably because I didn't know how to catch them.  But, this year will be different.  I think I'm going to hire a Striper fishing guide and learn as much as I can about them.  All catch-n-release for me.

Oh, for you ice fishermen...the ice is only about 1-2" thick on the Pack right now (1/1/14).  But, after this weekend, I'm sure it will be closer to 1 foot.

Fish ON!  Rob