Shadow lake Middletown nj

[larryh336]

Does any one know if the boat ramp open yet?

[phil]

Boat ramp? I used to fish there 20+ years ago as a kid. Our parents would drop us off and we would head up the hill and fish around the overflow. Always did well there. When I was old enough to drive we would park on a side street and walk down and out fish the same area and locals would always yell at us "you cant park here!" Meanwhile its a regular public road wtf. We took an inflatable raft there a couple times and the people living on the lake would yell at us, you cant be out here blah blah. Now ur saying there is a boat launch?!

[larryh336]

Yea there is a little launch in Stevenson's park very shallow for about 200 yards but they had the road going in closed last year

[River Renegade]

Used to fish there years ago, don't remember a boat ramp being at that lake.

[rwp2101]

This is the same lake that was flooded with saltwater when Sandy hit?

[Almaink]

We used to use a dirt path to the water to launch my canoe but that was almost 40 years ago. We parked on the street too, never remember getting hassled for it. I remember the shadow end was private, they even had a chain across the water to keep boats out. We used to catch real big channel cats tossing shiners on slip bobbers into likely spots along the shore line. They used to stock it with trout too, don't know if they still do that or not.

[swcody13]

I'm a 30 second walk from Shadow. The ramp that you're referring to is closed at Stevenson park. Road to the park still closed, not sure exactly what's going on

If it would be manageable to carry your vessel a short distance, guys sometimes stop right at the spillway on Hubbard ave, walk up the small hill and drop right in the water. Decent amount of activity lately... Good luck

[Moz]

This is the same lake that was flooded with saltwater when Sandy hit?

I think that was Deal Lake. Shadow Lake had a collapse at the spillway and lost a lot of its water to the salt.

In my youth I cut my teeth with freshwater fishing at Shadow Lake from shore at the Spillway. Only managed a few perch and some dink bass but I did see some of those big channel cats another post mentions get pulled out of there.

Was never aware of any ramp. A rooftop launch would great, and fun to revisit that lake. Is Poricy Pond around the corner still open to fishing? Not sure why I think that its not.

[Almaink]

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/13227607_10206666981374443_551552052983930910_o.jp g

Me fishing Shadow Lake in 1966. That me with the boots on baiting my hook. I'm pretty sure it was opening day for trout.

[Moz]

That is an awesome pic. Looks like you were allowed to park on the road back then too.

[phil]

that's am amazing pic, one of my favorite memories growing up fishing was with my little bro taking a pool inflatable raft to shadow lake and having such a hard time paddling around we got out and swam with the boat trailing behind.

its also the scene of "THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY", yes, that 1 fish that we have all hooked into that haunts our memories. I was standing on the concrete facing the water with that big metal wheel to my left. the wheel that if you leaned on it just hard enough it would start spinning and you thought you would accidentally drain the whole lake, or fall over into the nasty concrete spillover 30 feet down to a certain death. I was probably like 10 years old dangling a piece of leftover worm, mom was waiting on hubbard in the 84 caravan with hazards blinking, cmon lets go! 1 MORE FISH MOM HOLD ON GOD!!!, typical 10 year old angst. the line was right at my feet, probably in 2 feet of water and BAM im getting spooled. It all happened so fast, I tightened the rear drag on that old shimano as fast as I could and SNAP! looking back now it was either a giant carp or channel cat. I might have actually cried, like a little league kid after a loss, I went back to the car and my mom was like its alright youll get em next time, typical mom answer NO I WONT MOM!......no I wont...

shit, back to work

[Almaink]

That is an awesome pic. Looks like you were allowed to park on the road back then too.

Yep back when NJ was still a free state.

[Reelron]

That is an awesome pic. Looks like you were allowed to park on the road back then too.

Yep you could park on the road back then. After a few accidents, an ordinance was pass making it another No Parking Zone. Quite honestly a very hairy place to park what with the volume of commuter traffic on that road now! When that happened the state stopped stocking the lake. When the Township opened Stephenson Park, and allowed parking at the back end the state started stocking the lake again.

Didn't realized the road into the park was closed to traffic. This could end the state stocking again? Kind of a coincidence that the outfit, The Navesink Maritime Heritage Association that supports the move to make Sandy Hook Bay & the Two Rivers A Marine Protected Area, is housed in the Stevenson Park Farm house, right next to the road. Leased to them by the Township I believe? Is there a problem with the road?

[Blackfishhead]

I lived down the road in RB back in 90's and fished om the dam on my way to work . Caught a few fish mixed bag and would fish for trout untill they were all caught or died for the warm water. Now I recently bought a small bass boat and before I was done rigging it I took a drive over to Stevenson Park to see if anything had changed. ( I had not fished FW in 10 years and starting up again)
The driveway to the park was blocked off on W Front St but enough to leave my truck there and walk to the ramp. To my suprise the drive looked like it was closed for a long time. Trees and large branches the whole way down and the ruts from the runoff were pretty scary also. When I got down to the creek ( just before the launch area the veg was really over grown and the creek/ spring was seeping up from the culvert pipe pretty good . Ice cold water i believe it was a spring. Well talking to a friend who lives in SLVillage confirmed that the ramp( if u can call it that) is closed untill further notice do to the hazardous culvert. Also F&G stopped stocking trout a few years back because of "lack of participation "
I hope this helps.

[Reelron]

Last time I went by the road into the Stevenson tract was still closed. If I remember I will take another ride by today and see if it is still closed. If so, the Township should be questioned as to why it has been closed for so long.