hellagramites

[RWole]

Does anyone know of a bait shop in the areas of northern/western N.J. OR
Eastern Pa. that sell Hellagramites. I know that with all the rain and high water its tough but worth a try. Thanks in advance.

[AndyS]

Do you remember Wags !!! Oh my lord, the hellgramites he sold, mouth watering to say the least !!

[Jhunter1]

Highway on rt 31 has them a lot of times. Call first. I believe its illegal for bait shops to sell them in PA.

[icebadger]

if you can not find any bait stores that have them you can get them in small streams and rivers by turning over rocks you can use an old screen to get them. put the screen down stream from where you are flipping over the rocks and they get on the screen but be careful they have a mean bite. they are great bait for smallmouths. it is getting late in the season for them if you wait too long they turn into their adult stage usually the last two weeks in may into the middle of june is the best time to find them.. good luck

[RichS]

Stokes carried them years back. Man do they work on smallies.

[Dave B.]

Do you remember Wags !!! Oh my lord, the hellgramites he sold, mouth watering to say the least !!

I was very sad when Walt decided to retire and close the store. He bought his hellgies from a local guy who collected them. Occasionally I would drop him off several dozen when I had leftovers from a day of smallie banging.
Here's a bit of trivia for ya... the store name 'WAG' actually represented he and his wife's first initials, Walt And Georgia. Damned nice folks!

[RWole]

I usually do get them from the shop on rt 31. bu this high water is making it impossible. Pa. is allowed to sell the, I called Woherles yesterday but same deal with the high water. Hitting the Delaware next week for a float trip and they are a magical bait. Last year caught over 60 smallies over 3 days. WAG was awesome, do miss them.

[Billfish715]

For what it's worth........my son's friend used the Gulp Helgremites from Berkley on a float trip on the Delaware last year. He did very well with them rigged on a 1/4 oz jig head. In some slower runs, he used them under a slip bobber. His catch included many smallmouths and even a couple of stripers.
It's worth looking into.

[Jhunter1]

I usually do get them from the shop on rt 31. bu this high water is making it impossible. Pa. is allowed to sell the, I called Woherles yesterday but same deal with the high water. Hitting the Delaware next week for a float trip and they are a magical bait. Last year caught over 60 smallies over 3 days. WAG was awesome, do miss them.

From the looks of the projected water height by me I don't think hellgrammites will be your biggest problem if your going next week. And I wasn't sure about pa I never bought them here however I do catch around a thousand every year but this high water is ridiculous this year and last year. When the main rivers are high you can still get them in smaller rivers like the North Branch if your willing to put some time in. Good luck

[RWole]

i figured the river will be high and fast. How is the clarity? Hopefully it does not look like Yoo-Hoo drink.

[Jhunter1]

It's definitely going to be high and muddy not like normal summer fishing you probably won't even want helgramites. They were projecting 11 foot at Belvidere which is unsafe but now down to 8. For bass I would be throwing spinnerbaits and jerkbaits with the minimal clarity you will have.

[HBird11]

The river is already pretty much muddy brown and currently 66 degrees and flowing at 6.93 ft in Belvidere. It’s forecasted to only go up to 7.2 ft. midday Friday and the 30some years experience I have fishing the river that’s definitely go time for me

[oelgnal1]

If getting them is a problem, had you ever thought of an imitation such as a fly?
Just a thought.

[RWole]

All went well this past week on the Delaware. Fished Monday - Wednesday and did well catching smallies using crayfish. The river is dropping every day , this week should be even better. Wedneday night they were hitting hard.

[dakota560]

All went well this past week on the Delaware. Fished Monday - Wednesday and did well catching smallies using crayfish. The river is dropping every day , this week should be even better. Wedneday night they were hitting hard.

How were you fishing the crayfish? Under a float or free drifting with a split shot?

[RWole]

drifting with split shot