Crappie bite turns on as Delaware Valley fisheries ease into fall

What's biting

What's next

Expect this improving trend to hold through the first week of October. Wagner is calling for an even stronger bass bite at Wallenpaupack as the water continues to cool, and expects walleye to start mixing into the catch as fall deepens, timing that tracks with how walleye typically show up later than bass and crappie in this region. Closer to the coastal Pine Barrens side, Hands Too Bait and Tackle in Cape May said area lakes and ponds are in strong shape after September's rain, which should keep freshwater conditions favorable in the week ahead.

With this week's full moon now past, look for the more consistent low-light feeding windows that follow to make early morning and evening trips fished under floats near cover the better bet this weekend.

Context

A river rounding into shape and a crappie bite switching on in late September is right on schedule for the Delaware River and Pine Barrens region, where the fall transition typically firms up through the first two weeks of October. Freshwater fisheries here generally lag the coastal fall run by a few weeks, and this year's pattern, with the river only reaching good shape as September wraps up, reads as neither early nor late for the corridor. Walleye fisheries at higher-elevation lakes like Wallenpaupack typically switch on a few weeks behind bass and crappie, so an early-October pickup there would be typical timing rather than a surprise.