Muskies or Pike this time of year?

[Smallmouthonrapala]

Hi everyone. New to the Message Board. Was thinking about going for Pike or Muskie before many of the waters start to freeze over. Any knowledge of Mercer Lake for muskies or the Millstone River for Pike? Any information is appreciated.

Thanks so much.

[AndyS]

Welcome to the site. Things are a little slow for some and hectic for others according to the recent posts. Feel free to use the Private Message feature on here also if you something interesting and want to talk one on one. Some hard core people on here, this post should get at least a few answers.

[briansnat]

You will find that people are very closed mouth here, so you won't get a ton of information. Its more of a brag board than a fishing forum.

[UglyStick]

Welcome to the board... before you head out looking for these fish, please take a moment to read my recent post titled "Muskies 101 - A quick guide for proper gear selection and fish handling"

[AndyS]

I'm sorry Briansnat feels this way. I have been using this site for over 12 years now have met some great people and learned so much. Game wardens use this site and we have a Fish and Wildlife biologist that posts on here also. We have fishing reports from over all over the tri-state area annually. Meet and greets are run to connect people so we can all learn from each other and explore new areas. We have everything from the casual weekend warrior to the hardest of hard core on here. Stick around, trust me, this is the place to be.

[bunker dunker]

what a negative thing to say briansnat.its very strange that you picked this thread and not the 6000 that give great info on the who what and were of the tri-states freshwater fishing..there are meet and greets all year long filled with good fisher peeps who
are always ready to share what they know.this site has turned the pike fishing
in New jersey into a great fishery for all with all the info that has been shared.

[Skunk City]

In the past few years as my addiction to fishing has gotten worse, I have learned that there is no "off season". Fishing 12 months a year has enabled me to see how these fish act in every temperature and condition. That being said, I have caught Pike (and 1 Muskie) all through winter. They are usually very fat and will put up a surprisingly good fight. I've done well with big, bright jerkbaits slow cranked with pauses mixed it. Swimbaits slow rolled will also produce.

[FASTEDDIE29]

Hi everyone. New to the Message Board. Was thinking about going for Pike or Muskie before many of the waters start to freeze over. Any knowledge of Mercer Lake for muskies or the Millstone River for Pike? Any information is appreciated.

Thanks so much.

The PM tool is probably the best part of this site not to mention the pages and pages of reports. Use the search engine to find Pike reports. Trust me there's a lot of them on here. So much to learn and so little time. Pike are fattening up as I type. Plenty of opportunities to catch them throughout the winter if you have patience. Hope you find what your looking for on the best fishing site in NJ. Any questions feel free to PM me. I can give you a few tips.

GOOD LUCK and as always, TIGHT LINEZ!!!!:D

[FASTEDDIE29]

You will find that people are very closed mouth here, so you won't get a ton of information. Its more of a brag board than a fishing forum.

Don't hate the brotherhood, join it! We fish, we catch, we post!!! C'mon out on the ice or to one of the several MEET-N-GREETS we have year round. So much to learn from this tight family of anglers. The site has a search feature and the info is endless. Not sure if you can read it all in a years time.

Don't be cranky, c'mon out and join us for some catching and good times!

TIGHT LINEZ!!!!

[The Birdman]

What i like to do is look at past reports during a certain date and see how people did. try looking back a few years in post history during this date or earlier and you will prob find some pike/musky posts.

dont be putt off by this guy Briansnat . Most of his posts are attacks & criticizes anyway ive noticed.
I get TONS of information off NJF through reading posts, previous reports, and private messages. Also take advantage of the search tool.

[waynedane]

I've only been freshwater fishing for a short time and this site and the folks on it have taught me tons...

[Andrushkin33]

Personally I think brian has a point.

People are relunctant to share a spot since there are a lot of lurkers (used to be one) who choose not to contribute. A lot of people will not put you on a specific spot where they have caught the fish but will put you in general direction.

As for me personally I don't mind sharing at all. Spot might have fish today and have nothing tomorrow. Plus on the other side as I came to find out personally it is not so much a spot but a person fishing that spot. Expirience comes with practice.

Andre

[Suntzu]

I don't mind sharing the what, very generally where, conditions and lure. Anything more is too much on an open board that thousands see. Full disclosure has many times ruined the enjoyment of NK surf fishing; full disclosure on a freshwater board would ruin certain NJ fisheries in my opinion. I personally don't share pictures on open boards but take pictures of nearly every decent fish I catch for my logs and to share with friends and family.

Late report; Sat/Sunday went to fish the P but water was still high making trekking too tough through mud and elavated canals. Hit a union county pond and caught a dozen 7-9"brown trout on magnets. Ran by the N Branch and fished for about 30 minutes, nothing.

Will try P tomorrow.

[Jigman13]

You will find that people are very closed mouth here, so you won't get a ton of information. Its more of a brag board than a fishing forum.

Closed-mouthed? Yes, at times... Or we speak in generalities bc of lurkers.

But a brag board? You couldn't be more incorrect in saying such a thing. While I respect the fact that you have an opinion, and it's your prerogative to state such things, I have to firmly disagree with you. Since joining in 2010, I've grown my knowledge of fishing exponentially and met some fantastic people along the way. I thought I was a good fisherman back then... I've learned that I wasnt, and that i had a ton to learn. Due to the help of several members of this forum, I've grown my ability to target a diverse species of freshwater fish 12 months a year in lakes, ponds, rivers, creeks, and streams. And in doing so, have made what I consider life long friends. I mean sh*t, I spend more time with some people on this site during certain seasons than I do with my family! (Something I deny until I'm blue in the face, but know full well it is fact!)

There's a plethora of info on this site. Use the search functions. Use the private message tool. Partake in the meet and greets. Reach out and ask to join a fellow angler when he/she is planning to hit the water. But please, leave your humbug pie at home or in your head. Dishing out negative blanket statements which are the furthest thing from fact only makes you look like a sourpuss, and certainly not someone most of us outgoing anglers would want to invite out for a day on the water.

Catch em' up...

[GetANet]

I have to totally agree with the majority of the responses. NJFishing is hands down the BEST SITE on the internet regarding fishing in our state! There is more information on this site than one could even read and use! You will get as much out of the site as you put in. If one thinks that they are going to just have everyone hand them it on a silver spoon than they better look else where.
Most people on the site will absolutely give info regarding lakes or areas and techniques but will not give exact spots due to all the lurkers and slackers who just wanna roll up and load the boat with out putting in any time or effort. In my opinion you kinda need to earn your stripes so to say by being involved in posts, PM's, and Meet&Greets which are a fantastic way to meet fellow members and learn things first hand! Like my mother always said: If you don't have something nice to say keep your damn mouth shut.........

Smallmouthonrapala this time of the year gets to be a little slow and sometimes it takes a while to get a question answered but do your homework and what everyone is telling you and you will be successful if you put the time and effort in to catch em'. It appears to me you live a little further south than me in middlesex based on the waters you are inquiring about and a large portion of the members live north but there are several members in monmouth/mercer county that may be able to answer that question for you.

[Smallmouthonrapala]

Thanks everyone for your input. Sorry if I annoyed anyone. Definitely, that was not my intention. Have a wonderful New Year and Great Fishing everyone.

[briansnat]

What i like to do is look at past reports during a certain date and see how people did. try looking back a few years in post history during this date or earlier and you will prob find some pike/musky posts.

dont be putt off by this guy Briansnat (Brian Sniatkowski). Most of his posts are attacks & criticizes anyway ive noticed.
I get TONS of information off NJF through reading posts, previous reports, and private messages. Also take advantage of the search tool.

I tried to PM you to avoid hijacking this thread however the PM wouldn't go through. Please point out to me where I've ever attacked anyone here.

Sure I've expressed my disappointment with the general atmosphere here, which too often seems to me to be more "Look what I caught and I'm not telling you where" than a genuine discourse. That's my honest opinion and I won't back away from it.

I loved the Muskie 101 thread today where someone made the effort to impart some of his wisdom. It's threads like that make this board valuable resource to me and I'd like to see more of that sort of stuff and less "show and not tell".

I'm also curious why you would go out of your way to use my real name in your post. Not that I hide it, however that is generally something that is rarely done in any forum. Are you going to publish my address and phone number next?

I joined this forum to learn from other veteran anglers and share the knowledge I've gained through over 45 years of fishing in NJ. I like to think the vast majority of my posts have been helpful to someone. Attacks on anyone? Never.

Now back to your regular programming....

[dakota560]

As long as there's web sites there going to be different opinions about proper etiquette and subject matter. Just the way it is, best anyone can do is to try keeping it respectful. In no case is it ever intelligent or safe for someone to share another members real name on a public web site. It's completely uncalled for and it can create a dangerous situation. If you have an issue with someone, use the pm capability. Whoever did so on this thread should go back and edit their post to remove the individual's name I'm referring to. Common sense and respect will go a long way in self moderating this and any other site.

Dakota