WOW.....honey hole pike !!
 

Wow......zero pike, zero follows and zero strikes.

First let me say that I am the last person to complain about not catching. With over 300 pike a year for the past 10 years.. I can catch a pike or two.

I posted a couple of months ago about some of my "honey holes " from past years, not producing. But tonight was the clincher.

A place that I haven't fished for a month.....that in the past years, almost this very date....has yielded over 15 pike a trip was totally void of anything.

I can accept that every year is different. .....but from 15 pike in an hour to not even a follow has me wondering about the fishery.

Please don't think this a rant........it's just something to think about.

Re: WOW.....honey hole pike !!
 

Something about that stretch probably changed. Maybe a big storm cleared out some holding cover. Or maybe the channel is getting silted in and flattening out. Rivers change all the time, even big ones like the P. You've seen the photos this year, there are still plenty of pike in the river. I wouldn't worry about it too much. I've lost track of how many of my honey holes have died over the years, only to be replaced by new ones.

Re: WOW.....honey hole pike !!
 

Fishing pressure on the P is way up. I have seen more folks on the river this year then the last 10 combined. It is having an impact as these fish are not hard to catch and I see lots of big trebles which do great deal of damage
It is a magical fishery put really needs to be cared for

Re: WOW.....honey hole pike !!
 

I'm not huge into pike but I used to hit up the Passaic for smallmouth fairly often - especially when I was pressed for time. Had a string of reliable holes that almost always coughed up at least a few dink smallies and an occasional nice one.

Then, about three or four years ago, we had one of those horrible, horrible storms long before the fishing season. Can't remember if it was Sandy or one of the big storms prior... Next season rolled around and it was like - Poof! - smallmouth: gone.

A couple of those old spots will yield a little guy or two these days but whatever that storm did to the river, the smallmouth flat-out were having none of it. The best of the holes in that stretch are all but barren now. Amazing how little it takes to entirely change the distribution of fish within even large bodies of water like the Passaic.

Bottom-line, they ain't gone; they've just moved. Learned my lesson the hard way... Sometimes you have to start anew and hit up a body of water with a clean slate. Wasted too many outings stubbornly expecting yesterday's hot spots to be today's hot spots.

Re: WOW.....honey hole pike !!
 

Suntzu.....totally agree..........but this place.......where I have NEVER seen another fisherman in 10 years...is/was a special place. Not many humans have ever fished this "hole". No way a shore fisherman would walk miles and no way a kayak fisherman would drag his kayak over a mile through the woods to access this area.

It used to be a "can't miss" 10 pike hole, away from it all......................gone .

Re: WOW.....honey hole pike !!
 

has the hole changed? More current/shallow? Otherwise it defies explanation

Re: WOW.....honey hole pike !!
 

Can't speak for others but I do walk FAR. I have no issues hiking 3-4 miles into the bush. I rarely - except near bridge crossings - ever see another footprint. Often I'll walk until I don't see any then start fishing. The boat usage - on the other hand - has been ridiculous. Can't speak for weekends, but weekdays it gets busy. Saw three yaks just today - two going, one coming back - as I was leaving work. Pressure is def up. Fish are there but like any busy spot, they are likely tuned "out" after being fished over and over and over again this past weekend.

Mondays & Sundays are def worst days to fish because the day(s) before places were likely hammered. I doubt I've fished more than 2-3 mondays all year for that reason. For this reason I often spread my PR trips out so that each section I fish only about 1 or 2 times per month. I can control that. What I can't control is who was just there yesterday or today or 1/2 hr ago.

Another thing is the water level. Its so low these fish are NOT moving much. They have been stuck in the same areas for months now and undoubtedly seen every lure known to man. We need a good soaking to spread them back out.

I've come to realize that its better to expect the worst and hope for the best.

Re: WOW.....honey hole pike !!
 

My observations on the "State of the River":

1.) The fish are still there. Even with the low water, I have still been spotting and spooking many Pike from my kayak. Old holes and new holes. Last night, no more than 100ft from a popular launch spot, my girlfriend and I sight casted at 2 30"+ fish just hanging out in a shallow pool. We spooked probably 5 more Pike and a handful of Bass in an area that gets hit pretty hard.

2.) For all the talk, the fishing pressure is not what it's made up to be. The areas I fish (from Roseland to Newark), if I fish the river 4-5 times in a week, I usually will see NOBODY fishing. I do see the occasional kayaker fishing, or a bank beater, but not every trip and not a ton by any means. Are there more people fishing the river now than there was 5 years ago? Maybe, but not much, and not in my spots. I cover a lot of water and make an effort to try new areas, but I do spend a lot of time in the "hot spots" and many times, I am by myself.

3.) I have caught less Pike this year than the past few years (I'm at 40 and counting so far). Most of my trips average 1-3 Pike for a 1.5-2 hour fishing trip. I have not had any double digit days this year like I usually have in March and August. I have spent more time fishing for Walleye and other species this year, so I am not disappointed in that number...yet. I should be able to get that to 55-60 before the fall jig bite takes my attention away from the river.

4.) NJF gets a lot of publicity, as do some of the FB fishing pages. Us experienced guys, for the sake of the fishery, need to take the time to educate the newbs and bass guys. I see wayy too many "shake and bake" ground pictures, fish getting held with pliers or STRINGERS, fish with sh*tty leader hanging out of a fishes mouth, etc. As fishermen, we should share the responsibility of education when we can.

5.) 90 miles of river to fish, explore people!

Re: WOW.....honey hole pike !!
 

Skunk......I never stop "exploring " new areas and new techniques. I still have about 100 this year between a bunch of spots, but I am just clueless how certain spots that have produced hundreds in the past are empty.

But hey......that's why it's called fishing and not fetching !! Lol

Re: WOW.....honey hole pike !!
 

Interesting post Danny. I have fished the river probably 5 times this summer and only caught one pike and then mostly bass. For some reason I catch more pike in the spring. That seems to be the best time for me. However, I definitely see MUCH more people in the spots that I go to where five years ago I would rarely see people. Kayak or not, I still see more people. I think the river is getting much more fishing pressure. Even though most people don't keep the pike I bet it has an effect on them biting again. I also think that having rain makes the fish move around a bit. There has been plenty of times when I would catch nothing one day and then go back two days later after a rain and catch one. I guess I need to find new spots.