Litton's Fishing Lines
An Angler Always Finds a Way.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
River Smallmouth on the Black Maribou Jig
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Miles of Stream to Wade for Wild Fish
Thursday, October 24, 2024
Late October Chatterbaits for Largemouths and Pickerel
A Chatterbait is a vibrating jig.
I did try a Yum Dinger around algae matts and shoreline brush, but I got hit only once,
I had hoped to get the post you're reading finished by mid-afternoon, but I got tired, even though I had slept nine hours last night.
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Couple Last Shots at Big Ones Before Cold Comes
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Vegetation on the Bottom Decomposes Quickly
At least that's as it seems. I was at the reservoir Thursday for a photography session, and I saw a lot of it that sticks above the surface is dead, dried out, and about to disintegrate. I also noticed clean bottom where I'd expect to see vegetation lingering from when the low-water exposure was a field of the stuff.
In any event, catching trout from shore is quite possible. I spoke to someone three weeks ago who had caught two rainbows. They usually reach the shoreline shallows in mid-September, when the surface temp falls to 70.
I haven't actually heard of trout caught since, but it's a reasonable assumption to think that if a couple got caught, more have followed and probably preceded.
I have no plans to fish for them until late December, when I hope Fred Matero joins my son and me again. I just don't have time otherwise. I'm still busy with the photography, because I'm just doing my best to capture changes in the reservoir landscape. My hope is that I can glean a hundred or more photos from my collection of thousands for a book of Round Valley photography. And if that's too much to ask, the collection certainly exists.
We've just seen the lowest reservoir levels in its history. We may never again see such low water. I was there, week after week, photographing results. In all those years, I never once met anyone else with a tripod, let alone rarely anyone with a DSLR.
For your own reference, if you're interested in giving shoreline trout a shot, the reservoir level has dropped a couple feet, which means a few yards or more of space for easy casting. We just haven't got rain, and New Jersey Water Supply Authority probably pumped some water out so Somerville gets some water from the Raritan.
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Tried a Six-Foot Ultralight and Four-Pound-Test for Smallies
Tough couple hours with the cold front. There's a frost advisory tonight. Fished the Raritan in Somerville, trying out a Cabelas six foot ultralight, the reel loaded with four-pound-test Berkley monofilament. (I'd use less expensive Zebco Omniflex, but I can't find any less than six-pound-test, unless I were to pay shipping online, so my plan is to buy more Berkley.) First time I've ever used such a rod, and I have to say it felt unwieldy. Too loose. Whippy. I don't think it casts any further than a shorter rod. The little bass of about 10 1/2 inches put up a great fight on it, though.
Had nightcrawlers leftover from Dow's and from the Delaware River outing with Brian Peterson and his daughter. That's what I used, though I still have some. Just drifted them on a size 8 hook. Worked holes and a kind of flat four or five feet deep.
I had walked in only with Loki and my big camera bag along with my tripod. (It's the first time I've loaded both of my cameras in my car for an outing.) I have a certain subject of interest I'm working on. It so happened that when I walked out after fishing, the angle of the sun's rays had got really low and illuminated that subject interestingly. So I'll be back. I didn't have time to hike it back this evening. Going in there, working with the tripod, and walking back to the car and then suiting up in my waders to carry my fishing gear back in to the river was enough for today.
Besides, again, the main reason I came was to try out that new rod. It is a new rod. Still had the tag on it and the plastic over the cork handles. My brother-in-law Jim never got a chance to use it before he had a serious stroke and then died of an aneurism before his treatment had finished. We used to fish together some, but it's been decades ago for the most part. He's in some of the blog posts from Barryville, NY, though. The Delaware. And of course I came today to use the nightcrawlers.
Now I'm wondering if I'll use the rest over the winter for the river trout. Yesterday, I read a The Fisherman article by Captain Jim Freda about them and he says a nightcrawler will sometimes do it. I've caught so many on the jigs, but maybe after working a spot thoroughly with them and getting no action or no more action, a nightcrawler might be worth a try.