Musky Trout

[Billfish715]

No! Not musky bait! The Musconetcong River is still holding trout. The water is coming down but still a little off color and getting warmer. Rainbows from the last stocking are setting up in the places they should be but still haven't taken to the natural food in the river. I caught fish everywhere I tried. They were near the stocking points and spread out downstream from those points. The fish were long and slim without any signs of having eaten much since they were last fed at the hatchery.

The river level is in great shape for June and the fishing should be very satisfying for anyone who wants to get out and try. The smallmouths are showing up in numbers in the slower, deeper runs and pools as well. No waders are needed, just a pair of cutoffs and wading boots or sneakers will do. I saw two teenagers casting away as they waded in the stream having started at the cemetery in Hackettstown and ending at the Schooley's Mountain Bridge by the golf course. Their total was over a dozen trout and some large smallmouths by the time they had reached the shopping center. I'm not sure what their final total was.

If you want to feel like a kid again, get out and try it. If you slip and fall and get wet, oh well. With your shorts and tee shirts on already and the water as warm as it is, who cares? I think I'd wait to do the same thing on the Delaware until all this rain stops. When the Big D comes down, wading in shorts and sneakers for smallmouths is great fun.

[FASTEDDIE29]

I do this all the time when I don’t want to deal with traffic on our lakes. Nothing better than fishing and jumping in the water on a hot summer day.

[thmyorke1]

I couldnt ask for a better way to fish than wading a rocky flowing river. Whatever fish that wants to hit is welcomed

[AndyS]

One of the great things about the Musconetcong river I like is access. Never seems to a shortage of access (and fish)
Thanx for checking in and giving the green light.