CTFishTalk.com: Bishop Swamp 06/10 - Connecticut Lake Reports ( CT Lake Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

I had been trying to arrange a time to go fishing with bass tracker (aka Greg) for a while, and he got a day off from work, so we finally went. Although I wanted to check out Mashapaug Pond, the weather forecast was for a chance of rain and increasing winds in the early afternoon, so Greg suggested that we check out Bishop Swamp (aka Jurovaty's) which is a local spot that he's been fishing for over 20 years. Since we knew that our fishing day would probably be cut short by the weather, we met at sunrise and headed down to the swamp:

When we got on the water in Greg's boat at 5:45 am, the air was cool, the sky was overcast and there was very little wind. There was even a fine mist hanging on the water. The water temperature was 67 degrees when we launched and rose to a high of 70 degrees in the afternoon. The water was tea stained. Bishop Swamp is very similar to Woodcreek Pond, in that its deepest point is at the end of the ramp and the rest of the pond is four feet deep or less. We didn't see a single fish bed the whole day, although that's not surprising considering the amount of weed cover on the bottom. I started throwing a Bullfrog Zoom Horny Toad on a 4/0 Gamakatsu Offset Shank Worm EWG (i.e., Extra Wide Gap) hook and boated the first fish at 5:52 am:

Yeap, it was the first of many chain pickerel that we boated. I didn't even hook it. When it hit the Horny Toad next to the boat, I tried to set the hook and it flew up out of the water and into the boat. Surprised

It wasn't until 6:27 am, that Greg boated the first largemouth bass with a wacky rigged Senko:

I immediately switched from the Horny Toad to a wacky rigged Green Pumpkin/Red Flake five inch Senko. However, it wasn't until 6:59 am that I finally boated my first largemouth bass with it:

I didn't photograph all of the fish that we caught, but we caught bunches of chain pickerel and largemouth bass. I had the feet ripped off of four or five Horny Toads by chain pickerel before I decided to tie on a Green/Yellow 2-5/8 inch LIVETARGET Hollow Body Frog, instead. Although I boated two or three more chain pickerel with it, the largemouth bass weren't interested in it. At all. Crying or Very sad

However, they stayed interested in wacky rigged Senkos:

I weighed that fish, but can't remember what it weighed. Rolling Eyes

Sorry, Greg! Embarassed

This one, however, weighed six pounds, 11 ounces:

Whoo Hoo!

It's my new Personal Best largemouth bass. Cool

As the wind rose, we just let it blow us around. The recent rains raised the water level about as high as it can go, so we fished the flooded shoreline and pulled some small but feisty largemouth bass out of it. At one point, Greg caught a nice largemouth bass that regurgitated a partially digested frog into the net:

Meanwhile, I kept throwing the LIVETARGET frog until I finally boated a largemouth bass with it:

Whoo Hoo!

We continued to catch small chain pickerel and small largemouth bass (i.e., mostly seven to 14 inches long) as the weather deteriorated. Although we got sprinkled on by the occasional cloud after noon, we didn't see any real raindrops until 4:00 pm. After we called "Just One More", I quickly got mine, and a short while later, Greg got his and a "Just One More Just One More", before we put the boat back on the trailer at 4:45 pm and the rain began falling in earnest. Although I'm totally exhausted from a lack of sleep, I couldn't be happier that I woke up at 4:00 am, this morning. Thanks, Greg! Very Happy

_________________
Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

avidangler · Joined: 08 Jan 2013 Posts: 469 Location: Forestville

Sounds like you had a very fun day.
Congratulations on that PB bucket mouth!
_________________
...Randy...

Leeway and elbow room.There's plenty of water to fish!

avidanglingadventures.blogspot.com

"If we concentrated on the really important stuff in life,there'd be a shortage of fishing poles."

Michael · Joined: 28 Jan 2012 Posts: 3823 Location: Bridgeport

Nice job guys! Congrats on the PB Phil!

angry john · Joined: 30 Jun 2012 Posts: 119

Wow that LMB was a pig. You definately are working by the theroy of more time on the water = a chance at better fish. XXXX is a new twist.

DirtyDawg10 · Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT

Nice job on the new PB Phil! I think you missed with the black bar on XXXX...it should have been a bit higher to cover that 24 on his hat Wink

j/k

bass tracker · Joined: 17 May 2012 Posts: 84

Funny report XXXX, it sure was fun fishing yesterday! The fish were really hitting those xxxx with xxxx senko's. I'm glad the weather held off as long as it did, and I'm really happy for your PB LMB, glad I could net it for you. Hope we can do it again soon.

XX

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Hey, I didn't want to mess up your quiet spot on the water, Greg. Laughing

I neglected to mention that we were the only boat on the water the whole day and, despite the occasional airplane flying by overhead, we had a very peaceful day. I love spots like that.

Since nobody complained about the redacted report, I hope you don't mind that I fixed it.
_________________
Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

DCAJ · Joined: 04 Jun 2012 Posts: 76 Location: Berlin, CT

Nice fish guys. Congrats on the PB Phil.
Looks like a nice place for a kayak.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

x182dan · Joined: 19 Mar 2009 Posts: 329 Location: Seymour, CT

nice!
_________________
Never Stop Learning

jjbassfishn · Joined: 17 Jun 2012 Posts: 209 Location: Northwestern CT.

Very healthy looking bass and what a hog. Showed my son and he's wanting to check this place out!

How's the ramp? Can I get my 285XL in there? Wink

PS congrats on the new PB. What was its length?
_________________
PB LMB 9.3LBS Winchester Lake
PB SMB 5.8LBS Colebrook Res.
PB Pike 3.85LBS Winchester Lake

Can't catch em sittin on the sofa! Wink

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

jjbassfishn · Joined: 17 Jun 2012 Posts: 209 Location: Northwestern CT.

We'll have to wait until we get a couple a yak's. I can get the rig off the trailer, But a bit of a pain to load without the muscle that's mounted on the back! Sad

_________________
PB LMB 9.3LBS Winchester Lake
PB SMB 5.8LBS Colebrook Res.
PB Pike 3.85LBS Winchester Lake

Can't catch em sittin on the sofa! Wink

JJay · Joined: 23 Sep 2011 Posts: 113 Location: Farmington, CT

Congrats on pb Thumbs Up

sbehuniak09 · Joined: 10 Jul 2012 Posts: 229 Location: Seymour, CT

Wow that's an incredible fish. Awesome job!
_________________
The fishing was good; it was the catching that was bad. ~A.K. Best