old bogs

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,338
326
Near Mt. Misery
A few months back I posted some pics of some very secluded and remote bogs I located. Yesterday I got out for a bit to explore some other bogs in that same expansive system. It was late in the day and I was fighting daylight.

This is an old very large bog that rivals the ones at Whitesbog and along 563 in size. It is mostly dry except for the old water channels, around the old wiers and a few spots in the middle. The size and care in the construction indicates that this was a major operation at one time.

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The western side appears ghostly as dead cedar, bleached white, stand as headstones might in some forsaken graveyard. Notice the beaver attempt to the left to repair a broken weir.

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picture of the large bog

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standing water in the middle

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A smaller bog is seperated from the larger one by a dike. I found evidence of fish in both bogs despite shallow water. Red Fin pickerel are a hardy fish that tend to populate these types of waters.

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This old gum lays across an old wier. A water fall appears to the right of the gum.

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I figured deer were bedding down along this dike, but scat remains indicate possibly coyote.

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A parting shot as I heading home and the sun sunk below the horizon

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Jeff
 

whippoorbill

Explorer
Jul 29, 2003
675
121
65
Bridgeton
A parting shot as I heading home and the sun sunk below the horizon

Jeff

How come everybody heads home when the sun goes down? :)

Seriously, lovely photos, Jeff. It's hard to believe how many beautiful, old bogs are scattered throughout the barrens.

Bill
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,602
8,180
Great place Jeff! Can you imagine how many cranberries this state would produce if all the old bogs were in operation today?

Guy
 

LongIslandPiney

Explorer
Jan 11, 2006
484
0
Can you eat wild cranberries that grow in a bog? I've been told cranberries are the best natural immune booster.
 

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,338
326
Near Mt. Misery
Great place Jeff! Can you imagine how many cranberries this state would produce if all the old bogs were in operation today?

Guy

Yeah but then we wouldn't have any old abandoned bogs which I find far more interesting than operating ones. Not to mention the fishing is much better in the old bogs. The water levels are regulated too often in operating bogs to support a good chain pickerel population.

Jeff
 

bobpbx

Piney
Staff member
Oct 25, 2002
14,153
4,257
Pines; Bamber area
Jeff, you keep the best places to yourself!

By the way, seriously, do you like living where you are better than by Mount Misery? I mean as far as the woods go and ease of exploring, beauty, solitude etc.
 

bobpbx

Piney
Staff member
Oct 25, 2002
14,153
4,257
Pines; Bamber area
Yesterday I got out for a bit to explore some other bogs in that same expansive system. It was late in the day and I was fighting daylight. Jeff

Honey, can I go out for awhile please?

"Yes dear, but only for an hour, and not till you're done cleaning the garage".

:dance:
 

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,338
326
Near Mt. Misery
Jeff, you keep the best places to yourself!

By the way, seriously, do you like living where you are better than by Mount Misery? I mean as far as the woods go and ease of exploring, beauty, solitude etc.

That is a good question and hard to answer this early since the move. Speaking strickly about the woods...The ease of getting to it is about the same. The solitude is better since my neighbors are further away. The woods here is far less populated as well, more remote. As for exploring...hmmm I got very attached to the woods around me back at mount misery. and knew it in the micro sense, that is to say I knew it blind folded, every square foot nearly. It had ALOT more human history to it, often buried below the surface which was fascinating, but it also had a negitive element from the riff raff from browns mills to the north. I am looking forward to really getting to know my immedate surroundings on a micro level.

Jeff
 

BobNJ1979

Explorer
May 31, 2007
190
0
you actually saw red fin pickerel ? that's amazing this time of yr.. there's only one place i've ever seen them (caught them) in the pines..
 

ICANOE2

Explorer
Sep 30, 2007
141
1
52
Browns Mills
Nice report and pics! Thanks for sharing.
you actually saw red fin pickerel ? that's amazing this time of yr.. there's only one place i've ever seen them (caught them) in the pines..
I've only seen pics of them, never caught or saw one in person.

The state record Redfin is 1lb 13oz and was caught in 1982 in Assunpink Lake.
Do you think there's one hiding in the Pines that could top that?.........Mike
 

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,338
326
Near Mt. Misery
you actually saw red fin pickerel ? that's amazing this time of yr.. there's only one place i've ever seen them (caught them) in the pines..

I did not acually see one on this outing. I saw the wakes in the shallow water indictive of pickerel. In this type of environment I come across far more redfin than chainsides.

The redfins are actually quite plentiful. Remember they are significantlly smaller than the chains. I rarely see any over 8". I have found many of them inside chain pickerel (their stomachs) so I assume they have a short life expentancy in the barrens. Next time you catch what you think is a juvenille chainside, look closer and you might be surprised that it is a redfin, or chain redfin hybrid.

I have never seen redfin in deep water. I have seen them in very very shallow water and even land locked in puddles after droughts. When fishing, you are unlikely to catch a redfin if chains are present.

As for the time of year: they are active all year, just sluggish now.

Jeff
 
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