Northern Pike 5/2-5/3

[JDTuna]

Hit the river for a little while this weekend. On Saturday, I hit one of my usual spots and the water was still slightly above optimal level. Fishing was a little slower than I would have liked, but I still managed pike on artificials. This fish wrapped me up in some sticks right after hookup. Luckily, I always wear waders to keep poison ivy/ticks off my legs. It was a little sketchy wading into the river in an area where I was unsure of the depth. The water ended up being only 3.5 feet, so it was okay.


Hit another section of river on Sunday for a little while. I had some action with the pike, but none of the hookups resulted in landed fish. Still fun to watch the strikes, though.

[Skunk City]

Nice man. I haven't spent too much time on the river lately, but I did get out yesterday mid-day for a bit. Managed one small Pike about the size of the one in your picture. The water was still very muddy, I'm assuming party because of the spawning Carp.

[Eskimo]

.


Nice pike.
The river is actually kind of low up by me near the Great Swamp.
I guess it's because we haven't had any soaking rainstorms in a while. We are due for one.

I never wade in that river because sometimes the muck grabs on to you and drags you down like quicksand!



.

[njfisherman1975]

Nice pike!!! Great colors on it...

[Chrisper4694]

Nice pike, careful wading that river man. I jumped out of my kayak into what looked like a ft of water and sunk into my hips, last time I did that in that river.

[msgdan]

I hope I am wrong, but the river pike fishing is way off this year so far. I hit the river yesterday afternoon after a great morning of striper fishing in Raritan bay with the kayak. I hit an area that last year, almost the same date and had 15 pike up to 36 inches. Yesterday, I had one 16 inch pike for almost 2 hours.

The water was a strange color and just didn't look good.

I am hoping it picks up and gets better.

Danny

[JDTuna]

Originally Posted by msgdan

I hope I am wrong, but the river pike fishing is way off this year so far. I hit the river yesterday afternoon after a great morning of striper fishing in Raritan bay with the kayak. I hit an area that last year, almost the same date and had 15 pike up to 36 inches. Yesterday, I had one 16 inch pike for almost 2 hours.

The water was a strange color and just didn't look good.

I am hoping it picks up and gets better.

Danny

Hey Dan. I've only been fishing the Passaic for pike since August, when I moved back to NJ, so I don't have a full year yet. My spots that produced very well in the summer and fall haven't produced much so far this spring. I have been picking fish but not in the numbers I'd seen previously. But the water level is still higher than it was when I had spectacular fishing so I'm hoping that has something to do with it. Maybe when the weather stabilizes into the usual summer pattern it will pick up.

[JDTuna]

Originally Posted by Chrisper4694

Nice pike, careful wading that river man. I jumped out of my kayak into what looked like a ft of water and sunk into my hips, last time I did that in that river.

Thanks! Truthfully, the last thing I want to do is wade in that river, but I couldn't leave the fish tangled to a branch and the inevitable death sentence. I only wear the waders to keep ticks and poison ivy off me.

[NorthJerzyG]

Nice pike! Can't wait to get my boat back out there for some pike hunting........