Moving out! (to pikeville)

[Cape Cod]

My ex-neighbor used to do really well on his kayak through the Fairfield area. I think chatter baits and spinner baits were his lures of choice. Good luck.

[akoop]

Originally Posted by Cape Cod

My ex-neighbor used to do really well on his kayak through the Fairfield area. I think chatter baits and spinner baits were his lures of choice. Good luck.

Any ideas where to park and launch a kayak from in the Fairfield area? There is a dirt lot at Two Bridges Road where the Passiac & Pompton rivers meet that I was thinking of trying. Just don't know much about that area. Should I head up or down river from there?

[Skunk City]

Best tip I can give you is be prepared. Have a good set of pliers handy, not a chincy pair of forceps. A lot of times they will totally engulf the lure, so having something that can get deep down there to remove the plug is critical.

Also, be ready to handle a bigger, stronger freshwater fish than you're used to. That, plus teeth. It kills me when I see Bass guys catch a Pike and the poor fish gets the Shake n' Bake treatment flopping on the ground. That can also mean a death sentence to an otherwise healthy fish. If you don't have a landing net, be prepared to grab the fish by holding it like the picture below. It is the best way to have control of the fish. If done correctly, your fingers are nowhere near teeth. Stay away from boga grips, Pike tend to spin and thrash like crazy on them. I've seen broken jaws and holes in mouths from Bogas.

[Eskimo]

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Thanks for those pics. I'll give that a try.
I have never picked up a pike with one hand because I know one of us will get hurt.

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Originally Posted by Skunk City

[Hookmanski]

Originally Posted by Skunk City

Best tip I can give you is be prepared. Have a good set of pliers handy, not a chincy pair of forceps. A lot of times they will totally engulf the lure, so having something that can get deep down there to remove the plug is critical.

Also, be ready to handle a bigger, stronger freshwater fish than you're used to. That, plus teeth. It kills me when I see Bass guys catch a Pike and the poor fish gets the Shake n' Bake treatment flopping on the ground. That can also mean a death sentence to an otherwise healthy fish. If you don't have a landing net, be prepared to grab the fish by holding it like the picture below. It is the best way to have control of the fish. If done correctly, your fingers are nowhere near teeth. Stay away from boga grips, Pike tend to spin and thrash like crazy on them. I've seen broken jaws and holes in mouths from Bogas.

Thank you so much! This is really helpful!! I can't wait to get out there and catch one

[Hookmanski]

Originally Posted by akoop

Any ideas where to park and launch a kayak from in the Fairfield area? There is a dirt lot at Two Bridges Road where the Passiac & Pompton rivers meet that I was thinking of trying. Just don't know much about that area. Should I head up or down river from there?

Down in Little Falls there is a park, Suchorsky Park, that has a public boat ramp. Its a bit downstream from Fairfield, but I don't think the paddle up to the confluence would take too long!

[Mark B.]

NJDF&W launches our electrofishing boat @ 2 Camp Ln, Fairfield, NJ 07004.
Owned by Fairfield, it was gated & locked (emergency launch only), but someone tore down the gate.

Wide open the last 2 years we launched there.

Collected this N. Pike (36.3 “, 14.4 lb.) just upstream of there in fall 2016.

[akoop]

Originally Posted by Mark B.

NJDF&W launches our electrofishing boat @ 2 Camp Ln, Fairfield, NJ 07004.
Owned by Fairfield, it was gated & locked (emergency launch only), but someone tore down the gate.

Wide open the last 2 years we launched there.

Collected this N. Pike (36.3 “, 14.4 lb.) just upstream of there in fall 2016.

I saw that ramp the other day when I was scouting, but not sure how it would be to leave my Jeep parked there while out on the river.

[Mark B.]

Originally Posted by akoop

I saw that ramp the other day when I was scouting, but not sure how it would be to leave my Jeep parked there while out on the river.

I can’t say.

We left the State van w/ trailer there for hours & had no problems.

No gate for years, then after complaints about guys shooting from boats, they put up the locked gate. I used to have to call Fairfield Public Works to unlock it.

After the gate was torn down, I got the impression from Fairfield Public Works that they gave up keeping people out,……….they weren’t going to erect a new gate.