Which species to target 4/18-4/20

[Tightlines74]

Hi all, my son (14 years old) has a thing for "checking off" different species fish that he has caught off his "list". With that I'm looking for a bit of advise on what would best to target this coming weekend and where ( just general location ) not looking to blow up anyone's spots, in fact i have done some scouting on the Raritan and Passaic rivers and i'm open to trying the Big D as well. Species he is looking to check off next are Pike, Musky, Striped Bass and Shad and we will be fishing from the shoreline. If voting in poll for other, please advise on which you would target. Thanks in advance for any/all advise. :)

[kcritch]

Not sure what the flow will be liek after that rain but if Shad is one of his targets it seems like this is about as good a time as you're going to get. They seem to be running in the D pretty good.

Best of luck.

[Tightlines74]

Thanks kcritch :) i appreciate the advise. I've always been content with trout and LMB but seeing how happy he was getting his first SMB a few weeks ago is making me wana add more fuel to the fishing fire and get him checking off more species of his list. :)

[Doug Vitale]

Hi all, my son (14 years old) has a thing for "checking off" different species fish that he has caught off his "list". With that I'm looking for a bit of advise on what would best to target this coming weekend and where ( just general location ) not looking to blow up anyone's spots, in fact i have done some scouting on the Raritan and Passaic rivers and i'm open to trying the Big D as well. Species he is looking to check off next are Pike, Musky, Striped Bass and Shad and we will be fishing from the shoreline.

I'm a big advocate of fishing from boats instead of the shore (other than trout fishing in streams). In boats you can cover so much more water and get to spots that you simply can't reach from land.

For muskellunge, try to rent a boat at Lake Hopatcong. Then again, you could go to the Delaware and kill two birds with one stone (shad and striped bass).

[Tightlines74]

I'm a big advocate of fishing from boats instead of the shore (other than trout fishing in streams). In boats you can cover so much more water and get to spots that you simply can't reach from land.

For muskellunge, try to rent a boat at Lake Hopatcong. Then again, you could go to the Delaware and kill two birds with one stone (shad and striped bass).

Thank you Doug Vitale, I hear ya with fishing from a boat, I like your idea about 2 with 1 stone on the Delaware.

[catfishonthelake]

April is a tough month for muskies, maybe the toughest. Wait until mid-may when the water is a little warmer and they're done trying to do their thing. Not impossible, but plenty of other stuff biting.

[ScowardNJ]

There is only 1 time of year when the shad run and its looking pretty solid right now as long as the Big D settles down. If you can scratch the shad off the list you will have plenty of time left this spring for your striper, or you can wait for the fall run. The Passiac Pike is out there pretty much year round. Haven't caught a Musky yet but I'm pretty sure they are a year round fish also. Good luck!

[Tightlines74]

April is a tough month for muskies, maybe the toughest. Wait until mid-may when the water is a little warmer and they're done trying to do their thing. Not impossible, but plenty of other stuff biting.


Thanks catfishonthelake, I appreciate the advise on musky. That's part of my problem, not knowing when is best to target which species since fishing for anything other the trout and LMB is foreign to me.

[Tightlines74]

There is only 1 time of year when the shad run and its looking pretty solid right now as long as the Big D settles down. If you can scratch the shad off the list you will have plenty of time left this spring for your striper, or you can wait for the fall run. The Passiac Pike is out there pretty much year round. Haven't caught a Musky yet but I'm pretty sure they are a year round fish also. Good luck!

Thank you ScowardNJ. I think your post sealed the deal with the 1 time of year shad run ( pretty solid right now) and we can target other species later in the year. Thank you and good luck to you and other the other posters who voted and replied!

[Poncho]

Shad may be a bit tough. Big D cam up 6 feet, crested last night and is starting to drop. Cold front may put them in lock jaw mode plus extra debris in water sucks too. If no more rain later in weekend may be better for shad.

[Tightlines74]

Shad may be a bit tough. Big D cam up 6 feet, crested last night and is starting to drop. Cold front may put them in lock jaw mode plus extra debris in water sucks too. If no more rain later in weekend may be better for shad.


Thanks for the heads up Poncho, funny timing as i was wondering how conditions might be after reading this...

When the river is above normal, angling is best near the shoreline. Extremely high river flows may stop the migration and the shad will hold in calmer water behind in-river structures. The subsiding flow will often trigger this holding school of shad to migrate, en masse, upstream. American shad must see the lure. Therefore, muddy or debris filled water make for poor fishing conditions.

http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/fish_shad.htm

[Poncho]

In the F&W link you posted is the site that I got that info from (Woo's Shad Fishing). Good shad site although lot of bullshit posters but you can differenciate good from bad. The DRSFA is also very good.

[FASTEDDIE29]

Stripers down low on the Delaware or in the bay. Might be a good bet. Bay has been slow but there's still some action with the short Stripers. Tough decision!!! HMMMMMMMMMM!!!!

[Tightlines74]

Stripers down low on the Delaware or in the bay. Might be a good bet. Bay has been slow but there's still some action with the short Stripers. Tough decision!!! HMMMMMMMMMM!!!!

FASTEDDIE29 Thank you for striper update, stripers are definitely one my son is looking to catch and i totally agree with you about it being a tough decision.

So far shad are winning the poll, I'm kinda surprised by how many views on the thread vs how few poll voters but thank you and good luck to all those who took their time out to post a reply and vote :)

[420*NightCrawler]

I had to vote Shad as I know they're there and biting now. The only problem is now is a crappy time with the water just having risen a few feet, and the cold front that came in. This past Tuesday was a good day, but yesterday saw few bites. I'd still hit the Delaware tho as others echoed, they're only there 1 time of year, and it's now. I personally think next weekend will be much better, but if I had to go fish somewhere this weekend, it'd still be the Delaware. You can pick up the odd Bass or Walleye, as well. Are Walleye checked off his list?

For Musky, I wish him luck, more luck than I've ever had lol. I've had a few surface chases and 1 grab. The grab while fishing for Trout, and the Musky obviously chomped right thru the line. They're a hard fish to catch, especially fishing from shore. I'll tell you I've had all my Musky sightings at the Monksville Reservoir, right where Wanaque river feeds into the lake, in 3-5' of water....and from shore. I'll just wade thru the water to cross the river, once it warms up.

Whatever you go for, best of luck and post pics!

[Tightlines74]

I had to vote Shad as I know they're there and biting now. The only problem is now is a crappy time with the water just having risen a few feet, and the cold front that came in. This past Tuesday was a good day, but yesterday saw few bites. I'd still hit the Delaware tho as others echoed, they're only there 1 time of year, and it's now. I personally think next weekend will be much better, but if I had to go fish somewhere this weekend, it'd still be the Delaware. You can pick up the odd Bass or Walleye, as well. Are Walleye checked off his list?

For Musky, I wish him luck, more luck than I've ever had lol. I've had a few surface chases and 1 grab. The grab while fishing for Trout, and the Musky obviously chomped right thru the line. They're a hard fish to catch, especially fishing from shore. I'll tell you I've had all my Musky sightings at the Monksville Reservoir, right where Wanaque river feeds into the lake, in 3-5' of water....and from shore. I'll just wade thru the water to cross the river, once it warms up.

Whatever you go for, best of luck and post pics!

Thank you 420!! I appreciate all the great info and the story about Musky grab!!! :eek: Problem is I have my son every other weekend, the other he is with my ex and @14 i know his friends and GF will soon be taking up even more of his time so I'm really trying to make the most out of my weekends like this one with him, hence my original post here. Walleye he hasn't talked about but i'm sure he wouldn't complain in the slightest bit if he landed one :)

Thanks again for the info, best of luck to you as well and hopefully (crossing all my fingers) thanks to all the nice people here who posted I will be able to follow up with pic's with lot's of shad after a great day on the water with my son! :cool:

[Poncho]

Delaware is rippin, high, and dirty cold. NY resovoirs are dumpin lots of water in them.

[Tightlines74]

Delaware is rippin, high, and dirty cold. NY resovoirs are dumpin lots of water in them.

Poncho, Thank you very much for the update on the conditions, I greatly appreciate it!!! Being 45 to an hour away from the Big D you may have saved us some time and let us focus on other places where conditions may be better. Thanks again and best of luck to you where ever you decide to wet your line!!!

[420*NightCrawler]

If you don't make the Delaware this weekend, in 2 weeks you'll still have good luck there. Hit up those gps coordinates I gave you and you'll catch them there for sure. ;)

[Tightlines74]

Thanks 420 :)

We went out sunday morning to a spot that was new to us, ended up striking up a conversation with this guy who 3rd cast in caught this pike. Looking forward to hitting the Big D for shad!