Raritan Help

[zaknorman75]

This weekend I decided to take a shot at a body of water I have never fished before and it was certainly a learning experience. I'm all for taking my licks and learning new spots through experience but I'm looking for some help accelerating the learning curve. I'm going to sprinkle it some questions below and I'll be grateful for any help!

My Saturday started with a long search on Google maps. I decided to hit the stretch of river about a 1/2 mile north of Johnson park. I parked roadside and huffed it through a stretch of woods and finally made the river bank (6 ticks and some poison ivy later..). First impression was the river was very low, low enough that I had to jump down about 5 feet to reach the bottom of the bank. The water was about 6 inches deep about 40 yards out so I just waded out till I started hitting the deeper stuff. There were jumping baitfish EVERYWHERE. Large baitfish. I'm pretty certain this area of the river is pretty salty, but I'm curious if anyone knows what these were, looked like Killies to me..

Considering all the baitfish around I through some plugs and swim shads that matched their color towards the deepest center of the river. I got one decent bump but didn't hook up. What kind of fish reside in this area of the river? I have never fished an area like this and am completely unaware of the species that are there. After about an hour a slight drizzle turned to distant thunder and a heavier rain. Considering I was the only thing standing in a river about 70 yards wide I opted to get out.

I waited the rain out a little and headed up 287 a while to the southbound brook area. There I fished the canal throwing mostly texas rigged senkos and top water frogs. Not a bump after an hour and then the rain picked back up again so I headed home. Access to the Raritan seemed much easier here, and I was thinking I should have gave the big river another shot..

I don't expect to hook up every time I hit a new area but I couldn't help to feel a little clueless about both what fish reside in the target area and the areas productivity. Anyone who'd like to help me out feel free to leave a response or PM me.. If you choose to keep your cards close to your chest no worries, I'll keep trudging around until I run into something..

[Skunk City]

It seems you are doing all the right things: getting away from the "known" spots, wading and exploring, throwing the right stuff, looking for the deeper pools. All our rivers are super low now, so take note of where you find the deeper pools and laydowns that deflect water flow, they should hold Smallies, Schoolies, or even Walleye or Muskie. I did a float trip with a couple NJF guys a few summers back and pulled a Tiger Muskie out of a hole that was no deeper than 3ft. That may not seem deep, but compared to the miles of super shallow water like you mentioned, its your best bet. Also, with the water temps being so high and the water being so clear, sunrise and sunset are the only time I would bother fishing. Read some of FastEddie's posts from the past 2 weeks, they should help you out! Hint: TOPWATER!!!

[saxmatt]

That's a shallow tidal stretch of the river and it doesn't hold many fish. If you are looking for bass, walleye, skis I would go farther upstream. Look for structure or deeper pockets that will hold them. Bluefish run all the way up there but your best bet for them is downstream of the 27 bridge to the ocean. Stripers run up the river too but now is not a good time for them.

[kcritch]

I agree with what Skunk said...I have never fished the main stem in that area but the N and S branches behave quite similarly. Most of what I fish/wade through is 2 to 12 inches deep so anyplace with 2 feet or more is considered a deep hole in my book. For the Small Mouth don't be afraid to throw a bait in the those shallow sections over rocky bottom as you are walking along...those guys can be spread out everywhere at this time from what I've seen. Any bank changes also seem to help out...weeds to rock, or grass to no grass, etc. throw to shore and bring the bait into the current. They'll follow it out many times. Usually don't find fish ganged up either..so covering the miles is necessary. Good luck and let us know what you catch.

[shucker]

I see the Raritan as one of the top streams in NJ,where else can you catch Stripers,Hybrids, SMB.LMB.shad.Pike, Pickerel,Musky,big channels, flatheads, trout ,walleye carp of all sizes and types.The only thing I haven't caught out of there is sturgeon.No back to ur questions..yes those are all Killies in that stretch you were fishing, I mostly catch stripers, white perch, SMB ,carp and catfish in that area.You have allot of exploring to due on the river I used to pick a area each week and pound it till I figured out a pattern then go back and try to figure it all out again..The mighty Raritan will not give up her secrets easily and its either feast or famine some days..check ur PM's

[Jigman13]

Originally Posted by shucker

The mighty Raritan (and its anglers!!!)will not give up her secrets easily and its either feast or famine some days..check ur PM's

Couldn't have said it better myself although I added the part in parentheses lol...

Time on the water will reveal the rivers secrets. Network and share minimally. A few NJFers are loyal raritan anglers but we'll never say more than "raritan river" on the board. And even if more was shared it wouldn't matter too much bc the river changes dramatically year after year. Trees fall, shoals shift, banks change... it's a dynamic fishery that requires time and an eye for detail.

[AndyS]

6 ticks !! Geeez ! Use the search feature on here, type in Raritan river.