pompton lake

[acabtp]

I am going to hit Pompton Lake this afternoon with a buddy of mine... I have never fished it, but I know the lake has produced its share of large/record fish. Any suggestions for this time of year? Undecided yet if we'll be fishing from shore or putting a boat in.

[dboyd101]

Not many places to shore fish to my knowledge. I would bring a boat if i were you :)

Oh, and no advice from me. Though I live in Riverdale, I haven't fished here yet!! :(

Report back like you always do, I want to hear good things!!!

[Skunk City]

I've fished there a ton this year. A boat is a must have for this place. The only real shoreline spots(both parks) and totally drowned with weeds at this point in the season.

Early morning seems to be the best time to hit this place. Ive had at least 15-20 16"+ bass there in the morning this season, either on topwater rapalas or senkos. Biggest was 19". I've done decent at sunset too, as I landed a nice 18" Largemouth there a few weeks ago from my kayak. Check some of my reports I've posted in the passed few months and you'll get the idea of what has been working for me.

I've yet to land a Pike there yet(state record came out of there), but I've seen them in the super shallow water in the morning. I've even accidentally hooked up with a few smaller ones while Senko-ing it for bass and eventually got chewed off. There are tons of hungry panfish in there as well. We've landed a bunch of nice yellow perch, green sunfish and rockbass, mostly earlier in the season though.

Overall its a pretty decent place for bass. I won't spot burn, but spend some time in the "flats" there, as well as all the "fishy" shoreline spots. Sometime in the near future its going to be closed to fishing so they can continue the clean-up from the polluted Acid Brook that feeds into it. Not sure when this is going to happen...

Post back with results when you can. I will probably get up there a day this week weather permitting. The lake should be considerably higher with all the rain we had. My last bit of advice for you is to take it easy through the north half of the lake, as there are some spots with barely submerged trees in totally random spots. Some you'll see sticking out, others you'll only see when youre right on top of them. This is predominately after you pass under the bridge and passed the small island. Good luck!

[Skunk City]

Some of the fish my buddy and I have landed there since we started fishing there in May...

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h252/QuikSilverSRT4/IMG_20110804_194806.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h252/QuikSilverSRT4/IMG_20110804_194713.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h252/QuikSilverSRT4/2011-05-07_141011.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h252/QuikSilverSRT4/2011-05-12_112208.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h252/QuikSilverSRT4/2011-05-12_093340-1.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h252/QuikSilverSRT4/IMG_20110609_075131.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h252/QuikSilverSRT4/IMG_20110609_095405.jpg

[Sigma1073]

Appreciate the all the info. I didn't think there was too much shore fishing since there are so many houses on the lake. I live within walking distance from the lake and I have never taken the time to toss a line in the water so I am looking forward to finally checking this place out tonight. Where do you guys park when you launch the boat? Side streets? I have been down by launch and I have never noticed any place designated for parking.

[Skunk City]

Yes, you can park on the side streets there. At the ramp, there is a sign that says which street to park on if you have a trailer.

[acabtp]

Sounds like taking out the boat will be the plan. Thanks for the good info guys. I will let you know how Sigma1073 (my buddy) and I do.
Nice fish Skunk!

[Skunk City]

Good luck, report back with pictures of some big fish!

[acabtp]

wow, there is a lot of vegetation in that lake!

fished from about 6 pm to dark, tried all sorts of methods and lures, had a couple nice hits, saw lots of feeding splashes but didn't connect on anything big. just some feisty 'gills and my buddy got a crappie.

it was cool to get out on a new lake though, and i was quite surprised by how nice it is. since it is mostly private property on the shoreline, i was expecting something like hopatcong, but smaller... it was nice to see that most of the landowners have left enough trees up that it still looks pretty natural. i'll be back!

[Skunk City]

The Sunnies there are super aggressive! I've caught them on big topwater baits there, some of them being the same size as the lure lol.

What areas did you guys hit? Any bass? How was the water level?

[Sigma1073]

Didn't land any bass had one follow back to the boat but I couldn't get it to hit. There were fish rising all over the lake so it was nice to see they were there just wish we caught more of them. Caught the one 9-10" crappie and had a few other decent hits. I definitely want to get back out there and give it another go.

[Skunk City]

How was the water level? And what areas did you guys target?

[Sigma1073]

Water seemed to be up. Figure 6'6" rod in a rod holder wouldn't make it under the bridge. I always thought there is usually more clearance but thats just based on seeing it from shore. We fished up towards the north end of the lake mostly and fished a few spots just before the bridge on the way back to the launch. It was kind of a rushed trip after work so we need to get back out with a little more light to do a better job learning the lake.