Lake Hocrapon

[dopderbeck]

Went out last night from about 5pm till about midnight. Tried everything -- senkos and spinners on the rocks and docks, topwater, herring at night. Got one small largemouth on a senko and two catfish later at night with herring near the herring trap set up by the sunken island. Otherwise, zip. The lake was dead -- no surface action anywhere from dusk onward. I dunno I'm getting frustrated. I keep heading out there, paying the ramp fees, burning the gas, buying the herring, trying different spots, and getting nothing but a handful of scratch fish. The boy was happy with his catfish though:

http://i1344.photobucket.com/albums/p648/Dopderbeck/photo_zps4dcc8b71.jpg

[Skunk City]

Unfortunately I think you've missed the prime time to be on Hopatcong at night. The Herring spawn should be finished for the year, that's when things are crazy. I did the night thing at LH about 2 weeks ago and it was tough then.

Sunrise and sunset are your best bets for fish now.

[jimmythegreek]

the only action is rly late, like 2-4am, only in certain spots. herring spawn is done on LH, this is the toughest time of the year to fish on LH. fish are still in shallow weeds and havent moved to the 15-20 mark yet. I fished sunrise both sat+sun morning and was almost served the skunk, between the 5year draw down and the late ice, the fish are messed up. Give it a few weeks and they will be on normal patterns/spots. The fall bite is gonna be off the hook this year, im already ready lol

[bigfishy]

Thought the 5 yr draw down was last yr??? guess i'm wrong
just re-read ur post...sorry

[GetANet]

It's all about timing and technique especially on the big Pond, Tough lake fish for sure, but be positive and don't quit on her.
Look at the time spent fishing there as experience. You should be learning something every time out which will help you in the future.
And enjoy the time on the water with your buddy!

[NJ Dave]

By the look of the kids smile not a minute of time or gallon of fuel was wasted.
Sometimes it more about the fun than the catch.

[catfishonthelake]

I like the nickname. Lol. It caught crap on that lake for 4 years until I learned how to fish it. Don't stop trying. I don't do much bait fishing there any more, but most of the summer success I had was from double anchoring on or off structure in 15 to 25 feet of water. I would put out two herring on slip bobbers, one on a live line and one on a down rod. Once I got an idea of where the fish were, I'd adjust accordingly. Late June-Aug are low-light affairs. You really only have a few hours in the morning that fish are going to be active, from like 5am to 8am. Al the other action will be at dusk and after dark. The last two years my buddy has asked me to take him out for stripers on his b-day on July 15th and we fish at dusk and after dark and we smacked them both times doing what I just said. I'd happily share a couple spots that were shared to me and a another trick that will up your odds if you shoot me a PM.

[bunker dunker]

We must have went to the same lh school of fishing catfish{lol}.that is the go to method all summer long.

[catfishonthelake]

We must have went to the same lh school of fishing catfish{lol}.that is the go to method all summer long.

I bet we did learn from the same guys. :D