rockaway river smallmouth

[icebadger]

went to the rockaway river with my neighbor we got there at 6:00pm fished jigs,small crankbaits and topwater with tiny torpedoes and zara puppys.we started with the god bless america and marabou jigs. we caught one smallie, two perch,a redbelly sunnie,one largemouth and a 19" slime dart. when the sun started to set we switched to topwater caught seven smallmouths the biggest one tapped out at 13" all others where 9 to 11".the river was kind of low and slow and a little off color but the smallmouth wanted to play.love fishing for those river smallmouths.all were released to fight again :cool:

[23cardinal]

Without poaching your spot- where on the rockaway? I'm fairly local(wanaque) and have never caught small mouth of any size (6inch). Even just a spot to walk or take- slightly to far to just snoop around

Sounds like a good day- hoping to target some myself soon ish- nice report too

[icebadger]

the boonton and boonton township strech.

[bunker dunker]

home court smack down!!!!!! gotta love the rockaway,it is were I learned to fish.congrats badger on the smallies and the xl slime dart.

[23cardinal]

the boonton and boonton township strech.

Thank you, tight lines!

[kcritch]

Sounds like a great outing dude. I'm with ya on the smallies. Them 9 to 11 inch river smallies don't know they are little! More fight ounce for ounce than any freshwater fish out there. :D

[Capspath83]

the boonton and boonton township strech.

Hey Ice, I am right in Denville so I fish the main street and Gardner Park section of the Rockaway. I had decent luck on the downtown Denville portion..Millions of crayfish this time of year. caught a nice smallie the other day.

I went to Grace Lord Park in Boonton a few weeks ago on a Saturday and it looked very busy but I wasn't sure where the access point was to the river, it looked like there was a pond in the front that opened up under the bridge..I had my wife with me when scoping it out and we were on our way to a venue, but I heard there was great fishing over there though and would love to know how to get to it:D.

I am going to try out the Jackson Ave Park section in Rockaway soon too.

[briansnat]

Hey Ice, I am right in Denville so I fish the main street and Gardner Park section of the Rockaway. I had decent luck on the downtown Denville portion..Millions of crayfish this time of year. caught a nice smallie the other day.

I went to Grace Lord Park in Boonton a few weeks ago on a Saturday and it looked very busy but I wasn't sure where the access point was to the river, it looked like there was a pond in the front that opened up under the bridge..I had my wife with me when scoping it out and we were on our way to a venue, but I heard there was great fishing over there though and would love to know how to get to it:D.

I am going to try out the Jackson Ave Park section in Rockaway soon too.

Best access to Grace Lord Park is from the parking lot at the end of Plane Street. At the far (north) end of the parking lot there is a short trail to the river that brings you to a path near the bottom of the falls. From there you can walk the length of the river through the entire park. You can also access it from a small dirt lot on Morris Ave, but it's a steep walk to the river and you are pretty much limited to the area around the abandoned RR bridge. A third option is to park on Essex Ave. From there it's a short walk to the north entrance of the park on Main Street.

The stretch in Grace Lord Park receives heavy pressure during fall and spring trout stocking seasons, but is usually not so bad the rest of the year. There are two deep holes in this stretch that will probably hold fish in the summer.

The banks are very steep in some sections, so be prepared.

[Capspath83]

Best access to Grace Lord Park is from the parking lot at the end of Plane Street. At the far (north) end of the parking lot there is a short trail to the river that brings you to a path near the bottom of the falls. From there you can walk the length of the river through the entire park. You can also access it from a small dirt lot on Morris Ave, but it's a steep walk to the river and you are pretty much limited to the area around the abandoned RR bridge. A third option is to park on Essex Ave. From there it's a short walk to the north entrance of the park on Main Street.

The stretch in Grace Lord Park receives heavy pressure during fall and spring trout stocking seasons, but is usually not so bad the rest of the year. There are two deep holes in this stretch that will probably hold fish in the summer.

The banks are very steep in some sections, so be prepared.

Awesome! Thanks Brian. This is very helpful. I am looking forward to trying out this area of the river! Thanks for the info!

[nate01]

I fish the Rockaway as well though not necessarily that stretch. Was there last night for a quick session as I passed through. The bottom is absolutely covered with crayfish. Got 2 smallies on topwater.

[Capspath83]

The banks are very steep in some sections, so be prepared.

Holy Crap! You weren't joking Brian. I just took a trip there today to scout it out and saw some pretty deep places especially for right now.. Can't wait for the river to rise in the fall! I didn't go all the way down the trail but I'm assuming all access looks like this

http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y413/capspath83/Mobile%20Uploads/1B788FFE-6952-4B5F-AF5E-8899422BB5D2_zpsafjvpjr3.jpg (http://s1273.photobucket.com/user/capspath83/media/Mobile%20Uploads/1B788FFE-6952-4B5F-AF5E-8899422BB5D2_zpsafjvpjr3.jpg.html)

Should make for an interesting trip when it gets a little colder out.....lol

[briansnat]

That's one of the good holes there. It flattens out a bit as you walk south and is pretty flat near the RR bridge.

[Capspath83]

Good to know.. There was a group of kids jumping in the river over there so it had to be pretty deep. I'll have to go again when I get back from vacation sometime in September... Hopefully the water cools down enough to start trout fishing again and maybe I'll get my first trout of the season!! :) if I don't kill myself getting to the grounds...haha

Thanks for your input it really helped me out trying to find the place.

[icebadger]

there are 4 or 5 basin type holes around there that are decent during trout season,just be careful on those rocks down there,

[Bruce Litton]

Feeling the vibe. Have yet to catch a Rockaway smallmouth. Tried once years ago. Tried the Ramapo twice & none there. Elsewhere & I know they're in the Rockaway.

[Capspath83]

there are 4 or 5 basin type holes around there that are decent during trout season,just be careful on those rocks down there,

Thanks Icebadger... I'll definitely have to check it out. I just saw fall stocking starts on Oct. 11. So maybe I'll give it a shot around then sometime.