Last full day so time to get some fishing in.  I only had about 2 hours to fish this morning since we have a full family day ahead of us.  I hit up my go-to spot and there was only one Russian guy there ... basically the "bucketeer of the east". 

Fishing was much tougher.  Hardly any explosions but I also hit this area hard the last few days so I expected it to be tough.

Got on the board but that was my last creature bait.  Time to switch to a plastic worm.



Missed one then got a little better grade one on the subsequent cast.



Lost a worm stuck in the lily pads and only had one more left.  I actually had a few more, but they didn't seem to attract anything when I tried them.  The brown baits were spot on and what they were looking for.

I finally got a good one and somehow got it over and through all the lily pads.  Whew, the smell of pond bass on the hands was weirdly satisfying.



I then lost the last brown worm and decided to use a frog on the pads as I only had about 30 minutes left before having to head back to the house.  Third cast and that huge one exploded on the frog!  HOLY Crap was that exciting!  Only issue was with 12# mono, I couldn't pull him up over the pads and he just swam through them like a tank.

Well, the inevitable happened my only frog was gone with the only big bass I've seen in 4 days.



I went back to the car to grab my 6# rod and saw I had a brown worm still attached to that hook!  If 12 wasn't happening, 6# definitely won't but I tried anyway without a bite.

I decided to just run to the other side of the lake in the last 15 minutes and was rewarded with another little pickle.



Bye Bye Deerfield Lake... Until we meet again.



Off to the petting zoo with the family and then out to lunch at Cooper's.  This was the restaurant the TV show "The Office" would frequent and my Stepdaughter and her boyfriend actually loved it.  Good old Scranton PA...





Instead of the lobster roll, I went with the Blue Claw Crab roll!  I was pleasantly surprised how good it was!



The place looked like it was from Florida and not PA.  Lots of cool stuff in here though.









It was a fun day with the family but time to pack for home.  I woke up at 3:00am to the craziest lightning storm and rain!  I saw on the weather channel that Newark and NJ was going to be a mess with flooding and delays so I just had my fingers crossed we could get out of the armpit of the US and back to sunny SD.

We said goodbye to the house and headed to the airport 2 hours before schedule to make sure we got there.





2.5 hour drive and we made it.  Boarded the plane and just before we were about to taxi onto the tarmac, they held us at the gate for an hour.... then kicked us off the plane.

The craziest storms rolled through the next 8 hours and we were stuck in the airport with thousands of people trying to figure out what the hell we were going to do. Finally at 10:30, they boarded us in a rush as there was a 30 minute opportunity to get off the ground. 14 hours of travel and in an airport will really mess with you (especially having the entire family there and you having to keep your cool to make sure everyone else stays chill). 

Well we finally get up in the air and the captain says we might be landing in SD or LA depending on how fast we can get there.  Apparently, they close the airport runway at a certain time since they are working on it and if we don't land at that time, we get redirected....

My Granddaughter epitomized how everyone felt on the plane at this point.



Well, the captain laid down the throttle and we landed 10 minutes before the runway closed down.  Thank goodness!  By the time we actually got home, it was 3:45am and I crashed hard.

In any case it was a great trip, but I will say that will probably be my last family vacation with all of the kids.  I'm not sure I have it in me anymore for these trips.  LOL

But at least the bass fishing was good.  3 for 5 today which puts the total hook ups to 46 bass in less than 10 hours of fishing.  Not exactly Lake Barrett, but not bad at all!

Thanks for reading!

Quote from: Tim524 on Today at 06:24:54 AMThat looks like a skill that takes lots of practice but it looks pretty fun too, not as easy as shooting fish in a barrel

Right. I practice on a target at 30 ft. For the closer shots I have to compensate a little. But, like last time, once I get it dialed in I can pretty consistently hit fish.

- Keith

That looks like a skill that takes lots of practice but it looks pretty fun too, not as easy as shooting fish in a barrel

Yes. There are a lot of tourists on the boardwalk.  I do get a lot of curious looks but most are friendly and asking questions.
The locals all thank you for getting rid of those "damn" fish.
The carp are definitely feeding now so would be a good time to go with some corn chum and get them.
Started seeing schools of baby carp in the lake. They kind of look like a fish moving thru the water but have a less distinct shape.
Last year even saw schools of tadpoles along the shoreline and I saw a carp come up and start slurping them up. A fly fisherman took advantage of this and was casting a black nymph and getting a few.

- Keith

Quote from: Latimeria on July 17, 2025, 04:04:39 PM

Quote from: sasquatch on July 17, 2025, 02:18:15 PMIf only someone you knew had a birthday coming up. Lol. I don't even have a valid license right now.

I already got you something.  lol

Thank you in advance

Quote from: Latimeria on July 17, 2025, 04:03:50 PM

Quote from: sasquatch on July 17, 2025, 02:16:38 PMGave it a brief skim at work. What jumps out at me? A dig at me. Typical Tom. 🙄😂

That was just a test to see if you were out there looking.  I'm pleased to know you are still out there and reading the forum.   

Always around.

I get down to my honey hole and notice something.  6 people fishing right where I've been catching the last few days.  I had a bunch of people walking dogs by me as I was catching, so can only assume the word got out.

I get on the board pretty quick with a little guy but had to switch to the frog right after.



I needed to fish a much more difficult part of the shoreline due to cat tails and heavy cover as the other people fishing were taking up the easy shoreline.  I still caught, but the bites were pretty slow.



I had 9 bites in total but could only get 6 to my bass thumb.



Overall, it was much better quality of fish.  That big one I missed yesterday was nowhere to be found.

I finally couldn't deal with all of the people showing up so I ran to the other side of the lake and it was clear!  There wasn't much action down here, but I did manage a couple of better grade bass.



Caught one straight under the dock.  I always know they are there, but it rarely works when I'm actually on the dock and jigging as I'm walking around it.



I stopped to try and get some of the big bluegill around, but those suckers just wanted bait.  My maribou jigs on a bobber didn't entice them.

Not a bad day though.  So far I caught 40 fish, but 15 of them were "Sportsmen's Released" due to the stupid shoreline row of pads.

In any case, not bad and I was still going to get one one more morning, albeit a short session. 

Day 4 coming soon.

It'll definitely be more money selling it individually on FB marketplace but I just wanted to give everyone here a really good deal.

I've already unloaded rods and now will be well under 100. I did buy a new one but FedEx lost it.

Tom actually unloading rods???

Good luck with the sale!

I had a fun day with the family albeit a bit stressful with a few members of the family, but fun none the less.

Next morning I was up early and it was sunny right away.  It was supposed to rain all week so seeing the sun was a surprise.  The only thing it did was make it feel 20 degrees hotter and 50% more humid.  LOL

I brought the frog rod and the creature bait rod today.



I di pretty well on the bass, but had a hell of a time getting them through the lilly pads.  Yesterday they were at the edges of the pads and this morning they are right in the thick of things. 

I ended up going 9 for 19.  I hooked and fought 19, but that last thick bunch of pads in the shallows were a bitch to get them over.  Most were on the smedium side of the scale (10-11 inches) but I was lucky to get this guy through.



I started throwing the frog again looking for something bigger than the pickles I've been catching.  Then, right here...  a Giant Blow up!  I'd say a 5+ pound largemouth clear as day exploded 10" from my frog.  The bastard missed terribly!  The sound of the explosion and the visual was amazing, but couldn't believe he was so off course.  50 casts later and I gave up.



The lilies were in full bloom and the smell was amazing!



The bugs were ungodly aggressive though.

I ran to the other side of the lake and caught (and lost) a few more but it was a fun morning stint out there.



I get back in the self driving beast...



I then get my granddaughter ready for a hike in the woods to look for snakes and salamanders.  Well, she refused to get out of her PJ's so it was as good as I can get from her.  She built multiple lean-to's (Sasquatch huts) with sticks and ferns.  My stepdaughter's boyfriend must be teaching her to do this because my stepdaughter definitely isn't.  lol

Then we started turning rocks to find some wildlife.  We didn't find much, but there was no shortage of big worms.



 Well, that was it.  Time to have another fun family day and prep the gear for tomorrow.