old bogs

[woodjin]

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.

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.

picture of the large bog

standing water in the middle

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.

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

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

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

Jeff

 

[Ben Ruset]

Very Nice!

 

[andy1015]

Nice pics

 

[RednekF350]

Very nice Jeff.
Yesterday was a beautiful day to be in the woods and enjoying that cobalt winter sky.

 

[james ungehajer]

Real nice pics Jeff, thank you for posting and sharing them.

Jim

 

[whippoorbill]

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]

Great place Jeff! Can you imagine how many cranberries this state would produce if all the old bogs were in operation today?

Guy

 

[LongIslandPiney]

Can you eat wild cranberries that grow in a bog? I've been told cranberries are the best natural immune booster.

 

[Ben Ruset]

Can you eat wild cranberries that grow in a bog? I've been told cranberries are the best natural immune booster.

Yes. They are very tart though.

 

[woodjin]

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]

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]

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".

 

[woodjin]

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

 

[woodjin]

Honey, can I go out for awhile please?

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

Hey, have you got my house bugged!!

 

[MarkBNJ]

Awesome pics, Jeff. I especially like the shot of gum tree falls.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Jeff, you certainly know where the cool bogs are.

 

[TrailOtter]

Cool pics! Looks like a nice place to explore. Thanks for sharing!

 

[BobNJ1979]

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]

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]

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