Early spring/ mercer County lake

[gtijoe]

I'm new to the area and I'm really curious if anyone does well at mercer Co lake after the ice melts? Interested in the possible crappie and perch bites from shore. I can't wait for this cold to pass.

[Joeblowv1]

Mercer is considered "highly pressured," and a dead sea by some.

I went a few times late summer/early fall last year with my Kayak and got one singular bite across around 3-4 trips. I wouldn't say I'm a "great" fisherman though, I tend to have pretty bad luck lol.

I remember catching a few smallmouth/bluegill and a perch there when I was around 17 (around 10 years ago) from the shore when I was bored on summer break

Curious to see if anyone else has any input though.

[Bizzles13]

Better off scrolling around on google maps or download fishbrain for other places to fish. Lots of less pressured places to fish in this area. Don't overlook the big D and all it's tributaries/creeks.

If you do end up trying out MCL come in from the north side (S. Post Rd) to avoid some of the crowd.

Good Luck, Tight Lines.

[Godrew1972]

there are definitely some nice big fish in there, but i find it to be very hit or miss.
We had a few great days there with numbers and quality, but many more days just getting 1 or 2.
its worth a try at least, if its not good it still beats going to work

[FASTEDDIE29]

Carnegie lake, Millstone river and the D&R canal are close by and should’ve a better option. Can’t go wrong with nite crawlers or shiners under bobbers in the early spring. Let us know how you do!

[Joeblowv1]

Carnegie lake is definitely on my list to check out. I drove by not that long ago and it was bigger than I had thought. I tend to shy away from Princeton though as the people can be a bit....snobbish?

I got my yak late last year (Pandemic made kayaks unobtanium and of course I decided I wanted one at just the wrong time) like after labor day late. As such I only got about 6-8 trips out or so.

Went to lake mercer - 2-3 times, Prospertown once, Assunpink once, Manasquan reservoir once. Needless to say I came up empty handed as I'm getting my feet wet with Kayak fishing so to speak.

If I had to pick a favorite, Prospertown is pretty nice, not too far from me (about 25 mins) and has some good variety of depths/lots of little coves/not too crowded. My uncle has said he pulls some decent size pickerel out of there from time to time.

Lake Mercer gets pretty busy, lots of people meandering in front of my truck while I'm trying to back up to drop my boat, people in their own worlds/in the way while you're trying to get in/out of the water, etc. etc. If I go back I'll definitely check out the "north" / post road side.

[Jigman13]

Manasquan Res offers some of the best variety south of Middlesex County--large and smallmouth bass, crappie, hybrid striped bass, tiger muskies and so on. It's been a very long time since I've fished there. The park hours were always a deterrent for my father and I years ago. We wanted to be on the water before sun-up. That place did not cater to such desire or motivated fisherman lol.

[Joeblowv1]

There is a ~ 7$ boat fee per kayak every time you go to Manasquan. Didn't seem very well enforced, but I don't like getting in trouble either.

Its 50$ for a season pass to launch.

Just as an FYI if that impacts your decision

[fishermanv]

Originally Posted by Bizzles13

Better off scrolling around on google maps or download fishbrain for other places to fish. Lots of less pressured places to fish in this area. Don't overlook the big D and all it's tributaries/creeks.

If you do end up trying out MCL come in from the north side (S. Post Rd) to avoid some of the crowd.

Good Luck, Tight Lines.

Fishbrain.. anyone find this app useful - the locations seem so ridiculously off, is it just me?

[thmyorke1]

Originally Posted by fishermanv

Fishbrain.. anyone find this app useful - the locations seem so ridiculously off, is it just me?

it's just a rumor since i dont use it or other fishing apps, but it's likely guys are posting quality fish in different spots than they're actually catching to keep their hot spots/waters from being popular.