Just throwing this out there

[23cardinal]

Originally Posted by MrGerbik

Personally i have found Whites to be the worst spot of all the ones ive hit. One of the very few locations that i haunt that ive never caught a fish at. At monksville i was hitting the south boat launch area. Zabriski i only went once and it indeed had a lot of people. There was an older gentleman there and he said he had been there all day with senkos and got skunked. I tossed a feog around for a bit and left. I am only 32 so I'll climb a mountain if it means a good spot. Ill look for the museum next time and work from there. Ill do anything at this point. If anyone is going fishing on their boat and dont mind having me along I'd be grateful too. I'm not even a murder or anything so there is no worry haha

If your fishing monksville-another two min down the road is green turtle pond
Mostly dinks it usually produces for me-by the boat launch is shallow
Seen and caught better fish by the dam/dike- -along the reeds there and by the big Rocks across from the road
Parking to have short walk by the dike is kinda weird but doable
Pm if ur interested

[MrGerbik]

Originally Posted by Fred E. Goose

You can fish any public waters with just the fishing license. You can not keep or directly target trout without a trout stamp. If you're fishing trout stocked waters and someone asks you what your fishing for, if you don't have the trout stamp then DON'T SAY YOU'RE FISHING FOR TROUT! LOL, also don't use bait like salmon eggs or "trout magnets". You're fine throwing roostertails, worms, small minnow type lures.

Gerbik: I thought of another nice lake you can shore fish from. Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve (Used to be Haledon Reservoir). Buddy of mine does well there on a kayak, but there is a lot of nice shore access if you're willing to walk around the trails.

Adding this place to my list. I'll look it up on my GPS and head over some time in the coming week

[Esox Luciano]

Bergen is local... Can check your private messages MrGerbik.

[briansnat]

Gerbik: I thought of another nice lake you can shore fish from. Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve (Used to be Haledon Reservoir). Buddy of mine does well there on a kayak, but there is a lot of nice shore access if you're willing to walk around the trails.

I didn't think of the Franklin Lakes preserve. That's definitely a good option. The few times I've been there I saw a few anglers but it doesn't seem to get a ton of pressure. It's good sized to so plenty of room to move about and find a good spot

You say you don't mind hiking a bit. Then try McMillan Reservoir and Bear Swamp Lake in Mahwah. Bear Swamp LK is the better bet because its a longer hike and doesn't see much fishing pressure. Some LMB and pickerel in there.

[MrGerbik]

I tried to hit bear swamp and saw the road was closed off with private property signs. Not wanting to be on the wrong side of the law i went elsewhere. Ill park and walk in next time

[MudCat08]

I live near Whites Pond, and it's not that bad. The biggest fish in there is carp however. To get to the bass you either have to be lucky from shore or get on a kayak (not sure if legally allowed) and fish all the vegetation.
The pond and surrounding Hohokus brook has a surprising variety of fish in it though: from channel cats and trout to eels and crappie.

Bearswamp lake is tough to get to because of all the private property. Unless you talk with the police about it, I would not venture up bearswamp brook and get to the lake that way. There is another way to get to it i think, but it takes much longer - from the paths coming from the reservation.

I live and fish in Bergen County too, let me know what fish you're after - I'll try to help you find them.

[MrGerbik]

Originally Posted by MudCat08

I live near Whites Pond, and it's not that bad. The biggest fish in there is carp however. To get to the bass you either have to be lucky from shore or get on a kayak (not sure if legally allowed) and fish all the vegetation.
The pond and surrounding Hohokus brook has a surprising variety of fish in it though: from channel cats and trout to eels and crappie.

Bearswamp lake is tough to get to because of all the private property. Unless you talk with the police about it, I would not venture up bearswamp brook and get to the lake that way. There is another way to get to it i think, but it takes much longer - from the paths coming from the reservation.

I live and fish in Bergen County too, let me know what fish you're after - I'll try to help you find them.

I am looking for LMB for now. Thats what i am geared for. I have been looking into smallies as well but they are not #1 on the list. Thanks for the help. I too live very close to Whites. Maybe 5 min away

[MudCat08]

Smallmouth bass you will find in the Ramapo river - mostly in the rocky and bouldery sections, and around bridges. For them use a jighead tipped with a curly tail grub. natural colors work best. roll it near bottom or top; try slow or fast retrieves. You'll pick them up eventually.
You can also find them in the Pompton river. There i find texas rigged stuff works best. Anything similar to a senko or creature bait in dark green color will get them. My current PB Smallmouth 2.3lbs is from pompton river. It's not big compared to some of other catches on this site, but that river is worth a shot. again look for rocky areas such as near dams.

Largemouths are really popular - when i started out fishing in this area, I started fishing for them as well. Was never any good at it. Darlington park used to give up some solid bass many years ago. A good amount of them are in there. Some other good areas mentioned already on this thread where I have caught LB include Scarlet Oak pond at the ramapo reservation, duck pond in saddle river, Suraci pond in ramsey, Zabriskie pond in wyckoff, otherwise try private ponds if you know anyone or try to go on a friend's boat. My PB Largemouth is 3.8lbs so far and 19" from a private pond, but i have caught a few 19" out of Darlington last year, they should still be in there. Haledon reservoir is ok but better with a kayak.
I usually use soft plastics when it comes to LB, either texas rigged or drop shotted. But i have challenged myself to catch them on just about everything including live bait. you can catch yourself a few small fallfish or minnows from the ramapo and bring them over to try your luck in a pond. maybe a big bass will swim by!

[splitshotbb]

Originally Posted by skippy

You don't need a trout stamp to fish for trout, you just can't keep them. I would hit Darlington Lake in Mahwah. Big fish in there and you can catch them on rubber worms and crank baits. Just watch out for the all the weeds.

Yes in New Jersey you do need a trout stamp if you fish in any trout stocked waters

[Chrisper4694]

Originally Posted by splitshotbb

Yes in New Jersey you do need a trout stamp if you fish in any trout stocked waters

you absolutely do not.

many many places stocked with trout can be fished without a trout stamp, hopatcong, aeroflex, musconetcong, just to name a few. plenty of other species to target. and if you accidentally hook a trout you should probably release it in the water (without even taking it out for a picture) if you don't have a stamp.

that being said if you were fishing a small trout stocked stream with trout lures and no stamp, good luck trying to explain to an officer that you weren't targeting trout haha.