Catching Hot Weather
Bass in Delaware
By Steve vonBrandt
Some of the best ponds during the heat, day or night, have been
Millsboro, Killens, and Canal pond.
KILLENS - First of the closest ponds to both upper
and lower Delaware is Killens in Dover. Killens is located right
off rt.13. Turn left onto State Park Road, follow the road around
the curve, past the main park entrance, and about a mile and a half
down the road is the pond. It has parking for about six to eight
trucks with trailers, with an adequate launching ramp. Killens is
a state park, and they also rent boats and cabins, but you will
find little competition for bass except on the weekends.

Most of Killens is one to five feet deep at the shoreline, except
in the extreme upper end, where it is just inches deep. The lake
has an Island in the center with some wood cover and grass. It drops
off to six feet quickly on the channel side (main lake), and is
about three feet on the right side. This is a particularly good
area to work in the day with "Senko's" in four and
five inch sizes in black and watermelon on a 3/0 WG hook, with eight
and ten pound test line. In addition, clacker type buzzbaits produce
bass in the three to six pound range many times in this area, even
in the bright afternoon sun. A Tournament Frog, or "Sumo Frog"
is a good choice for the pads especially in the daytime heat. The
action will be slower, but you can connect with some big explosions
through the grass and pads at times. A Tournament Frog is the best
choice of topwater, and a 1/2 ounce in black works best all around.
Vary the retrieve, both day and night, sometimes letting the frog
sit after hitting the water, as long as thirty seconds, then use
a few quick hops. If this doesn't produce, try working it very
fast and pausing only once, on the way back to the boat. This is
especially effective in large pads.
Jigs in black and blue take their fair share of nice bass from
here also, but you must be extremely accurate and quiet in your
presentations or you will not connect. The bass will be in the heaviest
of cover, lying in wait for a slow moving, crippled bait to come
overhead.

"GO AT NIGHT"
Fishing at night when the water cools to seventy or seventy-five
degrees, is the best time to connect with bigger bass now. Explore
the shallow water right at the drop-offs on the left side of the
lake with buzzbaits cast to the main channel edge. Do not be afraid
to experiment with some older, forgotten baits, such as a "Devils
Horse", or similar prop baits. They work wonders sometimes
in highly pressured lakes.
MILLSBORO POND
Millsboro Pond is in Sussex County, Delaware, in the town of Millsboro
off Isabella and Main Street. It has room for only a few boats,
and the launching ramp is very shallow, you can get off all right,
but getting back on the trailer can be real tricky. Most of the
lake is shallow, with lots of grass. It has several Islands, but
the bass go to shallow water at night in the upper end. Buzzbaits
are best, but Tournament Frogs work well also, in the day and night.
Several bass have been caught in the three to six pound range in
the past at night, using the frog and Senko's mostly in the day.
Cast the buzzbait wherever possible at night, it is worth removing
the grass. Use Senko's by the lower end of the lake in deeper water
in the day, and do not forget to let them sit a long time, raise
the pole once or twice, and then cast again. Use these techniques
and bring plenty of insect repellent, and you will connect with
some lunkers, and many others in the two to three pound range.
CANAL POND
Canal Pond is located by the railroad bridge in the C&D Canal
area. Turn right under St.Georges Bridge and follow the road to
the pond. It has beautiful structure, pads, and has a deep shoreline
with a deep hole. This was where a few years ago, the thirty pound
landlocked striped bass was caught. There are some real Lunker largemouth's
still there also. You will need a small cartop boat to fish it,
but it is worth the trouble of getting in. It is about thirty acres
of real good drop-offs, and structure, where bass up to nine pounds
have been caught. Please remember to practice Catch, Photo, and
Release so we can all enjoy the bass fishing there for a long time
to come. Senko's and four inch straight tailed worms work best
throughout the year in watermelon and green. At times spinnerbaits
and frogs will work, but this is a plastics lake.
Editors Note:
Our thanks to ReelTimeAnglers for these great articles by Steve
vonBrandt. www.reeltimeanglers.com
Delaware Fishing Article About Catching Hot Weather
Bass in DE
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