Fly Fishing Start

So really this sunny was not caught in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. It was caught in Weequahic Park, NJ, but I wanted to post it on my prospect park blog because I first got the notion to try fly-fishing by watching a fishing vet at prospect park. I mean this is how we all got our start right, by watching someone else.  He was really one of the few that I have ever seen bold enough to fly fish in an urban lake, and was nice enough to provide some info on the sport. As I was most of the times struggling and a few of the times catching sunnies in N.J, I got a question in NJ. The woman and her son came cautiously behind me and said, "excuse me sir, but is that fly-fishing" I replied that it was, and I saw the boy looked in amazement at the line laying on the ground. Who knows, maybe he'll be encouraged to pick up a fly-rod in the future. If he does, he'll have Mr. Henry to thank in Prospect Park for the encouragement as I do. I put a link to his great site on the right of the blog. It's called  NYC Great Lakes Fishing, give it a try. It really is a resource of great fly fishing information.  Read more!

Late March Fishing in Prospect Park

If March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, then maybe March is still coming because the weather was rough on March 23rd. Now, I typically don't announce dates within my posts because I have thought that any day could be good based upon the conditions. But for the past couple of years the conditions on these days have been similar, wet and cold and overcasty, and the fishing has been excellent. Read further for the story. Coming towards the end of my work day I had a choice. Due to an engagement that I had later on in the evening, I had a plethora of options to choose from, catch an early movie, visit family or fish. I originally crossed out fishing from the list because the weather I encountered as I stepped outside my workplace which brought back memories of Fall blue fishing on the ocean with whipping rain, high winds and all sorts of nauseating smells. So I decided to go with the movies. On the way to the theater which is across the street from the Park, I decided to grab a slice of pizza. While scarfing down the triangular piece of heaven I opened my phone and started reviewing pictures that I had taken over the years. And I happened upon pics from March 23rd. I remembered the five nice sized bass I caught and the fun I had despite the freezing rain that was biting my face and the accumulation of ice on the eyes of my fishing rod. That day was overcast just like it was on this day. I had to try. I found the spot that I generally hit em. I followed the wind patterns to see where the bait would be pushed to and found a nice casting line across a cove that was protected from the wind.But there were no bites. I made several casts and realized my slacks were a bit too wet for comfort and decided that today wasn't the day.

I snapped a few sad looking shots and decided to walk out of the park. On the way out I noticed movement in the water. It wasn't fish; at least I don't think it was. It was tree buds or something that was falling into the water from above. So I decided to fish. It had all the elements of a good spot except that it was so public and that I've never seen anyone catch a bass there so early in the year. It was a novice spot, thought. I've even seen kids casting bobbers here. But there was a dried weed line, the wind was blowing right towards the line, there was a cove of still water near by and I was on my way out so I gave it a go. Three casts and nothing while using a white and purple rattle trap. On the fourth cast, the last cast, I saw the fish rushing the lure and the fish was on!!!!

I don't know where this one came from, but I was sure happy. Afterward, I made a few more casts with no bites, so I left. But next year, I know to brave the Lion for a chance at that March 23rd Large mouth bass in Prospect Park.


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Early Spring Fishing Prospect Park

March is crazy like that, some days are forty degrees while others are seventy two. This past Friday was one of those crazy days in Prospect Park. It was 72 degress. But the madness didn't stop there. I fished from 3:30 pm to about 6:15 pm and I counted 15 fisherman working the edges and ledges around the park. Nobody was really on the main lake; most kept between the ice skating rink and the boat house. It was March Madness. And the most frustrating piece about the day was that I could see the bass all around the area where I was fishing if I was still and quiet enough. They would scatter due to a commotion caused by somebody walking a dog or kids running around, but once the distractions subsided the fish would all come back. I saw many small ones and a bunch of 2 pound plus fish. And I couldn't hook not a one. I tried my entire bag or tricks, rattle-traps, worms, tubes and even decided to throw on this rooster tail thing I've never fished with before. And what do you know? It snagged me a tiny bass. How crazy? All in all it was a good outing. Read more!

March Fishing Prospect Park

Although you may have been tempted to stay home, the warm weather should have bolstered your resolve to hunt down some early spring fish. I had a chance to visit Prospect Park on Saturday, March 5th around 12:00 pm. And I stayed for about an hour and a half. Even though I met disappointment at every bend in the park due to some ice, when I found open water I was rewarded with my first bass of the year. Read more for picture and story. Spring is here!!!! I have had success fishing in Prospect in January in the past as well as in February as well as in March. If there is no ice on the lake, it is possible to catch bass in the mud hole year round. But if the ice is on the lake, your challenge is to find open water that has some of the same characteristics as the mud hole, which is a shallow depth and a mud or rock bottom that warms up much faster than the rest of the lake. And it doesn't hurt if this area is like a bowl shape or bow that will collect bait fish that are sunning.Here were my options: a small open part between what looked to me like to glaciers, or a open part next to the boat house with shallow water and a mud bottom.

Which one do you think I chose? With a deep purple and green rattle trap I chose the one with a mud bottom. Now I will not say that this is where I caught the fish from, but I will say that I caught a couple of bass on this March day in Prospect Park while using these tackle and location strategies.

And this, among others, were gladly received as the result. I hope you all have the same luck.



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Bassin Again!!

After a very long hiatus, thanks to a wonderful wedding and move, I have decided to pick up the rod again and head to what I believe to be the best public fishing lake in the tri state area. Upon entering the park, however, I did notice a few changes.First of all, it seems that the talks of renovating the ice skatind rink area has been put into action. The lake immediately surrounding th entrance has been cut off and pumped dry. What I would not have given to see the fish that were stuck in there. However, the rest of the lake seems to not have been effected. The general early early spring spots were working. I went to the mud hole in the back by the second bridge and fished the warming area where bait fish were jumping. The bass were hitting. This area alwasy produces on the first overcast after a warming trend in march, or at least it has been doing this for the last two years. I enjoyed it and here is the result. Enjoy! Read more!

Get There Attention

"The bass are there; I promise. No, they must be there." This is my mantra at the beginning of every season and when I come to think about it, Prospect Park newbies must here this echoing within their own soul as well. But they are there, aren't they? Yesterday, I hit my favorite cold water spot in the park behind the Ice Skating rink. They tell me that good cold water spots capture the most amount of sun within the day and have mud bottoms that retain most of the heat. Fish are cold blooded, and thus seek out these warmed spots. Or at least that is what they are suppossed to do. Yesterday, they did not do what they were supposed to do.With my two piece rod, 14 lb line and rattle shad dangling I made my first cast. I threw it right across a stretch of sun beaten water and reeled it fast to get the rattling to go, but no bite. I threw it again, slightly deeper into the sun rays, hoping to snag a bass with not even a nibble to reward my efforts. After the 116th cast, the questions started to seem more like statements: Did they take the fish out? They did take them out. Did the ice kill em' off? Hey, maybe it was the ice that got rid of em'. Whatever the case may be, I did everything in my power to get there attention, and it failed.

Normally, during the earlier times of the year ie. March, April and May, bass are in different stages of spawning. Specifically, cold weather bass will be staging for pre-spawn feeding frenzies. And all you have to do is get there attention and they will smack your hook with no problem. For this type of situation, my go to bait is genarlly a rattling shad. It typically contains to treble hooks, a lipless body and ball bearing that create a rattling noise when jigged correctly. But then again maybe they weren't in that mood yet. Only time will tell.

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Decide on Your Opening Day!

Welcome to another exciting year of fishing NYC parks and other commuter friendly haunts of old and new. Hopefully, this year I will have a chance of showcasing other lakes aside from Brooklyn's Prospect Park, and maybe sub featuring some saltwater trips that I will take this season. Congratulations to me, for yesterday marked the official opening day of my personal fishing season, and hopefully, yours is around the corner. Yesterday, while at work I began to rummage through some old in-promptu photos, stored in my cell phone, of some fish I caught at Prospect Park in the past years. I've had my current phone for over two years, and I luckily have alot of storage space. Fortunately, I discovered a new function within my phone. It seems that the date and time of the picture is stored along with the photo. Yes! I have been unknowingly keeping a visual fishing log. And although the recent warming trend has reminded me of a past year of March fishing, now I would have evidence.
And there it was; on March 26th 2007, at around 3:30 pm, I caught a spinner bait bass in Prospect Park. Now, if only my cell phone recorded temperature as well. But do not allow me to mislead you into believing that a mere time signature on cell phone photos influenced me into dusting of the old pole and scrouging around the tackle box for fishing jigs. The truth of the matter is that I hadn't been out at all around Prospect Park or any lake for that matter. In the past years, I've at least prodded around the lake with my polarized shades or even through some jigs at an ice clear opening in the lake. So why haven't I've gone fishing earlier? Why haven't other fisherman gone fishing earlier? What really decides the day that we go back on hunt for the largemouths and panfish?
For me, it was the four meetings that I had at work, and missing lunch, and the pizza slice that I so wanted that slipped out of my hand into a dark NYC puddle as I ran to explain to the police officer who was waving a small palm pilot like object at the registration sticker of my car, that I just needed two minutes to ward off starvation. With nothing else available for consumption, I swallowed my pride and drove home and made a decision to go fishing that day. Welcome Back. Read more!