Trout

[Reel Class]

Since I'm waiting to get my boat fixed I've had some free time on my hands. In between waiting for the arrival of the bluefish on the beaches and in the rivers and inlets, and the very slow action with stripers locally here in ocean county I've been hitting some trout spots mostly here in ocean and monmouth county and up in Bergen county where I work my regular job.

A few spots down here have been holding trout but they've been somewhat finicky but I have been picking some fish on powerbait, jigs, and phoebes. I've only caught state stocked rainbows and the biggest in the last week was maybe 12" down here.

Up north, it's a different ball game. It seems there's less pressure and more water to fish with more trout to be caught. Recently, a good friend of mine tipped me off to a spot that was loaded, so I checked it out. Water was crystal clear, shallow, and looked like a spot you'd see a guy on horseback casting flies to cutthroats in Colorado - so I did a little searching and found a pile of rainbows and had a blast getting bit on almost every cast with a gold phoebe. The fish were mostly 10-15" and were a blast on ultralights in the faster water. Best day so far was almost a double CPR'd limit. I've released all but 1 trout I've caught this year and these nice clean fish are just gorgeous.

I've also seen a few brook trout chase the spoon but have not caught one this year yet.

One thing I've also seen is basically no one fishing for the trout, despite state stocking a lot of places still.

Good luck to all that have been out and I enjoy reading the reports here!

[AndyS]

This year the absence of people fishing is amazing. Don't know if it the weather, high water or people just flat out sick of catching Rainbow Trout. NJF&W created all these apps for the younger generation to use on their smart phones, what they failed to realize is the younger generation isn't fishing.
Nice trout and great observations.

[Randyb]

I try to get out as much as I can, most of my buddies say they want to come but are always “to busy”

[Reel Class]

Originally Posted by AndyS

This year the absence of people fishing is amazing. Don't know if it the weather, high water or people just flat out sick of catching Rainbow Trout. NJF&W created all these apps for the younger generation to use on their smart phones, what they failed to realize is the younger generation isn't fishing.
Nice trout and great observations.

Andy it seems that everyone comes out of the woodwork for the opening weekend, then disappears. I can agree they're tired of catching rainbows but there are other places with other trout in them, but anglers just gotta do the research.

You can't say the striper bite has been THAT GOOD state wide for everyone to run to that, and the absence of the bluefish has also been an omen.

To be honest, we did an arbor day thing at IBSP a couple weeks ago and the beach from Gillkin's to the inlet was almost barren - no one even trying!

[AndyS]

I think one of the things that happened was fishermen+the internet.
Fishermen now see they have more options than ever before in the spring months instead of sitting by a bridge and catching 10 inch stocked trout.
People are now aware of fishing opportunities like going down the shore and getting big striped bass and blackfish and even cod in the spring months. Many of the big lakes fish great in the spring for walleye and bass. The Delaware American Shad is amazing, once you hook one of those "poor mans salmon" thoughts of small trout quickly disappear. Many tried and true trout anglers take it up a notch in late fall and all through the winter, not uncommon to see people fishing for trout while the ground is snow covered. A lot has changed over the years and the diversity in fishing opportunities in the Garden State is ever changing.

[Jerzguy2]

Well stated and probably very close to the truth. Then add the lack of young people in the outdoors, and you see the trend. What makes me laugh, is when people think a stream is crowded, and you only have to look up old pictures on the internet from 50+ years ago to compare to the sparse competition now.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Nice report Gonzo!! Going to be trying my hand at it this weekend as well and it's been a long time for me too.

Sad to see the kids aren't taking to it as much as these days... Growing up opening day was like Christmas and leading up to it you'd find yourself pacing the isle of places like Herman's with a pocket full of paper route money.

Man, I sound like an old man

There certainly is something to be said for the solitude of a cold stream, walking and scoping it out for the perfect spot to cast. Next thing you know your lost in the experience... You look down at your watch, hours have passed and so has the grind of your daily stress.

I think a big part of the issue is there's all sorts of other stimulation that kids and adults get lost in. Video games, Phones, Facebook, Snap Chat, NJFishing etc and you don't even have to get up off the couch.

Not sure about the rest of you but I notice myself slipping into that trap as well. I'm trying to making a conscious effort to put down the phone, pick up my head up and look around more often, yet here I sit typing this

[thmyorke1]

I would spend my whole summer playing video games as a kid. Sort of regret it now that I've discovered fishing.

I see younger kids fish, not often as I imagine back in the past. Maybe it has something to do with parents not letting their kids out of the house as often?

Personally I'd say that video games are the #1 reason kids fish less nowadays. Technology has sort of helped raise interest in fishing yet also distract them from fishing at the same time.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Originally Posted by thmyorke1

I see younger kids fish, not often as I imagine back in the past. Maybe it has something to do with parents not letting their kids out of the house as often?

Well that certainly is true...If someone sees a kid riding his bike or walking alone they'd probably call the Cops or DYFS.

On the bright side a friend of mine's son started a fishing club in his High School and didn't know what to expect... Turns out it's one of the more popular clubs.

[JDTuna]

Awesome, man!