NAME --------------------- Kevin Dempsey
DATE ---------------------- 9/27/01
TIMES --------------------- 3-7 PM
CONDITIONS ------------- Cool and windy
AREA FISHED ------------- Halsey and Racoon Area
FISHING METHOD ------- Drifting
BAIT/LURES USED ------- Herring
NOTES --------------------- After landing a 2 1/2 pound smallie, I had a 10 minute battle with what I thought was a nice Striper. Just as I was bringing the load up to the net I saw I had a nice Muskie. Before I got her in, the Muskie finally let go of the large perch which he'd cut in half. Seems that the perch got my herring and the big guy got the perch. Also landed 2 pickeral in the 22-24 inch range.
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NAME --------------------- Roger Tasnady
DATE ---------------------- Wed. Sept. 26
TIMES --------------------- 8am-2pm
CONDITIONS ------------- Windy and Cool
AREA FISHED ------------- Byram Cove-Pickeral Point-Sunken Island-Main Lake
FISHING METHOD ------- Drifting Live Bait
BAIT/LURES USED ------- Live Bait
NOTES --------------------- Caught a 4.9lb. largemouth,3.2lb.walley,1 pickeral and a small largemouth. All fish caught on weedlines using a slip bobber rig.
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NAME --------------------- LOU MARCUCCI
DATE ---------------------- WED. SEPT. 26TH.
TIMES --------------------- 12:30 TO 2 :00 PM
CONDITIONS ------------- WINDY & COOL
AREA FISHED ------------- GREAT COVE TO BED BUG ISLAND
FISHING METHOD ------- TROLLING
BAIT/LURES USED ------- RED FIN, BOMBER, REBEL
NOTES --------------------- THERE WAS A WALLEYE CHOP ON THE LAKE THIS AFTERNOON SO I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GOOD TO TROLL BIG STICKS FOR MUSKIES. FIRST AN ONLY FISH HIT IN GREAT COVE ON THE YELLOW BOMBER. A BARRED TRUE STRAIN 26 INCHES LONG, ABOUT 6 POUNDS.
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NAME --------------------- Noel Sell
DATE ---------------------- 9-18 and 9-19
TIMES --------------------- 6:30 am to11:30 am
CONDITIONS ------------- Partly sunny
AREA FISHED ------------- Dropoffs
FISHING METHOD ------- Jigging
BAIT/LURES USED ------- Jigs and worms
NOTES --------------------- Fished with my 10 year-old daughter on Tue. Sept 18 and went myself on Wed. Sept. 19. In general bass fishing was tough and very slow, but had a great time watching my daughter catch nice size crappie, yellow perch, and bluegill. She caught one gill close to a pound. Wednesday caught 20 to 25 crappie, the biggest going 12 1/2 inches. All fish caught on lures. Used jigs the entire time with good success. Water temp as of 11:30 am Wednesday was 70.9 degrees and lake is down 2 feet.
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NAME --------------------- Jim Salerno & Ken (The Pie) Killi
DATE ---------------------- Saturday, 9/15/01
TIMES --------------------- 6:30 A.M. to 2:00 P.M.
CONDITIONS ------------- Mostly sunny and cool, water temp 66 to 70 Deg. F.
AREA FISHED ------------- Davis Cove, Halsey Island, Brady's Bridge & Henderson Bay.
FISHING METHOD ------- Casting in early A.M. then Trolling.
BAIT/LURES USED ------- Rapalas & assorted Hooley Gooleys.
NOTES --------------------- The weather was beautiful with the feeling of the Fall season upon us. Ken got a real nice Smallmouth in the Brady Bridge area and I got a 3 Lb. Walleye in the Halsey Island area. The highlight was hooking and landing a 48" Muskie. It took a while to get it in the boat, but it was well worth it, and a special thanks goes to Ken (The Pie) for the assist and the pictures. The digital scale I have has a 15 Lb. maximum so I guess it's time to get a better one (this thing was big). It seemed to be well over 30 Lbs. But you can judge for your self by the picture below. I got it on 8 Lb. line and had to chase it a bit. He's back in the lake and doing fine after about 10 minutes of resuscitation. I am now sure that the State record will be coming out of Hopatcong real soon, maybe even by next year.
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NAME --------------------- Jeffrey J. Loy
DATE ---------------------- Friday, September 14, 2001
TIMES --------------------- 10:00 A.M.- dark
CONDITIONS ------------- overcast, cool and windy--cold front conditions
AREA FISHED ------------- main lake basin
FISHING METHOD ------- trolling and casting
BAIT/LURES USED ------- spoonplugs, rapalas, spinnerbaits and jigs
NOTES --------------------- Another tough day for me in trying to locate the fish. Although I fished from the extreme shallows to the sanctuary depths repeatedly throughout the day, I could not detect an activity period. Either I was too sloppy in my checking of the structures or I missed an early movement; probably the former. Today's damage: 1 largemouth, 1 smallmouth, 1 crappie, 1 perch, 1 walleye and 1 pure-strain musky. The walleye(3 lbs.) took a slowly-trolled spoonplug off of Pickerel Point at 26 ft., the smallmouth a fast-trolled spoonplug at 22 ft. off of Halsey Island and the musky(not quite legal)a spoonplug trolled very fast at the weedline(~13 ft.) also at Halsey Island. ALL RELEASED!
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NAME --------------------- JOHN FERNANDEZ- LOU MARCUCCI
DATE ---------------------- THURSDAY, SEPT.6TH
TIMES --------------------- 1PMTO 5PM
CONDITIONS ------------- SUNNY & MILD
AREA FISHED ------------- BETWEEN THE ISLANDS / MT. ARLINGTON SHORELINE
FISHING METHOD ------- TROLLING
BAIT/LURES USED ------- LARGE STICK BAITS (RED FINS - REBELS)
NOTES --------------------- OUR FIRST MUSKIE CAME WITH IN THE FIRST HOUR, WE HAD JUST PAST THE MOUNT ARLINGTON BEACH WHEN THE OUTSIDE ROD WAS HIT,NEVER GOT THE FISH IN THE BOAT,A 33 INCH MUSKIE ABOUT 8 LBS TWISTED OFF AT THE BOAT. COULD NOT FISH AT BED BUG TO MANY FLOATING WEEDS. THE SECOND FISH CAME ON OUR WAY BACK IN GREAT COVE, IT WAS ONLY ON FOR A FEW SECONDS BEFORE IT ALSO GOT OFF. BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME.
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NAME --------------------- Dockside Dan
DATE ---------------------- 9/3/01
TIMES --------------------- 6-9 am
CONDITIONS ------------- fair/ cool
AREA FISHED ------------- elba
FISHING METHOD ------- spinning rods
BAIT/LURES USED ------- herring- various plugs and spoons
NOTES --------------------- It's starting to feel like fishing again but not even a snag on the bottom that felt momentarily like a bite. I think I'll give it a few weeks before my next attempt. Thanx to all members for their advice on Musky fishing- I'll let you know how it goes- fish on my brethren!
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NAME --------------------- Webguy
DATE ---------------------- 9/3/01
TIMES --------------------- 6-11am
CONDITIONS ------------- Mostly Sunny
AREA FISHED ------------- Byram and Barnes shores
FISHING METHOD ------- drifting
BAIT/LURES USED ------- herring
NOTES --------------------- The cool nights seem to have slowed down the early morning bite. I drifted the shore line in Byram for a couple hours and only got a smallmouth (2-1/2 lbs.). I moved to the shore near Barnes Brothers and did a little better. I got a 20 inch walleye, then a 20 inch largemouth that weighed 4lb.4oz., a pickerel, and a perch. The boat traffic wasn't as bad as I had expected, things are looking up.
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