Raritan river, Clairmont TCA

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Bubba Zinetti
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Joined: Wed May 23, 2018 9:56 am

Raritan river, Clairmont TCA

Post by Bubba Zinetti » Thu Jun 14, 2018 9:10 am

Greetings legal gamblers. We are going to try the Clairmont stretch this Saturday. Any suggestions (about fishing) would be greatly appreciated. A report will be posted sometime on Monday.

SBRtool
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Re: Raritan river, Clairmont TCA

Post by SBRtool » Thu Jun 14, 2018 10:13 am

I live nearby that stretch so I fish it pretty frequently since its convenient and I also almost never see another person there. There are fish there but you really have to work to get them. Lotta really tight spaces in parts, especially the middle section with a ton of low lying trees and undercut banks. Be prepared to catch multiple tree fish. Can be very frustrating but also rewarding. I haven't caught any brook trout in there this year...mostly 7-8 inch wild browns. Have caught a few what looked like state stocked rainbows in there this year which i assume are swimming up from where the state stocks in Long Valley. Club above the TCA puts some really nice fish in there and some do wonder down stream. Best bet is to park at the lot off of Fairview Ave and follow the Columbia Trail downstream than work your way back up. There's a an old small bridge over the river toward the downstream end. I would also explore downstream of that but if you enter the river at that bridge and go up...be prepared to stay in the river for about 1/2 mile or so. Once your in there's really no getting out...really thick brush between the river and the trail pretty much makes it impossible to get out for a stretch. Best of luck.

Bubba Zinetti
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Re: Raritan river, Clairmont TCA

Post by Bubba Zinetti » Thu Jun 14, 2018 10:38 am

Thanks. We usually follow the trail past the bridge (Gronsky's??) and put in well below it. It can be shallow in that stretch, but there are some spots that hold fish. Any action on top?

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Rusty Spinner
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Re: Raritan river, Clairmont TCA

Post by Rusty Spinner » Thu Jun 14, 2018 2:15 pm

SBRtool gave a great description. It isn't the piece of water it once was. Beavers and hurricanes took their toll. But the former Claremont TCA is now just part of the 9.75 mile WTS section and is managed under WTS regs and not TCA regs. IMO, there is much better water nearby with some deep cuts that hold monster browns and other areas that hold many brookies. Both up and downstream of that old TCA. Good luck and let us know how you do!
"A sinking fly is closer to Hell" - Unknown

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njcatchrelease
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Re: Raritan river, Clairmont TCA

Post by njcatchrelease » Fri Jun 15, 2018 12:25 am

I was lucky enough to have off from work today and fished that area. I managed to land 3 wild browns, all around 6" and caught about twice as many trees!!!

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Tight Lines

Bubba Zinetti
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Re: Raritan river, Clairmont TCA

Post by Bubba Zinetti » Mon Jun 18, 2018 9:22 am

Report: It was a beautiful day and we only saw 3 other anglers, one at Gronksy's, one in the parking lot, and one who came upstream on us at the end of our session. The fishing was tough, Rusty was right, the water was mostly flat, slow and shallow. Very few spots for holding. There was a consistent caddis hatch, and there were many schools of 2" fish (suckers, I think). We missed one at Gronsky's, and one much later in the day upstream from the parking lot. Many of the places that used to hold fish are too shallow, on non-existant. What happened?

Tested, and still correct: worst day fishing is better than the best day working.

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