Union County Spots

[RyanMac14]

So not looking for specific spots just an idea of a lake or pond with a good reputation for lmb in the Union County area. Will be in West Orange for the day but willing to travel to the surrounding counties (somerset, middlesex) to burn some time after the work day. Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

[youngdumbandfulloffish]

Verona Park isn't bad and in the area. Toughest thing IMO in union county right now is algae. A lot of ponds/lakes are covered. You aren't far from the Passaic either. A lot of good threads that may point you in the right direction there.

[RyanMac14]

Yeah im a long time lurker so I've read many a threads regarding the passaic river. Understandably I never really see specific places where you can park and access from shore:rolleyes: but yeah lakes are getting prettybad after all the heat thats why I usually stick the big lakes down by me (assunpink and manasquan). Thanks for the verona tip though. Decent number of bass there? And any specific baits besides classic senkos and spinners?

[Skunk City]

Verona Park is a cool spot. Doubt any Trout carried over, but it has good Largemouth fishing. Wacky Senko is all you need, we've caught them up to 19" in there.

[RyanMac14]

Great thanks. Ill let you know how I do tomorrow. I have watermelon with black and red yamas and watermelon with candy yumdingers. Any other specific colors?

[Mark B.]

In early June, NJDF&W boat electrofished Verona Lake. Searching for any stocked trout that showed signs of furunculosis.

We collected 3 trout. One 12” rainbow w/ suspect lesions, kept & analyzed revealed another more common bacterium. A clean 9” brown & clean 22” breeder rainbow were released.

All of the trout were collected in the southern end (anglers have reported that there is cold water input from the Peckman River & some trout holdover)of the lake. Water temp. @ the middle of the lake was 72F, that day.

Lots of nice size bass & a good population of Golden Shiners. Tons of BIG carp. And, 2 koi,….one of which was 30 lbs. The koi were not returned to the lake.

The biggest surprise,…………..an 18” walleye near the dam.

[Skunk City]

In early June, NJDF&W boat electrofished Verona Lake. Searching for any stocked trout that showed signs of furunculosis.

We collected 3 trout. One 12” rainbow w/ suspect lesions, kept & analyzed revealed another more common bacterium. A clean 9” brown & clean 22” breeder rainbow were released.

All of the trout were collected in the southern end (anglers have reported that there is cold water input from the Peckman River & some trout holdover)of the lake. Water temp. @ the middle of the lake was 72F, that day.

Lots of nice size bass & a good population of Golden Shiners. Tons of BIG carp. And, 2 koi,….one of which was 30 lbs. The koi were not returned to the lake.

The biggest surprise,…………..an 18” walleye near the dam.

:eek:

Mark is there anywhere one could view the results of electrofishings in NJ lakes? I for one would love to see the data.

Was the Walleye released?

[saxmatt]

In early June, NJDF&W boat electrofished Verona Lake. Searching for any stocked trout that showed signs of furunculosis.

We collected 3 trout. One 12” rainbow w/ suspect lesions, kept & analyzed revealed another more common bacterium. A clean 9” brown & clean 22” breeder rainbow were released.

All of the trout were collected in the southern end (anglers have reported that there is cold water input from the Peckman River & some trout holdover)of the lake. Water temp. @ the middle of the lake was 72F, that day.

Lots of nice size bass & a good population of Golden Shiners. Tons of BIG carp. And, 2 koi,….one of which was 30 lbs. The koi were not returned to the lake.

The biggest surprise,…………..an 18” walleye near the dam.

Such a shame you killed that koi. They are rare in NJ, let alone one over 30lbs. Many anglers would have loved to catch that fish, would have been the fish of a lifetime. They are the same species as the common carp and can breed with commons and mirrors creating some beautiful fish. They don't do any more harm to the environment than carp, they're just prettier fish. I don't understand why Fish and Game would kill such a great fish...very disappointing.

[RyanMac14]

How has all the action been after the electroshock? Whens the last time you guys went?

[jimcnj]

Such a shame you killed that koi. They are rare in NJ, let alone one over 30lbs. Many anglers would have loved to catch that fish, would have been the fish of a lifetime. They are the same species as the common carp and can breed with commons and mirrors creating some beautiful fish. They don't do any more harm to the environment than carp, they're just prettier fish. I don't understand why Fish and Game would kill such a great fish...very disappointing.

It is kinda neat when you see them in park ponds.
There is a park in Cranford that has yellow, white and orange beasts swimming around.

[The Birdman]

The biggest surprise,…………..an 18” walleye near the dam.

So this fish came from passaic? thats pretty cool, peckman gets tiny at some points

[RyanMac14]

Has anyone tried lenape pond or nomahegan lake? They are close together so figured trying both later could be nice

[justin1982]

Verona Park is a cool spot. Doubt any Trout carried over, but it has good Largemouth fishing. Wacky Senko is all you need, we've caught them up to 19" in there.

I went fishing at Verona maybe 2 weeks ago and saw 2 kids with the biggest rainbow trout I have ever seen. They caught it in the creek (I'm guessing it's the Peckman?) that feeds into the lake by the golf course

[RyanMac14]

Yeah I heard it has good trout unfortunately I have no trout gear on me today. Guess we will see how it goes. you have any bass luck there ever?

[RyanMac14]

Went to echo lake, suprise lake and nomahegan. I didnt even bother getting out of the car. . They just looked terrible. Trying verona park now

[NorthJerzyG]

Veronas good for the occasional quickie. Prob cause its so close. Not a big fan of all the traffic around but I've caught some nice fish there. Some bass, cats, and some opening day trout. I believe it about the carp in there too. A while back, I had one drag a rod 30 or so feet into the water and swim away with it while I was, distracted...... Almost chased it down and considered jumping in after it but reconsidered, lol.........

And, how'd a walleye get in there??

[jimcnj]

Went to echo lake, suprise lake and nomahegan. I didnt even bother getting out of the car. . They just looked terrible. Trying verona park now

Surprise Lake has been drained for dam replacement.
Nomahegan was drained last year and is recovering.
Echo Lake is choked with algae and plagued by poachers, but gives up fish to the determined.
There are are other ponds but I ain't sayin!

[RyanMac14]

I drove passed every pond or lake I could find on google maps including those 4, diamond mill, jackson and crystal lake.. prettt sad I havent gotten anything my last 6 times out so I guess its safe to say your honey lakes are safe from me

[jimcnj]

I drove passed every pond or lake I could find on google maps including those 4, diamond mill, jackson and crystal lake.. prettt sad I havent gotten anything my last 6 times out so I guess its safe to say your honey lakes are safe from me

lol no honey lakes!

Try shorter Senkos with 1/0 worm hooks and tubes. Bring them in slow.
I usually use the lightest rod I have with 6 lb test or less, makes it more fun.
Another rod on the bottom for carp and cats (Echo). And patience.
Try different spots that are not so easy to get to.

[Eskimo]

.

Went to echo lake, suprise lake and nomahegan. I didnt even bother getting out of the car. . They just looked terrible. Trying verona park now


Union County is pretty sad. I plan on moving the hell out of New Jersey before the entire state turns to shit like Union County.

There are those lakes by the Watchung Circle, but they are probably typically over-fished urban park ponds. They did receive the bass that were electro-shocked and collected from Surprise Lake prior to it being drained.

Downstream from Surprise Lake, there's Seeley's Pond on Diamond Hill Road. That's the pond that was poached virtually empty before opening day of trout season. It has a lot panfish and some pickerel and small bass.


.

[Mark B.]

Yes, that's the Peckman R. that enters Verona Lake. And, where we electrofished & released a big rainbow. Glad those kids caught it!

The walleye was either accidently mixed in with other warm water fish stocked by Hackettstown Hatch., or illegally stocked by an angler. It was returned to the lake.

In the near future, our annual Research & Management Reports (a synopsis of all waterbody surveys conducted to address a variety of recreational and resource management needs and in response to emerging fisheries issues) will be on our website.

[youngdumbandfulloffish]

I drove passed every pond or lake I could find on google maps including those 4, diamond mill, jackson and crystal lake.. prettt sad I havent gotten anything my last 6 times out so I guess its safe to say your honey lakes are safe from me

Sorry Union County didn't show you any love. I caught a nice 14 inch bass at Nomohegan yesterday. It was pretty clean yesterday just a few algae patches floating by the fountain.

[ithaca10]

Kids at Black Brook Park catching some nice bass on all things hot dogs.

[jimcnj]

Sorry Union County didn't show you any love. I caught a nice 14 inch bass at Nomohegan yesterday. It was pretty clean yesterday just a few algae patches floating by the fountain.

Nice! I wonder if it was a Surprise Lake transplant?
I caught a couple of foot longs earlier this summer.
My Daughter caught a 5 inch Golden Shiner on Sunday - that's a good sign!
she wouldn't let me use it as catfish bait.

[youngdumbandfulloffish]

Nice! I wonder if it was a Surprise Lake transplant?
I caught a couple of foot longs earlier this summer.
My Daughter caught a 5 inch Golden Shiner on Sunday - that's a good sign!
she wouldn't let me use it as catfish bait.

Were you fishing by the bridge with your daughter and son? You probably would've got a turtle first. There are some monsters swimming around.

Lake Surprise transplant or one from the backwaters. During the drain I fished back there and caught a few nice ones that avoided the electroshock.

[goodfishin]

I love fishing for bass just about any time of year but between all the salad floating around in most ponds and the fact that every place within an hour of me has been fished, fished, and fished some more, at this time of year, I enjoy grabbing a package of hot dogs and bottom fishing for channel cats. You can find them in just about any body of water; they get big, big, big; and they put up a hell of a fight. Plus, even the most over-fished little town puddle usually has some cats in it. In fact, my biggest freshwater fish of the year last year was a channel cat. 30".

If you can't find a good spot for bassin', I'd recommend giving catfishin' a go. Pretty darn fun to hook a 20" cat on light tackle.