Cranberry Lake! 5/25/16 - NJFishing.com Your Best Online Source for Fishing Information in New Jersey

SaltLife1980 · #1 05-25-2016, 09:12 PM

Well today my mom asked me if i wanted to hit Cranberry lake on the kayaks and do some fishing. Packed the kayaks in the truck and headed over. Stopped and picked up some bait. She likes to use meal worms. Got the lake and it was just beautiful. Sun shinning and a little wind. Dropped the kayaks in and got on our way. I started out throwing a blue fox #1 for a while. Got no love. So i switched it up. Small float with tiny weight with a trout hook. Casting into the shallows and just drifting with the wind down the edge. Mom used her meal worms and killed it as usually. I went with the power bait honey worms red. We floated around for around 4 hours. We got a ton of sunnies, few perch, rock bass, crappies, one bass, and she got a small pike{could have been a pickeral she wasnt sure and i didnt see}. All a good fight on a ultra light set up i was using. Also got a parting gift from the lake! TON of sun burn.

. And worst of all. . . . I made the mistake of putting one of my vapes in a non zip pocket in my shorts and guess what? Its at the bottom of the lake somewhere.

All and all it was a good day! Have not been doing too much freshwater fishing so it was a nice change. No pictures today as i forgot my camera in the truck.

MattK · #2 05-25-2016, 09:21 PM

Probably a pickerel if its out of cranberry. Was there Saturday and the pickerel bite on the back half of the lake was nuts. I know its stocked with pike but ive only ever seen 2 pike come from there.

I love that lake, it might not produce huge fish, but it always produces.

Mikey topaz · #3 05-25-2016, 09:45 PM

Theres some big pike in there you just have to know where to look!

fishingbuddies · #4 05-25-2016, 10:07 PM

I'm heading there Monday or Tuesday. Any tips guys? My target is LMB as usual but would really like to hook my 1st pike.

Chrisper4694 · #5 05-25-2016, 10:10 PM

i'm just going to keep posting this picture every time cranberry pike is mentioned haha

MattK · #6 05-25-2016, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikey topaz

Theres some big pike in there you just have to know where to look!

No there aren't, there are no big pike in that lake

Quote:

I'm heading there Monday or Tuesday. Any tips guys? My target is LMB as usual but would really like to hook my 1st pike.

I've caught one pike there, and my fiance lost a nice one by the boat there Saturday. Both were caught on big gold spinners. You're going to catch a few dozen pickerel first, but if you're lucky you'll get a pike.

DRiverRat · #7 05-25-2016, 10:44 PM

I gotta meet your Mom.
She can PM me.

AndyS · #8 05-26-2016, 12:04 AM

Curious about the water quality on that lake, did it look clean or murky ?
Would picking up some large shiners work better ?

MattK · #9 05-26-2016, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyS

Curious about the water quality on that lake, did it look clean or murky ?
Would picking up some large shiners work better ?

Ive tried large shiners in there before and it was a pickerel fest.

kcritch · #10 05-26-2016, 12:48 PM

Jeff in the Freshwater???

Nice to see you over here on this side dude. Sounds like a great day with Mom. Except for the 90 degree angle of the boat launch I like that lake too. Haven't fished it in a long time though.

fishinbguddies - Always had fun with frogs on top...lots o' pads and stuff...always a ton of blow ups. Any weed less plastic setup worked well around all that vegetation too. Weightless was better if the wind is not bad. If you can't find 'em in the weeds there are tons of rocky spots that worked well for me. Speaking of which not all the rocks are marked (at least not back then) so be careful if you're not familiar with the place. Never got a pike but plenty of bass and picks. Good luck.