Passaic River

[dboyd101]

FE - those lures don't count toward official length when you catch him

[flyboy1]

Northern Pike can be caught from the newark/nutley/lyndhurst area of the Passaic toward Dundee falls/lake (garfiedl) all the way to 2 Bridges (great swamp area) and into the Pompton river all the way up to Pompton Lake area.

I have personally caught Northern Pike in all these areas. The best area being Dundee lake (above the dundee falls/along rt21) in the back channels of the islands which I accessed by portable canoe. I have landed many 36inch plus Northern Pike as well as very nice size smallies to boot in this area.

Shore Areas of the Passaic into Pompton that have produced well for me was 2 bridges areas and beginning part of Great swamp area.

The best places to search for Pike are areas along the shore line are inlet areas or pockets that have no current/very little current. Pike are ambush predators and dont like to exert energy fighting current so they will find areas that are slow and sluggish waiting to ambush prey.

Bait of choice for Pike. I personally use 6" silver spoons and double jointed rapala's (fire tiger color) also I switched the stock treble hooks on the rapalas to 2 to 3 time bigger ones. I use only 30lb braid w/ 6" 20 or 30lb steel leader. Ironically this setup does not prevent me from catching smallies as well.

Somebody was asking about Pia Costa Lake.. You do not need a permit to fish Pia Costa Lake. Its best to park by the school and just walk around to the lake. I am not a resident and I usually park in the recreation area during the early months (Jan, feb, march, april) when the recreation lake is closed. Ive never had a problem with the POPO yet knock on wood. I have talked to many people that claim they had caught giant pike 40" plus. I have only recently caught the Pike I mentioned earlier (20 something inches) at Pia Costa.


Since I have provided some very good info for catching Pike can someone give some info on how and where to fish for Stripers in the Passaic. I have never caught a striper yet and I would like to accomplish this year.

[acabtp]

that is good info flyboy, thanks for posting. as far as the stripers in the passaic, i don't really know too much except that their path upstream is stopped at the dundee dam, so work downstream from there.

do you have a boat too or just a canoe? there are a couple boat ramps in the lower passaic where you could launch either

[mondofish]

I only began fishing the Passaic a couple of years ago. The main areas I fish are the Two Bridges area and under Rt.80 off Fairfield Rd. I've also fished the Little Falls area. I've done well in the spring and summer in the above mentioned places. I've caught pike, largemouth, smallmouth, and perch. I've done exceptionally well with the smallies at Two Bridges, mostly rapalas for them. I have tried to fish other areas of the Passaic like in Garfield but just find myself driving in circles trying to find access but from reports I've read the pike fishery in this area is great. I for one am glad to see the river so lively.

[shucker]

With all the talk of pike and the passaic I'll have to give this fishery a try

[danyeo]

I live near the Great Swamp area and have fished in Berkeley Heights and Chatham. There's trout in Lenape park in Chatham but I've only seen Carp unstream from that. I'll have to try the Great Swamp area for Pike. 2 Bridges area is great but I haven't busted my Passaic Pike Cherry yet. Still trying.

Originally Posted by flyboy1

Northern Pike can be caught from the newark/nutley/lyndhurst area of the Passaic toward Dundee falls/lake (garfiedl) all the way to 2 Bridges (great swamp area) and into the Pompton river all the way up to Pompton Lake area.

I have personally caught Northern Pike in all these areas. The best area being Dundee lake (above the dundee falls/along rt21) in the back channels of the islands which I accessed by portable canoe. I have landed many 36inch plus Northern Pike as well as very nice size smallies to boot in this area.

Shore Areas of the Passaic into Pompton that have produced well for me was 2 bridges areas and beginning part of Great swamp area.

The best places to search for Pike are areas along the shore line are inlet areas or pockets that have no current/very little current. Pike are ambush predators and dont like to exert energy fighting current so they will find areas that are slow and sluggish waiting to ambush prey.

Bait of choice for Pike. I personally use 6" silver spoons and double jointed rapala's (fire tiger color) also I switched the stock treble hooks on the rapalas to 2 to 3 time bigger ones. I use only 30lb braid w/ 6" 20 or 30lb steel leader. Ironically this setup does not prevent me from catching smallies as well.

Somebody was asking about Pia Costa Lake.. You do not need a permit to fish Pia Costa Lake. Its best to park by the school and just walk around to the lake. I am not a resident and I usually park in the recreation area during the early months (Jan, feb, march, april) when the recreation lake is closed. Ive never had a problem with the POPO yet knock on wood. I have talked to many people that claim they had caught giant pike 40" plus. I have only recently caught the Pike I mentioned earlier (20 something inches) at Pia Costa.


Since I have provided some very good info for catching Pike can someone give some info on how and where to fish for Stripers in the Passaic. I have never caught a striper yet and I would like to accomplish this year.

[catfishonthelake]

Bro if I'm correct (and I may not be), the Great Swamp is upstream from the small dam on River Rd. in Chatham. I'm sure a few pike have made their way up those falls, but I wouldn't waste your time up there. I have caught a pike a hundred yards downstream from those falls on River Rd. and every other pike I have gotten has been downstream from there. Hop on GoogleMaps and start looking for shoreline in between River Rd. in Chatham although way down to the confluence with the Pompton and even further to and past the Dundee Dam. I have done EXTREMELY well in parts of the river from Chatham to the Great Piece Meadows, but you're going to have to do the rest of the homework on your own. Good luck.

[Fish_Harder]

hey mark,

is it going to be hard to take a day off after your year is done? the fish are rewarding your efforts this week with a string of catches. i guess my question is if you dont have to blog will you still be fishing this saturday?

[catfishonthelake]

We shall see...

[Fish_Harder]

look forward to hearing about your saturday. either way i just wanted to thank you for the entertainment this last year. i enjoyed following your quest