The author with a shoreline crappie caught while finesse fishing with lighter tackle. A light approach to a feisty freshwater favorite.   One of my favorite fish to target is crappie; it’s also a favorite of many other anglers in my area, which is why these fish have become accustomed to being bombarded by a plethora of lures hurled at a relentless rate in their faces. Thus, the lightest gear possible will hide your presence; the fish won’t know you’re there until they are on your hook. Finesse is a style of fishing born in Japan with smaller spool reels and lighter rods developed fo ..read more

Brian Cronk uses a fiberglass trolling rod with some give for trolling, which the author says helps ensure hooking up. This smallmouth bass hit a jerkbait late in the day. Keep it moving – but not too fast – for spring smallies Sunlight heats rock in the lake and reservoir shallows, raising the temperature of surrounding water somewhat. Smallmouth bass associate with rock all year, but during April, it can help big females gestate their eggs. Naturally, the bucks like warmer water, too. Last year, Brian Cronk and I fished a reservoir several times in April, with water getting into the mid-50s ..read more

The author concentrates while drifting an egg into a pool and is ultimately rewarded with a 16-inch rainbow caught on 1-pound-test mono. Photos by Jorge Hildago. Lighten up and enjoy the stream-side battle! I’ve been called a 1970s throwback for using salmon eggs. The same metal Egg Lug I used then I use now, but the company making them went out of business decades ago. You can buy a plastic version from Pautzke, but a metal one from the 70s may be worth the cost on eBay. To fish eggs, you will need an Egg Lug of either sort. As for eggs themselves, go with Atlas Mike’s. Larger than Pautzke, a ..read more

If you like winter lake and pond fishing for big brown trout, then this is the time of year for  you! The Fisheries Division has been distributing the Seeforellen strain brown trout (aka “Seefs”). These are a German strain of large, lake-dwelling brown trout that are capable of reaching very large sizes. The Fisheries Division plans to stock roughly 375 two-year-old fish averaging 5lbs each, about 3,000 yearlings averaging 1lbs each, and a few dozen three-year-old retired broodstock held over from last year that average a whopping 8-10lbs. Fish spawned at the hatchery provide eggs for fu ..read more

Finding veins of deeper water combined with shade can lead to better trout catches when in lower water conditions or drought state. Fishing for trout during low and clear water conditions can be a daunting task. The way the stream is tackled and responded to by the fish living there can be entirely different than when there is a better flow. Drought conditions are part of the freshwater fishing landscape and can easily occupy weeks to months of time. For addicted anglers, that’s way too long to sit on the sidelines and wait for some heavy rainfalls. As fishermen, we like to go when the opportu ..read more

Stocked rainbow trout are a favorite target for young anglers in the Northeast. In much of the Northeast, wild rainbow trout are similar to the middle child growing up with an older and a younger sibling; they don’t always receive a great deal of attention despite possessing qualities that are rather noteworthy. In the trout world, native brook trout are lauded for their survival capability over thousands of years in addition to their plight to keep a foothold on their home waters. On the flip side, brown trout are both loved and despised for their adaptive attributes and growth that put them ..read more

Brown trout are a year-round fishery throughout the Northeast region. How an invasive species became a naturally-reproducing crowd favorite.  There is no invasive species of fish that is more beloved than the brown trout. Brought over in the 1860s from Europe, they were first introduced to waters in New York State, where their presence was enthusiastically accepted by anglers. A burgeoning U.S. railroad system soon had brown trout getting introduced to waters out west. Due to their adaptive qualities, brown trout were able to gain a foothold in habitats meeting their requirements of clear ..read more

Rideshares provide a new alternative for freshwater treks through the woods and float trips miles downstream of where you parked. If a river runs through it, ride shares probably can get you there and back. Emerging from the forest, my shirt was soaked with perspiration; it was almost as if I had just gotten out of the shower or got caught in torrential rain. Despite consuming one water per hour, the midday heat had caught up to me and I was no longer feeling so wonderful. Now, this was July and I had just enjoyed a terrific day of wild brown trout fishing in Eastern Pennsylvania. The warm fuz ..read more

The author with a pre-dawn walleye caught on what developed into a very windy day. Whatever your fall targets, fall winds will play a big part in success or failure.  Fall is a windy season. If you get out on a lake this month and into October, chances are you’ll experience chop, possibly whitecaps…maybe the extreme end of the spectrum. Once late in October, my son and I went out in a 15-foot boat on a windy morning. Huge swells developed, splashing water into the boat. After hours of fishing, we rode home in soaked jeans and Woolrich shirts, coming upon multiple road closures due to blow ..read more

Look for big “cats” in muddy rivers, with deeper areas below a dam about the best place for a fight. Find those jumbo cats just below the dams.  Catfish are known to prowl the bottom of lakes and rivers. They are excellent at squeezing into just about every nook and cranny down there. These whiskered fiends tuck themselves away under trees and in rock piles as well as eroded muddy banks. Big rivers come to mind when I think about catfishing. Although you can find cats throughout a river system, there are key points that you should focus on. The most important one in my mind being dams! In ..read more