Budd LAke/ Merrill Creek Bait
 

I headed over to Budd lake this morning for a few hours around 8 am and ended up with 3 bass (not too big) on shiners and wacky rigged worms...
Want to go to Merrill Creek tomorrow for fathers day but i don't know of any bait places near this place that sell live shiners or herring :confused: If anybody knows of a bait place it would be greatly appreciated
btw i will post a report tomorrow of how we do

Re: Budd LAke/ Merrill Creek Bait
 

The place right at the base of Lake Musconetcong in Netcong. I was there this morning. He opens at 5am.

Re: Budd LAke/ Merrill Creek Bait
 

New bait shop opened a few months ago in the east bound lane of rt22 just before Round Valley. Sorry can't remember the name.

Re: Budd LAke/ Merrill Creek Bait
 

Behre bait and tackle:)

Re: Budd LAke/ Merrill Creek Bait
 

My dad and i ended the day with a 7 lbs laker... talking to a few guys on the ramp they said they caught a few lakers in about 50 -60 FOW one guy had 15 lbs laker he said.. overall agood fathers day

Re: Budd LAke/ Merrill Creek Bait
 

You keep the lake trout ? Were you drifting ?

Re: Budd LAke/ Merrill Creek Bait
 

Lake Trout are tasty! Alot like Salmon in my opinion. In many areas they are invasive and you have to take whatever you catch. Caught a ton of them in Yellowstone last year and that was the policy. They are trying to control them there but they are too well established.

The NPS has been employing gill netting since 1995 and currently spend $1M annually on the effort. To date a total of over 800,000 Lake Trout have been netted; 220,000 in 2011 alone. The Lake Trout population is now estimated at 3-400,000 adult fish. The current Yellowstone Cut Throat population is unknown; but is certainly no more than 10% of historical, probably <5%, and may be as low as 1-2%.

It's pretty bad there.

Re: Budd LAke/ Merrill Creek Bait
 

If you are going to Merrill and are near rt 31 and rt 46 Highway Tackle Shopon rt 31 in Oxford/Mansfield area could be an option.