Merrill Creek Res. 6/15/13:

[AndyS]

Up at 3:30 am for a solo trip to Merrill Creek Res. Got my 10 dozen herring (the guy cut me a break on the price) and I was on my way just after 5am. Set up strait out front of the ramp in about 50 or 60 FOW. Had action right away, boated one Lake Trout and got hammered by stockie browns, I lost count after a while.
Wind picked up and it was hard to live line the rather small herring so I packed up and headed to the other side of the lake, by the eagles’ nest. Picked up 2 more lakers and dropped 3, had stockie rainbows on that side of the lake. Kept my limit of 2 Lake Trout. Saw more trout guys, usually I see a lot of bass guys. Saw guys pulling planer boards, downriggers, and another guy with a fly jerk machine. Come to find out later at the boat ramp the guy hammered them on the jerk flies, including a whopper of a 6lb. Rainbow Trout. The jerk fly machine is growing in popularity, whatever happens on the Great Lakes filters down to us eventually.
Had an Osprey fall out of the sky like a cannonball no more than 50 yards away and picked off a stockie trout. I saw Loons, Cormorants (amazing, you never see those) and the big Bald Eagle fly into his nest.
A lot of boats on the lake and the clarity was pretty good despite all the rain. Haven’t seen any schools of herring yet this year, I’m not throwing up any flags just yet, but if the Lake Trout start looking like Pickerel you know we have a problem. Off the lake by noon in the baking sun.
On the way home I peeked over at Spruce Run Creek, running high and clear. Peeked through the trees and Spruce Run seemed to be full, and the North Branch was chocolate milk.
Swung by Round Valley on my way home to check on the tournament. The guy at the gate asks me for my fishing license, I said it’s Free Fishing Days, I don’t need a license. He asked me again, again I gave him the same answer, then he waved me in. I understand you need a fishing license to use the boating area, if you don’t have one you need to get a users permit, but how does this argument end on Free Fishing Days, I don’t know. Saw a few guys weighing in a couple of 15” Lake Trout. I weighed in my Lake Trout just to see how much it weighed, close to 4 lbs. If I had caught it Round Valley I would have been on the leader board.
All and all not too bad, no big browns, but that’s fishin’.

Happy Fahdders Day to all you Fahdders.

.....oh yeah, Manny Luftglass was fishing there today also, I think with his buddy Ron Bern.

[GetANet]

When is "FISHING MERRILL CREEK" coming out??? YEA, I know double anchor and fish herring on a #6 with an egg sinker....YADA, YADA,YADA.
Nice guy met him at a RVTA meeting a few years back.
Sounds like you had a decent day, how far did you have to climb up that tree to get that pic???? LOL Nice Job Andy!

[AndyS]

I went to a seminar Manny gave and a guy asked if night crawlers would be good bait in Round Valley. He said NO ! That is un natural to the fish in Round Valley and they won't eat them. That's funny, because I pound the night rainbows on night crawlers.

[Lard Almighty]

That's funny, because I pound the night rainbows on night crawlers.Not to mention atomic orange processed cheese. Stocked rainbows aren't the brightest fish.

[AndyS]

Its not cheese, it's cheese food. Best damn bait for those smart rainbows at night ! (Power cheese)

[DoubleG]

What's a jerk fly machine?

Good job on the trout, sounds like a great day.

[Eskimo]

.



Great fishing report Andy.

I haven't gotten to MCR this year, but really should one of these weekends.



.

[AndyS]

It's a machine you stick your rod into and it pulls forward and drops back. You can do it by hand but the jerking machines are rising in popularity. The guy had a string of 5 streamers on copper line.

[Bicey]

I've seen a few guys at spruce run using the jerk machines for hybrids.

[acabtp]

there's a dude with a white boat who has been running one of those machines every time i have been at RVR in the past year

[Gatto1227]

It's a machine you stick your rod into and it pulls forward and drops back. You can do it by hand but the jerking machines are rising in popularity.
Lol

[GetANet]

Has our society become so lazy that we need a machine to JERK IT??????LOL

[Wilson]

Has our society become so lazy that we need a machine to JERK IT??????LOL
I myself prefer the old fashioned hands on approach:cool:

[Fish n Jeep]

Too easy, Gatto.

[Big Steve]

I also hit Merrill sat. and observed the jerkman wondering what the hell was going on. All stockies no holdovers 3 lakers one of which tipped the scale at the boat launch at 8 3/4 lbs. WE drifted for a while then anchored in 80fow and chummed our dead herring. big laker hit at about 60 ft. I am also a follower of Manny L. :D

[Art Berkman]

I also hit Merrill sat. and observed the jerkman wondering what the hell was going on. All stockies no holdovers 3 lakers one of which tipped the scale at the boat launch at 8 3/4 lbs. WE drifted for a while then anchored in 80fow and chummed our dead herring. big laker hit at about 60 ft. I am also a follower of Manny L. :D

Yo Bro :D

Welcome aboard !!!

[FASTEDDIE29]

Sounds like a great day on the water. We don't need a stinking jerk machine. There's massage parlors for that!!!

[Super]

10 dozen herring?

Question 1 - How do you fish that many?

Question 2 - Have you ever needed/used 10 dozen?

Question 3 - how can you afford it$$$?

[AndyS]

I am live lining 5 rods at once. I look like a ballerina when I'm in the boat alone, I don't sit down. I'm shooting live herring off in all different directions, and chumming livies along the way to fuel the mix in the water. Some times I feel it might not happen but I'm going to try my hardest to make it happen. I change baits often. 10lb. plus Brown Trout are really smart. I dropped down to a #8 thin wire hook because the baits were small. I keep things moving and looking as natural as I can, tryin to fool that fat boy brown. If the herring isn't swimming right or looks beat up, I change baits. Lastly - I HATE RUNNING OUT OF BAIT. I'm only on the water for 4 maybe 5 hours at the most. In those few hours I bomb the area with live bait, it's a do or die kind of fishing. I look up at the wall and see an 11lb and 18lb brown caught with these methods so I think it works, kinda. I'm lookin for a needle in a hay stack, a 20lb. brown would be nice. :) Methods of madness !!!

Fished like this back in the day at Round Valley, always fun watching 8lb. browns blowing up on live bait. I fished party boats out of San Diego, they pretty much fished the same way, chummed out a lot of live bait and made it happen !

[Art Berkman]

10 Dozen Herring ;)

Your welcome to join us anytime :D

You know what I would do with them !!!

[Jetdrive]

Sideways in a good wind can do about the same thing just drifting. Another lazy way to jig that can be effective.. :)

Nice report.

[AndyS]

I used to drift, the fish picks up the bait and feels the weight, patooy, they spit out the bait, it doesn't feel right. So I went to live lining with very small hooks, 4 and 6lb. test line and an open bail. The fish hits the herring and it feels good, they eat. Just they way I fish, I like it, bait and wait.

[Big Steve]

Everyone has their own method, whatever floats your bait, I mean boat..:D

[Jetdrive]

Everyone has their own method, whatever floats your bait, I mean boat..:D
I try them all. Whatever works at the time. I have been fishing MC ever since it was filled. From live lining to double anchor bottom fishing to trolling flat lines, divers and lead weights, to jigging. The most satisfying is finding the fish and then getting them to hit. Know what I mean ;)

[lunkertaker]

Its not cheese, it's cheese food. Best damn bait for those smart rainbows at night ! (Power cheese)

Nice report! So Andy come clean...nightcrawlers is Velveeta and shiners are smashed Velveeta?:confused: If ya pick up 3 dozen "shiners" is that a pound or 2 lbs of Velveeta?

[Moz]

Happy to hear your choreography fishing by yourself landed so many fish Andy!

The guy at RVR's parking lot I don't think is there so much to enforce the boatramp area rules but to try and contain the fence-hoppers into the main park who try to avoid paying the parking over there. That's my theory anyway, it's pretty lax at 5 AM though with getting in there. lol

3 trips in a row to the Valley for me and the wardens were out checking licenses and verifying catch-limits/sizes. Awesome to see. I took both kids out on Fathers Day in the afternoon and one of the new wardens came around and was very friendly and gave some bobbers with the NJDF&W logo out to my kids.

Didn't mean to hijack your thread but I'm very pleased with the enforcement efforts there. Now if they can just keep the jackasses hopping the fence completely out to avoid another total causeway lock-down they'll be on my X-Mas card list for sure. :D

[AndyS]

Drop a quarter size glob of Velveeta down 40ft. at night, it won't be there long. Same thing with night crawlers. Use small hooks, size 8.
Pretty easy catching rainbows at night on RV.