Manasquan reservoir questions

[HerringKing]

Does anyone know anything the manasquan reservoir? I want to take a trip there for hybrids. I read a report that said to use chicken liver under a slip float. Sounds weird. What month is good?

[GetANet]

Chicken liver works real good for hybrids, Just MESSY AS HELL!!!
Fished there a few times in the 90's but would like to explore it some more.
Usually by late spring they start biting pretty good.

[HerringKing]

Originally Posted by GetANet

Chicken liver works real good for hybrids, Just MESSY AS HELL!!!
Fished there a few times in the 90's but would like to explore it some more.
Usually by late spring they start biting pretty good.

Thank you.

[Skunk City]

I think the lack of permissible night fishing there is why you don't hear too much on this place. Live Herring livelined, on a slip bobber, or on an egg sinker rig will catch them up too.

[bigfishy]

This was one of the only places where I would see huge schools of hybrid blitzes...Like almost 100 yards long and wide..But that was in the late 90's and most fish averaged in the 2-4 lb class...I have no idea what the fishery is like now....I'm also unsure if they continued stocking over the yrs , like they have at SR and LH, which is the ONLY way to keep this type of non spawning fishery healthy and on-going....I also used to do well with largemouth off the rocks there during cold water months...As long as there was little to no ice, it was successful....Crappie jigs with slip floats, and the wind driven waves would give all the action needed....

It was also one of the only places that I've had bass chase 11-12" trout that were being caught on rooster tails..Pretty exciting to say the least...It is a favorite destination of hard core bass clubs and their members....

I think the fact that you can't fish it over night is one of the things that KEEP it a gr8 fishery...Similary the reason that MC res will continue to keep producing an awesome fishery....

Night fishing , especially in dead summer for coldwater fishes is a contributing reason for desimating fish populations....One of the reasons that RV pop. is on a steady decline and only a glimpse of its former self....

Sr hybrid pop of the larger fish is also on a steady decline over the last 5yrs er so, but the steady stocking of fingerlings makes it a little less noticeable...Sorry fer the rant, just my buck twenty

[Hoop79d]

Rant? Nah, I think it's great what you mentioned about summertime fishing. Not too many folks know how bad it is to remove certain fish from deeper cold-ish water to expose them to 85-90 degree heat. Life is a learning process, and there is no more noble quest than to learn more about fishing!! Rant on!! I mean....fish on!

[Dave B.]

Originally Posted by bigfishy

...I'm also unsure if they continued stocking over the yrs , like they have at SR and LH,...

They sure have continued. You can find the details here... http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/hacktown.htm

Scroll down to the lower left area and click on the 'Stocking Summaries' for a given year, then scroll to your desired species.

[Shameless14]

I'm relatively new to freshwater fishing, and have been fishing the 'squan for a year or two now. Fishing for hybrids there is pretty hit or miss. Some trips if you find the school you wont even have to wait 5 seconds before you get hooked into one. Some days all you get is a crappie or two. I tried chicken livers but never much success with them (probably because I don't really know how to fish with them LOL), but I usually use a shiners with an egg sinker and swivel (but I'm investing for down riggers anyways for the deeper lakes, but no harm to try them out ) Shiners are very convenient because they have them and some basic tackle at the store where you register to launch. Also, I have had luck trolling with deep diving crankbaits that go down 15-20 feet. Drop offs are your best bet, just keep working until you find the right depth and right drop off. As for month, I would go anytime from late March through late October, but May-July and September-October seems like the better months. And if all else fails, there is some great LMB/SMB fishing there too, but it seems like it always gets the best of me. Hope I could help you out!

[kmaty]

I wish it would freeze down there! Did good ice fishing it a couple yrs ago checked it out this afternoon hole lake was froze by the dock had about 2 inches fished it for abour to hrs amd had. A scratch but nothing after that