Countryjoe07

I would agree with you. I'm in bergen county which is pretty densely populated. I've noticed the fishing is worse than it was some 10 years ago. People do keep a lot of the fish they catch or they keep them in a bucket and then throw them back when it's time to leave....I don't see the point in that.....I've also noticed that the waters are pretty heavily pressured but a lot of the fisherman do not know what they are doing. People using bobbers and lures is one thing I see a lot. I try to venture out toward NW NJ near the pennsylvania border.

Just wonder what lures have been producing lately here in the NE lately.... I just did some fishing tonight and caught a bunch on a white spinnerbait. One was a pretty good size fish....Black gizit tube with red flakes and tequilla sunrise 6 in worm has also worked quite well.

highly unlikely...but you never know!

This particular pond is in bergen county in a residential area called the ramapo river reserve in oakland. Just go over the bridge, over the river and you'll see the pond. Looks like your in old bridge might be quite a ride for you. This pond used to be really really good before the housing development went up. Now I find it a bit tougher to catch fish.

Anybody ever fish at lake wawayanda in NJ before? I've heard of people catching some big fish out of there but it seems to me the place gets kinda crowded especially in the summer.....

I think it might have been a carp. I just read some posts where people caught them on rattle traps and topwaters....so catching one on a rapala isn't out of the picture.

Mine was around 7:30pm. Using an exacalibur spit'n image pumpkinseed color. With each twitch I could just visualize a bass coming up and nailing it and then it happened!

It fought similar to a pickerel. But I just kind of assumed it was one of those floating log fish that I saw, which didn't really look or behave like pickerel. 3-4 fish just swimming around in the open like that? I tried throwing rapalas and spinner baits past them but they were indifferent. I would think a pickerel would at least follow the lures and show some interest. I'm thinking I caught a pickerel, and then just saw carp swimming around. It would have been one big pickerel. Landing the thing without a net would have been tough. If those log like fish were pickerel that would explain the decline in good bass fishing from a few years prior..... I'm going to bring a baitcaster with heavier line next time I fish there.

I thought it might be a carp. It's probably the most logical thing but on a Rapala??? Unless I foul hooked it....plus I don't ever remember seeing carp in this particular pond in previous years.

I'm in Northern New Jersey if that helps any with what kind of species it might be.

Went fishing at a small pond nearby to try catching some fish in this heat wave. I was using a silver size 11 original floating rapala. I had on something really BIG probably a good 2 foot long fish. It wasn't fightin like a bass and it just tried swimming straight into cover. I was able to steer it away from the really nasty stuff and was playing it for a good couple minutes (I had a small spinning reel with 8lb test on it). However, there was a good 4 feet of weeds in front of me so trying to get the fish through all that I lost it. I should have just walked in a couple feet for it and I would have had it. I was only able to catch glimpses of the fish from about 10-15 feet away. After fishing some other spots I was approaching the previous spot where I had this fish on and saw 3-4 pretty good sized fish swimming in the open. So I assume what I had on was one of those guys. They looked kind of like logs. Too big to be a bass around these areas. Plus they were swimming around in the open, as I saw them in other areas of the pond too. This year was the first year I've fished this pond in a few years. I only thought there were bass, pickerel, sunnies. Any ideas what kind of fish this might be? BTW, this pond used to be awesome for fishing, lots of action lots of bass, crappie, pickerel. But then they built a housing development around it and a gravel path around the pond and it's dirtier than I ever remember it being and the fishing has slowed considerably. >

So my hula popper skirt is completely melted, I can't really find replacement skirts anywhere near me so I might have to order online. Has anyone done any modified replacements at all? I was thinkin a dressed treble hook or something might be effective....

The jerk/wait method is good. You can vary the jerks a little from slight twitches to a little harder to get it swimming more. Depends how you want to present it. I guess you can to a jerk and reel faster retrieve but I would just use a spinner bait or lipless if I wanted to trigger the reaction strike.

What color jigs are you using mostly? I have mainly black and blue ones...Are you using some kind of trailer? I have pork rinds but haven't used those or the jigs all that much.

1. Tequilla sunrise 6 inch plastic worm 2. Original floating Rapala silver minnow color (11cm probably) 3. Gizit tube jigs, crawdad color 4. Some kind of walk the dog top water, storm chug bug, spittin image or zara spook, hmmmm 5. White 1/4 oz spinner baits with a colorado blade and a willow blade (if blade changing was allowed I'd have a larger colorado blade to swap with the willow blade) Honorable mention: Some kind of soft plastic jerkbait, sluggo, fin s fish, banjo minnow...

I've used the snag proof mouse on 3 occassions when the situation presented itself. I've gotten some massive strikes with this thing fish coming up and just nailing it. However, I've never actually caught a fish on it. Seems to be hard to hook them!!! Anybody have any tips? I put some thick soldering wire inside the bait around the hook to get some more weight for casting and so it swims more firmly against the grass...a trick I saw on a fishing show years back.

Anybody have any experience with these lures? Good? Bad? I bought some at a fishing show a few years back and realized I've never fished them before...

I have caught plenty of fish on them. I don't use the weedless rubber bands. I fish them the same way I would fish a soft plastic jerkbait like a sluggo or fin s fish. I have seen other people catch fish on them too. I won't buy another set because it's virtually the same thing as a fin s fish but a lot more expensive. I find I can make the same rig at home using some cheap small springs to take the backbone out of the lure.

So far this year I have caught them on so many different lures but I would say I've been getting most of them on a 6 in plastic worm tequila sunrise, followed by a fin s fish or banjo minnow.....

Hey folks, Anyone have any tactics they like to use to go after bigger bass? Largemouth to be more specific. I'm from NJ and usually get some bass and a pickerel or two when I got out fishing. The fish are usually small in size. 12 inches sometimes smaller. I've tried using larger lures too but the fish aren't getting any bigger. I'm not expecting lake fork sized trophy bass or anything but what are the average sizes you guys are catchin? The largest bass I've caught was out of Pompton Lake while I was out on a canoe. About 3 1/2 pounds and I got it on an excalibur (heddon) spit'n image pumpkinseed color. I used to fish a small pond near my house and the bass in there had a pretty good average size but since they built a housing development there all I have mostly gotten were smaller bass.

Hey guys, I'm new here. Bergen county representing. I've fished Lake Hopatcong, Pompton Lake, Monksville, Delaware River...but usually I go to some local ponds near where I live maybe some of you have heard of Ramapo Lake? You have to hike a mile or so to get to the top where the lake is. Usually do a canoe or inflatable raft since a lot of the fishing I do you have to walk through some bush. But I don't have one at the moment so I'm fishing mainly from the shore....