Raritan river 3/18/18: - NJFishing.com Your Best Online Source for Fishing Information in New Jersey

AndyS · #1 03-18-2018, 04:23 PM

All I do is complain to my wife how I hate working outside and I'm getting too old for this crap. So on my day off I stand in a freezing cold 43* water with leaky waders.
Hit up the usual spots, falls, shale flats, Robert St., managed one on the lower shale flats at Duke Island Park. Water looked great, to the point the water turned a turquoise at the deeper spots. This whole section will be closed now till April 7th but I will still be able to fish the lower river.
Ran into Rob from the Ameri-Corps Watershed Ambassadors. He was doing a Macroinvertebrate study and he was really impressed with what he was seeing on the Raritan river.

thmyorke1 · #2 03-18-2018, 05:20 PM

Tough day out there. I ended up hooking one way up in North Branch by far hills in a deep hole. First trout on a tiny rapala. I had to suspend it while the current just held it down.

FASTEDDIE29 · #3 03-18-2018, 07:18 PM

Last licks on the Rainbow Trouts, HAHAHAHAHA! Don’t worry there will be a bunch of small ones to catch on the Raritan April 7th! Well, that’s if the cormorants don’t catch em’ first. Bwahahahahahaha!!!

AndyS · #4 03-18-2018, 08:42 PM

Chunky trout on the N. Branch, nice work !

Lard Almighty · #5 03-18-2018, 10:59 PM

Already sick of those stockies. Bring on the smallmouths!

thmyorke1 · #6 03-19-2018, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lard Almighty

Already sick of those stockies. Bring on the smallmouths!

it boggles my mind how I haven't seen a smallie since it got colder in the fall. I'm experiencing terrible smallie withdrawal.

Dave B. · #7 03-19-2018, 12:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thmyorke1

it boggles my mind how I haven't seen a smallie since it got colder in the fall. I'm experiencing terrible smallie withdrawal.

Water's too cold, they go dormant. Remember, they're a 'cool water' fish, not a 'cold water' species. In the meantime why not go chase some pike, walleye and muskies? They're about to turn on for the spring. Likewise we should soon see the shad coming up the 'D'. With good water levels all around and a long-range forecast for a warmer and WETTER than average spring it ought to work out quite well!

Bruce Litton · #8 03-19-2018, 04:04 PM

Great tactic with the Rapala, letting the current hold it down. Beautiful trout. Nice, Andy, too. Sad it's all over, would have liked to try again.

AndyS · #9 03-20-2018, 04:34 PM

Bruce, there is MORE than enough river to fish below the Rt. 206 bridge in Somerville !!

thmyorke1 · #10 03-20-2018, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyS

Bruce, there is MORE than enough river to fish below the Rt. 206 bridge in Somerville !!

Not to forget one was caught below 206 way early in the season in fall. Definitely a lot more around that stretch waiting to start biting now that they dont expect ppl to fish

I remember doing the volunteer net pull last year in spring and catching some in there, way down by piscataway