Note: See Dan Aubrey’s full story on Cermele at ‘Trenton-Born Podcaster Fishes for Good Stories‘ in the sidebar.
Joe Cermele is the Trenton-born Field & fishing Magazine writer and host of the new podcast “Retie & Cut.”
During a recent interview in his fish-decorated studio in the Morrisville, PA, area, the author of numerous magazine articles and author of several Field & Stream-produced books was asked about his experiences of fishing on the Delaware River.
After thinking for a moment, the 39-year-old writer smiled and replied as follows:
“I’ve been fishing this river since I was 6 years old at Stacy Park with my dad.
The Delaware is an interesting river. Parts of it are world famous. If you go to the headwater, the Delaware is the greatest wild trout fishing east of the Mississippi. It’s world-famous.
What make this river so unique is that it is the largest undammed waterway on the East Coast. It allows fish to come from the Delaware Bay and go up the river.
This river has everything you want. Wild trout in the north region, striped bass that live in the river year-round, muskie, and, in the spring, there are runs of herring and shad. You can catch a 40-pound striped bass in Trenton.
(The river) morphs throughout the season. In April you have migratory fish and coming out of winter is a much better time for bass. Water gets low in the summer.
There was small mouth bass fishing that rivaled the Susquehanna. Over the past three years there has been a downturn on small mouth bass, perhaps (because of) snake heads. Between Easton and Trenton there has been a noticeable downside in the population. It is noticeable, but nobody is studying it. Small mouths were the stable fish.
In terms of popularity, (the river) is not a destination. You could never call the lower Delaware a destination. Northern Delaware, that’s where New York goes. But the rest of the river is local only. That’s fine. It’s less pressured than other places in the country. We don’t need lodges and hotels along the Delaware River.
The stretch between Lambertville and Trenton, that’s the fall line. I live in a world where there are two different styles of fishing in close proximity. Where we live is the least fished area in the river.
One of the simplest things to catch fish in the river is get some shrimp or hot dogs, drop line along the shore, and catch channel cat fish.
That’s one of the easiest things I do with my son, who is 4 — get a bag of hot dogs or bag of shrimp and catch channel fish.
One of the cool things on the river is you can fish on either bank … the water license is for both sides. But the rules apply to whatever state you’re standing in.
There are enough species in the river that will eat some of the basic lures.
If you have any inline spinner or a floating plug or curly tale lure, all you have to do is cast. The idea that you need hundreds or thousands (of dollars) so you can go to river and fish is wrong.
The more you know, the more you complicate things. It can be a trap. You have to go back to basics. I go back to bobber fishing because I have a kid. And you never stop giggling when the bobber goes down, there is beauty with simplicity.
The Lambertville wing dam is one of fishiest spots on the river or on this stretch in the river. But it is fairly treacherous, but every boulder gives a fish a place to sit behind. It is a challenge because the current is so strong. You have to know how to wade in it. But it can be very productive. It is an advanced level kind of place.
(The Delaware) can also be a dangerous river. It is a big body of water. In the Lambertville to Trenton area, we’re at the bottom of drainage. If there is a storm in New York (State), we’re going to get that water.
When the water is high is when people make mistakes. You have to know the conditions. It is not a forgiving river.
I know a lot of fishermen who go to different places. They don’t have the time to get the know (the Delaware River).”
For more on Cermele’s thoughts on fishing, catch “Retie & Cut” on all the usual podcasting platforms (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, etc.).
To view Cermele’s ‘Field & Stream‘ videos online, see the YouTube channel of the same name and pick one of the following Field & Stream books: “The Total Fishing Manual,” “The Total Fly Fishing Manual,’ “The Complete Guide to Surfcasting,” and “How to Catch Bass.”
