"Cranford West" - Silver Lake in Hope NJ

[Suntzu]

I need my fellow Cranfordians to lobby to have the mighty Rahway stocked with pike and stretches stocked with smallmouth
I would happily give up the trout stockings for this
Although I did catch two trout on the Might R Saturday with the fly rod

[logs22]

Originally Posted by Suntzu

I need my fellow Cranfordians to lobby to have the mighty Rahway stocked with pike and stretches stocked with smallmouth
I would happily give up the trout stockings for this
Although I did catch two trout on the Might R Saturday with the fly rod

I have caught plenty of LMB in the Rahway but never a smallie. Are there any in there? I would love it if they stocked the river with some small mouth, they are much more fun to catch than largemouth. I know nothing about pike, so I don't mind not having to worry about accidentally catching one (and releasing it) in the Rahway.

Suntzu- you must have found a nice deep hole to catch trout this time of year, those two almost made it to the finish line (I.e joined the small and exclusive club of Holdover trout). Waters should start cooling pretty soon I would think (hope). Were these trout caught in Cranford or elsewhere on the river?

[Suntzu]

They were caught in Cranford in a stretch where I put them and can holdover
I am an avid pike fisherman in the Passaic which is remarkably similar to the Rahway. Pike would do well in the Rahway from Milburn to Rahway and provide a four seasons catch and release fishery
I have never caught a smallmouth on the Rahway but think they would do pretty well in certain stretches
Would love it if they would remove all the dams on the Rahway but that will never happen
The Raritan, Passaic, Manasquan, get all the attention how about a little live for the Rahway?

[logs22]

Originally Posted by Suntzu

They were caught in Cranford in a stretch where I put them and can holdover
I am an avid pike fisherman in the Passaic which is remarkably similar to the Rahway. Pike would do well in the Rahway from Milburn to Rahway and provide a four seasons catch and release fishery
I have never caught a smallmouth on the Rahway but think they would do pretty well in certain stretches
Would love it if they would remove all the dams on the Rahway but that will never happen
The Raritan, Passaic, Manasquan, get all the attention how about a little live for the Rahway?

Yes I remember your post and all the controversy regarding your relocation practices (I personally see no problem with it). If I ever come across a late season trout I guess I will have to thank you (and remember to look for trout there the following year).

Others' ignorance of the Rahway's bounty is our gain as far as I am concerned. I myself was ignorant of its fishing potential despite living blocks away until just recently. Now I can't believe I used to drive to the union county ponds you read about on here (aka Milton, Rahway park, echo, etc,) only to get skunked when I could have just walked down the street and consistently hooked largemouth in perfect wooded seclusion.

[Suntzu]

Nomahegan has been stocked with channel cats which will make there way quickly into the Rahway offering another good fishery

[logs22]

Originally Posted by Suntzu

Nomahegan has been stocked with channel cats which will make there way quickly into the Rahway offering another good fishery

Based on current lake level it will take quite a lot of rain before there is enough flow over the dam to wash some of the current stock into the river. I walked across it a few days ago without getting the soles of my shoes wet. The irony is when you live in Cranford the last thing you want is "quite a lot of rain". My blood pressure already skyrockets every time I get one of those flash flood warnings on my phone.

[phil]

Originally Posted by Suntzu

I need my fellow Cranfordians to lobby to have the mighty Rahway stocked with pike and stretches stocked with smallmouth
I would happily give up the trout stockings for this
Although I did catch two trout on the Might R Saturday with the fly rod

im all for it, who do I need to call or email. ive never been a fan of trout fishing in general and consider it a waste of time and money for them to be stocked in places where they will all be dead and/or caught and eaten by people who don't even have a license. spend more energy stocking real fish that can survive and reproduce and be caught and released. stock baitfish lm&sm bass,pike,perch, sunnies catfish, whatever, I don't care.

can you recommend a decent small fly fishing setup for panfish/small bass. something under $100 all in, reel and rod included

[XXlyakattacker]

Originally Posted by logs22

as a "north-sider".

eeeewwwweeee! Yucky northsiders! Lmao!

[logs22]

Originally Posted by Suntzu

Except for a couple of hundred yards above the parkway dam canoeing on the mighty Rahway on the south side of Cranford is a challenge better to drop it in on the other side of the parkway in Winfield park
You do have 6 trout stocking pints within walking distance of your house

Speaking of the Rahway east of the Parkway, has anyone ever had luck catching fish in Bloodgood pond, which is essentially just another dammed portion of the Rahway. I hear a lot about Jackson pond further downstream but nothing about Bloodgood. I have fished there twice and never got so much as a bite. An old timer walking by told me he hasn't seen anyone pull bass out of that pond since they started using herbacide on it a few years ago. It's too bad because it 'looks' like it should be great for bass, lots of lilies but not too many, shoreline structures, some depth near the dam....

[FASTEDDIE29]

There used to be Smallmouth in the Rahway as well as Perch and Pickerel. I grew up on Elizabeth ave and Madison Hill rd in Rahway. We used to bail Channel cats off the Madison Hill bridge after a nice rain storm! I'm 39 years old and can tell you that this river has gotten shallower in the last 30 years or so. Too many floods and such. Are there fish to catch? Of course! Would Pike survive in certain stretches? Yes! Yes they would. I'm all about the Rahway and still fish there when I'm short on time. The Smallies used to be in the Robinson's branch below Milton lake. They're all gone now. The biggest Smallie I caught out of this river was under the Madison Hill rd bridge, fish was 4 lbs. Too much grime, shallow water and slime for the BRONZEBACKS to do well in my opinion. Throw some Pike in Winfield and upstream of the Waterworks and see what happens!