NJ Fishing

[lubina]

Fish activity has been very good last week, as usual the dinks first. Perch are attacking bass lures aggressively. My best was a 2 1/2 pounder. Best lures have been cranks and jerks fished slow and jigs. With the cold front coming this week may be harder to catch them.

[Tom Sawyer]

3 pickerel, 1 small LMB, caught on live shiners yesterday.. Sunnies were out hitting earthworms too... special day with my 5 1/2 yr old, good times, spring is here.

In the a.m. I went to Poricy Park in red bank/middletown on my maiden voyage on 1st kayak. Zero life ,no activity at all , no bait fish or swirls or anything, except one sunny floating belly up..

[bilgerat]

Friday night was good - 5 bass, 2 crappie. Biggest bass about 3 lb.

Saturday night was terrible > Windy, lost 3 lures. 1 dink in 5 hours. I should have stayed home, but my daughter had a sleepover. House full of 12 year old girls. Hmmmm.... maybe I was better off out anyway

[Sharkbite]

Hey I am trying to get out to Spruce Run tomorrow or the next day.  The weather has been a little rough.  I am new to boating so want to be safe.  I will keep you guys up dated.

[fishfanatic]

Going out this weekend again      will let ya know

[grahamb]

Looks like Spruce Run rents boats.  Is that place too big to fish effectively from a row boat?

thanks.

[Sharkbite]

Looks like Spruce Run rents boats. Is that place too big to fish effectively from a row boat?

thanks.

Well I have a small Jon boat with a 3hp motor and trolling I get around just fine.

[jvox]

Ive been fishing Duhernal Lake in Old Bridge, and two reservoirs off of the lake, and have been getting SKUNKED!  :'(

Ive pretty much only been using plastic worms. Seems I cant really use and other type of lure because there are weeds EVERYWHERE in these bodies of water. The plastic worms work great in the summer, but I havent been getting anything with them lately. Any suggestions?

[Sharkbite]

What about w T riged or weedless jig.  Maybe even a fluke or spinner bait.  Is this in old brige NJ

[Zel]

Ive been fishing Duhernal Lake in Old Bridge, and two reservoirs off of the lake, and have been getting SKUNKED! :'(

Ive pretty much only been using plastic worms. Seems I cant really use and other type of lure because there are weeds EVERYWHERE in these bodies of water. The plastic worms work great in the summer, but I havent been getting anything with them lately. Any suggestions?

I'm not familiar with the lakes you noted, but this time of year in the NJ lakes I do fish - I stick with suspending jerkbaits (worked slowely with long pauses), and go small on plastics with 3 grubs and 4 straight worms on 1/8 oz jigheads (and I only use dark natural colors this time of the year with plastics, like pumpkinseed, watermelon, smoke and black), again worked slowely.

[bilgerat]

Ive been fishing Duhernal Lake in Old Bridge, and two reservoirs off of the lake, and have been getting SKUNKED! :'(

Ive pretty much only been using plastic worms. Seems I cant really use and other type of lure because there are weeds EVERYWHERE in these bodies of water. The plastic worms work great in the summer, but I havent been getting anything with them lately. Any suggestions?

This is exactly why I started using light gear a couple of years back. Just my opinion, I've found I can work lighter baits better in a small water column. Zel has a good point about the small plastics on small jigheads. I even go down to 1/16 oz jigheads, as they are lighter I can work them longer without getting fouled in the weeds. You can catch plenty of bass (and nice ones too) on small baits.

Here's some of what I use:

Wacky rigged senko style 3" worm on #6 octopus or mosquito hook.

Small Fin-s fluke type bait rigged weedless and weightless.

Shallow cranks (Mann's Baby one minus) dives less than a foot.

3" Mister Twister curly tail grub on a 1/16 to 1/8 oz jighead.

[Sharkbite]

Ive been fishing Duhernal Lake in Old Bridge, and two reservoirs off of the lake, and have been getting SKUNKED! :'(

Ive pretty much only been using plastic worms. Seems I cant really use and other type of lure because there are weeds EVERYWHERE in these bodies of water. The plastic worms work great in the summer, but I havent been getting anything with them lately. Any suggestions?

I'm not familiar with the lakes you noted, but this time of year in the NJ lakes I do fish - I stick with suspending jerkbaits (worked slowely with long pauses), and go small on plastics with 3 grubs and 4 straight worms on 1/8 oz jigheads (and I only use dark natural colors this time of the year with plastics, like pumpkinseed, watermelon, smoke and black), again worked slowely.

Hey Zel what about any hard baits?  Like a shallow diving crank ?

[Tom Sawyer]

Today off the 2nd voyage on the yak; A orange suspended crankbait fished reeeel slow , got a decent lil LMB,, and a wacky rigged garlic glow centipede looking thing from cabelas got a nice pickerel, it was just like using a 3' senko..all in all slow.saw a school of crappie on top doing some ritual but they cared little of my offerings which were a small spinner w/ grub tail,and small crank..  Buona Pasqua to all

[Zel]

Hey Zel what about any hard baits? Like a shallow diving crank ?

Prespawn I will stick to the Original Floating Rapala for the upper range, and a Suspending Rattlin Rogue for deeper.  Post spawn I will still go with the Original Floating Rapala and move to thinner profile deeper running hardbaits like the Rapala Shad Rap and a Rat'L'Trap.  Just seems to work for me in NJ lakes.  I've never gained a comfort level with shallow running crankbaits.

[Sharkbite]

Ok great I think I am going to do alot with finess plastics and jigs this year.

[NJAngler609]

caught this last sunday on a 1/2 oz booyah red/black jig with a chigger craw....5 lbs even

[Sharkbite]

Wow great Bass man what lake are you at?

[NJAngler609]

Wow great Bass man what lake are you at?

its a secret lol...i live in burlington city tho..so theres a clue

[Sharkbite]

Yea I'm not familar with that area.  Isn't that near Cherryhill NJ

[Zel]

its a secret lol...i live in burlington city tho..so theres a clue

If I were to harbor a guess I'd say Sylvan Lake.  

[NJAngler609]

its a secret lol...i live in burlington city tho..so theres a clue

If I were to harbor a guess I'd say Sylvan Lake.

hahahahaha man i wish...i absolutely hate that lake...the bucket brigade kills that lake plus they stock it with trout every year...id rather sit on my butt then fish that lake

[NJAngler609]

Yea I'm not familar with that area. Isn't that near Cherryhill NJ

yeah about 15 mins north of cherry hill

[beloved78]

well trout season has been good to me so far i caught a 8 lb 2 oz brown trout on opening day been traveling to monmoth county all the way to verona lake in essex county nothin but a lil trout at englishtown pond thats it fished today at ferrington lake with shinners hoping to get a pike or a bass or something but shizzel nothin at all gona check out hooks creek lake manyana so im hoping

[Sharkbite]

Well I went to spruce run and got skunked. I fished the points Zel said to but nothing. I also had problems wih my fishfinder.  I had it tied to the battery.   I took it off the terminal then I put it back on and now it gets no power.

[JKay]

Well I went to spruce run and got skunked. I fished the points Zel said to but nothing. I also had problems wih my fishfinder. I had it tied to the battery. I took it off the terminal then I put it back on and now it gets no power.

Don't feel too bad.  I got skunked at Split Rock yesterday.  The wind was howling up there by 2pm.  Fish were suspended at 4-5' in 9-12 ft of water, but couldn't get much of a bite.  I had one on and didn't realize that he was swimming toward me.  When I did finally wake up, I tried to quickly reel up the slack to set the hook, but he must have felt it and spit it.  Oh well.  Better luck next time