Big Brooklyn Bass

[japanesebassman]

17 minutes ago, Kickinbass1011 said:

There is an urban res near me that i like to fish. You literally hardly ever catch anything there. but if you do its usually big. Ive noticed during very very very certain situations, certain windows of time, these fish go on feeding frenzies. This could be a torrential down pour. Or just a specific time of the day with the wind right. It has little structure. Is a bowl full of a shad. The structure that i do fish are points. Transitions. Transitions into corners where they push shad up shallow and “wolf pack” them. 90 percent of locals around here dont fish it because of the difficulty. They say “theres no fish” “its too hard”. There is so much human activity these trophy fish are extremely trained.  This is how the few local anglers  that fish like me spend alot of our time trying to capitalize on the bigs. Ive had periods where ive fished this place every day for weeks, catching nothing at all,  just to be lucky enough to hit that right window.

I have heard of the same thing, but in central park, manhattan. One of my good buddies went out to central in October and ended up hitting a school, nonstop 4 pound fish for about 2 hours. Apparently it was almost every cast and all the fish were over 3, closer to 4. He has pictures to prove it too. I think because urban bass are pressured so hard, once they find the perfect window to feed, they go crazy and feed nonstop. Urban spots are really cool, but it’s always a grind, and the behavior of the fish in these spots are very strange and hard to predict.

[Kickinbass1011]

14 minutes ago, japanesebassman said:

I have heard of the same thing, but in central park, manhattan. One of my good buddies went out to central in October and ended up hitting a school, nonstop 4 pound fish for about 2 hours. Apparently it was almost every cast and all the fish were over 3, closer to 4. He has pictures to prove it too. I think because urban bass are pressured so hard, once they find the perfect window to feed, they go crazy and feed nonstop. Urban spots are really cool, but it’s always a grind, and the behavior of the fish in these spots are very strange and hard to predict.

Sounds exactly the same! Im not a city dweller by no means. But this place im thinking of is one of my favorite spots to fish. With all the litter. The needles on the ground.  homeless person camp in the bushes. I found a small childs toy container one time. Opened it up, and found what looked like meth, heroin, and needles in it. I was in the process of calling the cops to come get it when some little tiny dude with a bicycle came and picked it up. Tried playing it off with a fishing report, hit the railroad tracks and vanished. Children play here. Point is, most think im crazy for fishing this place as hard as i do. I actually have a picture of the drugs but i dont think ill be posting it here

[japanesebassman]

2 hours ago, Kickinbass1011 said:

Sounds exactly the same! Im not a city dweller by no means. But this place im thinking of is one of my favorite spots to fish. With all the litter. The needles on the ground.  homeless person camp in the bushes. I found a small childs toy container one time. Opened it up, and found what looked like meth, heroin, and needles in it. I was in the process of calling the cops to come get it when some little tiny dude with a bicycle came and picked it up. Tried playing it off with a fishing report, hit the railroad tracks and vanished. Children play here. Point is, most think im crazy for fishing this place as hard as i do. I actually have a picture of the drugs but i dont think ill be posting it here

ha very interesting story. the place i am referring to is in Harlem, so you can only imagine the type of things that happen there. my friend caught a dead body there a few months ago on a spinner bait. you can go ahead and look up the article too. should be under “fisherman catches dead body in the Harlem Meer”. Sounds like a joke but it isn’t. that’s urban fishing for ya.

[Jon P]

4 hours ago, Kickinbass1011 said:

There is an urban res near me that i like to fish. You literally hardly ever catch anything there. but if you do its usually big. Ive noticed during very very very certain situations, certain windows of time, these fish go on feeding frenzies. This could be a torrential down pour. Or just a specific time of the day with the wind right. It has little structure. Is a bowl full of a shad. The structure that i do fish are points. Transitions. Transitions into corners where they push shad up shallow and “wolf pack” them. 90 percent of locals around here dont fish it because of the difficulty. They say “theres no fish” “its too hard”. There is so much human activity these trophy fish are extremely trained.  This is how the few local anglers  that fish like me spend alot of our time trying to capitalize on the bigs. Ive had periods where ive fished this place every day for weeks, catching nothing at all,  just to be lucky enough to hit that right window.

One of the spots I spend a lot of time fishing in my hometown is the Clark Fork river. It’s known as a blue ribbon trout river with a small infestation of pike in its lower reaches. Electroshocking records show no signs of bass where I am. Any smart angler will tell you there’s no bass. There simply are no signs of bass nor reasons they should be there. Yet when flood stages are just right schools of largemouth show up in the upper reaches of the flood plain. Gnarly skinny and scarred fish all in the 4-5 lb range. You catch them amongst the pike, about 99 pike for every single bass. But they are some of the most vicious and hard hitting bass I’ve ever caught. I imagine a lifetime of fighting off giant pike and swimming against cold river currents makes them like that. Only caught three this year but they were all over five pounds in spite of being stick skinny. Largest went 5.11 and 24” long. Sometimes catching fish like that feels like Sasquatch hunting. 

[japanesebassman]

1 hour ago, Jon P said:

One of the spots I spend a lot of time fishing in my hometown is the Clark Fork river. It’s known as a blue ribbon trout river with a small infestation of pike in its lower reaches. Electroshocking records show no signs of bass where I am. Any smart angler will tell you there’s no bass. There simply are no signs of bass nor reasons they should be there. Yet when flood stages are just right schools of largemouth show up in the upper reaches of the flood plain. Gnarly skinny and scarred fish all in the 4-5 lb range. You catch them amongst the pike, about 99 pike for every single bass. But they are some of the most vicious and hard hitting bass I’ve ever caught. I imagine a lifetime of fighting off giant pike and swimming against cold river currents makes them like that. Only caught three this year but they were all over five pounds in spite of being stick skinny. Largest went 5.11 and 24” long. Sometimes catching fish like that feels like Sasquatch hunting. 

24” and 5.11???? that’s insane. my pb is 24” and 8.84. that fish has a ton of potential to be huge. very impressive

[Kickinbass1011]

2 hours ago, Jon P said:

One of the spots I spend a lot of time fishing in my hometown is the Clark Fork river. It’s known as a blue ribbon trout river with a small infestation of pike in its lower reaches. Electroshocking records show no signs of bass where I am. Any smart angler will tell you there’s no bass. There simply are no signs of bass nor reasons they should be there. Yet when flood stages are just right schools of largemouth show up in the upper reaches of the flood plain. Gnarly skinny and scarred fish all in the 4-5 lb range. You catch them amongst the pike, about 99 pike for every single bass. But they are some of the most vicious and hard hitting bass I’ve ever caught. I imagine a lifetime of fighting off giant pike and swimming against cold river currents makes them like that. Only caught three this year but they were all over five pounds in spite of being stick skinny. Largest went 5.11 and 24” long. Sometimes catching fish like that feels like Sasquatch hunting. 

That is an extremely cool read. Very interesting. Do alot of bass anglers in your area know about this specific window of time? Or is it like a secret of yours? 

[Kickinbass1011]

3 hours ago, japanesebassman said:

ha very interesting story. the place i am referring to is in Harlem, so you can only imagine the type of things that happen there. my friend caught a dead body there a few months ago on a spinner bait. you can go ahead and look up the article too. should be under “fisherman catches dead body in the Harlem Meer”. Sounds like a joke but it isn’t. that’s urban fishing for ya.

Holy crap bro. That totally hits my story out of the ballpark haha

[Jon P]

3 hours ago, Kickinbass1011 said:

That is an extremely cool read. Very interesting. Do alot of bass anglers in your area know about this specific window of time? Or is it like a secret of yours? 

Much like your spot it’s super hazardous and most people have the good sense to avoid the area. Some food fishermen pike fish down there and get the occasional bass but don’t pay them the same attention they do the pike.

[danthefisherman]

This thread is getting me very intrigued about fishing city ponds...but I'll pass on the dead bodies and drugs

Good read

[Kickinbass1011]

17 hours ago, Jon P said:

Much like your spot it’s super hazardous and most people have the good sense to avoid the area. Some food fishermen pike fish down there and get the occasional bass but don’t pay them the same attention they do the pike.

Thats how my spot is. The people that fish it do so to catch white perch and other misc species. They fish for keeps. I just remembered its also a smallmouth fishery. And even more so then largemouths, you dont catch them. Unless during even more specific periods. The best time to get smallmouth out of the place is during heavy rains on hot summer days.  When i say heavy  im talking the town flooding. So for example last time i got into smallmouth up there (upground res) i was watching the town flood dangerously/destructively below me. People definitely coined me crazy after that. I got soaked. Even in frog toggs. But them smallies just come out hard during those periods. And then, they will go back to the depths. Never to return. Im actually one of the only people that catches them there. Its bizarre. One thing i forgot to mention about my best trophy spots, and this is a big key factor. There are no boats allowed. Only time you will get out there is on ice. Which is dangerous because they are also water treatment resevoirs. So, imagine being on the ice and the water starts dropping below you leaving you floating on an ice sheet mid air. Scary stuff. I dont ice fish these places much. You have to be in the right spot, at the right time. And hope they come to the bank to feed. 

Edited December 6, 2020 by Kickinbass1011

[Jon P]

1 hour ago, Kickinbass1011 said:

Thats how my spot is. The people that fish it do so to catch white perch and other misc species. They fish for keeps. I just remembered its also a smallmouth fishery. And even more so then largemouths, you dont catch them. Unless during even more specific periods. The best time to get smallmouth out of the place is during heavy rains on hot summer days.  When i say heavy  im talking the town flooding. So for example last time i got into smallmouth up there (upground res) i was watching the town flood dangerously/destructively below me. People definitely coined me crazy after that. I got soaked. Even in frog toggs. But them smallies just come out hard during those periods. And then, they will go back to the depths. Never to return. Im actually one of the only people that catches them there. Its bizarre. One thing i forgot to mention about my best trophy spots, and this is a big key factor. There are no boats allowed. Only time you will get out there is on ice. Which is dangerous because they are also water treatment resevoirs. So, imagine being on the ice and the water starts dropping below you leaving you floating on an ice sheet mid air. Scary stuff. I dont ice fish these places much. You have to be in the right spot, at the right time. And hope they come to the bank to feed. 

I love spots that have a no-boating restriction, restricted bank areas, inaccessible water, or are just too hazardous to fish. If I have the tackle to cast further or fish better than other anglers, and the willingness to fish where others won’t, I’ve got fish all to myself.

[japanesebassman]

Just now, Jon P said:

I love spots that have a no-boating restriction, restricted bank areas, inaccessible water, or are just too hazardous to fish. If I have the tackle to cast further or fish better than other anglers, and the willingness to fish where others won’t, I’ve got fish all to myself.

imo, i think bank fishermen should probably invest the most money into their rods and reel as possible, especially in the city. it allows you to get your bait into places other fishermen can’t get to and also reduces the chance of error when you get the very rare bite. i also find urban fish are very finicky when it comes to actually committing to a bait, so a sensitive rod is very key.

[Jon P]

6 minutes ago, japanesebassman said:

imo, i think bank fishermen should probably invest the most money into their rods and reel as possible, especially in the city. it allows you to get your bait into places other fishermen can’t get to and also reduces the chance of error when you get the very rare bite. i also find urban fish are very finicky when it comes to actually committing to a bait, so a sensitive rod is very key.

Exceptionally short rods for pin-point casting and skipping are an under utilized concept in swimbait fishing. I think a 6’-6’6” rod for that purpose would be incredible. WildLures has a 6’6” rod for the WildBeat but it’s $500 at the moment. 
 

[japanesebassman]

1 hour ago, Jon P said:

Exceptionally short rods for pin-point casting and skipping are an under utilized concept in swimbait fishing. I think a 6’-6’6” rod for that purpose would be incredible. WildLures has a 6’6” rod for the WildBeat but it’s $500 at the moment. 
 

Majorcraft makes the Benkei and the Days rod. It's 7ft and its really good for the price. They are both rated up the 3oz, and stay true to that rating

[Kickinbass1011]

4 hours ago, Jon P said:

I love spots that have a no-boating restriction, restricted bank areas, inaccessible water, or are just too hazardous to fish. If I have the tackle to cast further or fish better than other anglers, and the willingness to fish where others won’t, I’ve got fish all to myself.

Absolutely. Its where alot of big fish are. If they can take refuge away from all danger by going way out there and hunkering down then they can grow. People around me, if they catch a 4-5 pound fish theyre gonna keep it. Its never gonna get the chance to keep doing its thing. These fish act like bucks. You have to find a high percentage area and just wait. Keep going there and fishing it. Until you hit it right and they are there. Or, you go to a high percentage spot and fish it all day.  The book how to catch trophy bass has this fact correct. You gotta be where they frequent. And if they get too spooked....

they will change those patterns. Just like deer. Big bass are a whole nother animal. Which you guys know. I just enjoy rambling.