Garden State Trout

Are there any rivers in NJ that remain cold enough to trout fish throughout the summer months?

Catching bass is fun, but I def do not enjoy it as much as trout fishing. Also do not have the time to head to NY, PA, or MD all the time.

Pohat ,Musky , Pequest & Lopat all have some limestone influence . There are a couple small tailwaters .... Everything is fishable if you wait for the right weather window and check your temps .

Upper big flat brook. certain parts of the lower musky, & parts of the sbr on certain low ambient temperature cloudy early am days imo

In short, no. Only the Lopatcong and most of the WTS will have high temps below 70 F in summer. The Musky, SBR and Flatbrook along with all the others exceed 70F routinely this time of the year and the limestone influences aren't enough to allow trout fishing in summer, but they keep temps from hitting lethal limits for trout. That said, most nights are cool enough still to allow fishing at least in the am. But do carry a stream thermometer and use it if you are out chasing trout. I stopped NJ trout fishing a couple weeks ago already. Flows are below normal and falling fast with the current lack of rain and future forecast with again, no rains.

CheeseburgerFly wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 22, 2020 11:09 am

Are there any rivers in NJ that remain cold enough to trout fish throughout the summer months?

Catching bass is fun, but I def do not enjoy it as much as trout fishing. Also do not have the time to head to NY, PA, or MD all the time.

While not what you want to hear, when trout stream flows go down and temps go up, all the better for fly fishing for smallies in the Big D-lower clearer water is better for wading out across the river and putting flies in front of smallies. Here the Potomac flows keeps getting spiked up whenever there are thunderstorms over the mountains of WV/Western MD which puts a damper on safe wading/fishing in the DC to Harpers Ferry stretch. Often time there is a 2-3 delay, so a storm from a few days ago over the mountains can ruin fishing downstream a few days later.

For WTS in NJ, while they may stay cool, flows can get extremely low and the fishing is not that fun as the fish are spooky and you catch more trees branches than fish. That said, if you can have some good fishing after a storm, especially if the stream is not surrounded by hot impervious surfaces.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond. I figured as much, but wasn't sure if there was something I was missing.

The locals I run into while fishing out of state tailwaters think I'm crazy when I tell them it gets too hot to trout fish during the summer. Must be nice....

Speaking of smallies on the big D near the musky, I took a ride early the other morning. I started in carpentersville and drove down stream until the next little town. Then I returned to carpentersville, 08865, and followed the river up stream to belvidere. It was a cool ride but there was one small stretch in the ride that I MAYBE could have accessed the water. It was at the end of the Warren hills trail (I think) near the pHilipsburg concrete plant. I saw the trail and then a WMA sign (under surveillance).

After that, it's all a sheer cliff or private.

I was hoping for something closer than where I've been before. Does anyone want to share places worth checking out? Does anyone know if the phillipsburg concrete trail WMA is fishable? Maybe I'll start a new thread.

PortMurrayAng wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 22, 2020 5:44 pm

Speaking of smallies on the big D near the musky, I took a ride early the other morning. I started in carpentersville and drove down stream until the next little town. Then I returned to carpentersville, 08865, and followed the river up stream to belvidere. It was a cool ride but there was one small stretch in the ride that I MAYBE could have accessed the water. It was at the end of the Warren hills trail (I think) near the pHilipsburg concrete plant. I saw the trail and then a WMA sign (under surveillance).

After that, it's all a sheer cliff or private.

I was hoping for something closer than where I've been before. Does anyone want to share places worth checking out? Does anyone know if the phillipsburg concrete trail WMA is fishable? Maybe I'll start a new thread.

There's lots of wadable access from a few miles above p burg all the way through p burg...both sides....remember ,big pools and deep water may mean fishable from the head to 50 yards down....then it gets tough...but the fish are there ...just gotta do it!!!

Cool. I thought so. I was looking at Google maps and guessing it was cool to check out, but always cautious too, especially being alone.


https://www.ebaumsworld.com/videos/tres ... /86296004/

PortMurrayAng wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 22, 2020 6:41 pm

Cool. I thought so. I was looking at Google maps and guessing it was cool to check out, but always cautious too, especially being alone.


https://www.ebaumsworld.com/videos/tres ... /86296004/

If internet things like that worry you,,, fill the tank and put some miles on ur beast.... the eastish coast has a lot to offer...not very far from spoken spots

Fishybig wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 22, 2020 6:33 pm

PortMurrayAng wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 22, 2020 5:44 pm

Speaking of smallies on the big D near the musky, I took a ride early the other morning. I started in carpentersville and drove down stream until the next little town. Then I returned to carpentersville, 08865, and followed the river up stream to belvidere. It was a cool ride but there was one small stretch in the ride that I MAYBE could have accessed the water. It was at the end of the Warren hills trail (I think) near the pHilipsburg concrete plant. I saw the trail and then a WMA sign (under surveillance).

After that, it's all a sheer cliff or private.

I was hoping for something closer than where I've been before. Does anyone want to share places worth checking out? Does anyone know if the phillipsburg concrete trail WMA is fishable? Maybe I'll start a new thread.

There's lots of wadable access from a few miles above p burg all the way through p burg...both sides....remember ,big pools and deep water may mean fishable from the head to 50 yards down....then it gets tough...but the fish are there ...just gotta do it!!!

I fished by the boat launch in P-burg a few times. With the low water level. Its definitely wade-able. Killer fish in that area. Just gotta out for tubers floating down

CheeseburgerFly wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 22, 2020 4:17 pm

Thank you all for taking the time to respond. I figured as much, but wasn't sure if there was something I was missing.

The locals I run into while fishing out of state tailwaters think I'm crazy when I tell them it gets too hot to trout fish during the summer. Must be nice....

Tailwaters by their nature will be cold enough for trout for a certain number of miles downstream year round. But even Montana sees stream/river temps above 70F and that state has Hoot Owl closures on those hot days where you have to be done fishing by noon to protect wild trout. And that's high up in the mountains Montana, so this isn't just a NJ issue by any stretch.....

Rusty Spinner wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 23, 2020 11:26 am

CheeseburgerFly wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 22, 2020 4:17 pm

Thank you all for taking the time to respond. I figured as much, but wasn't sure if there was something I was missing.

The locals I run into while fishing out of state tailwaters think I'm crazy when I tell them it gets too hot to trout fish during the summer. Must be nice....

Tailwaters by their nature will be cold enough for trout for a certain number of miles downstream year round. But even Montana sees stream/river temps above 70F and that state has Hoot Owl closures on those hot days where you have to be done fishing by noon to protect wild trout. And that's high up in the mountains Montana, so this isn't just a NJ issue by any stretch.....

Well said Rusty. It just sucks when you live in one of the states that get impacted and you have to put your hobbies on hold. It is however, a good time to replenish the flies I lost in the trees and on the bottom these past 4 months.

The Toms River stays cool year round. I have fished it for years and never seen the temperature above 68 degrees. Fished it about 10 days ago and temp was 64 degrees. That being said the fishing there hasn’t been the same since the State stopped stocking Brookies and browns. The rainbows don’t do well there and it is no longer a prime destination for me.

I was wondering what was up with the Toms these days it was always a coldwater refuge, despite being in southern Jersey. I remember seeing pictures of colorful stream adapted holdover brook trout. There had been fingerling stockings of brookies as well which seemed to lead to some nice quasi native looking fish. Does TIC or other programs do any stockings there?

martalus wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 23, 2020 2:39 pm

I was wondering what was up with the Toms these days it was always a coldwater refuge, despite being in southern Jersey. I remember seeing pictures of colorful stream adapted holdover brook trout. There had been fingerling stockings of brookies as well which seemed to lead to some nice quasi native looking fish. Does TIC or other programs do any stockings there?

There are still a bunch of trout stocked via our TIC program, but of course they are all rainbows these days. The Toms TCA desperately needs woody additions. I have tried unsuccessfully for over 10 years to engage the Jersey Shore TU chapter to install more wood in that stretch to better hold fish. The old Toms River chapter, now disbanded, did add wood many moons ago and it was great for a long time, but wood needs to be replaced unlike boulders....

The State still stocks the Toms in fact the TCA receives about 1000 trout during a typical season. The Brookies held over well and provided good fishing year round. In 2007 we electrofished the TCA on Sept 5th, shortly before the Fall stocking. In the typical 100 yard stretch for electro fishing we found 56 trout, 39 brookies, 16 browns and 1 rainbow. Included was a 22 inch brown. It’s not that way anymore with rainbows only. I would love to see it electrofished again to see what turns up.
Rusty you are right, the wood does need replacing.

Johnw wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 23, 2020 2:23 pm

The Toms River stays cool year round. I have fished it for years and never seen the temperature above 68 degrees. Fished it about 10 days ago and temp was 64 degrees. That being said the fishing there hasn’t been the same since the State stopped stocking Brookies and browns. The rainbows don’t do well there and it is no longer a prime destination for me.

Thanks for that good info, John. Even though I've lived in NJ most of my life, I've never fished the Toms.

BiggerThomas wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 25, 2020 8:18 am

Johnw wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 23, 2020 2:23 pm

The Toms River stays cool year round. I have fished it for years and never seen the temperature above 68 degrees. Fished it about 10 days ago and temp was 64 degrees. That being said the fishing there hasn’t been the same since the State stopped stocking Brookies and browns. The rainbows don’t do well there and it is no longer a prime destination for me.

Thanks for that good info, John. Even though I've lived in NJ most of my life, I've never fished the Toms.

I have twice which is one time more than needed.

I've never before fished a river that I couldn't cast in. Even a simple roll cast can't be done in some areas. It's not my kind of fishing, but if I lived downtheshore and needed some trout fishing, it's plenty cold enough year round.

That’s why I use a 6 foot 3 weight with a 4 weight double taper line and seldom use anything but streamers there which can be worked under bushes and through the deep holes. It’s definitely not for everybody which is why you seldom see anyone else fishing there, not to mention the area is tick infested and access is not easy. I love it, or used to, and still participate in the float stockings.