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[Drossi]

Funny thing is I saw less people this year then in the last 5. They must have all been at BFB and SBR. The power of advertising.

[Corndog]

Hey Corndog,

I've though about buying a short duration NJ non resident license and going back to take a trip down memory lane. But maybe I'd be disappointed to see the creek now after all these years. When I was a kid in my mid to late teens I used to think it was a pretty decent sized creek. Now I seldom fish water this narrow. Are there any mayflies on the BFB? Back in my time there were hardly any mayflies or aquatic insects of any sort. This was the time when DDT was still considered a "good" chemical!!

WB,

Yea the braids are narrow enough to jump across in many spots. Everyone fishes there now so to all those reading this, I wouldn't recommend that area to you. There are no fish there. Yes there are some great mayfly and caddis hatches now a days. I would say it gets most of the hatches other streams get in the northeast. The most abundent are BWOs, Hendricksons, Cahills, Tricos and Midges, etc., tan and black caddis and black stones, with some Sulphurs and Quills in the mix. As for small water, it does seem to get a little lower each summer than it did 15+ years ago. One nice thing about it is that there are still no homes being built on it. Sometimes but rarely, government intervention is a good thing.

Cdog

[NJpatbee]

WB,

Yea the braids are narrow enough to jump across in many spots. Everyone fishes there now so to all those reading this, I wouldn't recommend that area to you. There are no fish there. Yes there are some great mayfly and caddis hatches now a days. I would say it gets most of the hatches other streams get in the northeast. The most abundent are BWOs, Hendricksons, Cahills, Tricos and Midges, etc., tan and black caddis and black stones, with some Sulphurs and Quills in the mix. As for small water, it does seem to get a little lower each summer than it did 15+ years ago. One nice thing about it is that there are still no homes being built on it. Sometimes but rarely, government intervention is a good thing.

Cdog

Each summer I am reminded that the Big Flatbrook is, well, a brook. Heavy Spring waters mask the fact that it is relatively small water, and the thousands of fish stocked by F&W before opening day in no way reflect the holding capacity of the BFB. However, if you visit it in the summer and see what remains, it has a much larger volume of water than most of the more popular and productive WTS's in the State. With the exception of a few pools, the remaining fish are skittish, even if most of them came from the hatchery. If you look at the upper BFB in these terms, you can find quite a bit of holding water even in the summer. As a brook goes (according to my definition) it is a big brook. Also, consider the fact that the most recent electro-shocking results uncovered a couple of 18"+ wild browns in the fly stretch, and that provides evidence that the food supply is abundant. But if you do not like large brooks (or small streams) you probably will not like the BFB after May.

Speaking of food supply, the BFB is one of the few streams in the State that has a good hatch of Quill Gordons which should be coming off right about now.

As for the water levels, I don't know if anyone has any idea why they appear lower than a decade ago. But I have seen lower periods in the 60's, 70's and early 80's, and it may just be the amount of annual rainfall and snow cover.

Flows do remain decent from the Blewett to the Roy Bridge, and it will be interesting to see how the trout fishery develops if (WHEN!) the BFB YRTCA is implemented.

[Simms]

Mid June, provided the spring was nice to us with rain, the BFB begins to get a little low. Fish can still be caught throughout the entire river, most now located in pools. I fish the BFB up until it reaches about 75 degrees. After that I stop until fall again or a big rain moves through. Dont want to shock the fish that can be caught again when I need to scratch an itch in the winter

[NJpatbee]

Mid June, provided the spring was nice to us with rain, the BFB begins to get a little low. Fish can still be caught throughout the entire river, most now located in pools. I fish the BFB up until it reaches about 75 degrees. After that I stop until fall again or a big rain moves through. Dont want to shock the fish that can be caught again when I need to scratch an itch in the winter

How far North on the BFB have you recorded temps above 75 degrees?

[Simms]

Last summer in late June/early July I recorded 78 degrees the stretch below handicap access. That was with a plumbers thermometer too. Cabelas Infared thermometer read 76.

It is rare it sees above 75, but it does infact get there. The gravel pit and below Roy measured 78 as well.

[Simms]

Wbranch,


I know exactly where your referring to, when you say "The Jungle". I fish that late May, when the fish have moved down that way. Caught a lot of NICE fish there, as there are a bunch of deep cuts and runs. Down in "The Jungle", there is a spring that enters the river. I have since built a small rock damn to help keep that spring water in there longer, aiding in some brook, brown, and bow survival. Your right, by land it is impossible to penetrate. I walk the river down, and it still provides a bit of a challenge.

[Wbranch]

"The gravel pit and below Roy measured 78 as well."

When I was 17 I had a 1931 Model A Ford and two buddies and me would fish BFB after school got out and when it got warm, or we got bored not catching fish, we would drive down to that gravel pit and strip down to our underwear and swim in the Gravel Pit Pool. Back in the early 1960's fly fishing had not yet near come into it's own as "THE" hobby/sport to get interested in pursuing. I can remember many, many days where we would be the only people fishing the Bluett stretch (year round fly water)

Is there anyone here old enough to remember the name of the guy who used to serve bacon & egg breakfasts in the early part of the season from the general store just a mile or so above Three Bridges (the Bluett water)

[4dennis]

I love the Big Flatbrook River

[trico mike]

Mid June, provided the spring was nice to us with rain, the BFB begins to get a little low. Fish can still be caught throughout the entire river, most now located in pools. I fish the BFB up until it reaches about 75 degrees. After that I stop until fall again or a big rain moves through. Dont want to shock the fish that can be caught again when I need to scratch an itch in the winter

I hope your fishing for smallmouths in 70 plus degree water because anything over 68 really stresses the trout and the low to mid 70's can be lethal.