NJFishing.com Your Best Online Source for Fishing Information in New Jersey - Raritan River 5-3-12

I returned to the scene of my wonderful day yesterday, the Roberts Street dam, hoping to add to my tally of shad and walleye. No walleye, but I did get a shad. Problem was, it was the wrong kind; I foul-hooked a gizzard shad. I didn't know what it was at first, so I had to look it up when I got back, but I'm certain that's what it was. There were several milling around and splashing near the falls. Besides that, I caught a decent smallmouth and a brook trout.

I then met up with my dad for some trout fishing. First stop was the North Branch/South Branch junction, where we both caught a couple of brown trout. Then we fished the rapids in Duke Island Park. My first hookup was with a lean and mean ~18" rainbow trout, which put up a great fight in the fast water. I added another four or five cookie-cutter rainbows to the tally, while my dad got one. Not another angler on the whole stretch the entire time we were there. Water conditions were perfect; I was a bit surprised that we didn't catch more.