On Saturday, I had to be at a wedding in the afternoon so my fishing options were limited. I decided to go to a spot I had only recently started fishing. So far, it had produced and I had a score to settle with a big brown that I had pulled the hooks on a couple of weeks ago.
The day started off well, and I ended up catching the first brown of the day in the same spot I'd found fish the last time. Not a big fish, but a nice one nonetheless.
I didn't see anything else until I got to a beautiful, deep hole. I hadn't seen a fish in this particular spot the last two times I'd been here, and it surprised me because it was such a classic spot. I worked my way through, and all of a sudden a very nice brown chased my lure to my feet before heading back into the depths. I casted again, and the fish slammed the lure. After a spirited fight, I slipped the net under an 18.5 inch brown.
Not long after, I put another nice brown in the net. Beautiful colors on this one.
I continued to work my way up to s hole that I knew would st least hold a couple of fish. Just below the hole, there was a small log in the water tight to the bank. It wasn't impressive looking structure, but I pitched a cast in there anyway. I immediately had a fish swipe at the lure. It looked like a nice fish right in the 14 to 16 inch range. I took a second cast and hooked up. It took the fish a second to realize it was hooked. Once it did, it began a serious of jumps clearing the water by 3 feet. I realized this dish was much bigger than my previous estimate. The fish powered around the river, then bulldogged down in the deeper area. I got close to the fish, keeping pressure on it. I couldn't move its head, but suddenly it popped up to the surface and started thrashing. I seized the opportunity and slipped the net under the fish. It was a huge brown, my new personal best for a NJ stream. The fish still had plenty of energy and a quick attempt to measure the fish put it at over 22 inches, but it was difficult to get an exact measurement on the thrashing fish and I didn't want to take too much time. I snapped a couple of pics and watched her disappear back into the river.
I fish for another 10 minutes or so and pulled the hook on a rainbow and called it a day.
05-02-2018, 10:55 AM
Monster NJ Brown (4/28/18)
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