Walleyepalooza

[J Miser]

What an adventure the last two days have been.  From absolutely quitting due to the cold yesterday to sweating my nuts off today even though it was colder this morning.  To use the word phenomenal to describe the last two days is an understatement, even more so given the fact that we fished public water.

Did I actually say Me, myself, and I fished pubic water.  Yup, for the first time this season and tomorrow to.

Hit the north branch of the Susquehanna in Wilkes-Barre yesterday and today and I still haven't had longer than 5 minutes in between bites.  3-4 inches of ice and bobbing like a rowboat on the ocean (what a feeling it is to feel the entire island of ice moving under you)  Between me, mikethepike, and my buddy, we showed probably close to 200 walleye the topside of the ice.  AS for keepers, that's a different story.  Only 15 the last two days with mike's 22incher yesterday being the beast of the trip.  lots of 12-14 inchers, but the wholoe appeal of this fishery is the non-stop action.  Got a nice 16 inch smallmouth today, and the monster fallfish have been a real surprise.  We've been throwing them back in the pool under tip-ups hoping for a musky or pike but no success yet.  It doesn't matter what you use or where, find some slack water 10-20 feet deep and its walleye heaven.  On the Aqua-view in the pool we were fishin, it was a solid carpet of walleye attacking anything that hit the bottom including bare jig-heads.  Finally got one brave soul to venture out on the ice today at the end of it all, but the consensus at the baitstore was still that river ice is way to sketchy and unsafe to try.  Oh well, more room for us.

Sorry for the few pics, but with how cold it is, the battery either has died or my hands stopped working.  Get out and enjoy the rivers guys, they're an awesome treat to the season and another chapter to my storybook season.  I'll be doing it again all over tomorrow and the Delaware soon enough.

Dr. JM

First walleye river season "08

First surprising fallfish

See the keeper on the ice and mike in a pair of shorts at -30

WHAT A CONSPIRACY!!!  ANOTHER PERCH!!!

Day 2 - gorgeous

Its' a keeper

a pig smallie

the tourney shot

too big for the tip-up

[Pike Popper]

Good job Pete, can't believe hardly anyone else has been out there yet. Give it till next weekend and the section of the river you fish will be looking like Budd Lake early in the year, especially with your posts. I'm stuck fishing local waters until Saturday so I'll probably be fishing with around 50 other guys when i finally make it out there unless you tell me some holes on the Delaware that are producing equally as good. Go out and beat mike's record of 90 eyes tomorrow. 

[salmonrebel]

No denying the fishing on the susky this time of the year, it is definitely finaminal. But at 6'4" 280lbs., and a current under you, you can have it...At any weight, I would never chance going out on river ice.  I know the stretch your talkin, and see guys down there all the time, this time of year. Me, personally, I think, your really taking very huge risks out on that. It would be bad enough to fall through any ice,...let alone, also having a current taking you downstream, under it!...One time,...and you may as well kiss your a** good bye. There is no amount of fish to me worth that kind of risk. With that said, I hope nothing ever happens to any of you guys, or anyone else for that matter out on that. But, I think anyone fishing down there, on the ice, is taking huge risks. The next time, could be the time your not so lucky. You can't bring back time, when it's too late...With everything said, be safe,...and good fishin'...SalmonRebel.

[J Miser]

Popper, by next week, there my not be any ice on the river to fish.  If the icejam upstream breaks, which it will very soon, its goodbye ice.  And a few days in the mid-30's will be enough to melt it all away.  Remember franky, a river is a demon unto itself, extremely fickle, and as rebel says, deadly.  And that is why it can never be anything like Budd Lake.  It takes some risky fellers like us to do it, people with no responsibilities or cares to venture out there.  lakes are safe and somber, rivers kill, but the rewards are 100 walleye days. 

As for the D, its solid in the Gap or head up to Narrowsburg.  I'm gonna try Monday if the Polish gang don't show up, if not then Wednesday for sure.

by the way frank, you should change that screenname to OfficerPikePopper to represent the fact that you are now a new little piglet .  oink, Oink franky .  Best of luck in Assupink

[Ski Hunter]

You guys are nuts    so when ya doin it all over again     I gut bait 

I wonder just how many guys are going to look at that report and those pics that have no clue how to ice fish a river and go down there and potentially get themselves in trouble?

[RedWolfUSAF]

Nice pics.... what's with the hat?

[Ski Hunter]

I drove by you guys earlier....sure was a lot of guys out there....wonder if any were lurkers who read about it on here 

[salmonrebel]

Went surfin' down Hunlock's Creek today ,...caught a good current and hung 10, right into the outlet, and out  into the Susky. Caught some really good river currents once I got there. Never surfed on an iceberg before! ...'till today...It was intense!, Just when the current slowed down,, it would speed back up! I felt like I was Don Ho, one minute, and the next,...a polar bear! Didn't do much for a tan today though 8), at least I saved money on not needing the sun-screen today!...Getting stuck in the middle of the ice-jam was a be-ach though!

[Corporal Punishment]

I drove by you guys earlier....sure was a lot of guys out there....wonder if any were lurkers who read about it on here 

Word gets out fast!!!

[ICE REBEL]

Went surfin' down Hunlock's Creek today ,...caught a good current and hung 10, right into the outlet, and out  into the Susky. Caught some really good river currents once I got there. Never surfed on an iceberg before! ...'till today...It was intense!, Just when the current slowed down,, it would speed back up! I felt like I was Don Ho, one minute, and the next,...a polar bear! Didn't do much for a tan today though 8), at least I saved money on not needing the sun-screen today!...Getting stuck in the middle of the ice-jam was a be-ach though!

Thats great to hear that you went for a little ride down hunlocks and right into the susky. You didnt happen to end up on the nice ice that those guys fish on did ya? Cant wait to come back from NY and fish the wonderful susky myself and catch all those great tastyin walleye they catch downthere. I think i would rather a fallet 0 fish from mic d's then eat anything out of the wonderful susky river. The Ice Rebel