Split Rock Saturday

[Fun King]

I was out in the canoe for the first time this year with my son and his girlfriend. The day was beautiful and we caught nothing. It was my first time on this reservoir and it is really pretty. I want to thank the friendly people of this forum, I never realized this lake existed. I'm quite sore but I hope to get back soon.

[FishOnKV]

I think I saw you guys out there. We were a group of 3 kayakers and it was sloooow for us too. 1 pickeral between the 3 of us. Nice weather at least.

[icebadger]

that place takes some gittin used to, it is tough fishing if you do not know the place to well but if you put the time in it has much to offer. lets hope it does not get ruined by litterbugs and greedy people. the peacefulness of the res is second to none.

[Ken Lyons]

If anyone ever doubts the effect of fishing pressure on a lake go no further than here. There was a time when there was no fishing allowed but locals ignored the signs. It was terrific. Then the state got a conservation easement With the purpose of allowing fishing and boating. The locals fought this tooth and nail and there came a chance that you could get chased. Fishing was still good. Then it got opened to the public.
Still a beautiful place. I will always remember it.

[AndyS]

Once open to the public, well, let me just say the stingers of fish going into car trunks was amazing. Aeroflex, same thing.

[Ken Lyons]

The Crappies were consistently over 15 inches.
As good as it was Charlotteburg was better.

[bunker dunker]

grew up on that place.used to go with my uncle who knew the caretaker in the late 60's & 70's.you could jig in one hole all day ice fishing and never stop catching.

[Skunk City]

Splitrock still produces well, just have to know where to look!

[icebadger]

that res is tough on fair weather fishermen or on people that do not put in the time. like bunker dunker i to grew up fishing the rock and learned early where to find fish. the back is totally different than the front by the dam you have to change your presentation when you fish the two sections. there is deep holes and rock piles and even grassy flats to fish. i hope people do not get greedy and take to much out of there. it is a beautiful place lets keep it that way.

[Chrisper4694]

Can't deny the effects of zero/low fishing pressure vs. more pressure... but i mean come on we live in the real world.

I had, plain and simple, hand down, the best bass fishing day i've ever had in NJ there just last year both in number and size!

Some days the bite is tough. large lakes with a lot of different depth and structure can be very tough at times...the fish have many many options and you can research all you want, but it just might not pay off all the time.

[FishOnKV]

I've had some great days there and some slow days there. Always a good time though.

[briansnat]

One of the most beautiful lakes in NJ. Once you get away from the dam you see nothing manmade (except that house on the hill overlooking the reservoir built about 10 years ago).

People talk about the fishing pressure there since it was opened to the public, but it seems to me that the pressure is pretty light when compared with most NJ lakes. It's roughly the size (surface wise) of Monksville but receives a fraction of the fishing pressure. I've rarely seen more than dozen other anglers out on the lake and usually half that.

The long carry to the water from parking and the rocky and difficult launch helps cut down on the yahoos on the water. I think shore fishing is not allowed (at least it wasn't), but even then, the vast majority of shore anglers (whether legal or not) don't venture far from the parking area. It's a pretty rough hike on the trails to access the shore away from the launch.

I've done pretty well there with bass, particularly on the northern end where there are pads and weeds. It's a pretty long paddle to get there though, especially when a breeze is blowing from the north.

It would be nice if they stocked some walleye and/or hybrids there to provide some action on the deeper south end. I haven't had much luck there.

[Fun King]

I was back at it in my kayak on Sunday. Beautiful day, no fish. Very few fisherman compared to Skunksville. The lot was almost full when I got there around 11, and almost empty when I left around 2. Mostly hikers. I didn't even see a fish or anything that looked like a fish. I was fishing the south west shoreline with a Keitech on a 1/8 oz jig head. Is it still early?

[Mark B.]

I think shore fishing is not allowed (at least it wasn't).

It wasn't.

Now, NJDF&W owns it & you can fish from the shoreline and wade fish it.

All NJDF&W Wildlife Management Area Regs. apply:

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/wmaregs.htm