"Cranford West" - Silver Lake in Hope NJ

[logs22]

Does anyone have any experience fishing at Silver Lake in Hope NJ? I recently learned that my town (Cranford) owns property on the lake which is open to residents for camping (most locals refer to it as "Cranford West"). I checked the lake out on Google and it looks promising, there are very few properties with access to it so it should't get too much fishing pressure. Another bonus is that it is right up the road from The Land of Make Believe for kids.

I was thinking about proposing to the wife that we take my son to Land of Make Believe this weekend and then parlay that into a trip to check out "Cranford West" at which time I will conveniently produce my fishingg gear from the trunk and should have line in the water before my wife realizes she just got duped into one of my fishing expeditions. I figure I could probably squeeze in an hour of fishing before either my wife or child would be sufficiently bored to force me to pack it up.

So, I know a few guys on here either live in or useed to live in Cranford, any information you could provide on the fishing prospects at "Cranford West" would be greatly appreciated. Have a good long weekend everyone!

On an unrelated note, the Bass fishing in the Rahway River in the Cranford, Kenilworth, Springfield stretch has been unbelievably productive the past week. It seems every hole of reasonable depth is packed with hungry bass. Maybe the fact that levels are so low and the fish have been stuck in the same isolated deep holes for weeks at this point has caused the food supplies in these holes to start running out, at least that is my theory.

[XXlyakattacker]

20 year Cranford resident. Heard of it but dint know anything about it. 😟Sorry

[Suntzu]

40 year cranford resident been there a few times
Panfish and small bass fun time for kids have boats/canoes as well

[phil]

I just moved from clark to cranford on friday. My backyard is on the mighty rahway between the parkway overflow and the train bridge. Water is really low right now by me and I havent had a chance to unpack any fishing stuff but im looking forward to getting a canoe and paddling around. My son loves exploring the jungle and yelling at the deer

[Suntzu]

Except for a couple of hundred yards above the parkway dam canoeing on the mighty Rahway on the south side of Cranford is a challenge better to drop it in on the other side of the parkway in Winfield park
You do have 6 trout stocking pints within walking distance of your house

[phil]

Except for a couple of hundred yards above the parkway dam canoeing on the mighty Rahway on the south side of Cranford is a challenge better to drop it in on the other side of the parkway in Winfield park
You do have 6 trout stocking pints within walking distance of your house

Is it possible to take a canoe from the river above the parkway spillover and down a hill or bank to get below the parkway? Or are you talking about driving iver to the parks in winfield?

[Suntzu]

It's not possible it's a wall, 20 foot drop

[logs22]

Except for a couple of hundred yards above the parkway dam canoeing on the mighty Rahway on the south side of Cranford is a challenge better to drop it in on the other side of the parkway in Winfield park
You do have 6 trout stocking pints within walking distance of your house

The entire stretch of the river from boulevard in kenilworth down to North Union in Cranford is navigable as long as north Union wing dam is closed and you don't mind scraping bottom a few times and ducking under fallen trees. Most of that stretch runs through parkland/woods and is really nice.

[phil]

The entire stretch of the river from boulevard in kenilworth down to North Union in Cranford is navigable as long as north Union wing dam is closed and you don't mind scraping bottom a few times and ducking under fallen trees. Most of that stretch runs through parkland/woods and is really nice.

Yea I was talking about the stretch along mohawk and up towards the mill

[logs22]

Yea I was talking about the stretch along mohawk and up towards the mill

As a "north-sider" my river expertise is limited to the stretch from BLvd in the north to the Lincoln Ave. Mill in the south. More recently I have been exploring further north, so I have some working knowledge of the river from Blvd. north to where river flows under 22 (which I think is one of the most isolated and least visited stretches of the Rahway). Someday I hope to hike/explore the river from my house in Crandord all the way up to its source at the Orange Reservoir in the South Mountain Reserve. A 14 month old baby boy will probably delay that goal for a few years.

Quick note on original thread topic - visited Cranford West, not only did it look like a great place to camp with the family but heard from two different guys there that they had been catching very good size bass pretty easily. Water is crystal clear and contour map shows lots of good drop offs and quick depth changes to target. Its 40 feet deep in the center so who knows what lurks in the depths. Posted a panoramic pic of the campground/lake for anyone interested.

[Suntzu]

I need my fellow Cranfordians to lobby to have the mighty Rahway stocked with pike and stretches stocked with smallmouth
I would happily give up the trout stockings for this
Although I did catch two trout on the Might R Saturday with the fly rod

[logs22]

I need my fellow Cranfordians to lobby to have the mighty Rahway stocked with pike and stretches stocked with smallmouth
I would happily give up the trout stockings for this
Although I did catch two trout on the Might R Saturday with the fly rod

I have caught plenty of LMB in the Rahway but never a smallie. Are there any in there? I would love it if they stocked the river with some small mouth, they are much more fun to catch than largemouth. I know nothing about pike, so I don't mind not having to worry about accidentally catching one (and releasing it) in the Rahway.

Suntzu- you must have found a nice deep hole to catch trout this time of year, those two almost made it to the finish line (I.e joined the small and exclusive club of Holdover trout). Waters should start cooling pretty soon I would think (hope). Were these trout caught in Cranford or elsewhere on the river?

[Suntzu]

They were caught in Cranford in a stretch where I put them and can holdover
I am an avid pike fisherman in the Passaic which is remarkably similar to the Rahway. Pike would do well in the Rahway from Milburn to Rahway and provide a four seasons catch and release fishery
I have never caught a smallmouth on the Rahway but think they would do pretty well in certain stretches
Would love it if they would remove all the dams on the Rahway but that will never happen
The Raritan, Passaic, Manasquan, get all the attention how about a little live for the Rahway?

[logs22]

They were caught in Cranford in a stretch where I put them and can holdover
I am an avid pike fisherman in the Passaic which is remarkably similar to the Rahway. Pike would do well in the Rahway from Milburn to Rahway and provide a four seasons catch and release fishery
I have never caught a smallmouth on the Rahway but think they would do pretty well in certain stretches
Would love it if they would remove all the dams on the Rahway but that will never happen
The Raritan, Passaic, Manasquan, get all the attention how about a little live for the Rahway?

Yes I remember your post and all the controversy regarding your relocation practices (I personally see no problem with it). If I ever come across a late season trout I guess I will have to thank you (and remember to look for trout there the following year).

Others' ignorance of the Rahway's bounty is our gain as far as I am concerned. I myself was ignorant of its fishing potential despite living blocks away until just recently. Now I can't believe I used to drive to the union county ponds you read about on here (aka Milton, Rahway park, echo, etc,) only to get skunked when I could have just walked down the street and consistently hooked largemouth in perfect wooded seclusion.

[Suntzu]

Nomahegan has been stocked with channel cats which will make there way quickly into the Rahway offering another good fishery

[logs22]

Nomahegan has been stocked with channel cats which will make there way quickly into the Rahway offering another good fishery

Based on current lake level it will take quite a lot of rain before there is enough flow over the dam to wash some of the current stock into the river. I walked across it a few days ago without getting the soles of my shoes wet. The irony is when you live in Cranford the last thing you want is "quite a lot of rain". My blood pressure already skyrockets every time I get one of those flash flood warnings on my phone.

[phil]

I need my fellow Cranfordians to lobby to have the mighty Rahway stocked with pike and stretches stocked with smallmouth
I would happily give up the trout stockings for this
Although I did catch two trout on the Might R Saturday with the fly rod

im all for it, who do I need to call or email. ive never been a fan of trout fishing in general and consider it a waste of time and money for them to be stocked in places where they will all be dead and/or caught and eaten by people who don't even have a license. spend more energy stocking real fish that can survive and reproduce and be caught and released. stock baitfish lm&sm bass,pike,perch, sunnies catfish, whatever, I don't care.

can you recommend a decent small fly fishing setup for panfish/small bass. something under $100 all in, reel and rod included

[XXlyakattacker]

as a "north-sider".
eeeewwwweeee! Yucky northsiders! Lmao!

[logs22]

Except for a couple of hundred yards above the parkway dam canoeing on the mighty Rahway on the south side of Cranford is a challenge better to drop it in on the other side of the parkway in Winfield park
You do have 6 trout stocking pints within walking distance of your house

Speaking of the Rahway east of the Parkway, has anyone ever had luck catching fish in Bloodgood pond, which is essentially just another dammed portion of the Rahway. I hear a lot about Jackson pond further downstream but nothing about Bloodgood. I have fished there twice and never got so much as a bite. An old timer walking by told me he hasn't seen anyone pull bass out of that pond since they started using herbacide on it a few years ago. It's too bad because it 'looks' like it should be great for bass, lots of lilies but not too many, shoreline structures, some depth near the dam....

[FASTEDDIE29]

There used to be Smallmouth in the Rahway as well as Perch and Pickerel. I grew up on Elizabeth ave and Madison Hill rd in Rahway. We used to bail Channel cats off the Madison Hill bridge after a nice rain storm! I'm 39 years old and can tell you that this river has gotten shallower in the last 30 years or so. Too many floods and such. Are there fish to catch? Of course! Would Pike survive in certain stretches? Yes! Yes they would. I'm all about the Rahway and still fish there when I'm short on time. The Smallies used to be in the Robinson's branch below Milton lake. They're all gone now. The biggest Smallie I caught out of this river was under the Madison Hill rd bridge, fish was 4 lbs. Too much grime, shallow water and slime for the BRONZEBACKS to do well in my opinion. Throw some Pike in Winfield and upstream of the Waterworks and see what happens!

[phil]

Speaking of the Rahway east of the Parkway, has anyone ever had luck catching fish in Bloodgood pond, which is essentially just another dammed portion of the Rahway. I hear a lot about Jackson pond further downstream but nothing about Bloodgood. I have fished there twice and never got so much as a bite. An old timer walking by told me he hasn't seen anyone pull bass out of that pond since they started using herbacide on it a few years ago. It's too bad because it 'looks' like it should be great for bass, lots of lilies but not too many, shoreline structures, some depth near the dam....

I dropped my yak in there last year and caught a few bass but couldn't believe how many carp are in there. the whole lake isn't more than a few feet deep anywhere.

[Suntzu]

Eddie accept for various times at various schools I have lived in Cranford since 1970. I can say growing up I fished the mighty Rahway or local ponds nearly every day from March through November. Caught yellow and white perch, even small stripers in Rahway; caught tiger musky (8" but a tiger musky for sure) and pickerel. Of course lots of LMB, crappie, carp, catfish, suckers and eels
Never caught a SMB in there
It is totally silted up especially in Cranford but help us on the way as they will be doing dredging over the next two years in Cranford and Springfield. After it would great to get some pike stocked to control the carp and sucker populations
From the dam by Gray's down to the parkway, SMB would thrive
Also, hopefully some day they will introduce some more species into Clark Res, Union Counties biggest body of water

[TheDreamCatchers]

Just get rid of the million and a half carp in there. The trout and green sunfish will make a good meal for pike. Smallmouth bass would not survive in there. But the pike would do fine.