Give us a try!
Welcome back to the new NEFF. Take a break from Twitter and Facebook. You don't go to Dicks for your fly fishing gear, you go to your local fly fishing store. Enjoy!
Passaic river pike
- Thread starter Oliver10
- Start date
Rusty Spinner
Active member
You want a kayak to fish for them. They are one of our most underutilized stocked species in the state with many growing old and dying without having seen a hook of any kind. There's that big preserved floodplain land where routes 280, 80, 46, etc. meet up that has limited parking but is easily paddled that is loaded with pike.
PRomano
Fishizzle, I never use worms!
A good place to park is at Three Bridges Rd. in Lincoln Park and also upriver in Pine Brook by Horseneck road.
I have seen fisherman pull some huge pike out that section from the TBR down to the route 80 overpass.
You will also find smallmouth and largemouth bass and huge carp. If I had a yak I would put in at Horseneck road in Pine Brook and float down to TBR.
Wading would be restricted to when the river is running at its lowest levels.
Good luck!
I have seen fisherman pull some huge pike out that section from the TBR down to the route 80 overpass.
You will also find smallmouth and largemouth bass and huge carp. If I had a yak I would put in at Horseneck road in Pine Brook and float down to TBR.
Wading would be restricted to when the river is running at its lowest levels.
Good luck!
danme
Cast Drys over them Enough They Will Rise
HMMM Rusty -- Thank you for the info -- I never knew there were Pike Stocked in the Passaic River. Very Interesting, but why did the State decide to Stock Pike in that river? Seems to me that because of the Native Trout Population and the Stocked trout the State puts in it woild be detrimental to the Trout Population.
Im not complaining because it would be a lot of fun to try my hand at them someday with the Fly Rod. Man that would be a lot of fun
Thanks for the Info
Peace
Dan
danme
Cast Drys over them Enough They Will Rise
Yes Kayaks will get you wet 100% of the time. Good luck in your Pike Adventure -- I would like to hear about it when you finally do go and I hope you catch a few. Very Interesting
Peace
Dan
Oliver10
Profishional Cupcake
I will let you all know.
The river has native trout only in the headwaters. It get way too warm down stream to support trout over the summer. I think they only stock down stream. I have never heard of pike being caught up by Summit or Chatham. Too many dams in the way
The river has native trout only in the headwaters. It get way too warm down stream to support trout over the summer. I think they only stock down stream. I have never heard of pike being caught up by Summit or Chatham. Too many dams in the way
Rusty Spinner
Active member
Correct. An employee for the Division is working on an article on pike in the Passaic as we speak. It will include a history of stocking, stocking and access locations, gear, etc. I'll try to remember to post when it comes out. I was just talking to him last week on this topic over at the Hackettstown Hatchery where they raise the pike.
Trouser Trout
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
Eagle Claw
Trout Hunter
Floating like a turd down a polluted open sewer is not my idea of
an outdoor experience. Think about this, every storm drain on every street in four counties winds up in the Passaic. It has everything from lawn chemicals, dead animals, gasoline, oil, bags of dog shit that people drop in the drains, illegal dumping and who knows what else. I even knew of a company that disposed of toxic barrels of lab waste by placing them near an open door when they knew a flood was coming just to get rid of it for free. I once fished the Passaic and after three casts noticed some goo on my fly line, packed up, used some hand sanitizer and left never to return.
My fly gear commands more respect than that, enjoy your float and pay your respects to the abandoned Sharkey's landfill leaching into the river as you pass by.
an outdoor experience. Think about this, every storm drain on every street in four counties winds up in the Passaic. It has everything from lawn chemicals, dead animals, gasoline, oil, bags of dog shit that people drop in the drains, illegal dumping and who knows what else. I even knew of a company that disposed of toxic barrels of lab waste by placing them near an open door when they knew a flood was coming just to get rid of it for free. I once fished the Passaic and after three casts noticed some goo on my fly line, packed up, used some hand sanitizer and left never to return.
My fly gear commands more respect than that, enjoy your float and pay your respects to the abandoned Sharkey's landfill leaching into the river as you pass by.
FIN-ITE 34
Well-known member
Haven't fly fished the Passaic yet, but I will get to it eventually. I grew up hunting, trapping and fishing on the Passaic in East Hanover and I can tell you that the river is far cleaner today than it was 40 years ago. The river is loaded with all kinds of clean fish, pike bass perch, just to name a few. I fished the SB this year and came away with greater amounts of "slime" than I ever experienced in the Passaic. The pike and largemouth came from the Florham Park/East Hanover stretch of river.
Rusty Spinner
Active member
That was filamentous algae and is not a water quality issue. The water in the SBR is far cleaner than it is in the Passaic where pike, largemouth, carp, etc. live. There's not even a close comparison there.
Future Fanatic
Nirvana
The growth of filamentous algae can be triggered by excessive nutrient loads. I'd guess that the river gets nutrients from run off. If this nutrient rich runoff is from fertilizers or erosion issues, wouldn't that be a "water quality issue"?
FIN-ITE 34
Well-known member
I know that, I was just making a point about perceived "slime". Forty-five years ago you could dissolve a rubber boot in the Whippany River because of the Whippany Paper Board discharge. Today, I catch small mouth bass in those same waters.
FIN-ITE 34
Well-known member
By the way, you can't float past the Ringlieb (Sharkey Landfill) on the Passaic River. You would either have to be on the Whippany or Rockaway. The Rockaway empties into the Whippany and the Whippany into the Passaic well below the old dump.
Trouser Trout
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
Don't think so, the Rockaway flows beneath Rt. 287 in Boonton and empties into the Boonton Reservoir, it does not converge anywhere with the Whippany.
Trouser Trout
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
I think I am el wrongo.... Just checked and got this info. Regarding the mighty Rockaway....
On the south side of Boonton it is impounded to form the Boonton Reservoir. Downstream from the reservoir dam it flows south, through Lake Hiawatha, where the river splits and joins again. It then flows through Parsippany and into Hatfield Swamp, where it is joined by the Whippany River and then merges with the Passaic River.
FIN-ITE 34
Well-known member
TT, now you got it right.
Scrappy
Death, Taxes and Broken Tippets
I live close to the down river stretches of the Passaic. There are times of the year when it really smells. Only the Lord knows what contaminants have been and are being introduced during non-flood times let alone after the now annual spring floods. I have a dear friend of 30 years who regularly sends me pictures of his catches from the upper Passaic. Large pike are not uncommon. The last image that he sent from December was of a large Pike. It did however look worse than Rosie O'Donnell after she gets out of bed. I think it had also tangled with a boat prop. It was mangled to the point that I was surprised it had survived. As a kid who grew up in Summit I can attest to some monster carp and every other warm water species. The Passaic has really cleaned up in the upper stretches since then. I am constantly amazed at how well Mother Nature cleans her treasures and how well our water supports a diversity of species despite residential run off. I have always been 100% C&R (99% trout), whoa to the man who eats these creatures.
Rusty Spinner
Active member
True, but where we have been seeing this over the last hot, dry summer was well above our ag. lands. For some reason, the SBR saw a lot this past summer whereas the Musky did not.
Johnny Utah
You're no daisy
I've never really seen much algae down here on the low end of the musky but the pequest gets totally swamped, especially by hot dog johnnys.
Oliver10
Profishional Cupcake
Back to the orginal topic. I did some reading and found an article here Litton's Fishing Lines: Early Season Northern Pike New Jersey Region
The interesting parts to me are
"Pike spawn shortly after ice-out, moving into shallows as early as late February, depending on when ice melts. In lakes and reservoirs they seek out the mouths of creeks and streams, and areas of residual vegetation in shallow coves. Key spots at Spruce Run are the entryways of its 5 feeder streams, especially Spruce Run" ..."Pike will not usually bunch up at a creek mouth. The entire football field length of water inside the Spruce Run Creek mouth and jetty is worthwhile, for example, and we catch most of our pike towards the end of it on the reservoir side."
"Early spring is the habitual time for river pike to move upstream, not to a headwater destination as salmon do, but into slow backwaters and in lakes, tributary streams. A friend reported that a creek in Verona hosted 3 foot, Passaic River northerns in March. Since pike turn upstream for these areas, dams are often great spots to fish. The Wilhousky Street dam on the Millstone River in Manville is worth a shot. Not only does it block migration further upstream, to the left of it facing downriver is a slow, shallow backwater eddy."
If you look at google maps of Spruce Run, you can clearly see the earthern jetty he is talking about and I am sure I could cast out pretty well with some big saltwater flys anywhere along there. I am going to give that a shot as soon as we get some warm weather and I can take time off from work. I will probably check out Verona also because that is not to far from me.
The interesting parts to me are
"Pike spawn shortly after ice-out, moving into shallows as early as late February, depending on when ice melts. In lakes and reservoirs they seek out the mouths of creeks and streams, and areas of residual vegetation in shallow coves. Key spots at Spruce Run are the entryways of its 5 feeder streams, especially Spruce Run" ..."Pike will not usually bunch up at a creek mouth. The entire football field length of water inside the Spruce Run Creek mouth and jetty is worthwhile, for example, and we catch most of our pike towards the end of it on the reservoir side."
"Early spring is the habitual time for river pike to move upstream, not to a headwater destination as salmon do, but into slow backwaters and in lakes, tributary streams. A friend reported that a creek in Verona hosted 3 foot, Passaic River northerns in March. Since pike turn upstream for these areas, dams are often great spots to fish. The Wilhousky Street dam on the Millstone River in Manville is worth a shot. Not only does it block migration further upstream, to the left of it facing downriver is a slow, shallow backwater eddy."
If you look at google maps of Spruce Run, you can clearly see the earthern jetty he is talking about and I am sure I could cast out pretty well with some big saltwater flys anywhere along there. I am going to give that a shot as soon as we get some warm weather and I can take time off from work. I will probably check out Verona also because that is not to far from me.
Trouser Trout
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
And on at least two occasions I crapped on the bank.
PRomano
Fishizzle, I never use worms!
The NJDF&W just posted this report on Passaic River pike.
NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife - Passaic River Pike
NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife - Passaic River Pike
Rusty Spinner
Active member
I saw Ron on Sunday and he told me his article would be out any day now. He was showing me his research a few weeks ago when I stopped by the Hackettstown Hatchery where he works. I'll have to read it later this evening.
Oliver10
Profishional Cupcake
Just read it. Very good. Almost too good it gives too much information in my opinion. Now getting one on the fly will be some work. Thanks again for the link
Similar threads
