Vlad & Steeler Show - Fall Smallie Bassin' 10/19/13

October 19, 2013 and the "Vlad & Steeler Show" returns with live footage from the North Branch of the Susquehanna River.  It's been quite some time since Vlad and I have been able to chase some smallmouth.  Needless to say, we were happier than kids in a candy store.

Water temperatures were in the low 60's and there was a minor stain to the water.  In total, we pulled between 30-35 fish to the boat.  As usual, there were a few stragglers that managed to come unbuttoned boat side.  It just wasn't their time to take a picture and appear on the show.  :)

Anyway, it was great to get back out there with a good buddy.  We used tubes, cranks and jerbaits to entice all fish today.  Here are a few pictures from our day:                       

GREAT DAY ON THE WATER WAYNE!  Hope to get back out there soon!

Labor Day DRIFTING 9/1/2013

What better way to celebrate the Labor Day weekend then fishing the Susquehanna River?  I can't think of many off the top of my head!  I hooked up with a fellow EPFR member PA PACO and we drifted a beautiful stretch of the North Branch from 6:00AM - 1:00PM.  Here was our method of transportation for this fishing adventure:

It was an outstanding day on the water!  I honestly don't know how many bass we caught.  There were too many distractions.  One of those "distractions" was spending 15 minutes bringing this 31 inch carp to the boat:

There was another "distraction" and it was PA PACO's 24 inch catfish:

Then were these irritating smallmouth bass that kept "distracting" us!  HAHA!  

  

We didn't hook into the size we hoped to while fishing for smallmouths but thankfully there were a few othere species willing to cooperate.  I won't talk about that possible citation smallie that spit my hook and laughed on her way back down into the water.  All in all, it was a great day on the drink!  All fish were caught on tubes today.  We were stubborn when it came to change.  Besides, why change when something is working? 

After our initial float, my brother (ST. DOT on EPFR) came up the campsite with his son.  The four of us went back out for a few hours.  Again, we hooked into a bunch of fish.  Not much in the way of HEFT but still fun!  Here is my nephew's first Susquehanna smallmouth:

Yep, that's us floating along in the background!  Too bad ST. DOT caught the skunk today.  Still, having your son catch a fish is PRICELESS!  

Other highlights of this trip included a bald eagle watching our every move and PA PACO's dog Rita stealing my stinky socks!  Thanks for visiting my blog!  See you soon - steeler

 

This I-phone picture doesn't do this bird justice.  It was right above our heads!

Beltzville Bassin' 8/13/13

On short notice, my brother and I decided to fish Beltzville Lake on 8/13/13.  We were on the water by 5:00AM and immediately got into some fish.  I brought in the first largemouth on a spinnerbait.  Steve followed up with two largemouth bass on jerkbaits.  We were in 10-15 feet of water fishing the weed edge. Yes, it was pouring on us!  No matter ... we are fishermen!
                                        

                           

Steve then struck slime with this feisty little pickerel!  

After that the fishing got TOUGH!  We decided to change our thought process and headed for the rocks.  It was time to chase some smallmouth bass with various plastics from Wacky Worm.  It didn't take long before Steve hooked into this gorgeous FISH

This largemouth weighed in at an even 5lbs.  The picture just doesn't do this fish justice.  I'm telling you ... it's sort of like going to a Penn State Football game in person after always watching on TV.  HaHa!  Yes, Steve caught the bigger fish today.  I was having a dinkfest for most of the morning.  Lost something HUGE near the dam.  It attacked my spinnerbait and cut the line before flopping and shouting at me "NOT THIS TIME SUCKER!"   I may have used a bad word about 2 or 3 times over the next hour.  Okay, it was around 31 times in 30 minutes - but who is counting? 

Anyway, I lost another big smallmouth later in the morning before finally landing this decent girl:

We probably boated around 15 fish.  It's a shame because the day had great potential and started off excellent.  However, once the rain stopped, the bite became difficult.  It didn't help that we lost another 7-8 fish during the course of the day.

We spent a few hours fishing deep and shady water.  We even wandered back into some coves looking for colder feeder streams.  After awhile, we packed it in happy with our catch for a mid August day on the DEAD SEA!  Thanks for viewing

steeler

Delaware River / Dingman's Ferry 8/2/13

This past weekend, I was invited up to the Poconos to do some fishing.  We started off by fishing Shohola Lake on Friday, August 2, 2013.  We were able to land a bunch of dink largemouth and 1 pickerel but NOTHING to write home about.  The fun started as we fished the Delaware River on Saturday, August 3rd and Sunday, August 4th.  Both days we spent approximately 6-7 hours chasing smallmouth bass.  Our baits of choice were tubes, jerkbaits, swimbaits and my trust Dai' Buzz Bait.  Here are some of the pictures:

The date should read August 4, 2013.  Sorry for the mixup!  

Thanks for being such a gracious host Paul!  I had a blast and look forward to doing it again.  Here are a few more pictures from our weekend.  Hope you enjoyed this brief post of fishing on the Delaware River.  

   

On another note, I was a little worried about fishing this part of Pennsylvania.  Paul's neighbors can be quite scary.  Please check this link out.  You won't be sorry 

http://wnep.com/2012/11/21/route-209-reopens-to-drivers/

Thanks for checking out my blog - steeler

2013 Father's Day Night Fishin' - "An Eight Hour Tour"

For those of you that KNOW me, 3 hours of fishing is comparable to a fat kid getting a freezie pop from the ice cream truck.  It's just not enough!  Don't get me wrong, I loved the time with my family earlier in the day.  It's priceless, and I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING.  However, I need some more fishing time.  It's my leisurely passion!

@ 2:00 my buddy Chad asks if we can fish Beltzville tonight.  I explained that we were just walking in the door from a short morning trip ... BUT SURE!  9:30PM and I was on the water again.  Water temps were hovering around 68 degrees.  Our goal was to hook into a few stripers!

The night was calm for the most part and the stripers were the only things making noise as they rustled up the alewives against the banks.  We sat around and tossed right dab smack in the middle of them while it lasted.

It's simply amazing how feisty these little critters are!  My rod was nearly doubled under the boat on numerous occasions tonight.  The size hasn't been the same as in years past, but the numbers are still there.  (Don't get me wrong, I'll take 4lb. and 5 lb. stripers any day of the week).  You just have to find what they want!  Tonight, we were able to do that!

We were even rewarded with a few BONUS fish tonight!

Chad only landed 1 fish tonight but this WALLEYE made his night.

P.S. Always stay awake on the ride home, or you face the high possibility of starring in pictures like this:

We boated between 10-12 stripers, 2 smallmouth bass and a walleye tonight.  NOT TO SHABBY for the DEAD SEA!

Note: This post is dedicated to Abel DeLuna.  Abel was one of 47 seniors that just graduated Lincoln Leadership Academy.  Abel drowned earlier today at a swim party for our seniors.  Abel was an outstanding young man and a  member of our first ever graduating class,   You will NEVER be forgotten.  Rest in Peace Abel

steeler

2013 Father's Day Fishin' - "A Three Hour Tour"

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Due to some family commitments, we decided to go fishing a day before Father's Day.  8:00 AM and we were packed and on the road to Beltzville Lake in Lehighton, PA.  This was to be Kaden's 1st time on a boat and it sure was fun!  As you can see, Kaden had no problems giving the fish a kiss goodbye!  :)  In total , DAD was able to bring 3 fish to the boat for Kaden during this "Three Hour Tour!"  Nothing like pressure from your little man yelling "fishie, fishie, fishie .... continuously.  Can't blame him!  I think he already has the fever!  I didn't even have to brainwash him with cheesy Jimmy Houston shows.  :)

Olivia thinks that's pretty disgusting Kaden!

The next fish was even better!  Kaden looked the fish up and down before "LICKING IT!"  I kid you not!  My son looked at the fish and decided to see if largemouth bass tasted better than his Gerber treats.  Unfortunately, it happened all so fast and we didn't get a good picture.

Kaden even attempted to play captain and take over all steering responsibilities.  Tavion was waiting patiently for his turn!

My oldest son, Tavion would rather be playing x-box live with his buddies.  However, I'm glad he was a good sport and came along for the short three hour trip.

A special thanks goes out to my baby ... Jess.  Thanks for the family trip today babe!

Great Father's Day!  I'm extremely blessed! Thanks for hanging with DAD .....

Thanks for viewing my blog - steeler

Beltzville Lake 6/8/13

Hit Beltzville Lake on Saturday, June 8, 2013.  The plan was to catch the sunset bite before doing a little night fishing.  Water temps were consistently showing 68 degrees.  The lake was stained and water clarity was pretty tough by Beltzville standards.  Seems as if all fish are post spawn!  We fished from 5:00PM to 2:00PM and boated between 15-20 fish.  Fish were taken on crankbaits, topwater, jerkbaits and various plastics.  Here are a few from today.  I won't mention the two BIG ones lost around midnight.  I promise .. :)

Not sure why I had the "serious" face on.  Haha!  Check out the NICE smallie though .... Nice chunker!

  STRIPERS are better than STRIPPERS!  

However, Chad pulled in the BIG fish of the night.  I could have claimed that but lost 2 MONSTERS.  But I won't talk about it - promise!