Tag Archives: spin fishing

The Paulinskill River

Balmy Memorial Day Weekend

We all look forward to the official start of the summer season and the beginning of fishing summer 2016. This year we were treated to the impending threat of Tropical Storm Bonnie, which despite of the risk of rain, brought some welcome hot weather to bookend our cool spring. The increasing temperatures livened up the action on the Paulinskill and other Trout streams throughout the preceding week.

Snapping Turtle
Snapping Turtle

Timing

I took off Friday from work and used both Friday and Saturday to work on my house project. Sunday was planned to be the day for fishing, an important choice because it is also the day of parades, limiting the foot traffic on the rivers. On warm to hot days like what the weathermen were predicting, the key to catching fish is to go early in the morning or late in the day. We started around 6AM in order to get in the holes just as the sun was rising.

This time of year, the river offers all the seclusion that you need.
This time of year, the river offers all the seclusion that you need.

Technique

This time of year is always a good time to break out the color green on the Paulinskill and other local waterways. You can use leverage either Woolly Buggers or Trout magnets. Knot Just Flies in Blairstown has even had a few custom flies spun up specifically for this time of year. A four or five weight Fly Rod or ultra-light weight spin tackle is all you will need.

Nice Rainbow caught on a Woolly Bugger.
Nice Rainbow caught on a Woolly Bugger.

Results

The Trout and Smallmouth have moved from there early and mid season holding locations. The heat is forcing them to seek springs, deeper pools and more oxygenated water. Unfortunately, we even noticed some dead Rainbow carcasses; these fish likely expired from the heat.

Nice Smallmouth caught on the tube.
Nice Smallmouth caught on the tube.

Plying the deep pools slowly and areas known to have cooler waters due to overhanging trees and brush yielded results quickly. The stocked Rainbow Trout have grown since they were first put in here; some of them are pushing over fourteen inches. The growth in these Trout is always nice to witness, as the strong ones tend to become holdovers lasting the entire year.

All of the spring 2016 broods are growing up!
All of the spring 2016 broods are growing up!

Some of the Smallmouth are still watching nests in the river; others are firmly in post spawn hunger mode now. The Smallmouth Bass in the river were sitting in more oxygenated and cooler pools. Looking for the bubbles in the current was a good indicator of potential holding locations. Mark also found that locating a nest was they key to landing a large one.

Formerly a stocked Rainbow that is now growing well.
Formerly a stocked Rainbow that is now growing well.

Let’s all pray for cooler and wet weather to keep the water comfortable and the fish eating.

A fawn hiding on an island in the river.
A fawn hiding on an island in the river.
The Paulinskill River

End of Summer 2015

The summer of 2015 commenced as a cooler than average summer trailing a long, cold and snowy winter. In fact, due to the weather we experienced, Rainbow Trout have been taken from the Paulinskill throughout the summer. Since mid August, a significant heat wave combined with a lack of rain has reduced river-fishing opportunities. These conditions will improve once the fall rains commence. In the meantime, fishing for warm water species early in the morning or late in the evening remains quite productive.

Sunfish, palm sized delight.
Sunfish, palm sized delight.

August Doldrums

To celebrate the conclusion of this summer and the beginning of, “Cast and Blast Autumn 2015,” we of course, went fishing. This time of year, I cannot stress enough the importance of waking up before dawn and wetting your line by sun up. With Mark still driving from Morristown, I headed over to Dale’s Market in Blairstown for one of their famous breakfast sandwiches. After consuming this delicious creation and 16 ounces of fresh coffee, I hopped in the FJ and headed north to the river.

Crappie that came over the dam.
Crappie that came over the dam.

This morning was to be an epic day of catching warm water species in the Paulinskill. I have often said, the Paulinskill holds a seemingly unbelievable biomass. This morning was a strong confirmation of my previous statements. Mark and I caught the following species in multiple: Crappie, Smallmouth, Sunfish, and Largemouth Bass. They were caught consistently until around mid day. In this river, the fish may not grow the largest but there are a plethora of them.

The Epic Battle

Throughout the summer, these electronic pages have catalogued the pursuit of Smallmouth Bass in the rivers of Warren and Sussex County, New Jersey. Of the countless hours I have put in pursuing the scrappy fighters, the four hours on Saturday were highly rewarding.

A diminutive Smallmouth that fought well for its size.
A diminutive Smallmouth that fought well for its size.

Perched in the spillway of the dam, which didn’t have much water coming over due to drought conditions, I spied some actively feeding Bass in the sand and weeds. These Smallies must have been chomping on little minnows and crustaceans that were washed over the dam.

Spotting the feeding fish, I false cast my Sage 8’6” VXP 4WT two times and then fired about 50 feet of line out of the tip. A near perfect cast, my custom mohair Woolly Bugger landed right in the opening where the Smallmouth was hiding. As the ripples from the splash settled, I quickly gave the fly some action as it fell to the river bottom. Then I felt the tug, the tug that could only originate from a sizeable Smallmouth!

Typical Paulinskill River Smallmouth.
Typical Paulinskill River Smallmouth.

I maneuvered the fish and put the fight on the reel, just as this was complete, the Smallie went aerial. I bowed the rod to the fish simultaneously losing my balance and almost going for a swim. My studded wading shoes prevailed and I caught myself before swimming with the fish. In the end, I landed this fish, tagging in at about two pounds.

You can note how low the Paulinskill is right now.
You can note how low the Paulinskill is right now.

More Fun

As anticipated the fishing turned off by eleven and it got quite warm outside. The whole team then headed over to the Lazy “K” Ranch, our club headquarters, currently under construction in Frelinghuysen, NJ. There we tried out the new Ruger .357 revolver that Zach acquired in the last week. We also started to work on our wing shooting performance that will be required in less than two months.

Mark takes aim with the Ruger .357
Mark takes aim with the 1911.
Motorcycles, The Paulinskill River

A Midsummer’s Night Trout

The Yamaha XT 600 posing with my Sage VXP 8' 6" 4WT Fly Rod.
The Yamaha XT 600 posing with my Sage VXP 8′ 6″ 4WT Fly Rod.

The temperature outside was in the high eighties, the air thick enough to wade through. Lacking a pool and with the lakes all kind of warmish the best option to keep cool on Sunday was wet wading in the river! I loaded my XT 600 with some light duty gear for the Smallmouth and rode over to the Lazy “K” Ranch to meet Mark. Over at the old homestead in progress we ran into our other rod and gun club mates. Woodhead was out feeding the resident deer. Dave and Zach came over to enjoy a beer however, I rallied at least Mark and Zach to head down to the river.

My old wading shoes demonstrating their age.
My old wading shoes demonstrating their age.

In an exciting bit of news, using accumulated L.L. Bean dollars I was able to replace my old set of waders with an upgraded pair. The old ones were getting worn out and some of the lace holders had popped out. The pair I purchased are called West Branch Studded Wading Shoes by L.L. Bean. After using the new boots for several hours on Sunday I am highly satisfied with the purchase. The shoes lace up well and provide ample support. The rubberized materials seem to keep off “aquatic hitchhikers” while drying quickly. The studs provide ample grip on slippery rocks, even allowing me to catch my balance and save my phone after falling over a big hidden rock!

Brand new L.L. Bean wading shoes, new boot smell and all.
Brand new L.L. Bean wading shoes, new boot smell and all.

Midsummer on the Paulinskill can be an exciting time to dip a hook in the water. There is literally no telling what you could pull out of the water when something bites. The variety of temperatures, habitat and stream conditions allows for many species, stocked and wild to live together. In just a few hours of fishing we had landed Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Rock Bass, Largemouth Bass, White Suckers, Sunfish and a Golden Shiner. This year, the copious rainfall that has kept the river cool and flowing high, yielding above average fishing days.

Typical Smallmouth out of the Paulinskill.
Typical Smallmouth out of the Paulinskill.

As far as tactics go, this time of year the fish seemed to be enjoying a Green Woolly Bugger or similar fly, cast across stream, allowed to dead drift downstream and then retrieved in two inch strips or a steady lift. I suspect a wet fly attractor would have presented in a similar manner and yielded and equally good day of fish. The only trick was locating faster water, springs or deep pools. That seemed to be where the fish were congregating.

Nice holdover Rainbow and not the only one I dredged up.
Nice holdover Rainbow and not the only one I dredged up.