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Originally Posted by gnuisance
I have gotten back into freshwater angling this summer and started out the summer slaughtering the pond largemouth. Multiple 3 pound fish in an evening was not uncommon. And my biggest was 4.5 pounds. Of course I got greedy and cocky....
Then I got the itch to try for other species.
Being from Texas I have always wanted to catch pike and muskie. I have tried my luck in other lakes, rivers, reservoirs and man it is slow going. I am coming to the painful conclusion that I am not that good at fishing big water.
Right now my plan is to really focus my attention on Lake Hopatcong. It is close to me and has every species I want to target. I have a yak and plan to spend a few hours out there this weekend.
What's your $.02 ?
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LH is tough right now with the heat, weeds and boat traffic. We haven't really fished it too much since the Herring spawn peaked in May/June. Even at night, there are TONS of boaters that don't grasp the concept of COURTESY and will run up within 20ft. (or less) of you at full throttle. If you were too fish it, I would do like a 4am-8am trip and be off the water before the maniacs and weekend warriors. That or wait til after Labor Day. My last kayak trip there was before Memorial Day. Two months ago, it was pretty epic there
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That being said, fishing Hopatcong now, your best bet would be Bass and Pickerel along the weed edges or docks. The Walleye and Hybrids are deeper this time of year, so getting on them probably requires a decent fish finder and moving around a bit til you find them or the herring. From what I've been reading, points and dropoffs have been the spots to hit up with herring. As of a couple days ago, a guy on here who frequents the lake said there was no thermocline, which means the fish can be anywhere. If one develops though, obviously the fish must be at or above it, usually 10-15ft this time of year. They most likely will be out suspending over deeper water.
As for Muskie, I can't tell you too much. I've only landed one from Hopatcong and it was a very surprising by-catch while out at night for Walleye and Hybrids. I've read they easier to catch at night this time of year by chucking big baits out into open water and bringing them back into the weeds.
I'd suggest to go back and read the posts from this time last year to see if anything was going on. Every year is different, but it will at least give you a starting point. My HONEST advice is that LH scares the crap out of me in the summer on the weekends in a kayak lol. If you are dead set of Pike or Muskie, I would hit one of the smaller Esox-stocked bodies of water like Mountain, Furnace, Budd, Pompton or Passaic. Lot less of a chance of getting ran over lol.
