Pike disappearing?
 

So over the course of the last week, I've bank beated about 8 miles of prime water. I've landed exactly two small pike and hooked/missed one. Yesterday was the most annoying working two miles of my best water and nary a swipe. Very bizarre to say the least. River is low but still fairly cool. Plenty of baitfish and cover, just no pike :( I wonder if they are all hanging out in one, deep pool :confused:

Re: Pike disappearing?
 

One of the areas I fish has been significantly altered by the town/county/state. A majority of the blow downs, log jams, timber piles and other wooded structure forms have been removed from the water and piled high a good distance from the rivers edge. My assumption is that this has impacted the population of fish in this particular stretch negatively. Dozen pIke days were once common in this stretch with fish into the 30s. Not sure what's going on...

Re: Pike disappearing?
 

I think these fish move around more than than you might think, especially from season to season. Also, like Jigman noted, debris removal can alter stretches of river, which is especially true in a river with a mud bottom. Best thing to do is keep moving until you find a more productive stretch.

Re: Pike disappearing?
 

that's my assumption too. i think the "desnagging" of the rivers is a terrible idea... i'm all for taking out the garbage, toys, tires, and other man-made detritus that wash into the rivers during flood events, but all the downed trees and other organic materials should be left alone. mother nature has a use for them and will turn them to soil or send them downriver when she is ready.

what i really don't understand is why they are doing it at all. the reason they gave here in denville on the rockaway was so that when things flood, the water can flow out faster. speeding the water though here instead of letting it take its time makes it flood faster and higher on the lower passaic. we're just shuffling our problems to the communities downriver.

Re: Pike disappearing?
 

This was actually something that I noticed too. Many of my old pike honey holes no longer hold pike, but I've been catching a lot of 8-12" bass in those same spots. Today, I caught about 5 LM and probably 20ish in total between the last 3 trips which never used to happen. Does anyone know if the bass were stocked?

I've still managed to catch a lot of pike this year, but not in the same spots as usual. The majority of my catching has been done in areas that i havent fished in previous years. It's pretty amazing how much the river changes from year to year

Re: Pike disappearing?
 

Snags were removed 4-6 years ago. You can see the piles(now rotting away covered in weeds). Haven't noticed any recent removals at least where I go along the Morris/Essex/Union borders. After Sandy, more trees came crashing down and created new snags. One thing for sure the weeds are worst then ever. I think weeds - like our lakes during the summer - offer the fish hiding spots and are hard to fish around/through. River seems shallower too. When the mud clears, its shocking how shallow it really is - often mere inches. The lack of deeper pools seems evident. It certainly isn't angler pressure. In about 15 hrs of fishing, have yet to see a canoe or kayak. A few bucket guys but they were near bridges and not moving around much. A few remote areas had boot prints but not many.

On the plus side, getting some decent bass and pickerel not to mention a bunch of panfish. River is certainly not lacking for fish life.

Lots of wildlife too. Spooked a turkey with here many young. She had about 20 little ones who - despite being so small - managed to fly over the river.

Re: Pike disappearing?
 

coolest water is where you'll find them.......:)