# First time at AEP



## youngpondfisher (Sep 10, 2010)

I am going down to AEP this saturday for the first time and was just wondering what they bite on down there. one of my buddies went and caught abouth 30 largemouth and smallmouth and im really looking foward to it. also where are some good ponds?


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## Fishin Chick (Feb 27, 2010)

All I can say is good luck finding a spot. Get down there early because it is going to be packed for the holiday weekend. You can find a lot on google earth and use the map on the website for the roads. But once you get down there you won't have any service on your phone so its hard. It's a lot of fun but also a lot of hunting if you want to find some good ponds.


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## Bozwell (Apr 4, 2011)

Last couple of days they been tearin' up the worms according to the texts I've been getting from some friends.
We'll be heading down for Thursday through Monday this weekend but have a rental property that we have about 15-20 min away so we won't have to fight the crowds in the camp grounds.
Honestly though, if you have GPS that you can scan out on - you can find some decent ponds that you can hike back into maybe 3/4 - 1 mile and find some great fishing and not see hardly anyone.
Last year on Memorial Day we hiked back in about a mile and we saw nobody else on the water for 2 days.
One word of advice. Do not hike back in alone. My group is adamant about the buddy system - Nobody hikes or fishes alone. Some of that area is pretty desolate and in recent years there have been some, How should we say, "incidents" that did not turn out quite so well for the people involved.
Not trying to scare anyone but the opportunity always exists that you could have an accident/injury or otherwise that would require medical treatment and if you are alone, things could go from great to bad in a hurry.
Hope you have a successful weekend of fishing and enjoy your time down there.
Boz


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## youngpondfisher (Sep 10, 2010)

thanks for the tips guys i hope to get some!


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## my vise (Jun 12, 2011)

Spent last weekend down at aep and have never seen it as busy. Wow! Fishing was off. Buddy and I caught a good 80 or so but the big girls were done biting. 3-1/2 was probably the biggest and that might be pushing it. tried everything and light brown finesse worm on a drop shot was the ticket. 90% of the fish. no wiggle, just wait 10 sec and move it. All I got for you man. Sorry. Do be careful. 

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## tnant1 (Nov 21, 2006)

Senko or drop shot anytime. Jitterbug at night.


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## dre (Aug 14, 2009)

I always do real good with Watermelon Super Flukes down there. I slayed them last weekend, but as said earlier in this thread, biggest was 19 inches. The big females must be done biting. Ran into some guys on the way down to the pond that said they caught 2 6lbers 2 weekends ago. Must have been the prime time to go down.


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## youngpondfisher (Sep 10, 2010)

the trip was good and i plan on going back soon. i caught about 10 lm bass that were around 12 inches and about 30 bluegill that were very big. i only fished 3 ponds and i was caught offgaurd by the amount of veggitation, are all the ponds like this?


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## turkeyt (Apr 13, 2006)

youngpondfisher said:


> the trip was good and i plan on going back soon. i caught about 10 lm bass that were around 12 inches and about 30 bluegill that were very big. i only fished 3 ponds and i was caught offgaurd by the amount of veggitation, are all the ponds like this?



There are some ponds in fields and woods but the growth is bad on most ponds from briars to what my buddy calls Russian Olive along with thorn bushes and it don't stop there. Tough place to get close to the banks on a lot of good ponds. The ticks are the main concern though.


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## youngpondfisher (Sep 10, 2010)

turkeyt said:


> There are some ponds in fields and woods but the growth is bad on most ponds from briars to what my buddy calls Russian Olive along with thorn bushes and it don't stop there. Tough place to get close to the banks on a lot of good ponds. The ticks are the main concern though.


Sorry i mean the aquatic veggition, like the moss and weeds under the water. haha


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## turkeyt (Apr 13, 2006)

youngpondfisher said:


> Sorry i mean the aquatic veggition, like the moss and weeds under the water. haha


Oh heck, that's part of the AEP also. Real bad unless you hit the real deep highwall lakes. I think it is worse this year because we had the mild winter. Topwaters, frogs, spooks, poppers are about the only way to fish some of those weeded in ponds when they get that bad. Good luck


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## CHOPIQ (Apr 6, 2004)

Boswell what kind of incidents? I deer hunt alone down there and never had a problem with people just wondering if something new has sprung up.


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## HookBender (Apr 2, 2012)

I'm hoping to have an "incident" of my own this weekend........with some huge bass of course!


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## Beef Ravioli (Jun 6, 2012)

CHOPIQ said:


> Boswell what kind of incidents? I deer hunt alone down there and never had a problem with people just wondering if something new has sprung up.


Also curious as to what you meant?

Would I be ok with my 12 year old son for a few days?


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## Bozwell (Apr 4, 2011)

Mostly things coming up missing from campsites etc. Don't want to take a trip down there, have some of your gear that you need disappear.........there is absolutely no place in the area to resupply.
That would make for a bad trip.


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## turkeyt (Apr 13, 2006)

Bozwell said:


> Mostly things coming up missing from campsites etc. Don't want to take a trip down there, have some of your gear that you need disappear.........there is absolutely no place in the area to resupply.
> That would make for a bad trip.



That can be said at anyplace out in the country and town. I had over 200.00 worth of gear taken when the thieves unlocked the vehicle up in Erie Pa. steelhead fishing. Heck they were even stealing from vehicles as the alarms were going off. When you are careless and leave anything in your vehicle THEY will get in one way or another. If i ever catch a thief rummaging in my vehicle i will wear them out with my fishing pole. Then when the first one is in shreds i'll use the other one. HUH, Thief must have fell in a briar patch and got all scratched up.


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## glassbass (Apr 19, 2011)

My fishing buddy and I had a serious (could have been much worse) experience last year while walk in fishing at AEP. Ticks ! We weren't prepared for walking, (no tick spray) and after about an hour of fishing, started pulling ticks off. All the way back to the truck and all the way back to perry county. I believe he had pulled off 23 and I had 25. That's creepy enough but the tv news last night reported that ticks are now carrying something that after one bite, you develop an alergy to all meat. Itching, rash,swelling and I believe they said nausia. I only caught the tail end but dilegence is necessary if you are in the brush ANYWHERE. Not sure if there is a cure. Be cautious.


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## flyphisherman (Jul 7, 2009)

I've never been anwhere else that has ticks like that place. I was super cautious and still had to do battle with a few. I didn't even go into any of the thick brush. 

We did all our fishing out of kayaks, but in the process of launching the kayaks we each got a couple. 

I guess it just comes with the territory down there. Go prepared!!!!


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## HookBender (Apr 2, 2012)

Ticks and Jiggers! Make sure you have some decent insect repelent if planning a visit.


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## mallorian (Feb 19, 2012)

i just spent 2 days there tramping all through the woods and not a single tick. i just made sure i used repel 40 spray several times a day.


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