NAME --------------------- Pete Cusick & Lou Marcucci
E-MAIL ---------------------
DATE ---------------------- Thurs. & Fri. 10/28,29
TIMES --------------------- 9AM to 3PM
CONDITIONS ------------- Not bad for late Oct.
AREA FISHED ------------- Chestnut, Pickerel & Elba Pts
WATER TEMPERATURE-- 56
FISHING METHOD ------- Jigging
BAIT/LURES USED ------- Got-Cha & Sassy Shad
NOTES --------------------- If you still have your boat in the water and have not tried jigging the deep water off the point you are missing out on some great fishing this time of year. Pete and I have had Walleye & Stripers each day we've been out. The Walleye Pictured was 5lbs and measured 25 1/2 inches, the bigger Striper was 6 1/2 lbs and measured 24 inches.
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NAME --------------------- Lou Marcucci
E-MAIL ---------------------
DATE ---------------------- Tues.10/26
TIMES --------------------- 1:30PM to 3:30PM
CONDITIONS ------------- Sun & Clouds
AREA FISHED ------------- Chestnut, Elba & Pickerel Pts.
WATER TEMPERATURE-- 56
FISHING METHOD ------- Jigging
BAIT/LURES USED ------- Got-Cha & Sassy Shad
NOTES --------------------- Had my best fish of the jigging season, a 9lb 14oz Channel Cat. Using the the tackle most of us use fishing Hopatcong, I don't know how anyone would land one of these Channel Cats if the fish was twenty pounds or better. I took me almost ten minutes to get the fish to the net.
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NAME --------------------- Pat Kane (Big Medicine)
E-MAIL ---------------------
DATE ---------------------- 10-25-04
TIMES --------------------- 2:00 PM to 5:00PM
CONDITIONS ------------- Overcast with no wind
AREA FISHED ------------- East Shore
WATER TEMPERATURE-- 55 Degrees
FISHING METHOD ------- Trolling - Muskies
BAIT/LURES USED ------- Minnow Plugs
NOTES --------------------- My milk run of Great Cove to Racoon Island didn't produce after several passes so I concentrated on the east shore. I'm glad I made the move. At 3:30 I caught a big fat 41" true strain Muskie (clear variation) that hit my plug in the propwash. This fish not only cleared the water at boatside with three jumps but then dove for the motors in an attempt to break off. Sticking my rod in the water all the way up to the reel is what saved the day. After some photos and a tender release I set my lines and started trolling again but didn't get 50 yards and the same rod went off again. After several nice jumps and short runs I caught another true strain Muskie (barred variation) that also carried some weight and was 40". After photos this fish was also released in good shape. Two beautiful Muskies within a half hour of each other. The only words I can say to describe this experience is, Awesome.
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NAME --------------------- John Fernandez & Lou Marcucci
E-MAIL ---------------------
DATE ---------------------- Fri. 10/22
TIMES --------------------- 9:30AM to 1:30PM
CONDITIONS ------------- Windy & Overcast
AREA FISHED ------------- Just about the entire shoreline & Alamac Pt.
WATER TEMPERATURE-- 57
FISHING METHOD ------- Trolling then Jigging
BAIT/LURES USED ------- large sticks, Gotcha & Sassy Shad
NOTES --------------------- Trolling for Muskies the first three hours was a drag, no fish. We switched over to jigging the last hour and had fish, well John did at least. John largest was six pounds in 42 feet of water. 
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NAME --------------------- Lou Marcucci
E-MAIL ---------------------
DATE ---------------------- Sat. 10/16
TIMES --------------------- 7AM to 11AM
CONDITIONS ------------- Cool & Windy
AREA FISHED ------------- Sunken Island & Sister Island
WATER TEMPERATURE--
FISHING METHOD ------- Live Bait
BAIT/LURES USED ------- Herring
NOTES --------------------- Had to get out of the wind to be comfortable. Sunken Island was slow the first hour, moved to Sister Island and stayed there for the rest of the morning. Caught three Walleye all around three pounds then the Perch move in and ran me out of bait. The Perch were much larger than the ones I was catching last week during the contest. Not a lot of guys fishing.
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NAME --------------------- Jim Archambault
E-MAIL --------------------- x-king@lake.net
DATE ---------------------- 10/9 and 10/10
TIMES --------------------- Sat.5-10am and 5-10pm, Sun.5am-2pm
CONDITIONS ------------- nice Sat/ tough Sun.
AREA FISHED ------------- You name it!
WATER TEMPERATURE-- 64
FISHING METHOD ------- drift
BAIT/LURES USED ------- herring
NOTES --------------------- Saturday was nice weather-wise for the King of the Lake contest. The bite was a little slow but I did manage a 5lb.15oz. walleye along with some other small fish in the morning. Then lunch, siesta, dinner, and round two. Somewhat slow again with another 5lb-plus walleye and a few small fish. Slept some again then round three and WIND was the word for the day. Finally got a decent 24 inch pickerel and some other fish before the wind really kicked in. I went through 11-dozen herring all together and spent 19 hours fishing which produced about that many fish. I lost a half-dozen or so fish that I had on bending the rod over before spitting the bait which was a little frustrating, but it's always a good time fishing. Last I knew at about 10am, Lou and I were tied for third place battling it out to the end but I couldn't land anything decent while fighting the wind. Finally I ran out of time and bait then packed it in. I did land my first tiger muskie in a real long time, it was about 28 inches, but I was disappointed when I saw it because I was wishing it was a big pickerel. Congrats to Howie, the new king of the lake!
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NAME --------------------- John Kungl
E-MAIL --------------------- jwkungl@optonline.net
DATE ---------------------- 10-7-04
TIMES --------------------- 1:30-4:00 PM
CONDITIONS ------------- Clear and Calm
AREA FISHED ------------- Sharpes Rock, channels south of Bertrands Island
WATER TEMPERATURE-- 63
FISHING METHOD ------- Drifting herring on jigs
BAIT/LURES USED ------- Large herring
NOTES --------------------- Absolutely beautiful day on the lake--wish I had longer to fish. Caught some very large perch and my friend Phil landed his first Hopatcong Striper--about a 3-4 pounder. Unfortunately the fish escaped off the deck before we got a picture--but we can say the fish was released successfully to fight another day!
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