Passaic river pike

[sheisty]

The Passaic was the target of my attention this past summer/fall, and I was impressed to say the least. Highly accessible by foot, but a great place for a kayak (I personally don't have one), plenty of fish to be had either way. Most of the wadable water is better suited for smallie fishing, there are a couple of wadeable spots, that you can target pike.

Google is your friend there is plenty of info and pics online about Passaic river pike and smallies.

PS as far as water quality mid to upper Passaic it's about the same as the delaware river around easton/phillipsburg. IMHO

 

[Trouser Trout]

If fishing the Passaic river any further east than Parsippany I recommend one of these.

 

[Scrappy]

Much of the upper Passaic is flanked by thick Poison Ivy. I ran through it as a kid and seemed to have acquired a resistance. That wears off as we age as I am told. Watch your step.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

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

Ron's article is being discussed on every hunting and fishing forum in the state right now, so expect to see some friends out on the water. But that's what the Division wanted and that's why he wrote the article. The Hackettstown Hatchery felt that pike fishing in this river system was grossly under fished and they don't want to waste time raising them if nobody is fishing for them. Plus, they want anglers of all kinds to enjoy catching apex predators so they can sell more licenses and get more folks involved in fishing in NJ.

Me? I'm going to fish for some muskies in the lower Musky now that we've pulled 4 dams on the lower river and are working on 2 more....

 

[Johnny Utah]

Ron's article is being discussed on every hunting and fishing forum in the state right now, so expect to see some friends out on the water. But that's what the Division wanted and that's why he wrote the article. The Hackettstown Hatchery felt that pike fishing in this river system was grossly under fished and they don't want to waste time raising them if nobody is fishing for them. Plus, they want anglers of all kinds to enjoy catching apex predators so they can sell more licenses and get more folks involved in fishing in NJ.

Me? I'm going to fish for some muskies in the lower Musky now that we've pulled 4 dams on the lower river and are working on 2 more....

I know some areas down here that they like to hang to out in the musky, I also know where to find them on the delaware down my way, Id be willing to point you in the right direction.

 

[Oliver10]

Ron's article is being discussed on every hunting and fishing forum in the state right now, so expect to see some friends out on the water. But that's what the Division wanted and that's why he wrote the article. The Hackettstown Hatchery felt that pike fishing in this river system was grossly under fished and they don't want to waste time raising them if nobody is fishing for them. Plus, they want anglers of all kinds to enjoy catching apex predators so they can sell more licenses and get more folks involved in fishing in NJ.

Me? I'm going to fish for some muskies in the lower Musky now that we've pulled 4 dams on the lower river and are working on 2 more....

I got out on Sat and did some scouting and a little bit of fishing. I caught nothing but I found to shore access where I had clear space behind me for casting. It was great as long as I had the place to myself. If there were a few other people fishing there I would not have had room. Using my 10wt with a sinking line and a large salt water fly I could cast 3/4 of the way across and get the fly to do some deep swings.

 

[sheisty]

I got out on Sat and did some scouting and a little bit of fishing. I caught nothing but I found to shore access where I had clear space behind me for casting. It was great as long as I had the place to myself. If there were a few other people fishing there I would not have had room. Using my 10wt with a sinking line and a large salt water fly I could cast 3/4 of the way across and get the fly to do some deep swings.

At that particular location try to cast parallel to the shore if possible. There isn't usually anybody there, but even when there is you can walk a long ways upstream, and downstream from where you stand.

 

[Oliver10]

Thanks. There were posted signs going downstream but I thought it was a public reserve. When fishing, should I be fishing with the current or against it?

 

[FIN-ITE 34]

They seem to like a very slow retrieve, at least with spoons and spinnerbaits. I think that casting downstream would make for a better slow strip without hanging bottom. From experience, the water is still a bit too cold for really good fishing. Wait till it gets up to about 50° - 55° and the action will really pick up. I caught fish all through the summer in warm water temperatures, so don't quit fishing too soon. They seemed to favor gold spoons and white spinnerbaits if you want an idea for fly colors.

 

[Flytrap]

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[JoeArlington12]

Passaic river is a great spot for fishing and you can find the most of the pikes here. Here you'll find the variety of pikes for fishing.



Edit: "Spam signature" removed - Pete

 

[Oliver10]

Passaic river is a great spot for fishing and you can find the most of the pikes here. Here you'll find the variety of pikes for fishing.

Spam! And bad spam at that