Passaic river between Berkeley Heights/Chatham.

[danyeo]

Hello all, I've been lurking here but finally registered. I'm originally from Monmouth County but I've lived in Berkley Heights for a few years now, I'm right up the street from Seeley's Pond although I never fish there.

I can't help but notice all the Passaic threads and the Pike you guys are catching but is there anything besides carp and catfish in my area? I've fished a couple of spots in Berkeley Heights and caught a few carp, but that's it. The river isn't wide up here and it often looks like Chocolate Milk. I've thrown a rapala in a few times but never got any hits. I've been worried actually because in a few spots I fished there's always a beaver or muskrat swimming around, don't want to hook that.

And Seeley's......I prefer to just go over to Lake Surprise. I've caught some bass and pickeral there but nothing big.


Also, since a lot of you seem to know your Pickeral and Pike, how big can a Pickeral get? I found an old picture of myself with a Pickeral I caught on a private lake in upstate NY and I remember wondering if it could have been a Pike? It was 28 inches long and I caught it with a 6 or 7 inch long Bluegill. It was a Boy Scout camp so the lake was off limits to the public and it was infested with hungry Pickeral. I guess I should look at the coloring and marking of that fish again.

[msgdan]

Welcome to the site and yes the Passaic holds many species. I have not caught many pickerel in the Passaic, but I have caught a few in the past few years. Here is one that my friend caught last week when I "guided " him for his first Passaic pike (he was blindfolded of course). The state record is 9 lbs. 3 ozs. and I really think this pickerel was close to that. His gut looked like it had 5 suckers in him and this fish was just about 30 inches.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s183/msgdan/IMGP0058.jpg

Danny V

[AndyS]

Welcome to the site.

Take the time and go back over the other pages from past years on here, all good stuff.

[aluislugo]

I live near the Kayak launch on Synder near River Road in Berkeley Heights. Anyway, I have seen people fishing there and have heard stories of some big muskies coming out of here. Can anybody confirm? I also went fishing there this saturday and sunday but no luck except for two small sunnies on worms. I also tried several different artificial lures and no luck either. Any help or advice for fishing this area would be greatly appreciated.

[Eskimo]

Funny this thread shows up now. I was just there on Saturday afternoon.

I was too hung over to do a real fishing trip, so I decided to fish in town. I just parked across from the sewer plant on Snyder Ave and walked along that path downstream. I haven't fished the Passiac since I was in high school.

I didn't catch a damn thing. The weather was gloomy and overcast. The water was completely barren of fish. I left there feeling depressed.

As near as I can figure, none of the pike stocked down stream make it past all the dams and get to Berkeley Heights. The nearest dam is in Summit or Chatham.

I know a guy who caught a small pike on the opening day of trout season in Summit on the Passiac, but I'm not sure exactly where he was fishing.

As a kid, I used to sit on the banks and throw out a handful of whole-kernal canned sweet corn and catch a lot carp in the 5-10 pound range. There were also a lot of Yellow Bullhead Catfish in the river.

As far as Seeley's Pond goes, I go there every year for opening day of trout season for the past 22 years. The trouble is that there are a few sure-fire, guaranteed spots on that lake where the trout accumulate and people show up earlier and earlier every year to claim those spots. This year, I showed up over an hour before the 8:00 a.m. opening and ALL the good spots were occupied.

One guy had a propane stove and was cooking breakfast! I can't imagine what time some of those people get there. It's like those people who wait outside the Apple Store to be the first to buy a new model of iPhone, except there just sitting in the cold waiting hours and hours for the 8:00 a.m. opening. I expect to see people camping overnight there soon. Then there is always that guy who shows up at 7:55 and practically sits in your lap to get to the good spot. I hate urban fishing.

I'm not seeing any evidence of poaching anymore at Seeley's Pond. A bunch of years back, only a few fish were caught there on opeing day. Some poachers had stolen almost all the trout before opening day. I caught a single trout and that was already gut hooked with a few inches of line coming out of his mouth. I showed the game warden (or whatever he was) and he just shrugged and said they couldn't be everywhere all the time. As I said, this was a long time ago and every opeing day has produced trout there for me since then.

[FASTEDDIE29]

There are no PIKE anywhere near union county. I would suggest going downstream to Little Falls or somewhere in that area.

[NorthJerzyG]

As far as I knew, there were pike any where between Livingston/Chatham area all the way downstream past Dundee into the tidal waters? Maybe I'm wrong.

Also, you can tell the pressure has picked up in the woodland park/little falls area. I'm starting to see postings were there never was any before?

[FASTEDDIE29]

All PIKE in stated area have been abducted by aliens. It was on the news. Really!!!

[Skunk City]

All PIKE in stated area have been abducted by aliens. It was on the news. Really!!!

Saw that on News 12 too Eddie! Blame it on Obama!!!

[NorthJerzyG]

And if it couldn't get any worse, Camp Lane ramp is now officially posted Private Property!!!!! Ugghhh, what's the point of having a great fishery if it's not fishable???:mad:

[buzzbaiter]

And if it couldn't get any worse, Camp Lane ramp is now officially posted Private Property!!!!! Ugghhh, what's the point of having a great fishery if it's not fishable???:mad:

Perhaps if it wasn't abused and used so much, they wouldn't have done it. My guess is litter got so bad, they had enough. That or anglers loitering around there got to be an issue.

You can't have TOO many access points otherwise it would be over fished and not nearly as good. In my experiences, the better(or more) the access, the worst the fishing is. I've seen 400 acre lakes with 8 launch areas and they get pounded while other similar size lakes have 2 and boat traffic is light.

[jimmythegreek]

anything good gets pounded, word travels fast in jerzey. The only thing that slows em down is bad/no boat ramps and electric only, otherwise the best little spots would be cleaned out right about now.......

[buzzbaiter]

I never knew guys launched from there until it was mentioned here. There's a lesson there about sharing info.

[FASTEDDIE29]

We are the smallest most populated state in America. Word travels fast. Big bodies of water get alot of pressure, rivers, lakes, etc. Lake Hopatcong, Greenwood Lake, Swartswood lake, Budd Lake, Monksville get milllions of people fishing, boating and kayaking on them every year. Anglers consistently catch trophy fish on these lakes and big river systems regardless of pressure. Pressure is good, it keeps things exciting and makes a fisherman think outside the box. If you cant catch fish in a pressured situation than well, your not much of a fisherman. you could always move to the Promised Land and have a nice little 1 acre pond to yourself. TIGHT LINES!!!:D

[NorthJerzyG]

In this situation I don't blame the fisherman. There is very little if any trash there and the houses are abandoned. Never seen anglers shore fishing or hanging out there? Couple trailers at a time parked there without obstructing anything. Now there's a sign stating its Fairfield township private property "emergency" boat launch. Friggin Nazis...........

I'll still find a way in, it's just gonna make it harder...........

[buzzbaiter]

If you cant catch fish in a pressured situation than well, your not much of a fisherman.

Considering its my first year of pursuing pike, I think catching hundreds of them along with dozens of bass shows I'm not too bad at this fishing prssured waters thing. All without a boat too. I figure I can only get better at it so you better 'think outside the box' more often;)

[FASTEDDIE29]

Considering its my first year of pursuing pike, I think catching hundreds of them along with dozens of bass shows I'm not too bad at this fishing prssured waters thing. All without a boat too. I figure I can only get better at it so you better 'think outside the box' more often;)
Cool story bro! You are awesome! Maybe you can show me how to think outside the box. I dont catch much. Thanks for posting. Have a nice day.:D

[beezer]

The houses by Camp Lane aren't abandoned some just look like they are.
People live there and when guys show up at 5:30 AM to launch boats you know there is going to be a problem.

Lincoln Park shut the launch down on the other side years ago.

The best thing to do is when you find a spot to launch don't tell anyone and don't post it on the internet.

[tycomps]

In this situation I don't blame the fisherman. There is very little if any trash there and the houses are abandoned. Never seen anglers shore fishing or hanging out there? Couple trailers at a time parked there without obstructing anything. Now there's a sign stating its Fairfield township private property "emergency" boat launch. Friggin Nazis...........

I'll still find a way in, it's just gonna make it harder...........

"Camp Lane ramp", "Fairfield Township private property", "Lincoln Park", are we still talking about 'Passaic river between Berkeley Heights/Chatham'? Sounds like a different thread needs to start.

[bigfishy]

The best thing to do is when you find a spot to launch don't tell anyone and don't post it on the internet.

" Ding Ding Ding":D :D :D

[NorthJerzyG]

Anybody with a brain could find it on google maps, so I don't think the postings had everything to do with it...............

[NorthJerzyG]

"Camp Lane ramp", "Fairfield Township private property", "Lincoln Park", are we still talking about 'Passaic river between Berkeley Heights/Chatham'? Sounds like a different thread needs to start.

Yup, cause that's where everyone will be going now, lol..........

[buzzbaiter]

Anybody with a brain could find it on google maps, so I don't think the postings had everything to do with it...............

Judging from all the PM's I get asking where to find fish/where to park, I doubt too many take time to look for themselves. It took me about 4 trips to check out every bridge and 'scout' out the river in the areas I'd like to go. More access than you think but the river itself changes character not easily seen on the maps(depth/cover/clarity/bottom type/temp). It makes a difference seeing it in person. Getting spoonfed the where, how, and when is not how I fish but I seem to be in the minority. Like I said, I never fished the river until July this year despite working next to it for the last 13yrs. Basically I just applied my bass approach on lakes/ponds to the river and its been working just fine. Its not rocket science and no 'thinking outside the box' is necessary ;-)

[tycomps]

anybody up for a passaic river pike day like catfish night? maybe a saturday in a neutral zone? everyone would need a digital camera and tape measure for authenticity.

[buzzbaiter]

and it often looks like Chocolate Milk.

Yep sounds like the Passaic. It clears up a bit after meeting Whippany and Rockaway Rivers. Upstream of those its generally turbid. Mostly due to carp but also the riverbed itself is basically feet of mud. The low gradient keeps it from scouring the mud out. Once the carp activity dies down(right about this time of year) it gets clearer but the water is much colder. There a plenty of panfish around to keep things fun like redbreast sunfish.