December and January report! Rainbow and brown trout

[Pode]

I've kept on fishing even as the weather got cold this year! It's been my first year fishing between thanksgiving and Easter.

I had some good luck with stocked breeder rainbows on the Raritan main stem, on the stretch from Duke Island Park down to the 206 bridge in Somerville. I got a new PB in early January that bent my hook, a little over 17 inches, not bad for a noobie! The last two weeks it seems to have slowed down a bit, but maybe I've just been unlucky. Here's a few of the bigger bows that I caught!



For the rainbows in the late fall and winter, I had the best luck with drifting baits: pink worms, trout magnets, pautzke eggs. I had a bit of luck on spinners in December, but only on very small ones, and in January I don't think I hooked a single trout on a spinner... they're definitely slowing down!

I let most of them go (including the hook-destroying monster), but kept a 14-incher for dinner once. Delicious! Some people hate on the stockies, but I never get sick of eating trout.



I've also been bouncing around some of the trout production tributaries off the north branch of the Raritan. I've tried a few starting in the Peapack area and on up north. These streams are hit or miss, but when I get a few, it makes for a nice afternoon! Mostly they're around 7-9 inches, but I got a few around a foot long. Not too shabby for Jersey browns in tiny streams close to home! I've tried throwing everything at these guys, but the things that work the best are trout magnets and tiny spinners (they seem to like the tail feathers, like rooster tails and mepps).



And last but not least, I had the pleasure of trying ice fishing for the first time with Luke this weekend. I had a blast, and even caught my first ice fish! I wish I had time to stay longer, and I look forward to trying it again!



Anyway, I'll probably still try to do a bit of river fishing on warm days until the Spring stocking, but at this point I'm not expecting too much... I think my Scottish blood just likes being out in the cold weather. Expect another report around the time they close up the rivers for stocking!

P.S. Does anyone have any tips for fishing the stretch of the Raritan main stem near the Robert Street park? I've heard good things about that spot, but I've tried half a dozen times in the past few months and been skunked every time!