1/13

It's been a couple days, but Sunday evening I did a little flathead fishing with Romo and James to try to attempt the impossible, the January Flathead. The condition of the river went from low and 40 degrees to 5k cfs and almost 50 degrees in about 12 hours, basically a big warm front came through with an inch of warm rain, and it got the Flatheads moving just enough to be able to stick a few. We fished only 2-3 hours around dusk and between the 3 of us we got 3 Flatheads and a channel, nothing of any size, but mission accomplished. Here they are. Chunks of Bluegills did the damage. From here, where do we go with dismal winter fishing? Friday Ken Romo and myself plan on Tog fishing off the coast of MD/VA, water temps plummeted over the recent days cold weather and I believe going south is the right move. Im still on a quest for a 10lb+ Tog and hopefully I can make it happen come Friday. After that, Ice Fishing awaits. Can't believe Im posting Flathead Pics and talking about how close to ice season we are in the same post. Anyways, good luck to anyone still fishing, spring will be here before we know it.

1/10

Yesterday seemed like one of the last chances we'd have to do some openwater fishing before the freeze comes, but looking outside right now shows otherwise, its 60 degrees and sunny? Kenny and me trailered his boat 2.5 hours down to the Potomac in attempt to catch Blue Cats yesterday, we stopped along the way to try and snag gizzard shad for bait, which worked perfectly. We didn't get out on the River until about 11am or a little after, we didn't really know where these big Blue Catfish would be holding, but we moved around and had a good time enjoying the amazing January weather. It wasn't cold, 50 degrees or so, zero wind, flat calm, overcast and at times so foggy we couldn't see shore in any direction. We used smallish chunks of fresh Gizzard Shad and caught close to 10 Blues although none of them were very big. Average size would turn out to be around 10lbs, with our biggest going 25lbs. Thats a decent sized freshwater fish, but for a Blue Cat its not nearly enough to raise any eyebrows, as these fish grow to 100lbs+, and 50lbers aren't all that uncommon.

It was the first time Either of us had fished the Potomac. Kenny had never caught a Blue. I have targeted them at Santee Cooper Reservoir in SC many years ago and I can only remember ever catching one, from the Rediversion Canal there at Santee in July. Long story short, we both caught PB's and did a bit of exploring on new waters. We tried fishing anywhere from 35'-70'+ of water and seemed like we had out best bite in around 50'.

For some reason I was pretty sure we were going to go down there and catch at least a 30lber, now I realize that was a little ambitious. Next time, however, I fully expect to catch one at least 30, however I do not know when I will be back. I should have done more research on Blue's because once we got down there we realized we didn't really know where to go. We had taken advice from Tan Bui, a local philly hater, who had fished the Potomac in 2008 or 2009 with Romo on a guides boat down there. They had caught some 50+lbers that day in November, apparently in 20' of water, I have heard about that day many times since then and know the approximate location, however we didn't find any 50lbers.

The Fisheries Departments there on the Potomac classify the Blue's as an invasive species and encourage anglers to kill what they catch. Sound familiar? We didn't kill any. We don't kill Snakeheads or Flatheads either, mainly because we enjoy catching these species.

For now, here's a couple pics of stiff-arm Kenny with his 15lb PB and my 25lber-

1/8

Doom and Gloom on the horizon. We're screwed. If Ice Fishing is your cup of tea you're in luck, odds are there will be safe ice by next weekend in parts of of the Northern and Western waters, There have already been some cracked out ice fishermen getting out on Lake Ontelaunee when we got that flash freeze earlier this week. Ontelaunee has absolutely the most insane Ice Fishing scene out of anywhere I've ever been, those guy risk their lives, year in and year out, for a shot at the first or last Crappie of ice season.

Props to Kenny Raines for jigging up a 13lb Tog and a 9lb tog earlier this week on the Osprey out of AC. He jigged these on light spinning gear with super light line/leader, Ill keep the specifics on the DL because Kenny probably wouldn't want the whole world to know his secrets, but he walked off the boat that day 220$ richer, taking everyones pool money. There have been a lot of nice tog caught the past week, but now with increasing wave heights, rain, and a serious cold front coming through, who knows when the next hot tog bite will be. I'd like to think there will still be opportunity to get out there and get on a nice tog bite but the reality is that Tog are already super depleted and a big drop in water temps will make it tough to justify paying 100$ or more to get out on a boat for a shot at a big Tog.

We all knew it was coming, we just weren't sure when, but now its just about here. Winter time, its the worst time. Shout out to anyone who has no intention of stopping as old man winter blows his cold breath of death for the next 2 months.

Yearning for the sounds of tree frogs on a warm night in early April, the sound of drag zipping off my reel with a big cow Striper in the wee hours of the morning. Looking forward to making a trip to VA for Cobia in early June, for the sound of Big Black Drum under the kayak, for adult bunker spraying out of the water with Bass and Blues filling their stomachs, and even just the run of a Schuylkill Flathead as he swims off with a big chunk of trout or live Sucker. It is the worst time of year. See you on the ice.

Kenny's 13lb Tog-

1/2

kayak in tow, driving to the beach. Romo and matt are already down there, going off with small keeper size bass and EVEN Blues still. Herring, bass, blues surface activity, hopefully I get there in time.


EDITED: I didn't get there in time. Romo and Matt had Fish Popping bait on the surface for a couple hours and got into 10-20 Bass before I got there 26"-32". I arrived around noon-1pm and got 2 Bass and Blue. The fishing was slow, electronics were key, Herring were easy to acquire. Working on the Video from today, as slow as it was out there I cannot complain as catching any 28"+ Bass or Bluefish this time of year is rare, we must be grateful for the bounty that has taken up residence off our beaches over the past month or 2. The bite will last a little longer, but eventually the Arctic Air will prevail and everything will go quiet during the 2nd half of Winter (AKA Hell on Earth). Kenny was out Party Boat Toggin today and witnessed a 23.11lb Tog caught on the Osprey out of Atlantic City. Thats huge! Just 2 pounds shy of the State Record! I know where Kenny will be tomorrow.

Once we landed the Kayaks I fished off the Beach for the last remaining period of daylight, Herring everywhere along the lip, and managed to pluck a 31" Bass just as the last of the light was waning from the western sky. There are giant tog and BLUEFISH over 10lbs as well as bass, anywhere from short size to monster size. There was a 50lb Bass caught AND RELEASED from the beach earlier this week, since then we've seen more fish to 30lbs run the beaches, and boats are also finding that class of fish. All Hail King Herring!

Heres a Video/pic of that Tog and a couple pics from our fish-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJLXiX765Oc&sns=fb&app=desktop

1/1

Happy 2016 All! I heard yesterday was a good day to be in a boat between Atlantic City and Barnegat Inlet as there were multiple Bass Blitzes reported just off the beach as well as Bluefin blitzes 5 miles off. Bass upwards of 40lb+ were reported. I will be out there in the kayak tomorrow if all goes according to plan. Hope to run into any sign of life, not counting on any blitzes but hope to at least hit a few bass on the Troll or jig. We shall see what happens tomorrow, still Herring Squid and Bunker up and down the beaches. The issue with the kayak is picking a spot to launch. We could go anywhere from Monmouth county to Cape May, and it would be more or less the same drive, but the remaining schools of fish are small and concentrated and picking a launch that will produce is tough. Hopefully there is some good information this evening which will direct us to a productive launch tomorrow. Not counting out the opportunity for a BFT sighting but chances are very slim they'll be within range of kayak. West Winds 15-20mph tomorrow make for favorable conditions within a mile off or so but any more than that it starts getting rough.

12/30

We got through December with no problems. The weather stayed mild and the fishing was anywhere from average to epic. All we have in Philly is the Flatheads which may or may not be totally done for the season now. I got out with James and Owen the other night and we caught several Flatheads to 16lbs, I only used one rod and about 3 pieces of cut bait the whole time but caught 2 Flats and a Channel in the 2 hours I was there. Thats not a bad night, and for the time of year I couldn't be happier with the action. Of coarse now water temps have dropped a few degrees, the river has risen back up to 10x flow, and the action shut down. There is opportunity to catch Flatheads TODAY, RIGHT NOW, as water temps are still in the high 40's and the flow is stabilizing, and if we're lucky we might even be able to stick a January Flathead, which would be much more ridiculous than the December Flatheads we're seeing now.

Tip for those wanting to catch flatheads Today: Fish the deepest slowest water you can find. Understand these Flatheads were holed up for the winter just a week ago, so hit them in their winter holes with cut bait and you have a chance. You don't need much bait, you could honestly get a couple hours of Flatheading in with just a couple bluegills, I'd suggest cutting them into 3 pieces. Pretty stumped on what to target the next couple weeks here, thinking about Tog, Blue Cats in the Potomac, and also keeping an eye on party boat Cod reports from NY and RI.

For now, here are a couple Philly Flatheads, 13lb Channey and a garter snake who all who've decided to start chewing again just days before New Years-

12/26

Warmer than average temperatures, way warmer. Record highs have been falling left and right, we are still lucking out (or striking out, depending on how you look at it) with this El Nino. It was Christmas Eve when I figured it was about time to try the Schuylkill River for the warmwater species of Catfish we know and love, the Flathead, so I met up with Mike and Tan to fish a deep 30 foot pool for a couple hours. Flatheads are typically active in water temps above 50 degrees, with 60-75 being their prime range. Right now with water temps holding in the low 50's it is expected that there should be a bit of action. Low and behold, right at dusk on Dec. 24th, Mike got a promising run which ended up being the first December Flathead I personally have ever seen come from our river. Most years, we're lucky to catch Flatheads in November, on average our season ends sometime around Halloween, whenever water temps dip to around 50 degrees. There have been numerous times this month where I thought I should go down to the river and try for the December Flathead, but never did, not until right now, around Christmas, when water temps popped up and over 50 degrees, to now almost 55 degrees. As you can guess, by now there is a Flathead bite on the Schuylkill, if you can get some cutbait or fresh meat into their wintering holes, there is certainty of hooking up. I fished again today, this time with Romo way up the river, upstream of Black Rock. We fell victim to the 5 minute curse when a Fully Scaled Mirror Carp made a meal of my gob of nightcrawler. We intended on using cutbait for these Flatheads however couldn't find anything to chunk, so therefore opted for plan B which was worms from Wal Mart. We just had a good amount of rain which bumped our flows up to around 10x of what they average for this time of year, 10k cfs or so, receded now to around 4-5k cfs. Right after a rain is always a good time to throw some worms. Tomorrow (Sunday), is a sure bet for Schuylkill Flatheads, hopefully someone gets out there and puts a hurtin on them. James and Owen, a couple buddies of mine, were in on the bite way downriver of us today, in Philly, where they landed 6 fish to about 15lbs. Welcome to the new age, where we're catching Flatheads after Chrismas.

In other news, Stripers to 50" were reported from the beach today around IBSP. I didn't see any pictures of the alleged miracle cows, however did see proof as a couple 40"+ Bass were weighed in to the shops in central NJ. To whoever caught 40"+ Bass from the beach today, my hat is off to you, somehow 2015 just keeps producing. No word on many details but there are certainly enough Herring along our beaches to hold these fish, I wish I was there today. There are very few surf anglers left out there. 8'+ seas on Tuesday will but the brakes on the surf bite for awhile, who knows how long that action will last.

2 times I Flathead fished, and both times struck out. I witnessed 2 caught, both runts. Our buddy James wins the prize for December Flatheads, as him and Owen had 6 fish with a few 15lbers in the mix, all tonight from the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia where water temps are pushing 55 degrees. My skunking's didn't go unnoticed however, as the fish gods gifted the gold in form of full scale mirror-