fishing??????

[pickerelfisher]

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

I went onto the NJ F&W site and it looks like they stock tiger muskies in Shenandoah. It says they're a "sterile" hybrid of pike & muskie. This leads me to believe there isn't a big population in there because they can't reproduce. Also, the average stocking size, if I remember correctly, is around 7". This size is "baitfish" for big picks & lm bass, so survival rates must be a low percentage of stock rates.

I didn't see anything about them stocking regular muskies, but I also didn't spend a lot of time on the site. If they do, it's good news because they have a chance of naturally populating the lake.

Don't get me wrong, I love pickerel fishing, but if I can catch a bigger fish with teeth (in freshwater) in southern jersey, I'll target it.

 

[pickerelfisher]

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

46er,

Please post any info you get from the local shops.

Mike

 

[pickerelfisher]

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.

Piney Mike,

Thanks for the reply. My experience with Bamber has always been 10" - 12" picks, but a lot of them. I've never caught a bass there either.

I can relate to the a-hole comment. I had 2 guys in a boat (I fish shoreline) cast spinners on each side of my bobber w/ a killie a month ago (at Colliers Mills, not Shanendoah).

 

[woodjin]

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!

It probably was Lee that told me of the musky in Mirror lake, but then again, maybe not. Lee is always pushing Lebanon lake and PL as they are closer to his shop.

Yeah, I know the photo. That is a nice one. I think that Pittman is related to Ace Pittman of snake hunting fame. but there is another Pittman that lives near Mt. Misery that is not related so I am not sure.

Jeff

 

[tom m]

I would have to question cooper river park, It is also said that it has a very good Large Mouth Bass fishery ,only thing I have ever heard of being caught out of there and the only thing i've ever caught is big Carp and Cats. are Musky's tolerant of Dirty water ? Because Cooper river is , Not to mention the algae bloom is a killer .

 

[46er]

I would have to question cooper river park, It is also said that it has a very good Large Mouth Bass fishery ,only thing I have ever heard of being caught out of there and the only thing i've ever caught is big Carp and Cats. are Musky's tolerant of Dirty water ? Because Cooper river is , Not to mention the algae bloom is a killer .

Check the link, its a PDF, and scroll down to page 39, from the 2006 F&W Digest. If your familiar with the area, are there any bait shops nearby?

http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/2006/digfsh06.pdf

 

[Kamoyaker]

3 Bullheads this morning

Took a Yak trip on some Piney water and my wife reeled in three Bullheads. First Piney Cats of the season for us. We caught Channel Cats in Crosswicks two months ago a foot and a half long.
Been catching Pickerel since March in Piney water.

I have vids on you tube of the action

Kamoyaker

 

[pickerelfisher]

Kamoyaker,

Nice vids! I liked your vids on survival skills. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Have you ever checked out www.endtimesreport.com

 

[tom m]

That's surprising, Guess i'll have to try it again, but they have made that claim since the 70's, maybe it really has come back. I like how they say the return of cooper lake , it's a river lol.

 

[bobpbx]

There are bass in Bamber. I caught one and saw a kid with a 4 pounder. Then I saw one move out in the water over by the dam about 3 years ago. It looked to be 3 pounds or more.

I got excited about Muskies in Shendandoah about 8 years ago and spent all day there, from one end of the lake to the other. Me and my friend caught nothing.

 

[pickerelfisher]

bobpbx,

I believe there are bass there, I just always catch picks. The population must be small or the picks hit before the bass? However, if you are a bass fisherman, you would have better luck targeting other lakes than Bamber. I hit Bamber 2 weeks ago and caught the usual, 3 10"-12" picks on rapalas. (by the dam...shoreline fishing). You really need a canoe/kayak because of the size of the lake and the weedlines. Maybe next year.

I hit Wells Mills with my son for 1/2 hour tonight and caught a 9" sunny(on a 3" rapala) and 2 turtles on worms. I guess I have to take him again tomorrow so he can catch more than turtles!

Our usual sunny spot is under construction, so I need to find a new small pond for him with sunnies close to Forked River. Any suggestions?

 

[bobpbx]

Our usual sunny spot is under construction, so I need to find a new small pond for him with sunnies close to Forked River. Any suggestions?

Yes, the bass only seem to be on the South and East side. There is one weird thing about Bamber. Where the Cook's Branch comes in, to the west of the northern beach, there are no fish. At least I have never seen or caught one there. I think it must be the PH of the water.

That 9" Sunny is huge for the pines! How about Enos pond, did you try there? Maybe Double Trouble in the bogs at the far end? Serious time for Pine flies though.

 

[pickerelfisher]

Yes, the bass only seem to be on the South and East side. There is one weird thing about Bamber. Where the Cook's Branch comes in, to the west of the northern beach, there are no fish. At least I have never seen or caught one there. I think it must be the PH of the water.

That 9" Sunny is huge for the pines! How about Enos pond, did you try there? Maybe Double Trouble in the bogs at the far end? Serious time for Pine flies though.

bobpbx,
I was surprised about that Sunny also! I thought it was a small bass at first, but it never breached during the fight. I've been catching some large panfish on 2 3/4" & 3" rapalas this year.

Thanks for the Bamber info. I'll have to try for bass the next time I go, but I need to find something the bass will hit before the picks.

Never tried Enos pond, but will put it on the list. Have you caught anything in Enos pond?

Which Double Trouble bogs are you refering to? Fishing the reservoir for the active bogs up front or going to the old bogs in the back? I don't think there will be sunnies there for my son though? Probably just picks. Anyone fish there lately? An update would help.

 

[woodjin]

Thanks for the Bamber info. I'll have to try for bass the next time I go, but I need to find something the bass will hit before the picks.


.

I've found that the bass tend to go for worms before Pickerels, also, surface lures, like jitterbugs. However, if you are fishing at dusk, forget it, you'll get the pickerel hitting the surface lures pretty hard. Just some thoughts.

Jeff

 

[Furball1]

That's surprising, Guess i'll have to try it again, but they have made that claim since the 70's, maybe it really has come back. I like how they say the return of cooper lake , it's a river lol.

Hey Tom, remember those giant carp we would catch in Cooper River, up near Hopkins Pond? I've seen rod and reel combos disappear into the water and a bait-caster break in half by those bruisers. I'd pit them against a Musky any day. Carp are slow and lazy, but hook one and you'll swear you have a gamefish on the end of your line.

 

[pickerelfisher]

I've found that the bass tend to go for worms before Pickerels, also, surface lures, like jitterbugs. However, if you are fishing at dusk, forget it, you'll get the pickerel hitting the surface lures pretty hard. Just some thoughts.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff....I'll try fishing worms next time.