Lake Wallenpaupack Fishing Legend in the Making!
There are plenty of consistent fishermen around the lake, most of them will charge you to have a great trip. There is nothing wrong with that either; it takes decades if not years to learn how to consistently catch big fish on this lake. We’ve all seen the posts about getting “skunked” out on the water for a day, two, or even over a week-long vacation. It happens and this isn’t the easiest lake to fish.
We aren’t about to share secrets or divulge any privileged information, but I can tell you that we’ve been close to figuring things out a few times which only leads to you realizing you are further away than you originally thought.
As we’ve always suspected, there is so much detail that goes into catching fish consistently on this lake. Guides like Mike Salamon & Bernie Zipay seem to catch “game fish” like the average angler catches a blue gill with a dangling worm on a hook. From what I know about these guys, they spent 30 years learning their trade, many trial and error missions over that time period for sure. You want to catch fish? These guys will ensure you have a solid chance at taking a few memorable pics!
The Wally BITES story is more about our journey and our battle to land the big lake monsters that live in the depths of Lake Wallenpaupack. One fish at a time, one species at a time. I want to share a story about someone who followed us early on, showed support for our effort and ultimately what we are trying to accomplish which is showcasing the importance of Lake Wallenpaupack and how amazing this place can truly be…
This person respects the lake, most importantly the fish that live and breathe in its water. He too, is passionate about Lake Wallenpaupack – a lake you can hate one minute and learn to love the very next.
When I share that we would jump up and down when we caught a fish on the lake, it’s not a lie. Every fish is a meaningful fish to us (Me & Trevor) but some people, and my belief is there are fewer than there are many, have an ability to land big fish consistently. I’m not talking about 2 or 3 fish in a day / evening but I’m talking about a fish whisperer! I joke and he’ll probably get mad at me for calling him that. He’s more like a fish slayer that releases 99% of his fish.
Will Hazimof was an early adopter of Wally BITES, why… not really sure but we certainly appreciated his support. At one point he uploaded 100+ pictures to our catch & release page only to realize it mapped some of his fishing spots; we ended up taking them down by request. This guy has a library of fishing pictures that would rival a pro on tour… maybe an exaggeration, maybe not.
He’s been really fair with us without giving away any of his hard-earned secrets. He’d nudge us in a few directions, made several suggestions but we simply didn’t have the type of success that we’d hoped. Was that him or us, I can assure you it was entirely us. You see, we met up with Will…
He’s a great guy, very nice and personable. Will shared a bit about himself; opened up to us about his home life, work, and the things that matter most to him. Dedicated husband, a hard worker that I’m not sure sleeps very much. He loves fishing, not just any type of fishing either… the guy wants to catch big fish, whether it’s in Lake Wallenpaupack or off the coastline in Rhode Island. Has he mastered striper & walleye fishing on Lake Wallenpaupack, my statement is as follows, “as much as anyone can claim to know how to fish the lake”!
We offered to take Will out with us one evening and he offered to take us out with him one evening. We ended up blind-folded driving in our car to a secret location, haha – I’m just kidding. We met him at a boat launch, both groups arrived early and after a 10-minute conversation we were out on the water in search of some lake monsters.
First, let me start out by saying Will is an excellent conversationalist when it comes to fishing. He knows his stuff and understands the lake as well as anyone I’ve spoken with over the last 3 years. Has he caught big Muskies and Northerns? No… you see, he doesn’t fish for those yet. When he does, I’m certain he’ll find them and catch them. He was patient with us, we shared a bit of banter that I imagine most fishermen share, he’s confident and not afraid to dish it out.
After a few minutes of explaining some things (what I’d call fine-tuning us) for ideal catching we were deep in it. Three dedicated outdoorsman casting, chuckling and hoping the bite was on. What happened next is honestly one of the best experiences of my life. I’ve caught several big fish in freshwater and saltwater but this lake hasn’t been so kind to me in the few years I’ve fished it. Sure, the occasional bass both large and small but nothing like what I’d hoped for given how hard I’ve fished this lake for the past three years.
I hooked up with a nice striper, line whizzing off the spool and a big old smile on my face. Next up was my bestie Trevor, he lands a really nice one. Will seems unphased by all this excitement, he’s happy I can tell but not over-joyed. I sensed he liked the added pressure of not landing one yet, he comes through with the next three fish. After that, it was time for everyone to catch a walleye, whether by luck or years of practice we all caught our walleyes around the same time.
Will was extremely careful and protective to ensure we all were revitalizing our fish so we could declare a successful catch & release. If you must take a fish that won’t revive that’s okay but don’t give up easy. Remember, they fought for you and you must do your part to help them live on….
In closing, I’d like to say that I would have won the night had it not been for the (2) other stripers that spit me out… damn I was angry but not enough to allow it to ruin an amazing night that accounted for 10 fish being brought onto the boat. If you are anything like me, I am happy when anyone on a boat is catching fish. This trip may have spoiled me and my friend for a long time to come.
In all, it was worth it and a big special thank you goes out to Will for spending some time with us out on the waters of Lake Wallenpaupack. Can’t wait until next time, when we drag you out on our 26ft Pontoon!!! I may even let you to use a night-crawler ?