No luck.
 

Recently, I've been fishing many spots across Essex and Union county with no luck. I've tried Lake Surprise, Echo lake, Nomahegan pond, Orange reservoir, diamond mill pond, Passaic river, ect. I've used all sorts of plastics, frogs, jigs, crankbaits, and swimbaits. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Help?

Re: No luck.
 

what time of day? go smaller so you can catch something, even if it's just a tiny bass or panfish, plus big fish don't only eat big lures!

Re: No luck.
 

Don't bother with Lake Surprise for the time being...it was drained a couple years ago for dam repairs and all the fish were removed. According to the county, "We are working with the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife to restock fish into this lake as their resources allow." It just filled back up in May.

Re: No luck.
 

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The Passaic River in Union County isn't really a place to catch bass. There are a few small ones, but it's not worth the effort. That section of river has a lot of small carp and Yellow Bullheads in the river, but at the moment, we are experiencing a drought and the river is currently a trickle fed mostly by sewage discharge.

There are a few locals who mange to catch pike up there, but those guys are just divinely lucky. It's not a good pike spot, either.

My advice for fishing in Union and Essex County is "leave". There is much better fishing not much further away.


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Re: No luck.
 

I have had my best few outings in the past week all in a public Union County pond. It was not among those you mentioned. In same period I have probably fished nomahegan 7-8 times and not even had a bite. Same goes for Passaic River and Rahway River all over Cranford and Kenilworth. This time last year nomahegan was on fire for me and so was the Rahway. Union County spots seem to either be really hot or just totally dead. I never just catch one fish it's either I get skunked or I am catching or at least gettin bites every few casts. If I don't get a bite within first 10 minutes at my local spots I can be fairly sure I won't catch anything no matter how long I fish. Even though I know this I still will waste three hours catching the skunk I knew was coming ten minutes in. Go figure.