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Lake Musconetcong is located in northern New Jersey, between Sussex and Morris counties. It is actually part of Hopetcong State Park, and doesn't receive the notariety of its bigger brother Hopetcong or Greenwood Lake or any of the central Jersey waters. Yet, it is one of the best bass waters in northern New Jersey

Years ago, this area was just swampland. It was flooded a long time ago to allow coal transporting barges to make their way to New York City along the Morris canal system. Efforts are being made right now, by the Lake Musconetcong Regional Planning Board, to insure that nature does not reclaim the land as a swamp. Their goal is to preserve the lake's recreational capabilities, bass fishing being one of them. They dredge the lake each year and perform weed harvesting. Even so, in the late spring, the weed growth in Musconetcong is very heavy. Thick mats of vegetation grow almost to the surface in most of the lake, and there are large boulders mixed in this, which makes fishing with a bass boat hard to say the least. More than one trolling shaft and outboard prop have been broken here.

You won't see a lot of boaters, anglers, and water skiers here. The lake does not receive the publicity the other lakes do. In fact, even in the spring and summer on weekends, surprisingly few people will be on the water at any one time. The lake is open to the public and has a good launching ramp. It is located right in the town of Netcong. It is a beautiful 329 acre lake loaded with a variety of cover and some real nice bass.

There are reasons for the lack of traffic on Musconetcong. For one, it is pretty shallow. It's average depth is about 4 feet, with the deepest water being only 6 feet. Since the bottom of the lake gets a lot of sunlight, there is tremendous weed growth. In fact, this lake is probably the "weediest" you'll see in this region. The shallow water also allows for rapid warming and cooling of the water compared to deeper lakes, so Musconetcong is usually a few weeks ahead of the other lakes in its seasonal warming and cooling. The daily temperature changes are more pronounced.

For the bass, this is an ideal habitat. There is a lot of food and cover to hide in. The bass we catch in Musconetcong are usually about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds on average, and some much bigger have been taken. It is not unusual at all to catch 8-10 bass in the 3 pound range, and one 5 pounds or over on a good day. Last year, we even took a 6 1/4 pounder from here.

LURES AND EQUIPMENT

You should have plenty of weedless lures at Musconetcong. Tournament frogs, Bass Rats, Top-Props, and weedless spoons, along with Senkos and worms rigged Texas style are a must. There are some open pockets where you can cast some buzzbaits early in the year, but they disappear quickly as the water starts to warm. Most of the time, we rig the plastics without any weight, as the grass is just too thick. It is actually counterproductive because the water is only 4-5 feet deep. We like to use a spinning rod in 6 - 6 1/2 foot lengths in medium actions and a 6-8 pound test Stren line. In the baitcasters, we use a 7', med/hvy action rod, such as a G. Loomis Crankin' Stick and a Shimano Chronarch, spooled with 20-25 pound test Stren or Spiderline.

LOCATIONS

The best areas to work these lures is the edges of the lily pads, right in with the frogs and rats, and the edges of the thick slop and mats of grass that accumulate on the surface. If you get there early in the year, you can learn where all the boulders and underwater objects are, which will aid your boating and fishing later. It is also worth searching the small drop-offs or depressions, many of which are right in the middle of the heavy grass. These areas will concentrate the fish, and at times we catch several from a small area before moving on.

Two areas that are really good are the edges of one small island, and the length of the tow path used by the old barge system. If you picture a line drawn from the public ramp to the far side, passing through a point about midway between the island and the right hand shore, you'll have a good idea of where it is.

Some other good baits to try in Musconetcong are soft plastic jerk baits like a "Sizmic Flu-Go or Toad", Bearpaws Jerkbaits, or Sluggos and Bass Assassins. All in all, Musconetcong is a good time lake for all. Hopefully, it will be there for many years to come. Practice catch, photo, and release and you can assure the future of fishing and Lake Musconetcong for everyone.

The new website for Steve vonBrandt is http://www.freewebs.com/stevevonbrandt

shimano fishing

Shimano Tiagra 30 W Big Game Fishing Reel Cover New

Keeping your tackle safe and secure is very important to fisherman. This gear was designed to help you prevent any unnecessary loss of tackle during a day on the water. Protect your reels with Shiamno's new neoprene reel covers. All sides made of neoprene to help absorb the bumps and scratches. Design allows for reel covers to be mounted while the reel is on or off the rod. All sides made out of 5mm neoprene # Gold logo and stitches over shiny black fabric match the color of Tiagra reels and Tallus rods.# All reel covers fit perfectly to specific size of Tiagra reels.

In my opinion the best combo of the '07 season is the Chronarch 100B from Shimano teamed with the Quantum 6'6" medium heavy PT Kevin Van Dam signature series rod. "Now there's a mouth full"! This combination is an excellent match, making it the most memorable from this past season. I have many combos on board in any given outing, but when I put the Chronarch and Quantum combo in my hands it feels right! You never know how good you have it until you try something else! It has something special, a confidence boost, and we all know darn well that confidence plays a major role in success!

The Chronarch and Quantum duo is solid! It can take on anything the Bass can dish out! The Quantum PT Kevin Van Dam series 6'6" medium heavy rod makes an excellent 'meat and potatoes' rod. It gives me that extra confidence in its versatility and its ability to bring the Bass home. I originally was looking for a heavy 6'6" rod for close proximity pitching and flipping, but when this Quantum PT signature rod was put in my hands I knew darn well that with my newly acquired Chronarch 100B it was a match made in heaven! For the money, Quantum makes a good affordable strong and light rod in the PT series. The relatively new Quantum PT Kevin Van Dam 6'6" medium heavy series is all the rod I need for a good reasonable price! I have put this rod to the test, getting big Bass out of heavy cover and the best part of all is I didn't spend a fortune!

I have had good success with the Chronarch family from Shimano so I thought I would try the same make but a different model and sure enough, it was a perfect addition to the family. The cast is magic and for pitching and flipping it is definitely a work horse, but yet smooth. There is no job the Chronarch 100B can't do and that is money well spent in my eyes. With its sleek 'gun blued' look it looks as good as it performs. The Shimanos quick release pivoting spool cover makes it easy and simple to fine tune to my liking without sacrificing precious time. This unique feature is adopted into many of Shimanos bait casting reels because it's simple and practical, not to mention ingenious! The Chronarch 100B is a consistent performer with no fussing every 2nd or 3rd cast or pitch. It stays put to my setting! That alone is what I think makes the difference in a good quality reel.

Nothing is more frustrating than having to constantly fine tune a bait casting reel while using the same bait with the same surrounding scenario. The 'science', if you will or the technology of a reel doesn't mean much to me if it doesn't feel right and perform with that utmost consistency. The dollars spent on a good performing reel doesn't need to be in the hundreds! I still have bait casting reels that, to this day, perform consistently after many years and I spent a little more than a hundred dollars including tax. So basically, you never really know what you get until you are out on the water working it.

That's where I come in! You might say that I am the 'tackle test dummy' of fishing and believe me.... I put them to the test! I experiment constantly with different reels and rod combinations to try to come up with an affordable consistent performer that I think will make a good team to help us get that Bass on the end of our lines. And let's not forget having the ability to land it without mortgaging the house! I do not get exclusive support from one reel or rod company. This gives me the freedom to choose what I think will work best for certain or all fishing situations. I am able to broaden my rod and reel spectrum this way. I have combos of many makes and models ranging from $250.00 to $1500.00 and when tournament fishing or just doing what I do best, experimenting, I don't look at price tags when I reach for them, I go for the right combo for the job!

Shimano's Chronarch 100B teamed up with the Quantum PT Kevin Van Dam 6'6" medium heavy rod is a good buy, in my opinion. This combo is well priced making it a good sound investment for many years of Bass fishing with the all important versatility factors to make this particular combo do what you want!

I am getting geared up for another experimental season with mixes and matches of baits and tackle to help our readers decide what's best for them. It is a passion for me to write about my findings and bring it to anglers like you so that together we can come up with a remedy for the dreaded 'empty well syndrome'! Try out the Chronarch and Quantum combo for yourself and you will see and feel why I named it the combo of the year!

Visit Nic DiGravio at http://www.probassfishing.ca

shimano fishing

Shimano® 2-Pc. FX Spinning Rod

Big Shimano quality and sensitivity at a price even the fish can afford! Shimano is the big fish in the pond when it comes to rod construction. And the FX Spinning Rod gives you all their knowledge and experience at a great price. Cast a line on these features: Durable Aeroglass blank construction gives fast-response at a price that's sensitive to your budget; Reinforced aluminum oxide guides for smooth line flow on every cast and retrieve; Solid locking graphite reel seat; Comfortable EVA foam-grip handle. The legendary quality at a no-worries price! State Size. Order Today! Mfr. Number: FXS-50ULB2, Length (ft.): 5', Action: Ultra Light, Line Rating (lbs.): 1-4, Lure Rating (ozs.): 1/32-3/16, Pieces: 2, Foregrip length (in.): 2 in., Reargrip length (in.): 5 in., Guides: Tip+4; Mfr. Number: FXS-56ULB2, Length: 5'6", Action: Ultra Light, Line Rating (lbs.): 2-6, Lure Rating (ozs.): 1/32-3/16, Pieces: 2, Foregrip Length: 2 in., Reargrip Length: 5 in., Guides: Tip+4; Mfr. Number: FXS-60MB2, Length: 6', Action: Medium, Line Rating (lbs.): 6-14, Lure Rating (ozs.): 1/8-1/2, Pieces: 2, Forgrip Length: 2 1/2 in., Reargrip Length: 6 1/2 in., Guides: Tip+4; Mfr. Number: FXS-66MB2, Length: 6'6", Action: Medium, Line Rating (lbs.): 6-14, Lure Rating (ozs.): 1/4-5/8, Pieces: 2, Foregrip Length: 2 1/2 in., Reargrip Length: 7 1/2 in., Guides: Tip+5; Mfr Number: FXS-66MHB2, Length: 6'6", Action: Medium Heavy, Line Rating (lbs.): 8-17, Lure Rating (ozs.): 1/4-3/4, Pieces: 2, Foregr

Lums Pond, located just off Rt. number 71, in Kirkwood Delaware, is a 190 acre state park, with a very shallow launching ramp, and has room for about 25-30 vehicles with trailers in the main lot by the launching ramp. There is a daily fee at sate parks, or a yearly pass can be purchased at any of the park offices.

This is a prime location for bass anglers in the spring and summer, and receives fairly heavy fishing pressure, from weekend anglers and tournament fisherman. Although it has a lot of pressure, there are still quite a few big bass in Lums, along with a decent population of Hybrid Striped Bass. If you follow these steps, you can still connect with a real trophy in Lums Pond this spring.

"Wood Cover"

There is quite a lot of wood, laydowns, and cut off stumps in Lums. Most of the wood is located on the left and right hand sides of the main lake, right after the beach and docks, about 1000 yards up from the launching ramp. The first area to try is the laydowns on the right, as you head up past the beach. This area is overlooked by a lot of anglers, but is a good location for largemouth's in the two to four pound range. This same area also holds quite a few Striped Bass hybrids that run around six pounds on average, but some in the eight and nine pound class have been caught here.

You can't go wrong by flipping a black/blue jig, with either a blue Uncle Josh Pork trailer, or a Sweet Beaver trailer. Both have worked real well flipped into the laydowns along both shores in this area. The North shore receives the most sunlight in the spring, and as a result, warms first. I like to use a seven foot, Falcon graphite rod, with a Shimano Chronarch, spooled with twenty to twenty-five pound test. Flip all the laydowns in this area, working each one of the branches moving from the outside in, right up to the shore. If this area doesn't produce right away, move across the lake to the other laydowns, and work them the same way. When you can't get a hit in this area on the jig, often, you can move off this area a little farther, and rework the same areas with a 3/8 ounce Terminator spinnerbait in Golden Shiner, with tandem blades. Make as much contact with the wood from as many different angles as possible. Keeping a buzzbait rigged for this area is a good idea, and many times, repeated casts to the same areas over and over, at different angles will provoke a reaction strike.

"Points and Drop-offs"

Although it is common knowledge that bass will stage on drop-offs and points this time of year, all drop-offs and points aren't alike. Look for drop-offs and points that are nearest to the main channel, preferably on the North shore, that contain some type of new vegetation growth under the surface. There are several areas that are eight and nine feet deep, but the average depth is four feet, with some of the shoreline much shallower. The water is very stained to muddy, so the bass will go very shallow to feed. Don't be afraid to cast right up against the shore in the very shallow water. At first glance, Lums doesn't seem to have a lot of grass, algae, or emergent weed growth, but there is a wide variety of aquatic vegetation under the surface that hold lots of baitfish, and bass!

One of the best spots to connect with some big largemouth's and hybrids is the sand point and drop-off just across from the dog training area. Work this area well with a white/chartreuse spinnerbait and long shad colored minnow baits, such as a Husky Suspend Jerk, or a Rattlin' Rogue in blue/chrome,or a Lucky Craft "Pointer".

Last year working this point, and the one directly to the north of the cove with a pier, we caught more than eight bass in the three to five pound class, with a couple of nice six pound Hybrids thrown in.

"Buzz the Flats"

Don't forget the buzzbait in the spring. When the water warms to sixty to sixty-five degrees, the buzzbait will draw tremendous topwater explosions on overcast days,and sometimes the whole day. Many times in April, we started with the buzzbait early in the morning, looking for active fish, and never switched baits all day. Some days of twenty to twenty-five fish, are not uncommon at all, with most in the three to four pound class. The best areas for the buzzbait in Lums are located on the flats that are adjacent to deep water. A good fish locator, such as a Lowrance, that is made for shallow water performance, is a great tool to have when you first start to explore Lums, as it is one of the larger Delaware Ponds.

Head straight up the lake from the launching ramp until you get to the upper end of the lake. There will be a cove with a fishing pier all the way up on the right. Work this area with repetitious casts using a double-buzz, in black, and a clacker type buzzbait, such as a Terminator Ball Buster or Charon Klacker buzz, in 1/2 ounce, with a trailer hook. Many times here you will get a lot of short strikes due to the muddy water. A trailer hook will increase your hookups greatly. Stay well off shore here, and make as many as thirty casts, from different directions, before moving on. Make sure to hesitate just a second when the bass strike, and set the hook hard. I like to use a 7 foot Lews Crankin stick, or a G.Loomis Crankin stick with seventeen to twenty pound test for this type of fishing.

"Cover Water"

When all of the above methods fail, start covering water. Sometimes the bass are still a little off shore in the early spring, and covering water quickly, until you get a strike, is a good idea. The best lures for this are 1/2 ounce chrome/blue Rattlin' Rapalas. Position the boat a little off shore, and cast out to the drop-offs and weedlines, retrieving it back with a pumping motion, raising your rod from a 9 to 12 o'clock position. Make sure the hooks are really sharp. When you locate the fish, work the area slowly with the lipless crankbaits, spider grubs, and a 4" Senko."

Follow these tips for Lums Pond this year in the spring, and you will get a quick start to a "trophy year."

Later in the afternoon, the area directly across the lake from here contains a lot of overhanging trees, and a lot of stumps. These stumps can't be seen until it's too late. So make sure you have a breakaway mount on your electric motor, and keep the outboard up out of the water. There is a no-wake policy on Delaware ponds, but you can use the outboards. The bass in these heavily pressured areas become conditioned to sounds more easily, as they can't rely so much on sight, due to the muddy water. So keep the trolling motor on low, and try to avoid any banging around in the boat. I have caught bass with the trolling motor on, but most of the bass above five pounds were caught with the trolling motor off.

Keep these things in mind this year at Lums, and you will connect with the bass you are looking for. Most people get on the water too late. Start in mid to late March, or as soon as the water temperature gets to around forty-eight to fifty degrees.

The new website for Steve vonBrandt is http://www.freewebs.com/stevevonbrandt

shimano fishing