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Natirar smallmouth fishing

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:42 pm
by Bob J
Fished this spot on the north branch Sunday looking for some smallies. Got a few little guys and a bigger one further downstream. Expected more action but the water was pretty shallow. Great flows and clarity though. Fish caught on a tan clouser.

Re: Natirar smallmouth fishing

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2019 9:23 am
by Rusty Spinner
Bob J wrote:
Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:42 pm
Fished this spot on the north branch Sunday looking for some smallies. Got a few little guys and a bigger one further downstream. Expected more action but the water was pretty shallow. Great flows and clarity though. Fish caught on a tan clouser.
Bob, sounds about right for that water. We electro shocked it one summer and found no trout and mostly smaller sized smallies and various chubs, dace, sunfish, etc. It lacks decent holding water and there was some talk at one time about river restoration and enhancement project with the county, but it never went anywhere due to lack of funding.

Re: Natirar smallmouth fishing

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2019 7:11 pm
by rollcast
Rusty Spinner wrote:
Fri Jul 19, 2019 9:23 am
Bob J wrote:
Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:42 pm
Fished this spot on the north branch Sunday looking for some smallies. Got a few little guys and a bigger one further downstream. Expected more action but the water was pretty shallow. Great flows and clarity though. Fish caught on a tan clouser.
Bob, sounds about right for that water. We electro shocked it one summer and found no trout and mostly smaller sized smallies and various chubs, dace, sunfish, etc. It lacks decent holding water and there was some talk at one time about river restoration and enhancement project with the county, but it never went anywhere due to lack of funding.
NB Raritan is fun warm water stream. Caught lots of smallies, rock bass, pickerel, chubs, cats, whathaveyou, but trout only in the spring after they were stocked. Still a viable fishery, though. It was my learning stream as I transitioned from lures to fly fishing. Since then, I never looked back.

Re: Natirar smallmouth fishing

Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:54 am
by Rusty Spinner
rollcast wrote:
Fri Jul 19, 2019 7:11 pm
Rusty Spinner wrote:
Fri Jul 19, 2019 9:23 am
Bob J wrote:
Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:42 pm
Fished this spot on the north branch Sunday looking for some smallies. Got a few little guys and a bigger one further downstream. Expected more action but the water was pretty shallow. Great flows and clarity though. Fish caught on a tan clouser.
Bob, sounds about right for that water. We electro shocked it one summer and found no trout and mostly smaller sized smallies and various chubs, dace, sunfish, etc. It lacks decent holding water and there was some talk at one time about river restoration and enhancement project with the county, but it never went anywhere due to lack of funding.
NB Raritan is fun warm water stream. Caught lots of smallies, rock bass, pickerel, chubs, cats, whathaveyou, but trout only in the spring after they were stocked. Still a viable fishery, though. It was my learning stream as I transitioned from lures to fly fishing. Since then, I never looked back.
For those that don't know it well, he is talking about the North Branch Raritan below the Ravine Lake Club's dam. Above that lake the river is a wild trout fishery. Below it is just a warmwater fishery because of that dam.

Re: Natirar smallmouth fishing

Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 11:59 pm
by Dave B.
Rusty Spinner wrote:
Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:54 am
rollcast wrote:
Fri Jul 19, 2019 7:11 pm
Rusty Spinner wrote:
Fri Jul 19, 2019 9:23 am


Bob, sounds about right for that water. We electro shocked it one summer and found no trout and mostly smaller sized smallies and various chubs, dace, sunfish, etc. It lacks decent holding water and there was some talk at one time about river restoration and enhancement project with the county, but it never went anywhere due to lack of funding.
NB Raritan is fun warm water stream. Caught lots of smallies, rock bass, pickerel, chubs, cats, whathaveyou, but trout only in the spring after they were stocked. Still a viable fishery, though. It was my learning stream as I transitioned from lures to fly fishing. Since then, I never looked back.
For those that don't know it well, he is talking about the North Branch Raritan below the Ravine Lake Club's dam. Above that lake the river is a wild trout fishery. Below it is just a warmwater fishery because of that dam.
Sounds to me like another dam in desperate need of removal! ;)

Re: Natirar smallmouth fishing

Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 9:56 am
by Rusty Spinner
Dave B. wrote:
Mon Jul 22, 2019 11:59 pm
Rusty Spinner wrote:
Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:54 am
rollcast wrote:
Fri Jul 19, 2019 7:11 pm


NB Raritan is fun warm water stream. Caught lots of smallies, rock bass, pickerel, chubs, cats, whathaveyou, but trout only in the spring after they were stocked. Still a viable fishery, though. It was my learning stream as I transitioned from lures to fly fishing. Since then, I never looked back.
For those that don't know it well, he is talking about the North Branch Raritan below the Ravine Lake Club's dam. Above that lake the river is a wild trout fishery. Below it is just a warmwater fishery because of that dam.
Sounds to me like another dam in desperate need of removal! ;)
Yes, but it will NEVER happen. It is the club lake and the club is made up of millionaires and billionaires. That little gem of a clubhouse they have on the lake complete with nesting bald eagles and a swimming area and large fishing and boating lake is the playground of the rich and famous of the blue blood fame in the area. As massive as their dam is, repairs will never bankrupt them and force removal one day.

Re: Natirar smallmouth fishing

Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:22 pm
by coaltrout
I go there sometimes. Ive seen trout in there just last month, probably not worth the effort to target them with the nice smb population to target instead.

TOo bad the ravine lake dam spillway is private property too. I bet there's some nice fish there.

I like to fish the other parts of the upper north branch too (below ravine lake) like around far hills. I havent noticed any stretch is better than any other.

Re: Natirar smallmouth fishing

Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2019 10:59 am
by Twism86
Speaking of the stretches above Ravine lake, along Union Schoolhouse Rd that water looks VERY trout-y however I believe it is all private.....

Re: Natirar smallmouth fishing

Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2020 12:03 pm
by BiggerThomas
coaltrout wrote:
Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:22 pm
I go there sometimes. Ive seen trout in there just last month, probably not worth the effort to target them with the nice smb population to target instead.

TOo bad the ravine lake dam spillway is private property too. I bet there's some nice fish there.

I like to fish the other parts of the upper north branch too (below ravine lake) like around far hills. I havent noticed any stretch is better than any other.
Coaltrout, you are reporting having seen trout in Natirar? I walked through there not too long ago. Nice looking water for sure.

Re: Natirar smallmouth fishing

Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2020 7:31 pm
by coaltrout
BiggerThomas wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2020 12:03 pm
coaltrout wrote:
Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:22 pm
I go there sometimes. Ive seen trout in there just last month, probably not worth the effort to target them with the nice smb population to target instead.

TOo bad the ravine lake dam spillway is private property too. I bet there's some nice fish there.

I like to fish the other parts of the upper north branch too (below ravine lake) like around far hills. I havent noticed any stretch is better than any other.
Coaltrout, you are reporting having seen trout in Natirar? I walked through there not too long ago. Nice looking water for sure.
Yes, that time, i saw a rainbow up there probably a fall stockie. In the winter like now you could probably find a brown in there or a fall stockie. Not like there's a good population in there tho.

Yes it looks like great water. I should seriously take temps next sunmer when it gets hot. I know from wet wading it is colder water than downstream parts of the raritan.

Re: Natirar smallmouth fishing

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2020 11:53 am
by Jerzguy21
There used to be nice Smallmouths in that water all summer, 12 - 14" and saw a real nice Brown once. I also caught my personal best Smallmouth in the pool at the base of that Dam, about 4 lbs. Of course this was when I was 14 and it was still the Ladd estate. We would sneak in there and what would they do to a fast running kid ? Seems like yesterday, time goes fast, over 50 years ago.

Re: Natirar smallmouth fishing

Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2020 10:42 am
by Rusty Spinner
coaltrout wrote:
Sun Jan 12, 2020 7:31 pm
BiggerThomas wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2020 12:03 pm
coaltrout wrote:
Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:22 pm
I go there sometimes. Ive seen trout in there just last month, probably not worth the effort to target them with the nice smb population to target instead.

TOo bad the ravine lake dam spillway is private property too. I bet there's some nice fish there.

I like to fish the other parts of the upper north branch too (below ravine lake) like around far hills. I havent noticed any stretch is better than any other.
Coaltrout, you are reporting having seen trout in Natirar? I walked through there not too long ago. Nice looking water for sure.
Yes, that time, i saw a rainbow up there probably a fall stockie. In the winter like now you could probably find a brown in there or a fall stockie. Not like there's a good population in there tho.

Yes it looks like great water. I should seriously take temps next sunmer when it gets hot. I know from wet wading it is colder water than downstream parts of the raritan.

We ran three HOBO data loggers in the Natirar section through a full summer several years back. It routinely saw water temps in the 80s, so lethal to all trout. Sure, trout can spend time at this time of year in rivers and streams they won't come summer, but that doesn't make it "trout water".