New Jersey Trout season is moving into its second full week and third weekend. The weather remains seasonably cool and rainy, as is expected in early April. This year is in sharp contrast to last year where the Trout suffered through low water and high temperature conditions. The waters have been warming up during the mid week and cooling of during late week heavy rainstorms.

Bass Fishing

The verbal reports are enthusiastically saying that Bass are starting to bite. I was able to land a small guy on a Wooly Bugger in the pond! Dave and Mark both reported significant sub-surface Bass activity in their favorite ponds. If it rains on Friday we will be out Bass fishing the lakes until the rivers clear up and the flow subsides.

The Pequest

I normally hit the Pequest up once or twice a year, especially the TCA, you have a good chance at hooking into a hog here. On Saturday morning, I ran the Belvedere Fox Trot to benefit Parkinson’s disease, afterwards it dawned on meto fish here. There are miles of public access right through the center of town and we have permission on some of the private water too.

Though the scenery was beautiful, the water was murky. Fishing was not happening for us, that being said, Mark had a swing and a miss on the Rapala. We marched all the way down to the Delaware and fished the mouth, still no activity. Four hours of pounding water with streamers and no fish, it was time to stop at George’s for a drink. George’s sits in an old brick building, hanging partially over the Pequest. Inside is a bar structure that dates back 150 years, road signs on the wall for State Route 69, since rename Route 31 to prevent sign theft. This bar is part of authentic Warren County and you should stop here, that’s the MKFF seal of approval.

The Paulinskill

After the difficult day we had on Saturday it is always nice to return to your home waters. Despite the sunny day, the river temperature were holding in the high 40s, barely warm enough to encourage active feeding. Not to be deterred, I jumped in to some shallow slow water, which I expected to be warmer, tied on a Mickey Finn and quickly pulled up two Brook Trout.

Mark and Dave pulled up about an hour later, we branched out in search of new territory. The Paulinskill will hold fish year round and stocked Trout migrate up and down the river some distance. It is important to check bends in the river far away from stocking locations.

Until next weekend…check out our Paulinskill River Fly Fishing Kits, $23.37 plus tax and shipping for 16 flies and a split foam case. Everything you need to Fly Fish the Paulinskill River and we include a printed version of our hatch chart along with tips and tricks.