Passaic River Access - NJ Public fishing access

[thyer]

I haven't fished the Passaic in months and thought I would do a trip today. Got to the launch by two bridges and the town put a gate across the launch area. I get that this is NJ and there are people that ruin things for everyone but WTF. With more and more public access being removed where are the respectful fisherman to go? I live in MA for 10 years and up there every body of water had to have some form of public access but NJ you can't even look at water without someone complaining. It's frustrating.

[xDirty]

I agree, it gets very frustrating, water belongs to everyone and every body of water should have reasonable access for everyone. Dont get me started on private lakes.

[Fishinfire]

I was trying to access the Raritan in Neshanic Station by the old flea market and all it is now is No Parking signs EVERYWHERE! If towns are going to restrict so much access, maybe NJFGW should stop stocking the areas!

[MudCat08]

Yea I was disappointed that the Two Bridges launch got locked up. A local fisherman told me it was because of hunters going up and down the river shooting deer from their boats. I'm not sure how you could launch a boat into that section of the Great Piece Meadows otherwise.

[Mark B.]

Yes, unfortunately that access area @ Camp Lane, Fairfield is closed.
Officials told me that kids partying there, blocking the access, forced the closure.

However, there is another ramp open to the public just downstream of there @ Sikorsky Park, Island Ave. & Parkway, Little Falls.

[thyer]

So rather than enforcing the laws specific to the offenders they block off access to everyone. Typical NJ. Suchorsky Park gives you access to that section but with fall water levels you can not get a boat (small as it may be) north of two bridges into the Great Peace Meadows.

[CabesaRoja]

For those with kayaks or boats that you can hand carry, I've had a relatively easy time sliding in just upstream of the gravel parking lot at two bridges. If you keep heading down 2 bridges road about 200 feet from the lot, where the guardrail ends, I've been able to pull over and drag my kayak down the trail that leads to the water's edge. The only problem is that it may be pretty shallow this time of year, I haven't been there since mid-summer. It's a much easier option than trying to lower it down the steep bank of the Pompton.

[buzzbaiter]

Actually for all the complaining about access, the river itself has probably more public land along it then any other river except the Delaware in Warren/Sussex counties Rough guess would be around 25 miles so by that measure the state/county/town gov'ts and non-profit groups have done an excellent job preserving land and securing public access. Be careful what you wish for. More launches make it easier for you but also easier for hundreds of others. Personally I'd rather struggle to find one place to launch and enjoy less traffic on the river then be able to pull up to a half dozen spots and deal with anglers all day long each weekend. When it comes to fishing, less is more on many different levels.

[Skunk City]

Originally Posted by buzzbaiter

Actually for all the complaining about access, the river itself has probably more public land along it then any other river except the Delaware in Warren/Sussex counties Rough guess would be around 25 miles so by that measure the state/county/town gov'ts and non-profit groups have done an excellent job preserving land and securing public access. Be careful what you wish for. More launches make it easier for you but also easier for hundreds of others. Personally I'd rather struggle to find one place to launch and enjoy less traffic on the river then be able to pull up to a half dozen spots and deal with anglers all day long each weekend. When it comes to fish, less is more in so many ways

This!!! I have found/made many a kayak launch along the river at spots away from the "known" spots. No other fishermen in site and plenty of cooperating fish. I'll even go as far as to say closing off a couple of the more popular launch areas has forced me to new stretches and resulted in bigger/more fish.