My biggest fish ever on the fly on the raritan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DJ]

Well, I finally completed my long sought journey to catch a smallmouth on the fly and what a story! This was like a movie I may send this one into a magazine! I went out on sunday am hoping to catch a trout. I wanted to go to Dukes Island but it was locked for som reason. So I was on the Raritan (North Branch, Maybe, first time there) about 7 am, cool and overcast. The river was full of trout fihermen and mostly spinning. I saw one guy gearing up and I asked him what to use he said tan nymphs were good for him. I tied on a small nymph and was off. 3 Nymphs and two bead head wooly buggers later NOTHING! NOTHING! I saw no one catch any thing for atleast an hour. Finally I was like, enough and headed up stream to a large pool I saw. After about another hour and of half of nothing I saw some activity just under the surface. Nothing to lose, I tied on the largest muddler I had. I let it sit a second stripped and suddenly my reel sang out loud! I struck back, but soon realized this was a big fish and I still had on the 3X or 4X tippet from walmart I brought for trout! I played him hard for a good 5 minutes, hand cramping, keeping pressure on but letting him run to protect the tippet that was probably 5 lb test at best. Finally I got what I thought was a spent smallmouth of ATLEAST 20" !!!!!! Yes, I said Atleast 20! My boot is 13" and it went almost 3/4 way up the fish!!!!! Yep, I said almost. I put my thumb in his lip and he went crazy! Mud and water went everywhere leaving the muddler in the suspenders of my waders. I sat on the bank disgusted for atleast 10 minutes that I didn't get a photo. My only solace was that as I was leaving the man on the opposite side nymphing for trout, same one I saw coming in, said he saw the whole thing! So I know I have atleast one witness out there somewhere! That was the biggest bass I have ever seen!!!!!!

 

[Caddis]

Great story! What did you do after you caught him? Sometimes after I hook a trout and play him for a few minutes, my hand cramps up much the way yours did. I get so excited that I actually consider going home. Kind of the "Go out while you're on top" attitude. I always stay anyway because I like the scenary.

Glad to see you did well. Were any insects in the air that you noticed?

 

[DJ]

Funny you should ask....... Like I said, I was looking for trout and when I first arrived at the pool there was a very small hatch going on and what appeared to be trout rising to it. I tried several casts there with black gnats and patch adams but nothing. I think they were midges, but the hatch was small and about 30 or 40 feet in clear water. I could reach them easily casting, but I didn't want to wade over. Other than that, nothing and I usually notice that! One thing I didn't mention, after and just before I cught the fish, I noticed fish jump from the water almost as if they were fleeing vesus feeding...... These were only I'd guess about 5 or 6 inchers. I suspect that small stocked trout were rising to the hatch on the edge of the pool and were being ambushed by smallies as they they left the shallows to return. I saw at least 3 fish jump as if fleeing. I am sure a large smallie could eat a 6 or 7 inch trout given that they are soft finned fish. It fits in the one big meal is easier for a big fish versus expending lots of energy catching lots of small items.

 

[NJFred]

Hey that's a nice fish! Congrats. BTW... consider it caught! You had your hand on it, you saw it. A picture would have been nice but I doubt you'll forget that one in any case.

 

[NJstomp]

Were you on a river with a big white single lane bridge by chance? Theres also some nice little rapids right there. I went there and it was the same for me, tons of people standing around the bridge not catchin a thing. I to went up stream and found a nice little pool. Big ol' bass everywhere. If it is, please put back what you catch, it is a natural resource restortaion sight. They stock the river BIG time with everything you can think of. It is a project to try to replenish the river to the way it should be. Also keep it quiet, it's so nice up there being the only one on the river for as far as you can see. If you ever feel like meeting up to go there I know a nice spot, saw a 20+ inch brown floppin around in about 2 inchs of water just to get some bugs. Dukes isn't all that anyways, people walk out of there with whatever they catch, I actually saw a guy walking back to his car with a stringer full of SUNNIES.

 

[DJ]

No, that wasn't the area or at least I don't think so. I just rode around and found it. I am not from NJ so I was just following the river from the road. I was trying to find the North Branch park, but got lost and according the map I got later that night.......... I was a ways up 202 beyond the park. I don't know if I was on the north or south branch, but I did see a sign that read "raritan river" I don't think it was the north branch because there was a sign further up that said, "north branch". The bridge was not a white one, just your generic bridge. However, I'd love to go chase some big fish! I always practice catch and release. Don't think I'd ever eat fish out of NJ waters....... as a toxicologist, I read the advisories and get a little shakey about taking stuff home to the family. Actually, a friend of mine who is a game warden in VA told me that strict catch and release can have a very NEGATIVE effect on bream and crappie. Those fish, without thinning, will over populate even medium size lakes resulting in either a nutrient delpleted pond or a population of numerous but stunted fish. It sounds like the same area, but I don't recall seeing a bridge. Maybe I just didn't go up far enough. Whenever you go chasing them smallies again gove me a call.............. Officially addicted to the smallie world.

 

[tommye]

Nice Catch

I went to south branch this weekend too. I got myself a smallie too ... Man, great fighting fish. Very surprising when your trout hunting huh ?

I got two back to back, both were full of eggs. I felt really bad (catching fish is fun, but your really messing up the next generation or even the mother). I just stopped fish'n and explored the stream .

I'm not the fishy expert, but I believe that they might be spawning right now. If you do get one, please don't 'play' with her too much.

 

[NJstomp]

No you were way farther up stream. I'll be going out this Saturday again. I usually goto Hillsborough before I go out to get a bite to eat. I usually don't go out till around 10-11. If you want to meet up e-mail me at home. njstomp@aol.com

 

[DJ]

NJstomp,

I don't think I'll be able to make that for a while, got family responsibilities from noon-3 on saturdays. So I generally fish very early or very late. I like that anyway as in many cases the weekend warriors and boaters have stirred up the waters by noon and in the summer those are the coolest times of the day. I'm in the hillsborough area (Montgomery) so we may need to explore the millstone and some of those little feeder creeks like bedens brook and stonybrook as well!

Tommye,

I agree! I think they are still prespawn, but I am still very careful. Intresetingly, during bass spawns, I catch the big bream so I concentrate on them, then during bream spawns the big bass are back so I switch back to them until the fall free for all. Natures great huh?!?!? One last note, I think this is the big smallie window here points of fact:

1) last year this time, having just moved here, I got a liscence and caught a nice sized smallie on spinning gear in the D&R canal and many large mouth! Never caught another over 2 pounds! Deja vous..... almost one year to the day I hook into another lunker!

2) the wether patterns here are about a month or so behind VA/NC, one month ago a state record smallie was caught in VA and a near record in NC.

 

[NJstomp]

Sounds good, whenever your up to it let me know. I'll hike all day if ya feel like it.

 

[rckrego]

DJ and NJStomp... I'm in Skillman and am curious about smallies on the millstone, stony brook and bedens brook. Do you guys know any locations you're willign to share?