Union County Kayaking Spots?

[logs22]

I just got a kayak last week and wanted to see if anyone has suggestions for good places in UC to take it out. I have so far only taken it out on the Rahway River, from the North Union/Grays dam in Cranford up to Rt. 22 and was looking for somewhere new. Is the stretch of river above Jackson Pond navigable (at least up to the dam in Winfield)? What about above Winfield dam (Bloodgood Pond) to the dam next to the parkway in Cranford? How is Milton lake looking these days? I haven't been down that way this year, is it worth checking out or is it choked with algae already? My fish finder gets delivered today so really I was hoping to do a quick install after work and then hit up somewhere local to test it out. Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

[NJSquatch]

logs clear out your PMs

[Eskimo]

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You may need a permit to kayak some waters in union county.



Article II, Section 4(a) of the Union County Public Safety Code states:


No person shall use or operate a boat, canoe, or raft in any park waters without first having obtained a permit from the Director of Parks & Community Renewal, except for those provided by the County of Union. All boats used under a permit shall be plainly marked with a permit number, and no permit shall be issued for boats that cannot be properly stored or removed from County property when not in use. Boating permits are issued only upon completion of application and payment of all applicable fees.




Permit: http://ucnj.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/BOAT-PERMIT-APPLICATION.pdf

[logs22]

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You may need a permit to kayak some waters in union county.




Permit: http://ucnj.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/BOAT-PERMIT-APPLICATION.pdf

I know, I already got the permit so I am good to go in any of the UC parks that allow kayaking (like Milton lake). Right now the Rahway River and its impoundments seem more appealing since they aren't as choked with algae (although the river might be running a bit high after yesterday's downpour).

[logs22]

logs clear out your PMs

Cleared!

[catfishonthelake]

I've always thought the areas above some of the falls on the Rahway looked prime for kayaking or canoeing, lots of pads and shoreline that I'm sure never get touched. Take a look above the falls on Madison Hill Rd. in Rahway in Rahway River Park. I think it's called Middlesex Reservoir. Also, the spot above the falls in Winfield looks beautiful and very untouched.

Also, I have pounded bass on the opposite shoreline from the gazebo by rental the paddle boats at Upper Echo Lake. That's another place to try.

Good luck.

[FASTEDDIE29]

There are Bass in every body of water in union county, some very large bass too! Don't throw your Yak in Clark res! The cops will give you a trespassing ticket! All these waters have been traveled by myself and my friends via raft 25 years ago! Fun times and good fishing!!!

[logs22]

I've always thought the areas above some of the falls on the Rahway looked prime for kayaking or canoeing, lots of pads and shoreline that I'm sure never get touched. Take a look above the falls on Madison Hill Rd. in Rahway in Rahway River Park. I think it's called Middlesex Reservoir. Also, the spot above the falls in Winfield looks beautiful and very untouched.

Also, I have pounded bass on the opposite shoreline from the gazebo by rental the paddle boats at Upper Echo Lake. That's another place to try.

Good luck.

I would love nothing more than to drop my yak in Clark (Middlesex) resi however as Eddie pointed out it is off limits to boats (especially during daylight hours). Also upper lake in Echo is one of the few lakes within the county park system where you can't kayak even with a county permit. I think they want the paddle boat rental to maintain its monopoly. The area above the falls in Winfkeld is definitely a possibility although I have fished there a few times without any luck.

Anyone ever kayak the UC portion of the Passaic? It looks like good access in Berkely Heights/New Providence? Would the current be super strong today after yesterday's rain? The Rahway was high this morning but not dangerously so.

[FASTEDDIE29]

You wana launch in area that will make you feel like your in the country? Find White Bridge road, launch the yak and do some exploring! You can thank me later!!! Just a hair northwest of the Union/ Morris county border!:D

[phil]

im guessing you are UC 737 D or something really close to that. thanks for getting the permit, I didn't think anyone else did or cared. make sure you always wear your pfd, even if youre just in 3 feet of water in the river. anyway, onto the important stuff. Ive fished all the aformentioned spots over the last couple years in my hobie revo. I quickly realized it was way more boat than I needed. so I recently got a cheaper 10' perception paddler sit in that's much easier to deal with.

the best spots ive fished are above the dam in Winfield aka bloodgoods pond (thanks jon s for the tip). you can drop in there and paddle all the way up along the parkway to the spillover in cranford. lots of carp everywhere, tough to catch, overpopulated with lots of small bass. bloodgoods gets lily padded up and weeded over really quick. fun to frog fish in the summer. wear long pants and sleeves and go nuclear on mosquito spray(that's anywhere in union cty for me anyway) the river there is a really nice paddle stretch, but not much fish to be caught. you can do the same thing at jacksons pond, drop in and park and paddle up, lots of carp and small bass. when the lake starts to turn to river, stay right. if you go left youre headed for the swamp and 6" of water everywhere. the river stretch there is a little bit of everything. neither the river stretches between bloodgoods or Jacksons for me produce fish better than the lake parts, but i always wind up paddling them anyway.

i hate Milton, never brought my yak there.

my previous house was in clark, walking distance to the ressy. theres no fish in there, you probably already know that. I knew all the people who lived on the water along my stretch. occasionally youll see kids floating there in rowboats, no one bothers them. clark pd has nothing to do with it anymore, its union county owned as of a few years ago. pretty sure the reason its closed is because the county cant figure out a way to get good access for canoes and kayaks. ive pestered the director of parks and rec for years now about it. thanks for reminding me. the ressy is the only really good body of local water im dying to kayak fish. everytime i email him and ask when they are going to open i get a different nonsense answer. i think the best one was when he said its closed to canoes and kayaks because its really deep.

[phil]

I would love nothing more than to drop my yak in Clark (Middlesex) resi however as Eddie pointed out it is off limits to boats (especially during daylight hours). Also upper lake in Echo is one of the few lakes within the county park system where you can't kayak even with a county permit. I think they want the paddle boat rental to maintain its monopoly. The area above the falls in Winfkeld is definitely a possibility although I have fished there a few times without any luck.

Anyone ever kayak the UC portion of the Passaic? It looks like good access in Berkely Heights/New Providence? Would the current be super strong today after yesterday's rain? The Rahway was high this morning but not dangerously so.

yea the echo lake ban is a straight up scam. but you can kayak fish nomahegan! WTF is that

[Eskimo]

Anyone ever kayak the UC portion of the Passaic? It looks like good access in Berkeley Heights/New Providence?

Yes, I used to live there.
Kayaking and fishing there is only so-so. The Passaic is shallow there and only about 30-40 feet wide. Even during high water, you'll have to get out to portage around or over fallen trees.

There are two dams between that stretch of river and where they stock pike, so it's not much of a pike fishery. There are a couple of local experts that manage to find pike in there, but I have never caught any there.

As a kid, I used to spend a lot of time carp fishing there. You have to be stealthy because the carp are easily spooked in the shallow water. The carp aren't huge and you'd be lucky to find anything over 8 or 10 pounds.

Other than carp, the dominant fish in that section of river is Yellow Bullheads. There are lots of small sunfish and various types of minnows. If you search hard enough, you may find a small bass, but it's a lot of work for a small fish.

If you go, bring mosquito repellent. Those swampy flood plains breed clouds of blood-thirsty mosquitoes, even during a dry summer.

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[briansnat]

I think this website might be useful to you

http://www.paddling.net/launches/

And if you have an Android phone, check out this app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.milabs.paddling.MainPagePack&hl=en

[eSet Solutions]

@phil with regards to your comment "pretty sure the reason its closed is because the county cant figure out a way to get good access for canoes and kayaks." I want to point out the boat launch is next to the Fire Station on Raritan Road.

I also think we would need to visit with the Director face to face and not deal with emails. I think if he sees flesh and blood in front of him and provide him with solutions... they may tend to be more open with this.

Also, if we approached the mayor with a fishing derby day that would benefit Clark (much like the Wet Downs or the Italian Festival) he may have some leverage to open that waterway for kayakers to fish. That might open the door a bit to allow that waterway be open for recreational use for kayakers.

I would make myself available if you ever want to meet with the Director or Mayor to discuss opening the Clark Res to small recreational crafts. Just PM me! ~Mike

[tycomps]

I would love nothing more than to drop my yak in Clark (Middlesex) resi however as Eddie pointed out it is off limits to boats (especially during daylight hours). Also upper lake in Echo is one of the few lakes within the county park system where you can't kayak even with a county permit. I think they want the paddle boat rental to maintain its monopoly. The area above the falls in Winfkeld is definitely a possibility although I have fished there a few times without any luck.

Anyone ever kayak the UC portion of the Passaic? It looks like good access in Berkely Heights/New Providence? Would the current be super strong today after yesterday's rain? The Rahway was high this morning but not dangerously so.

There's a boat launch at Synder Ave in BH, don't yak myself but I've caught small pike from Gillette on down from the banks (guess they jump the mini dam in Chatham since stocking stops at Florham Park), nothing like they get up north though Eddie's found some nice ones in that stretch. Lot's of lay downs since Sandy but I've heard of removal efforts in some areas to help flow. Portage would probably depend on level.

[NickM221]

I've launched from that ramp a few times. If you want to go from Snyder down river, you will need to portage 3 times to make it to the next bridge. If you want to make it all the way down to the park at the end of River Road, you'll need to portage a few more times. There are pike back there, but they are few and far between. If you put in enough time, you can find places where you can catch them consistently. The carp are abundant back there if you can get them to bite.

[phil]

@phil with regards to your comment "pretty sure the reason its closed is because the county cant figure out a way to get good access for canoes and kayaks." I want to point out the boat launch is next to the Fire Station on Raritan Road.

I also think we would need to visit with the Director face to face and not deal with emails. I think if he sees flesh and blood in front of him and provide him with solutions... they may tend to be more open with this.

Also, if we approached the mayor with a fishing derby day that would benefit Clark (much like the Wet Downs or the Italian Festival) he may have some leverage to open that waterway for kayakers to fish. That might open the door a bit to allow that waterway be open for recreational use for kayakers.

I would make myself available if you ever want to meet with the Director or Mayor to discuss opening the Clark Res to small recreational crafts. Just PM me! ~Mike

I go back and forth on the ressy. do I want to paddle and fish it hard cause its so close to home and I know there are some large lurking in there? hell yea! do I want it to become overrun with schmucks and garbage and people keeping every single fish they reel in, NOPE. i don't think bonnacorso has any say over what happens since the entire property is county owned. He's pretty approachable(on facebook) i know when we lived in clark my wife would hit him up there and he would always respond.

[TheDreamCatchers]

Union County isn't the greatest for yaking lol but there are definitely some spots worth trying depending on what you're going for.

The wooded, second section of Lenape Park Pond is beautiful and I have personally seen many bass up to 4 pounds in the clear water out in the middle of that lake. I'd avoid the second part of the pond it's just pummeled by carp fisherman.

Jacksons and Bloodgood's pond are really good for bass, trout, crappie and they aren't pressured compared to most other spots in the area cause there isn't much shoreline access. People catch 4+ pounders in there on yaks.

For pickerel and bass Robinsons's branch and Milton lake in the spring (no algae in the spring) is killer on topwater. Ton of big bass in the woody areas of Robinson's branch where there is not much fishing pressure. Also huge cats and perch.

I'd wait a couple years till Surprise Lake recovers but there used to be no competition in the area for big pickerel and crappie. Dont wanna forget the bass. Of course there is fish in there but it won't be good for a while because they drained it. Only caught one bass outta there over 2 pound since the draining but a few pickerel and still some massive crappie on the east shoreline.

The Rahway river is hit hard by yakers fishing or not fishing but some crappie, perch, cats, trout, pickerel, bass, carp, and a secret population of stripers beneath the last dam and all the way to the ocean. Would be cool too explore. Bluefish too at the mouth of the Rahway. The north part of the Rahway from Millburn too Kenilworth looks like a classic trout stream and if it didnt dry up in the summers would have trout year round. Still some good bows from state stocking and brook trout from Millburn stockings.

New Market pond has a nice kayak launch. Its about 25 acres big and has a ton of nice bass and the occasional pickerel. It's pretty shallow but there's a lot of water to explore,

Weequahic Lake in Newark used to be THE SHIT before it silted up and got shallow. 5 pound bass were caught weekly. Doesn't mean they are all gone, there are still some up to 6 pounds as well as the biggest crappie second too Surprise and some big perch cats and carp. It is the biggest public lake for miles around and even though in Newark it's so big that the pressure doesn't matter that much. The shoreline opposite from the highway is good in the spring when there isn't algae.

The Passaic River in UC has 3 species of esox family, redfin and chain pickerel and northern pike. Also some largies and a bunch of trout. Smallies are rare in this area even rarer than the pike. And of course the usual carp. It's pretty thin in this part but widens out more way up in Fairfield.

I dont know if you are allowed to put kayaks in Watchung Lake, Spring Lake, or Ernest L Oros Preserve but I do know the latter has some gigantic bass. They are around 15 to 20 acres and are definitely worth the exploration time.

They rent paddle boats on Echo and Warinanco but they are both trash so don't even bother.