9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

Just pulled this nice lil striper out of the good ol' Raritan...She never disappointes....

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

The day of fishing is over...Water levels in the Raritan are definitely low. One thing I noticed was the water tempature has dropped. The water is definitely cool enough for the fall trout stocking :)
The day was slow in general..I couldn't find the big small mouths I have been hooking into for the last month.After 5pm things picked up with a nice streak of small, small mouths. Then of course a reminder on the surprises the Raritan holds, a nice young healthy striper.

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

That looks awesome! Wish i could finally find a striped bass!

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

They are feisty little guys aren't they? Nice little Striper! Future 40 pounder!!!

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

Yesterday with a Skitter Pop on the Delaware R., caught 6 similar sized stripers. Also, 4 smallies: 7 - 20"

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

Hey Mark, why not try fishing the Raritan river ? So this way when you have a follow up post about the Raritan river, you don't have to talk about the Delaware river.

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

The stripers are definitely in the Raritan. That is my second in a month and I saw a kid pull another one out at dawn a couple weeks back. I highly doubt they are the same fish. My thought by their size is they were born up here. Hopefully more keep making it up to and past the fish ladder, and meat hunters catch, picture, and release so they can grow up and be the big boys and girls we dream of hooking into.
Glad to see they are coming up and even passing through the ladder though..
One more thing I would like to ask the veterans..... we have a real nice stretch of water from the dam to the ladder. (Many thanks to the stream cleaners) why does the state not stock the Raritan with some nice trophy fish like other state rivers? What needs to happen to get more then trout and channels put in the river?
Maybe I am missing something???

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

No need for channels... There's more than enough there. Walleyes on the other hand, the river could use more. But I could be bias :D

Everything seems to be prospering in the central jersey river haven... Kudos... Now gimme more fish! Lol...

Prob got about 25-30 of those lil striper this yr in the river. I usually get them in bunches. If you catch one, pound the area. If you don't hook up again, switch it up a bit. Change color, lure, or profile. It's usually enough to trick them youngsters...

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

Yes....I am not saying we need more channels. Like you stated there a plenty in there already. I am talking about the state stocking some more Eyes or even some Northerns :) They stock Northerns in the upper Millstone if I am not mistaken.
What needs to be done for the state to come on and give the Raritan some trophy fish? Or again is there a reason they are only putting Trout in?

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

[QUOTE=AndyS;421724]Hey Mark, why not try fishing the Raritan river ? /QUOTE]

Too many old tires.

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

Cleanest that river has been in over 100 years Mark. I took 5 tires and a car quarter panel out of one plunge pool in Manville. I went back a week later, the river seems to be taking care of itself now.
I'm going to keep pushing for spring trout stocking to the town of Manville and fall trout stocking from the Headgates to the town of Raritan. Big trout need big water and the Raritan river is just the place.
Funny how no one wants to talk about the 100+ trout that come through the fish ladder every spring.

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

[QUOTE=Mark B.;421755]The river may have had too many old tires in it (from what i see by Andy) but the river cleaning team has done an amazimg job cleanimg up the bottom trash. I wade through and am amazed at the lack of junk on the bottom. When i first really started going at the Raritan hard this year i was expecting to be stepping on all kinds of trash...just NOT the case. The water is nice and clear at times. Again thank You to Andy and the rest of the stream cleaners.
Now what do we need to do to lobby for some more fish? Some different kind of fish! I know the trout have holes they hold over in on the Raritan. Look at this Tiger from July...pulled of the boftom using RiverRat bait ;)
One more time guys is there a reason the state will only put trout in? Is the river not sustainable for Northerns, or Tigers

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

I know carrying a landing net is a PIA, but we can not be taken seriously with trout photos that look like that. Not being an elitist, but if I go to the State of NJ and sit before the Council I will need photos of fish like this, sitting in the bottom of a clean C&R landing net. Not my rules.

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

I really would like to see some Trout in the fall for the R. Sounds perfect to me!!! Other than that I just want to scratch the RR Sturgeon off my list for now………………...:D

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

That's some epic shake and bake on that tiger trout. Jesus... lol.

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

I was posted when I got it... so I gently brought it up to the rocks. The hook fell out I wanted to get a snap and get it back in the water as fast as possible.That's right it still swims...sorry it is not a nice clean shot. From now on, i will make sure they are nice and clean....
You guys are tough...

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

And of course I carry a net. Again I happen to be posted.

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

I have a feeling Andy won't be happy until every fish at Pequest and Hackettstown gets thrown into the Raritan, preferably the stretch that's less than a 5-minute drive from his house. ;) While we're at it, let's include everything in Cabela's aquarium. Paddlefish M&G? :D

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

I'm busting chops. I know it's tough, esp solo. Done my fair share. That's for sure...

Re: 9-23-15 Raritan River Striper
 

Almost every fish @ the hatcheries are already in that section of the river.

Trout swim down from the upstream N. & S. Branches, as do walleyes & flatheads via the D & R Canal from the Delaware River.

Stripers & American shad swim upstream from the bay to spawn.

Resident Smallmouths, channel cats,………..even an occasional tiger musky,…….

You guys catch them all & post them on this forum.

Good variety & plenty of them! No need to stock.