Wanaque reservoir

[ianf5]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and was wondering if there was any possible way to get permission to fish the wanaque reservoir? I'm a catch and release fisherman and I don't understand why they're keeping us out of it.


Thanks,
Ianf5

[tycomps]

http://www.njfishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87002

[NorthJerzyG]

Couldn't agree more. At this point, I think it's more about keeping it private than keeping it "safe".....

On a different note, what about Charlottesburg res???? Why not open it up to spread out the fishing pressure a bit? Not sure if there's a launch available, but I've seen plenty of shoreline fishing going on which leads me to believe it's not entirely safe from the terrorists that threaten our water supply...... :D :eek:

Might increase the NWCDC income as well. Not to mention having a bunch of fisherman keeping an eye on things.......

And, the cedar Grove res........ never mind, lol. :p

[Ken Lyons]

As per explanations stated here before, the reservoirs that feed directly into the drinking supply have always been off limits.
Charlotteburg with a kayak was unbelievable when the roads, not the signs allowed. The staff turned a blind eye..

[acabtp]

As per explanations stated here before, the reservoirs that feed directly into the drinking supply have always been off limits.
Charlotteburg with a kayak was unbelievable when the roads, not the signs allowed. The staff turned a blind eye..

macopin reservior (between the nb/sb lanes of rt 23) is the one that directly feeds the newark water supply, not charlottesburg. just saying.

[NorthJerzyG]

And from the shoreline fishing I've seen, definitely not off limits either. I did hear the gentleman at the permit office saying that is a BIG fine if you get caught and even he as a longtime employee is not granted access either. But apparently, it's accessible.

Oh, and welcome to the best fishing site in NJ Ianf5!

[Chrisper4694]

become friends with local cops hahahaha

[tradingfrank27]

Any chance of charlottesburg opening to the public was gone when 3 guys launched a 10 foot Jon a few years ago and and one ended up drowning.

[Detour66]

Rumor has it that a 10lb + Largemouth was caught in CBR many moons ago! The fishing there was unbelievable from what I was told. Could have been a fishing story though!

[ianf5]

Any local law enforcement on here willing to take a respectful young catch and release angler for the time of his life?:)

[FASTEDDIE29]

Interesting first post dude! You may wind up fishing in the county jail pond if you get good behavior! Lol!!! Just go and fish it! "F" the rules! "Damn the man!" Let us know how you do once your free!!!:D

[Ken Lyons]

I wouldn’t want to suggest that rules should always be disregarded. Not at all. However rules are made by men who can be fallible and or have less tha n the best of intentions. Before the Split Rock Reservoir was public it was a private recreation area for the locals. It was plastered with no trespassing signs that locally ignored. There were five boat launches in the northern sector above the island. Once the conservation easement was put in place the locals fought tooth and nail to prevent it from becoming effective. The stalled access for three years and when the boat launch was constructed it was put in about as difficult a place as there was.
Sometimes we need to be at least skeptical of the rules.
BTW. There is a usable dirt launch at the southwest corner of Charlotteburg.

[slider]

Wanaque was open to shore line fishing by permit only. This was many moons ago..I was able to obtain numerous passes back in the early 1960's. Have to say never so so many LMb over 5 pounds in any NJ water shed..However never landed one either, did catch many 2 to 4 pounders thou.All released.The surprise fish I caught there were the numerous trout-- Rainbows, browns and brookies. No giants but many from 17 to 20 inches..My PB brookie 18 inches was caught there. I have so say with the fishing pressure either non existent or still by very high connections,,This place may have several state records swimming there. When I drive past i always look for that blast out over deep water more than likely a big brown chasing herring to the surface..Still makes my blood boil.

[Adrenalinerush]

I fished Wanaque many time both with and without permits ;). Have not fished there in many years as I am far too old to outrun the patrols. The trout come from the stream on Westbrook road which is stocked by a private club and Wanaque river before it was monksville. There are also huge musky, walleye and smallies from Monksville and just about everything else that swims. That said, if you trespass and they decide to pursue it you will be in for a shitload of fines. Plenty of other places to fish in the area without getting in trouble.

[Skunk City]

Pike and Hybrids in there too. There's current pictures out there if you know where to look...

[briansnat]

As per explanations stated here before, the reservoirs that feed directly into the drinking supply have always been off limits.
Charlotteburg with a kayak was unbelievable when the roads, not the signs allowed. The staff turned a blind eye..

I'm not sure if that is quite true because Monksville feeds directly into the Wanaque. All of the Newark sheds, the Manasquan and Merrill Creek are primary drinking water sources.

[NJSquatch]

I'm not sure if that is quite true because Monksville feeds directly into the Wanaque. All of the Newark sheds, the Manasquan and Merrill Creek are primary drinking water sources.

if there is a water treatment plant directly on the water body it is considered primary ...secondary reservoirs are for storage/ground water recharge purposes...

[briansnat]

if there is a water treatment plant directly on the water body it is considered primary ...secondary reservoirs are for storage/ground water recharge purposes...

True for the strict definition of primary, but the idea that they are more vulnerable and should be off limits to recreation is silly. What happens in Monksville will make its way into the Wanaque. if something happens in one of the sheds they can take it offline, but it would seriously impact the water supply in dry years.

[NJSquatch]

True for the strict definition of primary, but the idea that they are more vulnerable and should be off limits to recreation is silly. What happens in Monksville will make its way into the Wanaque. if something happens in one of the sheds they can take it offline, but it would seriously impact the water supply in dry years.

It is about being able to get a contaminant directly into the intake of the plant...you would have to dump an enormous volume of stuff into monksville in order for it to be concentrated enough at the plant 7 miles away...

as they say "the solution to pollution is dilution!"

[ianf5]

I've seen some very recent pictures, it is crazy.