Frustrated with Bigger Water

[gnuisance]

I have gotten back into freshwater angling this summer and started out the summer slaughtering the pond largemouth. Multiple 3 pound fish in an evening was not uncommon. And my biggest was 4.5 pounds. Of course I got greedy and cocky....

Then I got the itch to try for other species.

Being from Texas I have always wanted to catch pike and muskie. I have tried my luck in other lakes, rivers, reservoirs and man it is slow going. I am coming to the painful conclusion that I am not that good at fishing big water.

Right now my plan is to really focus my attention on Lake Hopatcong. It is close to me and has every species I want to target. I have a yak and plan to spend a few hours out there this weekend.

What's your $.02 ?

[Skunk City]

Originally Posted by gnuisance

I have gotten back into freshwater angling this summer and started out the summer slaughtering the pond largemouth. Multiple 3 pound fish in an evening was not uncommon. And my biggest was 4.5 pounds. Of course I got greedy and cocky....

Then I got the itch to try for other species.

Being from Texas I have always wanted to catch pike and muskie. I have tried my luck in other lakes, rivers, reservoirs and man it is slow going. I am coming to the painful conclusion that I am not that good at fishing big water.

Right now my plan is to really focus my attention on Lake Hopatcong. It is close to me and has every species I want to target. I have a yak and plan to spend a few hours out there this weekend.

What's your $.02 ?

LH is tough right now with the heat, weeds and boat traffic. We haven't really fished it too much since the Herring spawn peaked in May/June. Even at night, there are TONS of boaters that don't grasp the concept of COURTESY and will run up within 20ft. (or less) of you at full throttle. If you were too fish it, I would do like a 4am-8am trip and be off the water before the maniacs and weekend warriors. That or wait til after Labor Day. My last kayak trip there was before Memorial Day. Two months ago, it was pretty epic there .

That being said, fishing Hopatcong now, your best bet would be Bass and Pickerel along the weed edges or docks. The Walleye and Hybrids are deeper this time of year, so getting on them probably requires a decent fish finder and moving around a bit til you find them or the herring. From what I've been reading, points and dropoffs have been the spots to hit up with herring. As of a couple days ago, a guy on here who frequents the lake said there was no thermocline, which means the fish can be anywhere. If one develops though, obviously the fish must be at or above it, usually 10-15ft this time of year. They most likely will be out suspending over deeper water.

As for Muskie, I can't tell you too much. I've only landed one from Hopatcong and it was a very surprising by-catch while out at night for Walleye and Hybrids. I've read they easier to catch at night this time of year by chucking big baits out into open water and bringing them back into the weeds.

I'd suggest to go back and read the posts from this time last year to see if anything was going on. Every year is different, but it will at least give you a starting point. My HONEST advice is that LH scares the crap out of me in the summer on the weekends in a kayak lol. If you are dead set of Pike or Muskie, I would hit one of the smaller Esox-stocked bodies of water like Mountain, Furnace, Budd, Pompton or Passaic. Lot less of a chance of getting ran over lol.

[kcritch]

Originally Posted by gnuisance

Right now my plan is to really focus my attention on Lake Hopatcong. It is close to me and has every species I want to target. I have a yak and plan to spend a few hours out there this weekend.

What's your $.02 ?

First read Jimmythegreeks posts and his replies to others that have askd about LH....he shares a lot of great info about that lake. I would then suggest pick one species to target for your trip and then pick one or two "areas" of the lake to focus on at the best time of the day for that species. You need to factor in the weather forcast of the day you pick as well becasue that changes things on a big lake. If you go there without being that specific in your attack you could just get overwhelmed and spend alot of time paddling around and guessing. That's when it gets frustrating to me. Keep in mind too....even if you don't "slaughter" them you will learn just as much about the lake and how to approach it. It takes a lot longer to learn how a big body of water behaves in different conditions and how the fish relate to that. So don't discount how much you can learn by not catching fish as well. Fianlly don't put too much pressure on yourself to catch ton of fish....just go out and enjoy dude...that's all part of the experience. Good luck.

[Fish n Jeep]

Originally Posted by Skunk City

My HONEST advice is that LH scares the crap out of me in the summer on the weekends in a kayak lol. If you are dead set of Pike or Muskie, I would hit one of the smaller Esox-stocked bodies of water like Mountain, Furnace, Budd, Pompton or Passaic. Lot less of a chance of getting ran over lol.

I wholeheartedly second that. Far too many stupid people operating high powered boats there this time of year to risk your life. Cranberry Lake nearby would be nice on a kayak, and there might be pike there if I remember the NJFGW articles correctly.

[kcritch]

Originally Posted by Skunk City

My HONEST advice is that LH scares the crap out of me in the summer on the weekends in a kayak lol. If you are dead set of Pike or Muskie, I would hit one of the smaller Esox-stocked bodies of water like Mountain, Furnace, Budd, Pompton or Passaic. Lot less of a chance of getting ran over lol.

Well said..I won't even go to LH in my 16' Deep V during the summer...too crazy. Furnace is a great lake for bass and musky....electric only keeps the hot shots away and totally accesible with a yak....that's a great suggestion Skunk.

[Eskimo]

.


A kayak on big water during a busy weekend can easily become a speed-bump to a drunken googan in a motor boat.

I almost got run over the other weekend on Spruce Run by one of those ghetto rental boats they rent out. There had to be eight people in the boat, all facing the stern! I spotted them barreling towards me a few hundred yards away, but it took me a while to fish through my pockets and find my whistle. I was just about to blow the whistle when they spotted me and veered away when they were only about 50 yards away.

I now keep my emergency whistle in the front pocket of my PFD.

[Fishon1982]

Break the big lakes up in different parts and fish the hell out of one part one weekend and then move threw the lake that way it takes time but you learn a lot about a lake that way

[jimmythegreek]

I agree w all that was said on here, and if you are deadset do like fishon suggested. Launch close to where ur gonna fish and work the hell out of it. I have lots of posts w info on LH, its a great lake but u need to be setup for it. Im in a 19' walleye boat that is tricked out w all the highend gear, and I still get the crap beat out of me after 9am. Personally u couldnt pay me to be in a yak on LH this time of the year. Having sonar is a must for any musky,walleye,hybrid fishing, without it u can work the shallows for bass/crappie/pickeral/perch. I deal w the LH bullcrap because its 10 min away and my boat is in the water, and im addicted to the hybrids, otherwise there is ALOT of better places to fish, especially in a yak. For eyeballs Id be on swartswood or another little known spot, my personal favorite body of water. For musky Id be on echo, furnace, or mountain. Pike hit the PR, SM hit the sheds. Yes u can get any fish u want out of LH but it takes work and the right gear, I got the second bigger boat cause Im scared out there in my 16.5 deepV unless its off season, the little boat is now an electric lake boat to me. U got to put ALOT of time in one body of water to learn its patterns if you are limited to just fishing w no help from sonar/GPS/lake maps, etc.

[gnuisance]

Thanks for the replies. lots of really good info. Haven't decided what my new strategy is just yet but it won't be yaking it on LH