# Heinz Wildlife Refuge



## Captain Ahab (Feb 17, 2008)

Spent this afternoon poking around and fishing the John Heinz Wildlife refuge. What a great place, I fished there once before in the fall of last year and was pretty impressed at that time. Spent much of the time aat a very secluded lake within the refuge, long walk to get there but it was worth it.

Caught one bass early in the adventure and missed one (that was of course, HUGE!)

Had some panfish attack a nightcrawler and I am overall impressed for the upcoming season. Also found another pond while taking a "short cut" that I did not fish but will be back to.

This Bass ate a PC Baits Pointer in Yellow Perch colors:













My brother-in-law did not catch a thing - but I know he will be ordering a PC Baits Pointer real soon after seeing the bass attack this lure!


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## redbug (Feb 17, 2008)

chuck and I are proud!!! bice fish those pc baits are awesome


Wayne


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## Captain Ahab (Feb 17, 2008)

redbug said:


> chuck and I are proud!!! bice fish those pc baits are awesome
> 
> 
> Wayne



Thanks for Telling Chuck - I called him but he was busy saving Texas again!


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## nicdicarlo (Feb 17, 2008)

Nice job Dave. Wish I could have joined ya. Next time! So there are a bunch of smaller lakes there? I thought it was just the one larger lake fed by the Del.


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## Jim (Feb 17, 2008)

Good job Dave! Glad to see you getting out there!


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## G3_Guy (Feb 17, 2008)

Nice Catch!


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## FishinsMyLife (Feb 17, 2008)

If you can get a big one to hit now, just imagine when it warms up... Nice catch


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## SMDave (Feb 17, 2008)

Way to catch 'em up!


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## bAcKpAiN (Feb 17, 2008)

Is there any boating access to that area?


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## Captain Ahab (Feb 18, 2008)

bAcKpAiN said:


> Is there any boating access to that area?



Yes - 
Ridley Marina
401 S Swarthmore Ave
Ridley Park, PA 19078
Phone: (610) 521-2800


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## slim357 (Feb 18, 2008)

nice fish and report


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## jkbirocz (Feb 18, 2008)

Nice catches. You look awfully serious in the second picture....what gives


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## mtnman (Feb 19, 2008)

I love pond fishing but the problem is there are no ponds around here to fish. That place looked like some sweet fishing! I bet there are some hogs just waiting for ya in there. Nice fish dude.


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## Captain Ahab (Feb 19, 2008)

This is not really a pond but a tidal drainage area. On one side is the Darby Creek where it enters the Delaware River. Most parts of Heinz are tidal so there is a plus or minus of 6 feet of water level each day. Vast portions are exposed mud flats at high tide.



Since there are many who have an interest in this area, here is a .pdf Map 

https://www.fws.gov/northeast/heinz/Heinz Gen Map.pdf

East Impoundment Area
Fishing is permitted along the main dike trail and the connecting Trolley Bed trail. This area provides fishing in both the 145-acre impoundment and Darby Creek. Fishing in this area must be from the bank - structures such as the canoe ramp and the boardwalk are closed to fishing. However, physically disabled individuals may fish from the lower deck of the observation platform.
Look for carp, catfish, large-mouth bass and smaller pan fish in this area.

Route 420 Lagoons
There is a fishing pier and paved parking area near Tinicum and Prospect Park on the west side of Route 420. This pier accesses the lagoon areas o f the Refuge. A gravel parking lot is located on the east side of Route 420 and provides access to Darby Creek.
Look for striped bass, carp, catfish, panfish, and tiger musky.


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## Gamefisher (Feb 19, 2008)

Good fishing, but how bad is the jet plane noise there?


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## Captain Ahab (Feb 19, 2008)

Gamefisher said:


> Good fishing, but how bad is the jet plane noise there?



Not bad at all - I think it depends on what flight path they use, but I have been there maybe 5 times and the planes have never flown over. They seem to always fly over the river from the other direction.


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## shamoo (Feb 19, 2008)

Very nice scenery there, I love that place, a buddy of mine fishes there all the time.


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