Lake Nockamixon - October 21, 2023
Today we got out for a few hours in the wind to fish for some bass feeding up for the fall. Water temp was 59, which is still relatively warm. Turnover should be happening in the next few weeks, and from now on is the time to catch your new PB. We got on a good mid depth jig bite, fishing hard bottom areas where there are some high spots, mixed with wood. The morning started slow, but as the wind picked up we focused on wind blown areas where the bait might be pushed up. When we got bit, we were able to stay put and catch multiple bass off one spot. Once that flurry was over, there would be a short lull until we came across some more active fish, letting our other areas reload. We cycled through 5 spots all day and it was action packed for sure. A lot of bait is still in 10-12 ft so thats where we focused our efforts. If you are ever having trouble deciding what zone to fish, idle the lake and see how deep a majority of the shad are. Focus on the depth you find them at.
Blue Marsh Lake - August 15, 2023
Blue Marsh Lake's fishing has been outstanding lately, there are a ton of fish grouped up and usually when you find one, there are more not far from it! The summertime is my favorite season to fish besides the spring season due to the fact that these fish school up and it becomes easier to catch more than one off of one spot. All fish today were caught off the bank on specific structure like rockpiles. During the spring you may have a lot more fish on their own just cruising, and you almost have to junk fish for them and run around for multiple bites. Summertime you can find one specific spot which is known as a "high percentage area" and you can build on that to catch multiple fish off it in a short amount of time. These are all tactics I teach during our outings, so you can become most proficient on the water with the time you have. Thanks Michaela and Connor!
Beltzville Lake - July 9, 2023
I had Gordon and his grandson out for a 6 hour Beltzville trip, the ultimate goal of their trip was to get his grandson used to casting a fishing rod and teach him a little about bass fishing. It was both their first time bass fishing and it ended up being a blast. The water temp was 82 by the end of the day, and water conditions were super clear. The lake was lower than usual which sets up a great topwater bite. Throwing lures like poppers or whopper ploppers gets the job done, as well as jigs, swimbaits, and dropshots. All fish were caught on the top of ledges where baitfish were hanging out. The alewife spawn has been going down heavy in the mornings, so take notice to where you see a lot schooling up, because bass aren't far behind!
Beltzville Lake - May 25, 2023
I just got home from a fishing trip to the finger lakes in upstate NY and I had to hit Beltzville on my way home for a conditions report. I ended up catching some good largemouth, and the water is in the upper 60's. Water clarity is fantastic and the fishing has definitely picked up from a week ago. The post spawn funk is starting to fade and these fish are moving into their summer patterns. Now is one of the best times to book a trip so I can explain how to target these fish in a transitional period and to explain why they do what they do. Thanks for reading! For me, jigs were the ticket as usual. These bass just cant resist the finesse jig with a fish or die bait co Patriot.
Beltzville Lake - May 20, 2023
Beltzville "post spawn funk" is still happening, so if you're struggling right now its most likely not you! A lot of empty beds are strewn around the lake, implying that the bass have moved off and are regaining their strength from the strain that spawning puts on them, especially for the larger female bass population. I uploaded a YouTube video on my channel DSBASSGUIDE for my 2 hour outing I had this evening. I caught a few fish on the smaller side, but lost 2 good ones in the video. Check it out if you havent! Water was mid 60's, and with 80-90 degree weather with no rain in the foracst, it will warm up fast. Summer is right around the corner! Thanks guys.
Beltzville Lake - May 19, 2023
This morning I was out for a few hours. The water is finally cleaned up, with visibility being what it usually is. The water has warmed up to 64 and most of the bass are in the middle of spawning or done. This has led for a tougher bite, since we cant target spawning fish on beds in PA, we have to go for the post spawners. Most post spawn fish right now are in that "funk" because they are worn out/stressed out from the long process of spawning. This is usually a 1-2 week period where the fishing gets tough, and it sure has. I only got 7 bites in about 4 hours this morning. It will be back on again soon!
Beltzville Lake - May 11, 2023
Today I had Richard out on a Beltzville trip, we started at 6:30 am out of Preachers, and worked our way towards the first main lake coves. It started out slow only hooking up and loosing 2 smallmouth until 8:30. The next bite Richard got was this 4.62 pound beltzville stud! Throughout the day over 35 fish were boated, with quality largemouth and smallmouth mixed in. It was a super productive day throwing jigs and dropshots in the 4-8 ft range, where most of the bigger bass were staging up getting ready to spawn. The water was 61 degrees first thing and got to 62 by the end of the day. The water was a little dirty from all the mud/runoff. The bite has been pretty good!
Blue Marsh Lake - May 10, 2023
Today I had a 6 hour trip with John and his wife Sharon. We started off at 6 am fishing bluff walls down towards the no wake zone and Sharon got the first bite of the day 15 minutes in with a small largemouth, it was caught on a ned rig in 7 ft of water. The water temp was 62 first thing, so we figured that the largemouth would be cruising getting ready to spawn and the smallies are probably in the final stages of spawn. Not long after, John hooked up with his personal best smallmouth on a Keitech swimbait! We were still on the bluff walls in a transition point in bottom composition. John then ended up catching his personal best largemouth later on with the dropshot. I spent time teaching Sharon how to cast a spinning reel instead of the push botton, and she got the hang of it quick catching on her own! I don't fish on trips but they insisted I make a few casts. We lost some more nice fish and John landed some more nice ones as well. I lost one pushing 5 on a jig near the state hill launch up shallow. The bite is hot!!
Beltzville Lake - May 8, 2023
Today I had Tristin out for a 4 hour trip and it was a bass fishing clinic to say the least! I don't fish on guide trips but he wanted me to fish with him and we had over 18 fish within our 4 hour trip! Lots of bass were up shallow cruising getting ready to spawn and/or sunning themselves. The water has finally climbed back up to 58 degrees, so fish are getting ready to move onto their beds. We between the powerlines and the dam, where we did most our damage. We caught some fish in 5-6ft of water on drop shots or jigs, and we were able to sight fish cruising bass with jigs. They were super aggressive today! They were chasing the jigs back to the boat. The water was pretty dirty/muddy from the powerlines down to preachers ramp. With no rain in the forecast, it should be cleaned up by the end of this week. Any questions or tips, submit a contact form and I'll get back to you same day! Thanks yall!
Lake Nockamixon - May 4, 2023
Today I had out Taylor Magditch, the owner of Fish or Die Bait Company, one of my sponsors for the 2023 season. We got out around 8 and started out of 3 mile run. Water temp was 54 degrees, which is an 11 degree drop from the week before. The spring weather that rolled in has the fish messed up big time, but they still have to eat! We started off on the shoreline across from 3 mile launch and worked chatterbaits and spinnerbaits just beating the bank. I had one on the chatterbait that ended up coming off by the boat. We then kept moving down the shoreline where Taylor lost a good one on a rattletrap after it got him hung up in a laydown. I decided to pick up a glide bait and got the first bass of the day in the boat at 4.5 pounds. We went without a bite for a while so we pulled out and drove to the Tohickon launch. We worked that shoreline and I caught the biggest of the day at 6.34 pounds on a jerkbait. A true Nockamixon giant! There are lots of good fish in this lake, but it takes time on the water to get them dialed in. If you have any questions, feel free to text me 484-894-8199.
Blue Marsh Lake - May 1, 2023
Its finally May, and the bass spawn is right around the corner. Or at least it was! Today I had client Trent and his friends/family out for about 5 hours, as they battled hard through the cold and near gale force winds blowing straight up the lake. It was tough fishing to say the least, but they grinded and ended up with about 7 largemouth and 3 smallmouth. The water temps have dropped 8 degrees since last week (57 today) with this cold front and rain that moved through, so the fish were having second thoughts about moving up. Reaction bites were key, throwing crankbaits that dive to 8' and dragging worms/ned rigs. A lot of my main lake spots were howling with wind so we escaped to the no wake to find some calmer water and easier casting conditions for Trent and his crew.
Blue Marsh Lake - April 19, 2023
Today I had Justin out for a few hours so he could get his first bass of 2023. We fished from 10:30-2 and stumbled onto a few largemouth and a smallmouth way up towards rip rap next to the bridge. Water temp was 59, which is a slight drop from what it was last week (62-64 last week). This cold weather still has them eating but they slid off of their pre spawn spots slightly deeper until the warm weather comes back. Fish can easily be located near any rock or bluff wall with a good transition of steep rock to a rocky flat. The fish will use these transition zones to ambush their prey feeding up for the spawn in a few weeks. What has been working well is a reaction bite, such as a berkley jerkbait or a rapala dt-6. Color doesnt matter too much, but red is always a productive color this time of year. Parallel the bank if youre on a boat and if you are bank fishing try to cast parallel down the shoreline and slowly work it back to you. Tight lines!
Blue Marsh Lake -
April 14, 2023
It was a busy Friday on Blue Marsh Lake, one of the busiest that I have seen this year. The docks are finally in and the beautiful summer weather this spring is bringing out the pleasure boaters early. Luckily the fish here are used to it so they will still eat really well! The water temp was 62 already, so if the weather was to hold a lot of fish will be pushing shallow to spawn. I got a few bites on suspending jerkbaits where rock bluff walls transition out onto sandy/stony flat banks. If you are in a boat or just bank fishing, look for areas like this. Fish will start to key in on transitions chasing baitfish as well as preparing to spawn. If you are interested in tips or spots, feel free to contact me! And as always if you're interested in booking, contact me for any questions. Thanks y'all!
Blue Marsh Lake
4/7/23
Today was a windy and cold day on Blue Marsh, with a lot of cloud cover we figured that fish would be holding to the warmest cover that they can find. I had Kyle out today and he wanted to learn more about the lake and catch some bass while hes at it. He ended up catching them all on deep diving crankbaits on humps throughout the lake using Garmin Livescope. Kyle was also able to get a bite or two on a small finesse swimbait down laydowns. The water temp was 52-54 depending where you were on the lake with minimal visibility (around a foot). When they decided to eat, you would know. They were inhaling the on every bite. The bite is getting hot, I have some openings in the next two weeks. Tight lines everyone!
Blue Marsh Lake -
Wednesday March 22, 2023
It was another beautiful day of this early spring season, with air temps in the high 50's. Blue Marsh is still at winter pool which is about 6ft below summer pool. (Make sure to adjust your mapping on your depthfinders to make up for the difference!) Water temp up in the no wake zone was 44 degrees at the end of the day, and the main lake was around 45-46 over by Dry Brooks Launch. I only had two hours to fish before I head to Tennessee, and I ended up catching my personal best walleye. It was caught on a ned rig off of a point in the no wake zone in about 10ft of water. Caught some nice size perch as well in around 15ft. I wasnt able to hook up with any bass, but my buddy caught one on a jerkabit in 4ft of water. This lake will be on fire any week now.
Beltzville Lake - Tuesday March 21, 2023
Today was a good start to the official spring season, air temps were in the mid 50's with a 10 mph east wind. Today we mainly focused on creeks draining into the main lake as that was the warmest water we could find. Creeks were anywhere from 42-43 degrees, and the main lake was around 39 degrees. Water clarity was excellent with 10ft visibility back near Preachers camp. Nick was able to catch a nice largemouth on a ned rig off of a channel swing going into the creek. We saw a lot of good fish in laydowns with their bellies in the mud. The next couple days will be warm again so the fishing should be heating up day by day.
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