Mrs. Matstone

Awesome! Congrats to you friend on his first bass. I hope it sticks with him and he soon gets to take his kids with him too. That will hook him for sure!

Monday Maddie wanted to return to the place where she caught her first bass ever... Lake Minsi. We did and the fishing was pretty tough but Maddie wanted to try fishing the shad. She decided to cast out in between a few patches of pads and all the sudden she starts yelling and she has finally got her first topwater pickerel on the Shad and boy was she thrilled. ;D Dad and I also managed to catch a few that day too. Here is one of dads. Today we decided to hit another lake that we have not been to yet this year. After dragging the boat down to where we could launch we decided to set sail. We had time for a few hits and misses and the skies opened up. We rushed back to shore and hopped in the truck until the storm passed. Finally we were gonna get to fish. We then headed back down and got in the boat only to find out that the motor was not going to work anymore. This was not going to deter me because it had been raining for weeks now and I was not going to give up so soon as you can see in this short video. http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb145/matstone7/?action=view&current=P1020232.flv As much abuse as I was taking from my hubby and my daughter it did not deter me and I managed to get the first fish of the day. Yes it was a bass. ;D Caught this guy with my trusty shad along the outside edge of some lily pads. Next up was Matt and he ended up with a nice toothy critter. I was kind enough to hold it for him so he did not get all slimy. ;D Then it was my turn to get a snotrocket since they are one of my favorite fish to catch. I ended up getting this one on Rage Toad and the horrible expression on my face is because as I was trying to hold this guy up for a pic there was something moving around in his belly.. YUCK! Next up it was Matts turn again and this time it was a bass who really loved lobster. ;D This time I oared us around to a different spot on the lake right amongst some much shallower water and some very thick pads. Matts bait of choice this time around was a Junebug colored anaconda. Two fish fought for this one but only one was fast enough. ;D Very quickly Matt switched up and put on a shad and was fortunate enough to catch the other guy that he missed the first time around. Now it was my turn and I was still throwing the toad and having a blast when all the sudden there was a big splash and all I could think was "Please let me hook this fish". Luckily I did but he drug me and the boat all around and headed straight in to the pads to tie me up but we maneuvered our way over there and I got him. I was a very happy housewife then. :thunbsup3: Mama loves snotrockets. Next up it was Maddie and moms turn to fish the pads when she landed one and what a trooper she was. She managed to pull this one out of some very thick pads without getting hung up and still managed to catch him. Mama was so very proud. After all of that we called it a day. We were all very hungry, tired, and happy too. I hope you all have been fishing as well and I also hope it has not been raining for you as much as it has for us. All that rain sure makes fishing tough sometimes.

That is awesome girl! Show him how its done.. ;D

Nice fish! ;D That is one of my favorite baits too.

Awesome Paul! ;D

There are several. One of them is at the rest area on the Jersey side at the point of the gap. It is a hand launch only. There is good smallmouth fishing in that area as well. Next would be the Worthington Launch which is 2 miles north of the gap on old mine road. Next is approx. 6 miles above that it is the Poxamo boat launch. Or you can go south 15 minutes and launch out of Belvidere. The launches in Jersey are free launches and do not require a parking fee like the ones on the Pa side. Now for the Pa side there is Smithfield beach 3 miles north of the gap on river road. Also Bushkill 10 miles north of Delaware water gap on route 209. Each of these areas offer quality smallmouth fishing however the Delaware is much shallower and with a boat with a prop you will more than likely be locked in holes. Delaware is best navigated with a Jet or a kayak, or from shore.

Great post and pics. Congrats. ;D I am a big fan of the space monkey myself.

All nice ones. Congrats! ;D

Congrats on the win! ;D

Great report, fish and pics burley. Congrats!

Looks like you guys had a blast. All nice fish too. Congrats to you on your fish and your winnings! ;D

That is awesome. Nice fish, good pics, and cute kid too. Congrats! ;D

Nice report, fish and pics. Congrats ;D

Swimsuit and muck boots and cut offs. It does not matter what you look like when your fishing in my book. Comfort is the bigger issue for sure! It is all about the fishing!!!

Awesome! ;D

Great picture and Congrats to him! ;D

Awesome, Congrats! ;D

Ouch that sucks. Glad to hear he's all fixed up now and hopefully you guys can head out again soon

When I decide to try something new I take that new bait with me and that is all I take. I find it forces me to give something new a real shot. Did the same thing a few months ago with jigs and all I had on my rod for a few days was a jig. Forced me to learn to use the bait in a variety of different ways and I am glad I did it. I am afraid if I did not do this I would not give anything new a fair shot. ;D

Great post and pics. Congrats on the outing with the kids, they are always the best fishing outings in my book. ;D

Nice fish and it sounds like a good day on the water too. Congrats!

Congrats! ;D

Thanks guys. Had a great time and am hoping to get out this weekend if it ever stops raining. Avid your right.. the bugs suck!

Nice fish Avid! Congrats ;D Also nice you made it back to the ramp in time to get out of the rain. I was not as fortunate 2 days ago.

Beautiful fish and it looks like an awesome fishing spot too. Congrats! ;D