Rahway River 9/27

[Billfish715]

The stretch below Morris Ave. has the most promise at rehabilitation. That stretch was worked on extensively over 50 years ago. Some of the little runs and riffles there, today, are a result of the work that was done years ago. To build a dam (in the pure sense of the word) is impractical and impossible. Rocks placed in strategic positions and heights oxygenate the water and improve its quality and flow however. Fish are attracted to those spots and tend to hang around longer. They would have to be maintained yearly given the history of flooding on the Rahway. The area below St. George's Ave. is an attractive stretch that should be included on the spring stocking list. It is more fishable than most other places upstream, The river is not dead by any means but the effects of flood control have changed its character. It is a stream that is stocked with trout but certainly not a trout stream. It was and still is a put and take fishery so take it for what it's worth. You can put the trout you catch into buckets and move them to other areas, but eventually the river will claim them as well.

I learned to fish on the Rahway when I was a kid along with hundreds of other kids who found it a safe place to go that was within a bike ride for most of us. Opening day was a big deal back then. The banks were lined with kids and adults and families. For most of them, it was a yearly tradition and an event. The area above and below the dam in the center of town was packed. It was elbow to elbow with people staking their spots well before dawn. Winfield, Jackson's, Drescher's, the foot bridge, Route 22, Morris Ave., were packed. The Rahway might as well have been the South Branch or Musky. It was that popular. Those are stories for another day, but there is still a warm spot in my heart every time I pass by those places that were so much a part of my past, present and future.