We don't have nearly the bass SoCal has, so this is not a "trophy" area for LMB. But it sounds like you're finding some nice ones for NJ, and not bad at all for never getting them before. Yes the stocking was not advertised, but those of us who lived and fished there back in the day knew about it. They had to lower the one reservoir around the corner for some reason and relocated some of the large spawners into that pond, and some other local spots. The reservoirs are closed to fishing unless you are in the ANG or work for FAA since it's on their land (at least it used to be back in the day). So the bass in those two reservoirs are massive and see relatively no pressure. At first I thought the secret stocking was a rumor until I physically saw the fish in Heritage. Again this was over 20 years ago so I don't think I'm spilling any secret beans here.
6 lb 12 1/4 oz Hawg!
21 - 40 of 268 Posts
Man, so those BASS are just GROWING in that reservoir?! I've wandered behind the hotels on WHP with my little boy and found a section of fence that's been pushed down. I was tempted, but honesty and having my little one with me kept me back.
Unbelievable!
The story on the near four pounder above is too good not to mention so, here it goes...
It was around 7:45 p.m. at sundown yesterday when I saw, what looked like, a good place for a Bass to bed down. I had my two poles with me, my 5 foot 8 inch fiberglass K-Mart special, and my 5 foot 4 inch Ugly Stick, both with 6-pound fluorocarbon. Btw, I have yet to replace my Petzl headlamp so I'm down to using a mini HD flashlight and holding it in my mouth. It makes me drool a lot, but it works none the less...:thumbsup:. Anyhow, the one pole was rigged with a Senko worm, and the Ugly Stick was rigged with a trout Rapala (this information will come into play a little bit later).
Round #1:
So I could get a better angle, I stealthily wade into the 18" of water about 7 yards away and begin trying to hit my mark illuminated by my flashlight. Not being as proficient as the pros, on my third cast I end up getting my worm hung up in the bushes, behind the bed, about 12 inches off the water. After being unsuccessful in unsnagging it, I have no choice but to wade over and remove it. Sure enough, when I get within six feet, a wake forms on the surface and a fish swims away from the bed...smh. Well, at least that confirms there was a beast in there after all! A YouTube video that I watched in the past showed how when fish were forced off their bed, they would return within an average of 5 minutes. I decided to hang around and pursue this guy.
Round #2:
After hitting the mark on my second attempt, I get a strike and watch my line trail off to the right...game on! But, when trying to set the hook, my line snaps, wth?! Well, this is getting way too exciting to give up so soon and I've got 5 minutes to re-rig right? No problem, lol!
Round #3:
The third try produces another hit, but again, when I try to set the hook my line SNAPS again. What's going on?! I can't help but to question my fisherman's knot that I used to secure the hook and the pound test that I'm using, but I've been doing it this way for too long...??? Is it a turtle possibly that's taking my bait? I've never seen any snapping turtles out at this place, only painted turtles and they don't get that big. The only thing I could think of doing differently was to try a Palomar knot. Well, as I'm reeling in my slack line I sense friction, and when I look down at the reel, I notice I've a backlash. Things go from bad to worse for when I remove the drag cap from the reel, in order to untangle the mess, I drop the cap into the water! I spend the next 10 minutes with my arm underwater, above my elbow, doing a grid search and come up empty-handed...:huh:
Back on shore, it's now about 8:30 p.m. and, my phone starts to buzz in my pocket. I suspect it's my wife ready to pick me up, but I am still not ready to admit defeat, so I decide not to answer it, lol! I have an extra pole, so I remove the Rapala from my Ugly Stick, thread another hook and Bass Pro speckled, watermelon green worm, and quietly head back into the dark water. The phone continues to buzz...:razz:
Round #4: When it rains it pours...
I cast past the bed this time but, as I drag the worm back over it, I get another tangle in the reel, unbelievable. I have to break the line with my teeth and start over again. After securing the pole down in my boot, next my ankle, I start wrapping the line, still out in the water, around my left hand. That's when I realized THE HAWG WAS AT THE END OF MY LINE! I am not kidding, the darn fish took my bait while I was fiddling with my backlash! I got about three jerks out of him before he spit the hook out and got away...craziest thing ever.
Round #5:
I'm having a tough time getting a feel for this soft Ugly Stick and it takes me about five tries to drop the worm this time but sure enough, when I do, and right on schedule, the TOAD strikes again! I let her run with it a bit this time, again to my right, so I swing hard to my left...FISH ON!
Historically, the larger bass out of this place are what I call wussies, for they just don't put up a fight, relatively speaking. Even the near seven pounder I landed just rolled under the water a few times before coming to a rest against a log.
This baby CAME ALIVE though! Leaping out of the water a few times, thrashing, splashing, the whole nine yards, "PLEASE line don't break, PLEASE stay on the hook!" I pleaded. I got increasingly nervous when I got her up to my boots and she continued to fight as I tried to lip her. Thank God everything held together. I knew I had a good one!
Do you believe my phone continued to buzz the entire time?! :nuts: When I walked on shore with the fish in my hand to weigh it and take pictures, I heard the familiar voice of my 11 year old calling my name, "Dad, Dad!" My wife had been circling the pond in her white Lexus RX 350 which I saw on at the beginning of my last attempt. She must have spotted my flashlight, for she showed up on the correct side where I was, hahaha! I called to my son and had him come down and help me weigh and release it. What an ending!
The story on the near four pounder above is too good not to mention so, here it goes...
It was around 7:45 p.m. at sundown yesterday when I saw, what looked like, a good place for a Bass to bed down. I had my two poles with me, my 5 foot 8 inch fiberglass K-Mart special, and my 5 foot 4 inch Ugly Stick, both with 6-pound fluorocarbon. Btw, I have yet to replace my Petzl headlamp so I'm down to using a mini HD flashlight and holding it in my mouth. It makes me drool a lot, but it works none the less...:thumbsup:. Anyhow, the one pole was rigged with a Senko worm, and the Ugly Stick was rigged with a trout Rapala (this information will come into play a little bit later).
Round #1:
So I could get a better angle, I stealthily wade into the 18" of water about 7 yards away and begin trying to hit my mark illuminated by my flashlight. Not being as proficient as the pros, on my third cast I end up getting my worm hung up in the bushes, behind the bed, about 12 inches off the water. After being unsuccessful in unsnagging it, I have no choice but to wade over and remove it. Sure enough, when I get within six feet, a wake forms on the surface and a fish swims away from the bed...smh. Well, at least that confirms there was a beast in there after all! A YouTube video that I watched in the past showed how when fish were forced off their bed, they would return within an average of 5 minutes. I decided to hang around and pursue this guy.
Round #2:
After hitting the mark on my second attempt, I get a strike and watch my line trail off to the right...game on! But, when trying to set the hook, my line snaps, wth?! Well, this is getting way too exciting to give up so soon and I've got 5 minutes to re-rig right? No problem, lol!
Round #3:
The third try produces another hit, but again, when I try to set the hook my line SNAPS again. What's going on?! I can't help but to question my fisherman's knot that I used to secure the hook and the pound test that I'm using, but I've been doing it this way for too long...??? Is it a turtle possibly that's taking my bait? I've never seen any snapping turtles out at this place, only painted turtles and they don't get that big. The only thing I could think of doing differently was to try a Palomar knot. Well, as I'm reeling in my slack line I sense friction, and when I look down at the reel, I notice I've a backlash. Things go from bad to worse for when I remove the drag cap from the reel, in order to untangle the mess, I drop the cap into the water! I spend the next 10 minutes with my arm underwater, above my elbow, doing a grid search and come up empty-handed...:huh:
Back on shore, it's now about 8:30 p.m. and, my phone starts to buzz in my pocket. I suspect it's my wife ready to pick me up, but I am still not ready to admit defeat, so I decide not to answer it, lol! I have an extra pole, so I remove the Rapala from my Ugly Stick, thread another hook and Bass Pro speckled, watermelon green worm, and quietly head back into the dark water. The phone continues to buzz...:razz:
Round #4: When it rains it pours...
I cast past the bed this time but, as I drag the worm back over it, I get another tangle in the reel, unbelievable. I have to break the line with my teeth and start over again. After securing the pole down in my boot, next my ankle, I start wrapping the line, still out in the water, around my left hand. That's when I realized THE HAWG WAS AT THE END OF MY LINE! I am not kidding, the darn fish took my bait while I was fiddling with my backlash! I got about three jerks out of him before he spit the hook out and got away...craziest thing ever.
Round #5:
I'm having a tough time getting a feel for this soft Ugly Stick and it takes me about five tries to drop the worm this time but sure enough, when I do, and right on schedule, the TOAD strikes again! I let her run with it a bit this time, again to my right, so I swing hard to my left...FISH ON!
Historically, the larger bass out of this place are what I call wussies, for they just don't put up a fight, relatively speaking. Even the near seven pounder I landed just rolled under the water a few times before coming to a rest against a log.
This baby CAME ALIVE though! Leaping out of the water a few times, thrashing, splashing, the whole nine yards, "PLEASE line don't break, PLEASE stay on the hook!" I pleaded. I got increasingly nervous when I got her up to my boots and she continued to fight as I tried to lip her. Thank God everything held together. I knew I had a good one!
Do you believe my phone continued to buzz the entire time?! :nuts: When I walked on shore with the fish in my hand to weigh it and take pictures, I heard the familiar voice of my 11 year old calling my name, "Dad, Dad!" My wife had been circling the pond in her white Lexus RX 350 which I saw on at the beginning of my last attempt. She must have spotted my flashlight, for she showed up on the correct side where I was, hahaha! I called to my son and had him come down and help me weigh and release it. What an ending!
awesome story. Keep up with the great posts
Where did they put the bass? I went to school at Stockton. I wish I would have spent more time fishing other lakes. I had good success at lake Fred but never any big bass.
Looks to be on the upper end of 5, maybe 6. Pretty fat with eggs. Just release her carefully. Keep those genetics going.
Looks like all those big bass they restocked from the AC reservoir 20+ years ago are established well. These must be the descendants of those fish. I remember the originals, they were all huge (8+, and then some).
Truth,
Good story. Smaller bass usually fight better, more than a wet boot like the bigger ones. I think the big ones tend to use only their weight against the pull of the line. I've noticed anything over 5lb will do this. It's a slower, but more dogged, fight. Like a heavyweight fighter. The smaller ones will run and splash and all that. Also during the spawn like right now, the big egg layers will be sluggish. All their energy is going into making babies, not fighting.
Work,
Grad from Stockton in 2001, so I lived Lake Fred and Pam for 4 years between classes. There were huge spawners in Fred. A few would sit by the spillway along the walking path going back to the apts. Not sure about anymore, though, as this was ~ 20 years ago.
They put the reservoir bass in Heritage and in some local borrow pits around Absecon and EHT/Galloway. I wasn't on the stocking truck but that's the story I was told at the time by my sources. Like I said I didn't really believe it until I started seeing the huge bass in Heritage that weren't there before. I always heard stories of people sneaking in to fish the reservoirs and getting state record + bass. But it was illegal so it was all hush hush and hearsay.
Good story. Smaller bass usually fight better, more than a wet boot like the bigger ones. I think the big ones tend to use only their weight against the pull of the line. I've noticed anything over 5lb will do this. It's a slower, but more dogged, fight. Like a heavyweight fighter. The smaller ones will run and splash and all that. Also during the spawn like right now, the big egg layers will be sluggish. All their energy is going into making babies, not fighting.
Work,
Grad from Stockton in 2001, so I lived Lake Fred and Pam for 4 years between classes. There were huge spawners in Fred. A few would sit by the spillway along the walking path going back to the apts. Not sure about anymore, though, as this was ~ 20 years ago.
They put the reservoir bass in Heritage and in some local borrow pits around Absecon and EHT/Galloway. I wasn't on the stocking truck but that's the story I was told at the time by my sources. Like I said I didn't really believe it until I started seeing the huge bass in Heritage that weren't there before. I always heard stories of people sneaking in to fish the reservoirs and getting state record + bass. But it was illegal so it was all hush hush and hearsay.
As anal as I am, I've reread my story at least 10 times and made punctuation and grammatical corrections. I read it again just now and realized I left out another crazy part of the story...check it out, and no, Im not making this stuff up, lol!
There must have been "Round #5" because, there was one attempt after I dropped the drag cap into the water, where when I casted past the bed but, as I was dragging the worm back over it, I got another tangle in the reel and had to break the line with my teeth and start over again. After securing the pole down in my boot next to my ankle, I start hand reeling the line still out in the water. That's when I realized THE HAWG WAS AT THE END OF MY LINE! I am not kidding the darn fish had taken my bait while I was fiddling with my backlash! I got about three jerks out of him before he spit the hook out and got away...craziest thing ever. Im going to copy and paste this to the story, lol!
There must have been "Round #5" because, there was one attempt after I dropped the drag cap into the water, where when I casted past the bed but, as I was dragging the worm back over it, I got another tangle in the reel and had to break the line with my teeth and start over again. After securing the pole down in my boot next to my ankle, I start hand reeling the line still out in the water. That's when I realized THE HAWG WAS AT THE END OF MY LINE! I am not kidding the darn fish had taken my bait while I was fiddling with my backlash! I got about three jerks out of him before he spit the hook out and got away...craziest thing ever. Im going to copy and paste this to the story, lol!
We all have crazy fish stories. Most of them are true. I had to handline a carp because a buddies reel broke. I have other stories that anyone who wasn't there would not believe. Fishing is such a calm sport until something goes wrong. Those scenarios can cause a lot of laughs, a lot of profanity and some good stories.
I spent hours searching through the woods for lake Pam. It was merely a puddle in 2009.
Truth,
Hey TD, you got 'em out once, you can do it again. I'd rather have the opportunity, it'll make a memory too. Great challenge, great result, nice fish.
NICE, i have been wanting to go there for some time now.. maybe i should with my kayakThey're hittin' Rapala's at Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve too!
https://sites.google.com/site/ehtnatres/
One kayak was out there that day. As you know, the water levels have been extremely low this year so, I was able to "walk on water" on sand bars in my knee-high boots in some places.NICE, i have been wanting to go there for some time now.. maybe i should with my kayak
oh wow! that sounds crazy lol. but i'll still like to bring the yak and just cover grounds quicklyOne kayak was out there that day. As you know, the water levels have been extremely low this year so, I was able to "walk on water" on sand bars in my knee-high boots in some places.
is there even a deep spot of the area? i am sure there gotta be some sort of deep spot for wintering... maybe i should create a depth map There must be for that one kayak was covering ground...to know the depths would be nice...:thumbsup:is there even a deep spot of the area? i am sure there gotta be some sort of deep spot for wintering... maybe i should create a depth map
wow what a beast congrats!!!
She's still out there, probably FAT with eggs now too so, get out there and catch her. She has to be over seven pounds now!wow what a beast congrats!!!
good to see some nice bass there...I make a few cast there just to relax....Cormorants do a number on those stocked Trout...some big Cats were stocked there a few years back for the Kids Hooked on Fishing tourn,
Joe R,
21 SeaCraft
Susie 2
Joe R,
21 SeaCraft
Susie 2
21 - 40 of 268 Posts
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