BM 9/18

[Deleted]

Another good day on BM; got to the lake about 6:30 AM and fished until around 2:00. My buddy and I boated 11 bass yesterday (me 6; him 5). So it was a quality day on the lake. Most bass averaged 16+" with just a couple of them in the 13" range. With the lake level down 2+ feet I figured the fish would have been heading for deeper water but there was -0- deep water bite. We ended up catching all bass in less than 2' of water along bare banks. All of the good cover (laydown's etc.) are all high and dry with them dropping the lake level but those bass still stayed shallow. We got a little bit of rain around 9 in the morning; but the rain coats came off after about 10 minutes. With the impending weather the lake was void of other boats; we saw one here and there but basically had the whole Tulley arm to ourselves; NICE! I LOVE fishing Blue Marsh!

[zigtherat]

Nice! Sounds like a great day for Blue Marsh!

[Deleted]

Yeah; that was a pretty decent day. Actually I can honestly say that I have had a really decent season on the lake. I only came away from there skunked one time and most times I was able to haul in at least 5+ Bass each trip out (some trips better than that).

[zigtherat]

Awesome! I don't fish Blue Marsh that often but I know it can be tough. Seems like you're really on to something.

[icemole]

Put that bass tackle down and get on with your Musky quest !!!!..... Was over this morning had a small 30" swim by the shoreline I was at.  Also got a nice 18" Smallie quite fun considering my reels anti=reverse quit on me .

[Deleted]

Sounds awesome Icemole......I have yet to land a musky (although I do not fish for them). I've had two hooked now but a ML finesse rod with 6 lb. test typically is not enough to bring in a musky. I did manage to get one to the side of the boat (didn't have a net or boga grip at the time and it cut the line) and the other one cut the line about 20 feet out from the boat after a brief fight. Congrats on the smallie as well; I can't say I have caught very many brown bass on BM but I always fish up in the Tulley Arm; the land of the green bass.

Zigtherat; BM can be a tough lake for sure; it's not like the other lakes around where you know you'll catch them every outing. Every trip out I guess I am a little nervous until I catch the first one, haha. After the first one is in the boat then I relax a bit and go fish, HAHA! Blue Marsh is just a lake where it'll test all of your knowledge on the fish (and a little bit of luck helps every now and then). I could go fish Chambers and catch 10 Bass but I feel much more accomplished as a Bass Fisherman when I go to BM and catch 3; to me it's a MUCH bigger accomplishment.

I have spent years trying to hone my Bass Fishing skills on Chambers and Hopewell and manage to do pretty darn well on most trips to those lakes now, but this year I opted for more. My goal was to start fishing BM and learn at least a small portion of the lake. My goal was to be able to go on such a tough lake and learn to catch Bass there consistently. I will say that I have exceeded all expectations on the lake after only one season and I am hoping for it to only get better. Once I actually get a Bass Boat (instead of fishing out of a 14' john boat) I hope to broaden out into the main lake and start fishing some deeper water for the large brown bass that I know live in the lake. But for now I will keep hammering the Tulley Arm trying to hone my skills and knowledge of that portion of the lake.

[z06]

Mr Frogman

When they pull water from BM, it doesn't send the fish deep, it does just the opposite. It brings them up from the depths. The drawdown is the largest single factor to impact the food chain up there. And it does so in a big way. But as usual, 90% of the fisherman are oblivious to the fact.

When they drop the water, thousands of Crayfish, Mudbugs, Hellgramites, and other aquatic life are now being displaced. Most of the aforementioned life lives in in proximity to the waters edge. Crayfish have gills just like fish and have to move with the falling water. The fish are conditioned to move up & reap the bounty.

This Crayfish movement doesn't happen in spectacular fashion, and it doesn't happen all at once, but it does happen. The drawdown was always my second favorite time of the year to fish there.

I would try to concentrate on gently sloping banks with rocky bottoms. Gently sloping because a 1 foot vertical drop can mean a 10 foot horizontal exposure of the bank. Lure of choice was usually a small Crayfish colored crankbait like a Rebel Wee R, Bagleys Killer Bee, or a Bomber 6a fished on 6# or 8# line. Or, my personal favorite, the hair jig.

When the majority of water is pulled from the back of the Tulpehocken, the fish move out en masse to a particular stretch of bank and stay there during the winter. They don't swim out to the main lake.

Combine the drawdown with a low pressure system moving in, and a favorable Solunar time period, and you'll have a banner day. Night fishing really turns on during this time as well.

The best fishing up there is yet to come. You can have the spring & summer, my favorite and most productive time period is the month of November all the way 'till ice up.

Although it's been 4 years since I fished up there, I fished it for 30 years, probably have several hundred trips under my belt there.

Fishing BM will most certainly make you a better fisherman. And, you can't go wrong by spending a year or two just learning the Tulpehocken arm. There's not a lot of secrets left up there, but there are a few.

If you're serious about learning the place, get a lake map, stop by the shack & I'll mark it up for you.

z06

[Deleted]

Good to see you on here Z; it's been a while. I appreciate you offering up info on Blue Marsh to me; but honestly I'll have to politely say no thank you. I am really trying to prove myself as a Bass Fisherman this season; well.....more so than previous years. In order to do that I must come up with all info on my own. I did receive a little bit of info on BM early in the year before I started fishing it but I honestly do not and have not really used that information on the lake. I want to figure it out on my own; that'll show what kind of Bass Fisherman I am. So far so good on BM; I have held my own on a consistent basis and that is what I set out to achieve this season. Each year I plan to venture out to new spots for me but the Tulley Arm was/is my goal this season. Heck I might just focus back on the Tulley Arm again next season because there is a lot of water up in the arm. I have found several key spots on my own which will almost always hold a Bass or two and I try to also try a new spot each time out as well. I've also bee nthrough a lot of baits this season trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. It's been a lot of trial and error but I am pretty nailed down on bait selection and colors/patterns now. I actually stock 4 colors of all of my soft plastics now; one color for BM, one color for Hopewell and another colors for Chambers. Then I carry a 4th for those days when I need a small change. The color selection process was a tough one; but a lot of fun as well. I've learned just because I like a color it doesn't necessarily mean the fish will hit it. There will certainly be a few baits up for sale at our annual Spring yard sale; that's for sure, HAHA!

[MasterBaiter]

Sept 23, 2016 9:03:12 GMT -5 @frogman said:

Sounds awesome Icemole......I have yet to land a musky (although I do not fish for them). I've had two hooked now but a ML finesse rod with 6 lb. test typically is not enough to bring in a musky. I did manage to get one to the side of the boat (didn't have a net or boga grip at the time and it cut the line) and the other one cut the line about 20 feet out from the boat after a brief fight. Congrats on the smallie as well; I can't say I have caught very many brown bass on BM but I always fish up in the Tulley Arm; the land of the green bass.

Zigtherat; BM can be a tough lake for sure; it's not like the other lakes around where you know you'll catch them every outing. Every trip out I guess I am a little nervous until I catch the first one, haha. After the first one is in the boat then I relax a bit and go fish, HAHA! Blue Marsh is just a lake where it'll test all of your knowledge on the fish (and a little bit of luck helps every now and then). I could go fish Chambers and catch 10 Bass but I feel much more accomplished as a Bass Fisherman when I go to BM and catch 3; to me it's a MUCH bigger accomplishment.

I have spent years trying to hone my Bass Fishing skills on Chambers and Hopewell and manage to do pretty darn well on most trips to those lakes now, but this year I opted for more. My goal was to start fishing BM and learn at least a small portion of the lake. My goal was to be able to go on such a tough lake and learn to catch Bass there consistently. I will say that I have exceeded all expectations on the lake after only one season and I am hoping for it to only get better. Once I actually get a Bass Boat (instead of fishing out of a 14' john boat) I hope to broaden out into the main lake and start fishing some deeper water for the large brown bass that I know live in the lake. But for now I will keep hammering the Tulley Arm trying to hone my skills and knowledge of that portion of the lake.

Frogman, I'm a 17 year old angler and it seems like we have some very similar goals, but I'm a little bit behind you! I am out on my jon boat all the time trying to hone my skills and become a better fisherman. I havent tried on large lakes yet, as I'm still testing myself on smaller bodies of water like Chambers, Marsh Creek, and Octoraro, but I hope next summer to fish some harder waters to test myself. I also think college will help me do the same thing, as I plan on heading down south for school. Anyways, good luck on your quest to become a better angler!