Raritan river R&V Trout Unlimited float trip 8/25/18:

[AndyS]

Had the pleasure of organizing an outing for the Ridge and Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited. Normally this time of year they do organized float trips on different sections of the Delaware river. I think everyone had a good time.
Flows were ideal, clarity was ideal and the weather was perfect, the catching not so much. These guys fished HARD ! Some used fly gear, some used spinning gear, some switched back and forth. Flies used were tried and true patterns that work great for smallmouth on the Delaware river. I did talk to one of the fishermen using spinning gear and I think he said he caught 11 smallmouth, nothing large though. Luke and I shadowed the group from start to finish in my canoe. We gave a wide berth to the club members so Luke worked the shallows catching what seemed like 200 bluegills on a small jig and grub. He also got 10 or so YOY largemouth and few YOY smallmouth. We put in at Robert St in Raritan Borough and took out at Duke Park in Manville, roughly 5 miles.
Start time around 8 am take out time around 2pm. Not once the entire trip did we see another angler or boat. River looked very clean did see a few tires and pulled one.