Spring Lake opening day advice

[cruiser1234]

Looking to take my 7 y/o son to Spring Lake for opening day. Any advice. What time to get there. Any place better to fish then the other? Can I bring a small grill? Any info would be great!

[thmyorke1]

Summoning lard almighty for this question :p

In the meantime he has a few vids on that lake I believe

[Lard Almighty]

All I know is that it will be very, very crowded. If you're willing to bump elbows all morning, though, your son's got a realistic chance of catching the biggest trout of his life.

[fishermanv]

Looking to take my 7 y/o son to Spring Lake for opening day. Any advice. What time to get there. Any place better to fish then the other? Can I bring a small grill? Any info would be great!

As Lard said it will be elbow to elbow. Get there very early, people will be there in the dark getting spots. Still don't be surprised when someone sets up literally 2 feet from you, but really they have no choice. There will also be people in boats and waders that will come into the skinny part of the lake. It's set up as a kids contest but there are plenty of adults without kids because it's opening day. But also like Lard says, you have a pretty good shot of landing something. You just have to be able to tolerate the crowd. As far as the grill goes, I can't recall anyone firing a grill up now that I think about it. You may want to check with the township on that. There are kids everywhere so wouldn't be surprised if it's a no-no.. but I really don't have a definite answer on that.

[Mark B.]

No need to bring a grill. Free hotdogs, etc.

http://sharkriversurfanglers.com/contest.htm

[SplitShot]

Opening Day at Spring Lake is a ritual for me since over the years my daughter would come too and made it special. I get there early, set up and then I bring a burner and make fresh pancakes, home fries, coffee, etc... always a fun morning seeing everyone. I do see guys with grills, but they do have a lot of food in the tents too.

And yes, it's shoulder to shoulder, but it's all part of the fun, and there are some big nice trout caught, even by the kids!! :D

The Shark River guys do a Fantastic job every year putting on this event!!

[cruiser1234]

I was thinking of getting there around 6. I have a small George Foreman grill that is propane. I was gonna make bacon egg an cheese sandwiches. Any advice on where to set up? Type of bait? Is 6 a ok time? Thanks for the help guys. Two poles per kid?

[SplitShot]

6am is good for spots around the lake... I try to see which way the wind is blowing then pick my side with wind at my back or your rig will be right back at your feet pretty quickly. It's not a serious fishing day for me, more of a fun day seeing all the kids having a great time! :)

[dfish28]

This thread should help a bit, 3 rods per person, get the spring like Rod holders, I'll try to find a pic of the strike indicators we use, it's ok to use small eggsinkers to a bead to a small power swivel to another shot of 4 or 6 pound test, we use the torpedo bobbers with a small dipsey weight on them and a snap on the other side , just enough weight to hold the bobber down in the wind ahead of the first eye on the rod and pull enough slack in the line to get close to the ground and have the rod angled to the water in the holder, a fish will take your bait feeling no resistance and give you time to run to your rod that you see the weighted bobber rising... I clip the snap so it only hangs on the line, most times when you lift the rod it falls right off, best of luck, I'll be down with a few kids as well.



http://www.njfishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87311&highlight=Tiger+trout

[reely]

The Saturday before the contest they let the kids stock the lake with the trout.

[EddieG]

I have grilled there many times without anyone saying anything.. granted none of these was opening day but I no they do have food there... as far as setting up I recommend two to three rods each and try and have your back to the wind or atleast to the side of you so you can keep your bait where you want them.

[The Hunter]

As the proud dad of a winner at Spring Lake, here is some advice:
--Prepare to relax and have fun. Billed as a kids tourney, but reality is they put big fish in the water and many in boats(ridiculous if you ask me) and waders will encroach on your space.
--Make sure wind is at your back.
--Set up next to a bush, as this will kind of keep people away from you on that side and give you more area to try (have seen people cutting the bushes down to fish)
--They do supply minimal tackle, but load up on what you want at home. Have seen people have good success on browns casting lures (big and shiny) and it gives you something to do while hanging out.
--Have a BIG net, just in case. My sons have caught 3 at just under and slightly over 9lbs at the lake.
--Take pictures of your kids. Best memories of all!!
--Make sure you take any fish caught to both tents (I think the second is VFW or American Legion and they give away some cool gifts to the kids)
--Bring a chair to sit on, flashlight to set up in the dark, rod holders for rods

I think that is a good start. I will post more if I think of it, but feel free to PM me and I can possibly share more.

Good Luck

[SplitShot]

As the proud dad of a winner at Spring Lake, here is some advice:
--Prepare to relax and have fun. Billed as a kids tourney, but reality is they put big fish in the water and many in boats(ridiculous if you ask me) and waders will encroach on your space.
--Make sure wind is at your back.
--Set up next to a bush, as this will kind of keep people away from you on that side and give you more area to try (have seen people cutting the bushes down to fish)
--They do supply minimal tackle, but load up on what you want at home. Have seen people have good success on browns casting lures (big and shiny) and it gives you something to do while hanging out.
--Have a BIG net, just in case. My sons have caught 3 at just under and slightly over 9lbs at the lake.
--Take pictures of your kids. Best memories of all!!
--Make sure you take any fish caught to both tents (I think the second is VFW or American Legion and they give away some cool gifts to the kids)
--Bring a chair to sit on, flashlight to set up in the dark, rod holders for rods

I think that is a good start. I will post more if I think of it, but feel free to PM me and I can possibly share more.

Good Luck

All Excellent Advice and just one more important thing to add:
- Bring Warm Coats for everyone... I go every year and even though it's warm and no wind at home, sometimes there's a COLD wind howling off the ocean and it goes right through you and a lot of kids wind up sitting in the cars.

[cruiser1234]

Thanks for all the info guys! Great time had. Got there at 6 an got a spot. Had my grills with no problem. Used the wind and bush advice and it worked! But most of all my kid had a blast. 1 tiger trout over 3 pounds and two rainbows over 3 pounds. Not to mention some 12 incher rainbows!

[fishermanv]

Thanks for all the info guys! Great time had. Got there at 6 an got a spot. Had my grills with no problem. Used the wind and bush advice and it worked! But most of all my kid had a blast. 1 tiger trout over 3 pounds and two rainbows over 3 pounds. Not to mention some 12 incher rainbows!

YEAH! excellent!

[The Hunter]

Excellent job Dad!!! Memories made. Congrats