Storm-Drain Fishing in Downtown Philly
Catfish, Fishing, Philadelphia, Urban Angling
Mike Iaconelli thinks angling in Center City storm drains is grate — and he was caught doing just that at Broad and Race Streets by bewildered passersby Wednesday. …
Iaconelli plopped himself on a bucket at the curb for three hours and dangled his line into a storm drain using soft pretzels as bait.
“There’s a thing in fishing called ‘match the hatch.’ … When you’re doing this you’ve got to think of what these fish are seeing. I’m using soft pretzels — and hot dogs are really good too,” he said. “Think about it: People are walking down the street, it gets discarded and goes in the drain.”
Iaconelli said that when he went urban fishing in London, he used SPAM.
Despite using the ultimate Philly bait, Iaconelli said he got just three bites and pulled in only one small catfish Wednesday.
He did hook a lot of amused pedestrians, who stopped to pepper him with questions like “Why?” and “Do you eat it?” (don’t worry, he doesn’t), and “Can I take a picture?”
“I enjoy making people’s day,” Iaconelli said. “They get to see something they don’t normally see and I enjoy making people aware that there’s fishing opportunities in the city.”
