How many trips to Monksville for a report?

[ScowardNJ]

I've been to Skunksville 5 times this month and after last night I've finally collected enough fish porn for the typical meager Monksville report. Earlier in the month I headed up there to start messing around with bottom bouncers. I have no clue how to drag these things but after messing around with leaders, colors, speed etc.. my rig gets slammed! A nice healthy 23" in the net! I was amped! Fish is quickly CPR'd, I re-rig, get back to bouncing and get whacked again with an upper teen sized eye in the net! It was gettin dark by this time so i pointed the Mugger back to the ramp thinking I have possibly cracked the code to consistent fishing in Monks! Cant wait to get back out tomorrow night with my newly learned technique and mop em up!!!!
Get out the next evening...caught nothing..not even a hit. Exact same conditions as last night! :confused:

The next evening...1 f'ing blue gill!:mad:

A week later, My buddy gets a big white perch.:cool:

Got out yesterday afternoon, put a bouncer down only to get harassed by gills..Feeling that typical Monksville frustration I know all to well - I throw my bouncer set up in the front of the mugger, switched to a rap and landed a 17". Then to a jig and nailed a healthy 23". So 4 walleyes in 5 trips with some blue gills and white perch mixed in.. The one thing that bottom bouncing has taught me is it revealed a lot more rocky structure i hadn't known existed at various parts of the lake. That place has fish in it, but how to catch em consistently is anyone's guess.
https://i.imgur.com/HeifWIY.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/mPOcUnO.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/hH8njNT.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/WJuNGea.jpg?1

[thmyorke1]

Nice report, and beautiful walleyes.

[bulletbob]

OK, so now you have an idea where the fish might be... Go to the same place before first light, and shut her down before the sun gets bright, maybe 8 am.. Either that or fish from say 6 PM until after dark, or even well into the night.


Also, try a nice good sized, lively killie,shiner, etc,,, Whatever bait fish you are allowed to use on that lake. Fish your jigs as you have been, alongside the live bait on the bottom with a "dead stick'.. Walleyes are actually easy to catch, but they don't have a big bite window, and they are largely nocturnal/low light hunters, and will always hit big live baitfish... bob

[ScowardNJ]

OK, so now you have an idea where the fish might be... Go to the same place before first light, and shut her down before the sun gets bright, maybe 8 am.. Either that or fish from say 6 PM until after dark, or even well into the night.


Also, try a nice good sized, lively killie,shiner, etc,,, Whatever bait fish you are allowed to use on that lake. Fish your jigs as you have been, alongside the live bait on the bottom with a "dead stick'.. Walleyes are actually easy to catch, but they don't have a big bite window, and they are largely nocturnal/low light hunters, and will always hit big live baitfish... bob

The magic hours have certainly been the best times out there. Never really thought of dead sticking a livie. Thanks for the tip!

[Chrisper4694]

heard the water is a terrible color right now...id say that's pretty good fishing considering the conditions....now why you'd want to fish there over the other walleye lakes is beyond me hahaha.

[ScowardNJ]

heard the water is a terrible color right now...id say that's pretty good fishing considering the conditions....now why you'd want to fish there over the other walleye lakes is beyond me hahaha.

Water has been a scummy green lately.
Monks is 20 mins from my house and its free! haha..Weekend ramp fees are $40 on GWL these days :eek:...Not worth it for a few hours of fishing time.

[AndyS]

I think walleye in a large deep lake have to be one of the hardest fish to catch, I say job well done despite lousy water conditions.

[JDTuna]

Still catching some nice walleye in a difficult lake to fish. That's definitely a win!

[FASTEDDIE29]

Some people like a challenge I think. I for one used to love that place. There’s fish to be caught for sure. On top of that it’s a pretty place without a doubt. The drop offs are nuts, the mountains are awesome. Good fishing Scotty!!!:D

[Chrisper4694]

Water has been a scummy green lately.
Monks is 20 mins from my house and its free! haha..Weekend ramp fees are $40 on GWL these days :eek:...Not worth it for a few hours of fishing time.

that makes sense...$40 wow terrible

[icebadger]

that place has a lot of structure. road beds,bridges,rock piles, drop offs ,etc. you caught fish in skunksville and they were walleyes at that. the only decent fish that i caught there is a 15" chunky smallmouth. caught lots of small fish but i have not caught a walleye there yet.

[Fred E. Goose]

UGH, this post is gonna give me the itch to head up there and take my usual beating! Thanks a lot, scoward. I also tried bottom bouncers there for the first time around the new moon earlier this month. Got 1 dink largemouth. Saw 2 other boats fishing near each other (5 anglers total) and they told me right before they headed off that they only got 1 perch between all of them.

It's still my favorite place to get skunked. I've had some of my best fishing days there and definitely my worst beatings. I think the bad days there make the good ones so much better.

The ramps are free and easy. The scenery and nature is amazing. Especially when the leaves start to change color and the paddleboard/sailboat crowd is just a fading memory. I convince myself before I go there that I'm really going for a boatride and nature-viewing tour...if I catch fish while I'm at it, that's a bonus!

And that's it, my friend. It's not Erie, it's not Canadian waters. It's a stocked walleye program in NJ. Although we would like to pull more of 'em from there, it is what it is. That may seem frustrating at times, but be comforted by the fact that you're doin better than most.