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.