It's official. ..my honey holes are no more

[msgdan]

With not being on the river for about 5 weeks, I decided to try a few quick trips to get ready for the pike a thon.

I tried 3 spots in the past 4 nights that would "normally " result in about 10 pike per trip......if I went by results from the past 10 years.
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Zero pike...zero strikes and zero follows. The water looked horrible in every spot. The water level was good and the weed conditions were good....just no fish at all.

I can't explain what happened to the stretches I fished, but it looks like 10 years of finding a few spots that always produced......is dead.

Time to do more exploring and finding new water.

Danny V.

[CabesaRoja]

I've been having trouble finding pike too. Never fished for them until this year but I've floated a solid 6+ miles over my few trips and haven't even had a swipe. That really stinks that all your spots aren't producing. Best of luck searching for new water!

[Chrisper4694]

I actually thought the same thing but trying different lures got some action. Maybe many of the pike have been caught on the same old stuff too many times, idk, something to consider.

[msgdan]

I actually thought the same thing but trying different lures got some action. Maybe many of the pike have been caught on the same old stuff too many times, idk, something to consider.

Believe me, I was thinking the same thing. I had several different lures with me and on the return trip in each spot I tried different lures......and nothing. The water just looks wrong, smells wrong, and is wrong. Even the amount of wildlife in and around the river is dead. I used to see bait fish and sunnies and perch all along the weeds and now, nothing but carp.....and it seems like those numbers are not near what they used to be.

These are spots that in the past few years, I would make 10 casts and have 10 chances with almost all hook ups. It wasn't even a chance of maybe a pike....it was how big.

But....that's fishing. Time to explore !!

Danny V

[justin1982]

I feel you man... I'm glad it's not only me, I haven't even seen a pike in about a month in spots that were always good for a couple and, I agree, the water just looks terrible

[AndyS]

Did you see any dead fish ??

[msgdan]

Did you see any dead fish ??

No Andy, nothing visible along the banks, but I started noticing the lack of fish during last fall, and this spring. ...there is nothing.

Still plenty of different spots that have produced over the years, so I will be hitting all of them.

[buzzbaiter]

Well on the bright side, fingerling stockings begin soon so at least you can get some pike of the 4-8" size in the coming weeks. Pike is a pike. They all count no matter the size :)

I would bet recent heat and water fluctuations are to blame for lack of fish. Could be construction going on somewhere as well muddying up the water(along with carp). Can't rule out some sort of algae bloom as well which can make the water turbid. I don't judge the river until august-september which for me is low water/peak pike time.

Of course the "I told you so" part of me will say its been loved to death with old and new anglers. Consequently less success. Based upon just the posts here(think about all those who don't post here and fish it), seems like many fellas floating down/up it not just weekends but weekdays as well. Its not hard to figure out that the more fish are pressured, the less your going to catch. Maybe its finally coming true here. Rivers can be somewhat immune to the affects of pressure since fish can move and/or high water moves them, but if everybody fishes the same 15-20 mile stretches, things are going to go downhill eventually. I love that river but I thank god I also love trout, pickerel, crappie, perch and bass so i can spread my trips out to other places and not just hammer away at one place each week which - judging from the same vehicles I see in certain places almost every week if not day - is going on.

[Skunk City]

It has been fairly slow for me as well this season. We had some good sized fish during the pre-spawn and spawn, but not in the numbers we usually pull in. Since then, it has been 1 or 2 Pike per trip for me. This is the time of year where it picks up though, so let's see how this next week plays out..

[antgogz]

It has been slow for me as well. I usually land one pike a trip. Usually around 30 inches. There were times I would catch 5 small pike in a trip. I don't understand it either. I haven't really been seeing too many baitfish or sunnies like I used to. We will see what tomorrow brings.

[Mark B.]

I'm curious,...........

PM me the stretches you refer to as producing in the past,....but currently are not.

Thanks.

Mark B.

Mark Boriek, Principal Fisheries Biologist
NJDF&W
Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries
PO Box 394
1255 Route 629
Lebanon, NJ 08833

908-236-2118​

[Predator]

Fished the Passaic about four times in the past two weeks with nothing to show for it. I even got a dozen of giant shiners one day which I never do for Pike . Getting nervous with the Pike-a-thon starting on Saturday. The lakes are calling my name.

[buzzbaiter]

I will take some samples of the water. I can run some tests on it including bacteria. Let you know what I find.

[slider]

Could be results from over fishing every one that fishes isn't into catch and release..But Passaic River has been subject to all types of changes, years ago biggest problem was some industry along the river released some sort of toxin,resulting in fish kills..Heavy rains would wash out the evidence b4 anyone realized what damage was done and where it came from..Good idea might be to hit the river for bass or pan fish to see if they still hold a good niche in the river.

[muskynut]

Find cooler water.....incoming springs etc........:)

[msgdan]

I am sure over fishing could be the case in some areas. But the places I am talking about are remote areas that I have been kayak fishing for years without hardly any presume at all. In 6 years, I have never seen another fisherman in these spots. Not many people would drag a kayak through hundreds of yards of woods to access these spots.

Trust me, I am not someone who is crying about not catching. I have put in hundreds of miles and hours on the rivers and I am just hoping for a rebound in the stock so we can all enjoy this great fishery that we have been fortunate to experience.

Danny V

[dakota560]

Anyone think it's possible with the cold winter and the amount of ice we had on rivers that fish or forage were killed or that fish moved to other areas of the river possibly due to lack of oxygen. I remember a post about shallow lakes where persistent and thick ice during the winter have wreaked havoc on the fishery, is it possible the same can happen in a river system. Or as I said, were there low levels of oxygen and fished moved to other areas of the system or the bait moved and the predators moved with them?

[FASTEDDIE29]

These river fish are capable of swimming up or down stream for miles and miles. A couple spots I hit in April and May were the Dead Sea! Then I hit those same areas last week as I posted and it was game on with all kinds of fish over the 30 inch mark. I wouldn't give up hope at all. The river game can be tough and sometimes the fishing just shuts down. I have been fishing the P for almost 20 years. Still learning a few spots and still have a few spots left to float. Checked 2 areas today for the contest and the water was super low. Didn't see any bait, just big Carp. The fish can move way upstream in a day if there hungry. There's fish to be caught in your area Dan. There just being picky!

[slider]

Eddy has good point, hard to tell a fish where he should or shouldn't be..mention was made that not much of any thing to be found in the previous high productive areas..Something may have prompted bait size fish to leave the area, pike sure to follow..Might just need a more serious time spent exploring..Good luck..And Tight Lines..

[Suntzu]

There was a fish kill on the river last month I saw it, and saw the consequences
That coupled with much higher fishing pressure and poor handling of fish has led to a significant deterioration in the fishery. fish porn hurts, just saying I have seen more people fishing the P this year than the last 5 years combined

It will take awhile but it will bounce back if treated properly