Gorge stocking

All about trout fishing in the great Garden State!
User avatar
lightenup
Posts: 684
Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2018 12:35 pm

Re: Gorge stocking

Post by lightenup » Tue Mar 26, 2019 12:53 pm

Troutman wrote:
Tue Mar 19, 2019 7:54 pm
I find the stretch Pre-KLG to be more enjoyable to fish. From Shannon's down to the bridge. Yes its not C&R protected. But 99% of the guys release the fish anyway. & Shannon's stock alot of niceeee fish in there for all to enjoy. I lmao sometimes when I see most of the guys down in the KLG :shock: like they are rite out of the LL Bean catalog :lol: :lol: :lol:
true, the funny thing is though, most of them have rods that don't ever bend. :D Seriously though, everyone needs to start somewhere, but it shouldn't be the most expensive outdoor catalog going. :geek:

Jaybird
Posts: 227
Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2018 10:23 am

Re: Gorge stocking

Post by Jaybird » Tue Mar 26, 2019 2:16 pm

lightenup wrote:
Tue Mar 26, 2019 12:53 pm
Troutman wrote:
Tue Mar 19, 2019 7:54 pm
I find the stretch Pre-KLG to be more enjoyable to fish. From Shannon's down to the bridge. Yes its not C&R protected. But 99% of the guys release the fish anyway. & Shannon's stock alot of niceeee fish in there for all to enjoy. I lmao sometimes when I see most of the guys down in the KLG :shock: like they are rite out of the LL Bean catalog :lol: :lol: :lol:
true, the funny thing is though, most of them have rods that don't ever bend. :D Seriously though, everyone needs to start somewhere, but it shouldn't be the most expensive outdoor catalog going. :geek:
I'm sure a lot of those guys catch and release in that section , but I grew up fishing that strech and when I was a kid from the dam down to Hoffman's I just remember every one had a stringer on they're side clankin around , and I still associate that image with that stretch even though like you said I'm sure a majority of trout are released .

User avatar
Rusty Spinner
Posts: 1225
Joined: Wed Apr 18, 2018 6:35 pm
Location: Flanders, NJ
Contact:

Re: Gorge stocking

Post by Rusty Spinner » Tue Mar 26, 2019 4:03 pm

90% of anglers fish 40% of the KLG water is all. It's 2 1/2 miles long, and I bet very few here have drifted a fly or lure past every single boulder in the river. I know I have not, and I used to explore it often. The lower water gets far less pressure down to the wire at Solitude Club. Also, I prefer to arrive as every other angler is leaving for dinner. I fish the last 45 minutes to an hour and catch the evening hatch at which time those heavily pressured fish often abandon caution to get a feedbag strapped on at dusk. It's certainly not great dry fly water, but there are spots you can pick to change that. As for dredging the depths, few anglers ever have enough weight to get their fly(s) down deep enough, quick enough in those bathtub sized holes. The trout seldom see your flies in time to rush out and strike. And if you do feel something, STRIKE and STRIKE NOW!!! Trout are not sunfish, and they won't keep coming back to nibble so you can confirm if it was a fish or not. Strike EVERY bump. Your hookups will triple, I promise. You will lose twice as many flies as well. But you're now a river stud, so you won't care. :lol:

I should add I'm less than 25 minutes away in the same watershed but nearer Budd Lake end of SBR. Made it down to Shannon's private water today to take some photos but didn't fish. Water flows look fantastic, lots of sand that has been stuck in the channel for years is now belched out into the floodplain, and new wood is in many areas creating good new habitat and cuts. It has been very important to have had a very wet year, but a year without massive flooding here in NJ. Those constant just out of bank flows really helped push huge amounts of fine sediment out of our trout streams. Too much covers habitat, including insect habitat. It will take likely another year to see the benefits with hatches, but we now have at least one solid year for trout heading into a second year that is so far much alike.
"A sinking fly is closer to Hell" - Unknown

Troutman
Posts: 1078
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2018 5:40 pm

Re: Gorge stocking

Post by Troutman » Tue Mar 26, 2019 6:28 pm

Jaybird wrote:
Tue Mar 26, 2019 2:16 pm
I'm sure a lot of those guys catch and release in that section , but I grew up fishing that strech and when I was a kid from the dam down to Hoffman's I just remember every one had a stringer on they're side clankin around , and I still associate that image with that stretch even though like you said I'm sure a majority of trout are released .
There still a few that keep their catch in that section. Hey, he paid for a license. Thats his right. Imo stocked trout taste like liver. Guess its those pellets that feed them @ the hatchery. I no longer fly fish. I spin fish now. & every time I catch a fish the fly fisherman looks @ me :o when I release them rite back into the river :lol: . All spin guys dont keep fish you know :o... :lol: ... :D
Was known as Troutman1

User avatar
lightenup
Posts: 684
Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2018 12:35 pm

Re: Gorge stocking

Post by lightenup » Tue Mar 26, 2019 10:31 pm

Rusty Spinner wrote:
Tue Mar 26, 2019 4:03 pm
90% of anglers fish 40% of the KLG water is all. It's 2 1/2 miles long, and I bet very few here have drifted a fly or lure past every single boulder in the river. I know I have not, and I used to explore it often. The lower water gets far less pressure down to the wire at Solitude Club. Also, I prefer to arrive as every other angler is leaving for dinner. I fish the last 45 minutes to an hour and catch the evening hatch at which time those heavily pressured fish often abandon caution to get a feedbag strapped on at dusk. It's certainly not great dry fly water, but there are spots you can pick to change that. As for dredging the depths, few anglers ever have enough weight to get their fly(s) down deep enough, quick enough in those bathtub sized holes. The trout seldom see your flies in time to rush out and strike. And if you do feel something, STRIKE and STRIKE NOW!!! Trout are not sunfish, and they won't keep coming back to nibble so you can confirm if it was a fish or not. Strike EVERY bump. Your hookups will triple, I promise. You will lose twice as many flies as well. But you're now a river stud, so you won't care. :lol:

I should add I'm less than 25 minutes away in the same watershed but nearer Budd Lake end of SBR. Made it down to Shannon's private water today to take some photos but didn't fish. Water flows look fantastic, lots of sand that has been stuck in the channel for years is now belched out into the floodplain, and new wood is in many areas creating good new habitat and cuts. It has been very important to have had a very wet year, but a year without massive flooding here in NJ. Those constant just out of bank flows really helped push huge amounts of fine sediment out of our trout streams. Too much covers habitat, including insect habitat. It will take likely another year to see the benefits with hatches, but we now have at least one solid year for trout heading into a second year that is so far much alike.
Rusty...this is an incredible summation of that stretch of river, although I disagree about the dry fly water...The KLG has an amazing amount of great dry fly water. The fish go to the margins a lot down there for dry flies..don't look so much at the runs and pockets, but the edges and shelfs. I find the fish move to the shallows and edges to pick dry flies in most of the KLG. Most people wade in and spook them before they look and see the slurping three inches off the bank in 5 or 6 inches of water...Sometimes you have to stand 8 or 9 feet off the bank and cast..kind of like the Madison river..or come at them from down stream and cast against the bank, but that is difficult in the KLG with the trees and boulders, you're better off wading up the middle and casting to the banks...The pockets and runs still are ok, but if that's all you fish, you will be upset with dry fly fishing at the KLG, unless you fish the meathole..then have the right fly, fine tippet and you will be good!😉

User avatar
lightenup
Posts: 684
Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2018 12:35 pm

Re: Gorge stocking

Post by lightenup » Tue Mar 26, 2019 10:43 pm

troutfishing4life wrote:
Tue Mar 26, 2019 11:15 am
So did you guys follow the truck
This place needs a "like" button... :D

User avatar
Rusty Spinner
Posts: 1225
Joined: Wed Apr 18, 2018 6:35 pm
Location: Flanders, NJ
Contact:

Re: Gorge stocking

Post by Rusty Spinner » Wed Mar 27, 2019 1:43 pm

lightenup wrote:
Tue Mar 26, 2019 10:31 pm
Rusty Spinner wrote:
Tue Mar 26, 2019 4:03 pm
90% of anglers fish 40% of the KLG water is all. It's 2 1/2 miles long, and I bet very few here have drifted a fly or lure past every single boulder in the river. I know I have not, and I used to explore it often. The lower water gets far less pressure down to the wire at Solitude Club. Also, I prefer to arrive as every other angler is leaving for dinner. I fish the last 45 minutes to an hour and catch the evening hatch at which time those heavily pressured fish often abandon caution to get a feedbag strapped on at dusk. It's certainly not great dry fly water, but there are spots you can pick to change that. As for dredging the depths, few anglers ever have enough weight to get their fly(s) down deep enough, quick enough in those bathtub sized holes. The trout seldom see your flies in time to rush out and strike. And if you do feel something, STRIKE and STRIKE NOW!!! Trout are not sunfish, and they won't keep coming back to nibble so you can confirm if it was a fish or not. Strike EVERY bump. Your hookups will triple, I promise. You will lose twice as many flies as well. But you're now a river stud, so you won't care. :lol:

I should add I'm less than 25 minutes away in the same watershed but nearer Budd Lake end of SBR. Made it down to Shannon's private water today to take some photos but didn't fish. Water flows look fantastic, lots of sand that has been stuck in the channel for years is now belched out into the floodplain, and new wood is in many areas creating good new habitat and cuts. It has been very important to have had a very wet year, but a year without massive flooding here in NJ. Those constant just out of bank flows really helped push huge amounts of fine sediment out of our trout streams. Too much covers habitat, including insect habitat. It will take likely another year to see the benefits with hatches, but we now have at least one solid year for trout heading into a second year that is so far much alike.
Rusty...this is an incredible summation of that stretch of river, although I disagree about the dry fly water...The KLG has an amazing amount of great dry fly water. The fish go to the margins a lot down there for dry flies..don't look so much at the runs and pockets, but the edges and shelfs. I find the fish move to the shallows and edges to pick dry flies in most of the KLG. Most people wade in and spook them before they look and see the slurping three inches off the bank in 5 or 6 inches of water...Sometimes you have to stand 8 or 9 feet off the bank and cast..kind of like the Madison river..or come at them from down stream and cast against the bank, but that is difficult in the KLG with the trees and boulders, you're better off wading up the middle and casting to the banks...The pockets and runs still are ok, but if that's all you fish, you will be upset with dry fly fishing at the KLG, unless you fish the meathole..then have the right fly, fine tippet and you will be good!😉
I should have said it's not classic dry fly water, but I completely agree that dries are very effective and very underutilized on that piece of water because it is such great pocket water. Most anglers leave just as the hatches are starting in the evenings. And when mayflies are on the water, try using a rusty spinner drowned behind some beadhead and see what happens next. Pocket water sees a lot of drowned mayfly spinners as you know, but most anglers never think about using them except as a dry fly.
"A sinking fly is closer to Hell" - Unknown

Jaybird
Posts: 227
Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2018 10:23 am

Re: Gorge stocking

Post by Jaybird » Wed Mar 27, 2019 1:51 pm

Best hatch I've ever seen in the gorge , was an epic flying Ant hatch that spanned from above Hoffman's right down thru the gorge Happened in June after a early afternoon thunderstorm ... Never seen anything like it down there .
And if your ant didn't have wings they didn't want it ... From then on I always kept a few flying ants tucked away in the vest ...

brookie222
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Mar 26, 2019 12:31 am

Re: Gorge stocking

Post by brookie222 » Wed Mar 27, 2019 8:08 pm

Isn't the Orvis catalog more expensive than the LLBean catalog?

User avatar
lightenup
Posts: 684
Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2018 12:35 pm

Re: Gorge stocking

Post by lightenup » Wed Mar 27, 2019 10:18 pm

Rusty Spinner wrote:
Wed Mar 27, 2019 1:43 pm
lightenup wrote:
Tue Mar 26, 2019 10:31 pm
Rusty Spinner wrote:
Tue Mar 26, 2019 4:03 pm
90% of anglers fish 40% of the KLG water is all. It's 2 1/2 miles long, and I bet very few here have drifted a fly or lure past every single boulder in the river. I know I have not, and I used to explore it often. The lower water gets far less pressure down to the wire at Solitude Club. Also, I prefer to arrive as every other angler is leaving for dinner. I fish the last 45 minutes to an hour and catch the evening hatch at which time those heavily pressured fish often abandon caution to get a feedbag strapped on at dusk. It's certainly not great dry fly water, but there are spots you can pick to change that. As for dredging the depths, few anglers ever have enough weight to get their fly(s) down deep enough, quick enough in those bathtub sized holes. The trout seldom see your flies in time to rush out and strike. And if you do feel something, STRIKE and STRIKE NOW!!! Trout are not sunfish, and they won't keep coming back to nibble so you can confirm if it was a fish or not. Strike EVERY bump. Your hookups will triple, I promise. You will lose twice as many flies as well. But you're now a river stud, so you won't care. :lol:

I should add I'm less than 25 minutes away in the same watershed but nearer Budd Lake end of SBR. Made it down to Shannon's private water today to take some photos but didn't fish. Water flows look fantastic, lots of sand that has been stuck in the channel for years is now belched out into the floodplain, and new wood is in many areas creating good new habitat and cuts. It has been very important to have had a very wet year, but a year without massive flooding here in NJ. Those constant just out of bank flows really helped push huge amounts of fine sediment out of our trout streams. Too much covers habitat, including insect habitat. It will take likely another year to see the benefits with hatches, but we now have at least one solid year for trout heading into a second year that is so far much alike.
Rusty...this is an incredible summation of that stretch of river, although I disagree about the dry fly water...The KLG has an amazing amount of great dry fly water. The fish go to the margins a lot down there for dry flies..don't look so much at the runs and pockets, but the edges and shelfs. I find the fish move to the shallows and edges to pick dry flies in most of the KLG. Most people wade in and spook them before they look and see the slurping three inches off the bank in 5 or 6 inches of water...Sometimes you have to stand 8 or 9 feet off the bank and cast..kind of like the Madison river..or come at them from down stream and cast against the bank, but that is difficult in the KLG with the trees and boulders, you're better off wading up the middle and casting to the banks...The pockets and runs still are ok, but if that's all you fish, you will be upset with dry fly fishing at the KLG, unless you fish the meathole..then have the right fly, fine tippet and you will be good!😉
I should have said it's not classic dry fly water, but I completely agree that dries are very effective and very underutilized on that piece of water because it is such great pocket water. Most anglers leave just as the hatches are starting in the evenings. And when mayflies are on the water, try using a rusty spinner drowned behind some beadhead and see what happens next. Pocket water sees a lot of drowned mayfly spinners as you know, but most anglers never think about using them except as a dry fly.
Where is the like button?

User avatar
lightenup
Posts: 684
Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2018 12:35 pm

Re: Gorge stocking

Post by lightenup » Wed Mar 27, 2019 10:19 pm

brookie222 wrote:
Wed Mar 27, 2019 8:08 pm
Isn't the Orvis catalog more expensive than the LLBean catalog?
I don't know, but if you just started fly fishing, it would behoove you, to start cheap, it is not a lifestyle for everyone!!!!

Post Reply