Creek Addict

CreekAddict is based in Bergen County, New Jersey, so today, I’m going to talk about places to fish that are within an hour drive or so. Many people cannot believe the number of winter trout fishing opportunities that exist just a short drive from home. Here in NJ our rivers are open all winter long; PA has many fishing opportunities all winter, as well.

In NJ, many anglers that fish in the winter will do so at the Pequest River. The Pequest is home to some very large stocked fish. In the most popular section, the majority of the fish end up stacked in an area that is about 100 yards long. The Pequest is home to NJ’s trout hatchery. From the hatchery, warm water is pumped back into the river via a concrete spillway. Most of the fish (and fisherman) line up in this warm water and give those fish more than their fair share of abuse. These fish that are lined up in this current of warm water see so many flies they can probably tell you what kind of thread you are using. In general, small flies will out produce larger ones, however, the very large Vladi worm still gets its fair share of fish there. For the most part size 16 and smaller flies will be the ticket. Try hare’s ears and red thread midges, and don’t be afraid to tie on some hot bead nymphs. I like a simple dark brown thread body nymph with Coq De Leon for a tail and a pink tungsten bead (available at www.wflies.com) . This is about as easy as winter fishing gets here in NJ and if you can deal with the large crowds of people you’re sure to catch some fish.

Your next option is the Musconetcong river which supports more than a few hold over fish. The majority of these fish are going to be stockers. There is no warm water influence here so most of your fish are going to be in pools and deep runs. Popular flies here are your standard hare’s ears and pheasant tail nymphs, but you should also have some size 12-16 stoneflies. Around February there is a good early season stonefly hatch and although you probably won’t see any rises, the trout take the nymphs eagerly. Don’t count out the use of sucker spawn and glo bugs either, around the beginning of March the suckers will be spawning and the trout line up behind them to eat their eggs. The most popular spot on the Musky is the Point Mountain TCA, and rightfully so, as there are always a good number of holdover and fall stocked fish here. Don’t be afraid to move around though, every spot from Saxton Falls down produces fish in the winter and most of them contain no other fisherman.

Heading out to the Ken Lockwood Gorge on the South Branch of the Raritan is a good bet anytime of year and the winter is no exception. There are many holdovers here, along with a great many wild fish. Be warned though — wading here can be tough and its usually a few degrees cooler in the gorge. The best producers here are golden stoneflies, woven nymphs and frenchies. While the pools and deep runs will hold the majority of the fish, these are also the fish that get the most pressure. Don’t neglect the moderate pocket water here, even in the winter. There are endless number of places for the trout to hold where they are out of the current but can still ambush prey. The KLG is one of my favorite places to fish and it should be for you guys as well.

A little farther out on I-78 just over the PA/NJ border lies the Little Lehigh. This creek is home to one of the many PA fish hatcheries. Just arriving here and looking in the water from the platform by the hatchery you will see where most of these fish get stocked. The Little Lehigh is a limestone creek so it is always a little warmer than our freestone streams in NJ. It also contains a warm water spillway that the fish will line up at. One of the nice things about this hatchery creek is that it contains a good number of wild brown trout on top of the insane number of stocked trout. It’s a safe bet to go small here as well: BWO nymphs, zebra midges, Al’s rat and Walt’s worm are all good flies here. Don’t count out the dries here — even in the winter there can be decent BWO hatches and midge hatches that the fish will rise to. I remember Chris catching fish on a small size 24 bwo in late January last year like it was his job. Be advised: in the stretch by the hatchery, anglers are not allowed to wade in the creek. There are also leader restrictions making this a good place to brush up on your indicator nymphing.

Those are all the popular spots that I will name. I will say this though, there are very many limestone creeks that fish very well in the winter in eastern PA. There are also a lot more streams in NJ that contain wild trout than people realize. All of these small out of the way places that contain wild fish will fish well throughout the winter. Good luck with your winter fishing! If you’re interested in hunting some of these small wild fish with us this winter, book a trip and we’ll make sure you put some of these beautiful native NJ trout in your net.

Holdover Rainbow caught from the Musky last winter.

The winter is by far my favorite time of year to fish. For me, it’s more about having miles of river all to yourself (yes, even in Jersey) than catching a ton of fish. Having a double digit day in the winter doesn’t always happen but you always seem to get a fish or two that make the whole trip worth while. With a bit of knowledge about how to dress, helpful cold weather accessories, and of course, trout activity in the winter, you can have a very enjoyable day.

The trout will change where they hold and how far they are willing to move to grab a fly. This doesn’t mean they are hard to catch, you just need to know where and how to catch them. In the spring and summer you can catch tons of fish right out of the fastest of riffles, however, as the water cools, the fish will pull back to the deep runs and pools. The runs are perfectly suited for a long leader Euro nymphing setup and the pools are better suited for an indicator setup (that’s not to say you can’t catch trout in a pool on a Euro setup and vise versa). I personally prefer to Euro nymph in the winter time since having a fixed amount of line/leader out of the rod will reduce ice build up on the guides, making your time on the water just that much more enjoyable. My popular winter nymphs include the Vladi worm, stoneflies, cased caddis and woven nymphs for anchors. For droppers, I like smaller nymphs in a 16-20 range. Try hare’s ears, frenchies and zebra midges. Most importantly, you want your flies to be heavy, not so heavy they are hitting bottom, but near the bottom. Another thing to keep in mind is that the rivers can run on the high side in the winter, so tie your flies accordingly.

Winter clothing is a very important part of your winter outing (probably the most important). Rule number 1! Don’t believe the boner that tells you neoprene waders are essential for winter fishing. Neoprene waders get cold and stay cold in the winter. No one wants to wear a big cold wet body condom all day long while fishing! I fish all winter in my breathable waders and I am perfectly comfortable. As a matter of fact, I’ll argue that the breathability (is that a word?) of your waders, matched with the proper amount of breathable undergarments is one of the biggest factors in keeping you warm. You sweat in stuff that’s isn’t breathable, I don’t care how cold it is. When you sweat in below freezing temperatures, I can almost guarantee you’ll end up with a tit in your mouth, crying to go home. Rule number 2! Dress in layers. I start with a pair of long thermal fleece underwear, top and bottom. From there I put on a pair on thick wool socks. Some people wear two pairs of socks which is fine, as long when you put on your boots they are not tight, blood circulation is very important to keeping your feet warm. I then put on a pair of fleece pants. I like the ones meant for wearing with waders but its not crucial (the stirrups on the feet keep them from riding up when putting on your waders). That completes everything I wear from the waist down. For the waist up I put on another long sleeve fleece. I usually put another thin fleece shirt or t-shirt over that just for an extra layer (depending on the temperature). At this point I’ll put on my waders and boots. On top of all that, I put a thick fleece jacket on over my waders. We are now almost done, the next few things are just as important as your jacket, a warm knit hat (I like the kind that cover my ears) and sunglasses (sun glare is very bad in the winter). Notice that I didn’t include gloves in my list, I always carry a pair with me in the winter but they are always fingerless and I hardly wear them. I personally feel like I lose a lot of feel with gloves and will only wear them on the coldest days. I find that micro fleece gloves are the warmest, but, at a 1/3 of the price, the wool ones are a very good option. When choosing any of your winter clothing wool and fleece are your best bets since they keep you warm even when wet.

There are also a few must have accessories for the winter. I would be lost without my hand warmers. I like the ones that say 12+ hours. When you stick your hands in 35 degree water to release a fish your hand will be numb within seconds and nothing warms your fingers back up like a hand warmer. I like to keep my hand warmer in the front of my waders and always have at least one more with me. My other must have item is Loon’s Stanley’s Ice Off Paste. This paste is really just a water repellent but works wonders for keeping ice off the guides. I apply a heavy coating from just above the cork to the tip, applying it heavily on the guides. Those are my only must have accessories but don’t discount the wonders a hot lunch midday can do for you.

If you’re already getting cabin fever, get out there and give winter fishing a shot. Just remember, get your flies down deep in that “softer” water and you will be surprised how cooperative the trout will be. So when everyone is stuck home tying flies, you can be out there catching the fish they are dreaming of.

Wild brown trout caught on a stonefly with the snowflakes falling.

I headed up to the Salmon River this past weekend with hopes of landing some steel. Well…that didn’t happen, as a matter of fact, I didn’t even hook into one (I suck). The day wasn’t a total waste though. I fished with my wife, who I must say, didn’t complain about the cold at all. The only complaint I heard was at the very end of the day, she said she couldn’t feel her toes anymore.  We got to the pool we planned on fishing to find that there was no one there (usually a good indicator on a river like that, that there aren’t a ton of steelhead there). I grabbed the head of the pool  and she got the middle. No more than two minutes into the day and her rod is bent over. The drag wasn’t screaming, so we instantly knew it wasn’t a steelhead. We landed the fish, a nice healthy female brown. We get back to fishing after some photos and two drifts later, I’m into one, same thing ,no drag peeling runs. We net the brown, take a few photos, and now I’m thinking we are going to have a great day. Well, those were actually the last fish we landed. We hooked into some more, including some giants. My wife hooked into one huge, really pissed off steelhead, she fought it for about 10 seconds, but that was it. Where we fished was actually nice though. if you can believe it, we fished on public land and had the place to ourselves. If we would have caught more than a few fish, we would have been set.

Kymm’s brown. I couldn’t have been more proud, this was her first big fish.

She sure liked the Cabela’s egg.

My brown took a 6mm peach bead.

So I haven’t picked up a fly rod in over 5 years, and for some reason, i’ve got that itch to get back in the game. I decided to go to cabelas and pick up all the necessities i need to get myself back in the water asap. For my first time back out in many years I decide to take a trip to Disney Land(Conetquot River) and get into some for sure fish before the season opens. It was freezing cold outside, and my fly rod was forming icicles in the guides from stripping in line. It didn’t take long though before I was ripping lips again. I hooked into 5 gorgeous little rainbows stripping in a flashabou bugger. What a great way to get back on the horse! However, my wife who was with me didn’t have the same experience. She could only take the gusty 30 degree weather in the water for about 45 minutes, she decided taking pictures of me from shore would be more fun, and warmer.