Trout fishing in Morris County - Need Help

[Capspath83]

Hello Everyone,

I have been a saltwater fisherman all my life and I am just starting to get into Freshwater. I do not have a boat, so all of my fishing is done on the shoreline or wading into rivers. Currently I am having difficulty finding Trout which I would love to catch among other stuff. I went out this past Saturday and Sunday and waded into the Raritan River in Hunterdon County and the Rockaway River in Denville. I had caught nothing but baby small mouth bass and sunnies in the Raritan and a decent size Small mouth in the Rockaway.

Is it too late to catch trout in the area (Morris County)? Where should I go that I can catch them without using a boat, also what should I be using. I have a few in line spinners, salmon eggs and gulp grubs.

Any help would be appreciated!

[acabtp]

welcome to the site!

honestly this the time of year that trouting gets less productive. it's summertime now and the water is getting too warm for them to be actively feeding in most of the streams that were stocked and in other streams and ponds they have already died from the heat. whatever is left is hunkered down near springs and tributaries where cooler water enters and in deep pools shaded from the sun. the warmer the water it the less oxygen it holds too, so the fish will be more active in areas of moving/falling water vs longer slow stretches. if you want to find them actively feeding, you are probably going to have to head over to one of the TCAs (trout conservation areas) or WTSs (wild trout streams) where the water is cool enough to find them all year. try to get out there early while the water is still cool and get off when it warms up. a little thermometer to measure the temps is a great idea. the trophy/holdover trout lakes also will hold fish but it'll be harder to get a lure to them without a boat.

keep in mind the regs/limits are different on TCA/WTS waters so you can't bring your gulp or salmon eggs with you... artificial lures only. don't worry you'll do just fine with inline spinners.

here's some info from NJDFW with links http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/trtinfo_summer.htm

here's a quick guide on your temps to watch out for

77°F – Upper limit of Rainbow trout survival
75°F – Temperature at which Rainbow trout stop growing
68°F – Temperature at which anglers should consider not fishing for trout
68°F – Temperature at which Browns and Rainbows start to become stressed
67°F – Temperature at which trout significantly decrease feeding
65°F – Temperature at which Brooks start to become stressed

[Capspath83]

Thanks for the great insight acabtp!

I will definitely look into all of those options.

I guess I will need to invest in a pair of waders to keep warm when the water cools down.

I will also have to check out the trophy lakes sometime over the summer to test my luck there.

I also read that Tilcan lake is stocked with Landlocked Atlantic Salmon! I would love to land one of those! Hoping I could get to them by land as well.

[americandesi]

I've caught a lot of trout fishing inline spinners in the South Branch of Raritan in Long Valley. That stretch is heavily stocked and has wild fish. It hasn't rained much this year so the streams are much lower and warmer than usual. Right now they are about 1/3rd their usual flows.

The best time to fish for stream trout in the summertime is usually right after it rains (a day after on a small stream, 2-3 days on the larger streams). In a year where we get a usual amount of rain, the Black River in Hacklebarney State Park is also worth checking out if you don't mind hiking to get down to the stream.

But as mentioned earlier, please check the water temps. I personally don't fish for trout when the temps are above 68 because I catch and release. Studies have shown that if one catches and releases a trout above that temp that they are likely to die within 48 hours from the stress involved with being caught even if they swim away fine. Also trout don't fight nearly as good once the water temps reach the mid 60s and above as they do when the water temps are lower. Catching bass is more fun for me in the summertime because they fight better in the warm water.

[Capspath83]

Originally Posted by americandesi

I've caught a lot of trout fishing inline spinners in the South Branch of Raritan in Long Valley. That stretch is heavily stocked and has wild fish. It hasn't rained much this year so the streams are much lower and warmer than usual. Right now they are about 1/3rd their usual flows.

The best time to fish for stream trout in the summertime is usually right after it rains (a day after on a small stream, 2-3 days on the larger streams). In a year where we get a usual amount of rain, the Black River in Hacklebarney State Park is also worth checking out if you don't mind hiking to get down to the stream.

But as mentioned earlier, please check the water temps. I personally don't fish for trout when the temps are above 68 because I catch and release. Studies have shown that if one catches and releases a trout above that temp that they are likely to die within 48 hours from the stress involved with being caught even if they swim away fine. Also trout don't fight nearly as good once the water temps reach the mid 60s and above as they do when the water temps are lower. Catching bass is more fun for me in the summertime because they fight better in the warm water.

Great! I am loving all of this info! I was thinking about going after it raining, makes perfect sense. And I know what you mean about catching bass in the summer. I just caught one yesterday in the Rockaway River. It was literally 10 feet in front of me just swimming back and forth, I finally got it to hit one of my bottom jigs and it put up a great fight! [IMG][/IMG]

[briansnat]

Trout fishing gets slow this time of the year, but the upper Rocakway in the Rockaway River WMA can be productive. Wawayanda (Passaic county) and Tilcon Lake have trout and landlocked salmon, but they will be deep and you might not be able to reach them from the shore. The upper Pequannock River can be productive if you pick your spots.

[SaltLife1980]

Head over to the Peaquest river. Where the trout hatchery is and fish that section. Its an artificial use only part of the river. Its stacked with fish. They have a lot of pressure on them but if you throw something they have not seen that day you usually get one or two and they are nice size. Fished it last week and i ended the day with catching 5 nice fish releasing them all for another day. Just watch out for the fly fishermen!! They dont like us spinning guys

[Capspath83]

Awesome! Thanks for the great insight guys! I will definitely have to check these places out sometime soon!

Im going to get a thermometer and attempt places in July/August and if that fails I'll try again in October or so when it gets cooler.

[Humanzee]

My front yard is 100 feet from the Musconetcong River. I do a fair share of trout fishing. Its easy for me to stop trout fishing during the warm weather since I have easy access to the river and I know those fish get stressed easy. But I wouldn't tell anyone to not go fishing.

Bit of a catch 22 at this time of year. If you can use a slightly heavier line - say 6# instead of 4# - you'll be able to get the fish in quicker and tire him out less. But with how low and gin clear the water has been, sometimes really light line is needed. I've done just fine with 5# flurocarbon as my tippet on my fly rod, though.

Just a thought, but consider crimping your barbs down on a couple of spinners. This way, when you do get the fish next to you, you can pop the hook out with ease and don't even have to take the trout out of the water.

Trout are not very hardy compared to the smallmouth. Once they come out of the water in these temps (both air and water), they are going to have a tough time recuperating.

Good luck!

[Capspath83]

Update: just got back from my trip to the Pequest, didn't use trout magnets, only spinners. No luck at all. I may have seen 1 or 2, that's it. I stopped at the Pequest River access over by the belvidere diner, then by uncle bucks diner where the dam is (saw a small bass, no trout..way too weedy over there) then I stopped over by the hatchery a little ways away, found a dead trout in the river but nothing else. Looks promising when they stock it though. There was absolutely no one fishing. Not sure if because of the holiday or because they all knew there is no fish. Most of the water was either up to my shins or knees. Guess I will wait till they restock the rockaway River in the fall, unless there are any other spots I missed. I found a pull off for the TCA, but it was roped off so I walked a ways and could not even find the river so I gave up and walked back. It was about a mile before the hatchery.

All in all, just a little bummed I didn't even see fish!