Bass Fishing Belgrade ME

For many years, Whisperwood has been home to countless vacationers and fishermen. Our lakeside cottages are situated for your privacy on wooded acres of land overlooking picture perfect Salmon Lake. The location offers a perfect mix of seclusion and peaceful surroundings and great fishing opportunities. I have been visiting Whisperwood Lodge now for over 10 years and the fishing is always exciteing. From monster Smallmouth and lunker Largemouth the lake is on fire from May on through the fall. 






The lures that worked for The Reel Deal Staff were Rebel Pop R and Tube Jigs. When the sun was high spinnerbait worked very well. At night buzzbait was a must for 4 to 5 lb Bass.

Shepherd Lake Pop R Madness

The spring-fed waters of the 74-acre Shepherd Lake are brisk and invigorating and offer swimming from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day from 10 am to 6 pm. Inner tubes, rafts and other flotation devices are not permitted in the swimming area. Only Coast Guard approved life jackets are permitted. Pets are prohibited on the beach.

Boating, canoeing and fishing are permitted with boat rentals available. A network of trails surrounds the lake leading to rocky vistas.

I have fished this lake for many years and it's always a great producer of decent largemouth. On this afternoon the bite was on the surface and pop r was the lure of choice!

The “Reel Deal” show comes to the Delaware River!

Of all the fishing guides that I fished with in Northern NJ at various freshwater locations from spring through fall, there is nothing quite as exciting to me as the annual spring American shad run on the Delaware River. Steve Andrusiak is a world class guide and offers decent honest rates. He means it when he says he will put you on fish! For the dedicated group of shad-loving folks on the Delaware River that are certifiable ‘shad nuts’, the sheer strength of an 8 pound+ female shad at the end of the line is what sustains us year-to-year. Catching these fish is truly a blast!

fishinfuncharters@yahoo.com

New Jersey's Splitrock Reservoir

Splitrock Reservoir is 625 acres of wilderness located in northern New Jersey on the borders of Rockaway Township and Kinnelon. The reservoir is nestled deep in the woods where it can be reached by traveling a mile on a dirt road known as Split Rock Road. The reservoir consists of several large lakes interconnected with many large islands. There is a large man-made dam on the southwest end of the reservoir. The reservoir and surrounding natural area were opened to the Public on November 21, 2003. This is one of the best Smallmouth Bass fisheries in North Jersey. It has been considered a hidden gem among freshwater fisherman in the state.

Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center

Anyone with an interest in fish, wildlife or the outdoors will enjoy a visit to the state-of-the-art Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center. Pequest began operations when trout production was transferred from the Charles O. Hayford Hatchery in Hackettstown in 1981.

Open Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., the center offers visitors a look at how more than 600,000 brook, brown and rainbow trout are raised each year for stocking the public waters of New Jersey.   Take a self-guided tour allows visitors to see where the trout are actually raised. The exhibit hall contains live fish as well as a display of mounted New Jersey wildlife specimens. The entire facility is barrier-free.

Children will find the interactive displays fun as well as educational. Visitors are encouraged to take advantage of the hiking trails, including the self-guided interpretive "Natural Resources Trail," picnic areas and free literature. Many opportunities exist for hunting, hiking, fishing and birding on the 4800-acre Pequest Wildlife Management Area 

A list of upcoming weekday programs can be viewed on-line. Organized group programs may be scheduled and can include an actual fishing experience at the "Fishing Education Pond." Pequest is located on Rt. 46 nine miles west of Hackettstown in scenic Warren County. On-line directions are available. For further information about programs and visitation call 908-637-4125, or write:

N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife
Pequest Trout Hatchery & Natural Resource Ed. Ctr.
605 Pequest Rd.
Oxford, NJ 07863 

Frog Fishing Mountain Lake

 It was around 2:00pm when I clocked out of work and hoped into my truck. My kayak was tied down in the bed and fishing rods fixed and ready to go. I had one more stop to make to pick up my friend Bill and get his kayak in the truck so we could start of on this journey. The location we were headed to was Mountain Lake on the border of Jenny Jump State Forest. This lake has everything a good lake has to offer. From the boat ramp left it's full of thick slop and lily pads. Off the right of the ramp is open water and boat docks that are great for plastics and spinnerbaits. On this trip we headed deep into the slop, the sun had been over head for awhile now sending the bass into the thick amazon cover of the slop to keep cool. I had a Spro Popper Frog tied on my line and fan casted through the jungle of weeds on the water. I like to test a area out and see if the bass are active by making quick casts and hurry that frog along. My first cast got a reaction strike big time, it had to be a big boy. It sounded like a cannon ball blowing out of the water. I through the frog back into the same section of weeds and I got a three ponder. The bass kept pulling me into the weeds and slop, I kept constant pressure on my rod not letting him wrap me up to bad. Bill paddled over at this point and started to roll the video tape. I reached my hand into the abyss and pulled out a decent largemouth.

       We did a quick video segment for The Reel Deal and released the bass back into the lake and traveled on. In the distance I could see a big break in the weeds and some swirls caused by feeding fish. One of the most important parts of top water fishing is always keep your eyes and ears open. You never know when a fish will surface or make a splash and you need to be ready to throw you bait at it. I gave my frog a cast into this opening in the weeds and caught a good fish. It was a nice size largemouth and released him as quick as I could. I saw some bigger swirls coming from the whole and knew that a big bass was lurking. The big bass hit like a freight train and gave me a good fight. By keeping pressure and not horsing the fish let me get him up from the slop. So far this was turning out to be a awesome trip. It was turning out to be classic text book frog fishing. We made our way over to a bunch of boat docks on the left side of the lake. A few locales called out to us " they biting today'. We waved and nodded our heads as we paddled past.

        I saw a boat dock that was providing a lot of shade and threw out a spinnerbait and got another bass. Bill was getting skunked and I offered him some baits that were working for me. Every fisherman knows some days what works for your buddy might not work for you. I'm sure another trip the same might happen to me. The sky started to get dark and the wind picked up. Could the gods of fishing put a damper on this awesome trip? We paddled quick to the boat ramp with lighting crashing over or heads. We loaded our gear and kayaks into the truck. Then we made our way back to route 80. Bill checked his smart phone and saw the area we were driving out of was in a tornado warning. The rain began to fall in sheets and made route 80 slow down to a crawl. When we made it home back to Bergen County the sun was out, the birds were singing and all we were left with was this fish story.RichieMoschella.Com