Oradell Reservoir

[Bergen Angler]

Went to the Oradell Reservoir this morning from 5AM-8AM. A few bites but it was hot hot hot, muggy & humid - completely unbearable. Said hello to my Moby as we do once in a while. Since the moon and the sun were pulling together, I saw a lot of bait fish activity all over around the time when the moon was rising.

[Wilson]

Originally Posted by Bergen Angler

Went to the Oradell Reservoir this morning from 5AM-8AM. A few bites but it was hot hot hot, muggy & humid - completely unbearable. Said hello to my Moby as we do once in a while. Since the moon and the sun were pulling together, I saw a lot of bait fish activity all over around the time when the moon was rising.

As I remember it the skeeters are thick there...are they still?

[Bergen Angler]

Very thick but skeeters are easier to deal with than the horse flies... they really bite and sting ..

[fishfinder]

There are still hybrids there and there are some real big ones. There is an abundance of herring which is why the fish were put in there in the first place. I went out one day and I was on the wrong side of the island but I saw them busting up bait. I didn't have enough time to walk back around before dark, killed me to watch. I've been meaning to go back but I have been beating on lmb in some other waters the last few weeks and haven't got around to it. A few years back I used to hammer them up there and in the waters below. Try fishing bigger topwaters in the last two hours or so of light...I would use a little longer rod to get some casting distance, the bait comes up on the points and they are on them. They respond best to the topwater in that sundown bite. Never seen a walleye but there are some good bass in there lmb and smb. I grew up fishing this water and I fish the waters around there just about every day. The key is to get off the beaten path a little bit but it is tough with the amount houses around.

[Bergen Angler]

No bass for me lately - just a lot of white perch and small yellow perch. Can't figure out where all the LMB and SMB are.

[THAT GUY]

Originally Posted by fishfinder

There are still hybrids there and there are some real big ones. There is an abundance of herring which is why the fish were put in there in the first place. I went out one day and I was on the wrong side of the island but I saw them busting up bait. I didn't have enough time to walk back around before dark, killed me to watch. I've been meaning to go back but I have been beating on lmb in some other waters the last few weeks and haven't got around to it. A few years back I used to hammer them up there and in the waters below. Try fishing bigger topwaters in the last two hours or so of light...I would use a little longer rod to get some casting distance, the bait comes up on the points and they are on them. They respond best to the topwater in that sundown bite. Never seen a walleye but there are some good bass in there lmb and smb. I grew up fishing this water and I fish the waters around there just about every day. The key is to get off the beaten path a little bit but it is tough with the amount houses around.

Hey I would love to hit the reservoir with you sometime as I have never seen a hybrid in there and I've been fishing there for over 10 years. Never a walleye either. Caught a nice Eel last night but other then that and the regular crappie, LMB,SMB, carp and white/yellow perch that's about all I've ever seen or heard of and I've met plenty of guys who talk about all the hybrids they catch but didn't get a pic or nobody else was there but that's about all. I'm fishing there tonight actually just waiting for it to get dark.

[Cwill]

I used to fish Oradell fairly often before the post 9/11 closure, don't ever remember catching anything worth bragging about, mostly smaller LMBs, and perch.

Out of curiosity a couple years ago I did get the permit again but never really enjoyed it, they had closed many of the gates and would chase you out of there at dusk just as the fishing would start to pickup.

Would love to get the kayak out there to fish it just once. I know the Hackensack Riverkeeper has organized several paddles on the reservoir over the last few years but I believe they are all setup as tours where you need stick with the group.

[AndrewT]

There were never any walleye. There definitely are still some hybrids in there.

[hockeyp21]

I see this is an old thread, but has anyone fished the Oradell reservoir in 2019? I fished it back in the late 90s, and caught smb, lmb, yellow perch. I recently went down there this July and was only able to bring in a couple of yellow perch. Plenty of carp there, if that's your thing...but bass seem to be nowhere. I was curious if anyone has had similar experiences??? Seems that the bass population has dramatically reduced. I've read posts here that people have caught catfish as well...I never seen any of those either.