fishing??????

[woodjin]

I used to eat pickerel all the time. Several times a week when I was fishing alont. Very boney, but tasted good. Then when the mercury warnings got more press I switched to catch and release which is all I do now with pickerel.

I use singe hooks and I crimp my barb. I use needle nose pliers and rarely have to handle the fish. I used to use cotton gloves because I heard they were easier on the fish but the gloves got to gross too quick.

In the photo in my post above you can see me holding the fish...that was an exception, he threw the hook after I landed him and wriggled further up on the shore so I had to handle him to get him back and figured I would take a photo like that.

Jeff

 

[PINEY MIKE]

A few guys mentioned the handling of fish. The best rule of thumb for not wiping off the fish's microprotein layer (slime) of protection is to wet your hands before handling the fish. This helps keep the layer in place. I would imagine any type of gloves would defeat this purpose, but then again those f*ckers got teeth!!

 

[piker56]

...All the years I've fished the pines and that lake always stumped me...

Yeah, what about all the other lakes where you never catch anything?

Hey, are you open for that Upper Oswego trip next weekend? I'll give you a call (if we're still speaking). I'd really like to do that one this month.
Greg

 

[bobpbx]

Bob with large pickerel he caught in cedar creek.

Bob caught that at Dover Forge in that little backup pond, right? There are some good ones in there.

 

[woodjin]

A few guys mentioned the handling of fish. The best rule of thumb for not wiping off the fish's microprotein layer (slime) of protection is to wet your hands before handling the fish. This helps keep the layer in place. I would imagine any type of gloves would defeat this purpose, but then again those f*ckers got teeth!!

Yeah, the gloves seemed odd to me also. It is fairly well documented though. The idea is to use wet cotton gloves and you are less likely to drop the fish or squeeze him too hard. Surprisenly, this is not anymore harmful to the protective slime than regular human flesh.

Jeff

 

[Hewey]

Bob caught that at Dover Forge in that little backuondp p, right? There are some good ones in there.

Yes, that is one of my honey holes. I catch big fish there all the time. I have caught multiple 3 pounders there in a day. Don't know what it is but the big fish love to hang out there, may have to do with the sunfish in the pond/setback area. I caught a good fish there this spring and it spit out a mud sunfish almost the size of my palm. I also think they may like to breed in the setback which would explain all the big fish which are most likely female.

Chris

 

[PINEY MIKE]

Im mostly a trout and salmon fisher, but have been doing more fishing in the pines recently. Any decent bass ponds in the Dover Forge area? Ive been finding nothing but pickerel in the pine ponds. Ive fished Collier Mills and Prospertown Lakes before, but would like to concentrate on bass in the heart of the pines if possible. Feel free to PM me.

 

[woodjin]

Im mostly a trout and salmon fisher, but have been doing more fishing in the pines recently. Any decent bass ponds in the Dover Forge area? Ive been finding nothing but pickerel in the pine ponds. Ive fished Collier Mills and Prospertown Lakes before, but would like to concentrate on bass in the heart of the pines if possible. Feel free to PM me.

the water is too acidic for bass in the heart of the pines. There are a few man made lakes which support them and even a very few bogs, but they are not native and will not be found in the deep woods. There are some in the stafford forge bogs though...quite a bit actually. I caught one in Atsion lake surprisingly!

Jeff

 

[PINEY MIKE]

the water is too acidic for bass in the heart of the pines. There are a few man made lakes which support them and even a very few bogs, but they are not native and will not be found in the deep woods. There are some in the stafford forge bogs though...quite a bit actually. I caught one in Atsion lake surprisingly!

Jeff

Thanks Jeff,
Thats pretty much what I figured. Wasnt sure if anyone had any exceptions in mind.

 

[46er]

You may have already seen this for F&W. It list places to fish and what species are in those waters, not comprehensive by any means, but a start. The list is by county.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/2003/plcpnds03.pdf

 

[oji]

Mirror Lake here in Browns Mills has an excellent Largemouth population with alarge amount of medium to large fish. It also many large and agressive Pickeral. There is limited shoreline access and a boat is helpful. There is also Lake Pemberton a couple miles down the road which has good shoreline access and is also stocked with Trout. I know 2 other spots with light fishing pressure but require a boat and will give their info through a PM.

 

[pickerelfisher]

Thanks Jeff,
Thats pretty much what I figured. Wasnt sure if anyone had any exceptions in mind.

Piney Mike,

I see you are from Bamber Lake so you may already fish this spot, but I'll suggest it anyways. Also, it's not the middle of the pines. Wells Mills in Waretown has some bigger (18") lm bass. Try fishing the deeper sections near the dam (all along the steel wall). Lillies don't overtake this lake, but you need to fish the 1st 3 feet of water due to weeds growing up from the bottom. Watch out for the big snapping turtles if you use live bait.

When I hit Stafford Forge, I target picks, but some guys I've talked to there target lm bass. They say bogs 2 & 3 have them and they use fake worms. I have no experience catching lm bass there, but bog 3 has some nice sized picks if you are targeting them.

By the way, how's Bamber lately. I've only caught small picks there in the past. I'm not looking for you to give away your honey holes, but do you have any suggestions about where the big ones might be?

Mike

 

[46er]

I found this info on the F&W site, never knew Muskies were so close

This is what was stocked last year, similar numbers stocked in previous years.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/2009/htown_stocking_musk08.pdf

Lake Sehnandoah is about 20 minutes from home, Manasquan Res about the same, Deal Lake about 10 min more. Never been to Cooper River, but will have to try it soon. I need to get some BIG spinners

 

[pickerelfisher]

I found this info on the F&W site, never knew Muskies were so close

This is what was stocked last year, similar numbers stocked in previous years.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/2009/htown_stocking_musk08.pdf

Lake Sehnandoah is about 20 minutes from home, Manasquan Res about the same, Deal Lake about 10 min more. Never been to Cooper River, but will have to try it soon. I need to get some BIG spinners

Nice info 46er. I never knew they stocked Shenandoah with muskies. I thought they only stocked northern NJ lakes with them. I'm about 20 minutes away also. Time to break out the BIG lures! Do you know when they started stocking Shenandoah with muskies? There might be some big ones in there! Does anyone target muskies at Shenanoah? Please share stories.

 

[Hewey]

Musky, the fish of a thousand casts or at least that is what they say. I have a co-worker that caught a 27" musky out of Shenandoah while he was fishing for bass. I have not heard many stories about musky being caught in shenandoah.

If I were to target musky I would use a very large live bait. When I was a kid living in Vermont we used to use 8"-12" suckerfish for bait while fishing for northern pike and musky.

Chris

 

[46er]

Do you know when they started stocking Shenandoah with muskies?

From what I could find, the stocking began in 2004 and has been each year since then. They also put in Tiger Muskies(cross between Musky and Northern Pike) when they first started.

I might take a ride up there and talk to the folks in the bait/boat rental shop at Shenandoah.


Musky

Tiger Musky

 

[PINEY MIKE]

Pickerelfisher,
Thanks for the info on Waretown.. nice and close. Bamber has a good amount of pickerel and I've heard stories of some big fish pulled out of there from time to time. Ive also heard there were some bass, but have yet to get one myself. My old man was heading down to the Keys the other week targeting bonefish, tarpon, and permit on the fly rod. He stopped by Bamber to practice his long cast and only tied a piece of yarn to the end of his line to watch his distances. Everytime the yarn hit the water.. splash.. a hit. He tied a fly on and got a 12-13'' pickerel 1st cast. As for Manasquan Res, a great place. I no longer fish Shanandoah due to all the a-holes from Lakewood (unless by boat). Many are quick to cast two feet from you and keep way over the creel limits.. not my favorite spot.

 

[woodjin]

Mirror lake in Browns Mills was rumored to have musky, and I think the DEP confirmed it. I never caught one there or saw anybody catch one.

 

[46er]

I used to have a book of lake contour maps, I'll have to look for it but don't have much hope of finding it. I think the state put it out a looong time ago, maybe in the '70s. If I do find it, I'll do some scans and post them.

 

[oji]

Mirror lake in Browns Mills was rumored to have musky, and I think the DEP confirmed it. I never caught one there or saw anybody catch one.

Jeff, I may or may not know the person or persons who allegedly put them there. He also knows Lee who is probably the person who told you about it. As for me, I would like to catch the pickeral in the picture Lee has of Mr. Pittman!