NJ Stockies

[njcatchrelease]

I got out on the river the other day and was lucky enough to find a bunch of NJ Stockies that were all happy to hit just about anything I threw. Started off catching them on nymphs, then I saw some risers taking caddis flies so I tied on a elk hair caddis and took a few. The most fun came when I decided to switch over to streamers. I started throwing down and across letting the streamer swing. I used a strip-strip-pause type retrieve and almost every time there was a pause the rainbows would crush the streamer. Also at the end of the swing I would just let the streamer sit in the current for a few seconds before starting my retrieve and again they would crush it. Landed a bunch but I would say about two thirds of the strikes on the streamer did not result in hook ups. Not sure why, never had so much action on a streamer and never had that many strikes ending up not hooking up.

Here is one of the cookie cutter stockies...

[Drossi]

With streamers I like to run the hook through the sharpener 4 or 5 times before I start fishing a new fly. Then again later if I'm nicking the bottom periodically. Sharp hooks increase hook ups and holds with the larger streamer hooks.

[njcatchrelease]

With streamers I like to run the hook through the sharpener 4 or 5 times before I start fishing a new fly. Then again later if I'm nicking the bottom periodically. Sharp hooks increase hook ups and holds with the larger streamer hooks.

I thought it was a hook issue so I even swapped out to new streamers with super sharp points and go the same results. I could see a few of the trout strike the streamer and it appeared they were hitting it from the side.

[robtf]

nice, I think the cormorants took all the ones placed in our mudholes in SJ.

tried a SJ stocked stream today but it was blown out from yesterday's rain.

[lightenup]

With streamers I like to run the hook through the sharpener 4 or 5 times before I start fishing a new fly. Then again later if I'm nicking the bottom periodically. Sharp hooks increase hook ups and holds with the larger streamer hooks.

I thought it was a hook issue so I even swapped out to new streamers with super sharp points and go the same results. I could see a few of the trout strike the streamer and it appeared they were hitting it from the side.

Maybe were, short strikes, I leave a short tail on streamers, when I fish them, to avoid short strikes. They just grab the end of the tail and miss the hook.

[Rusty Spinner]

Fish an articulated streamer like a Sex Dungeon or Drunk & Disorderly which have stinger hooks on the back and your short strike issue nearly disappears for good. I find a lot of NJ anglers fish nothing larger than a size 10 woolly bugger, but don't be afraid to toss a much larger streamer here locally.

[njcatchrelease]

Fish an articulated streamer like a Sex Dungeon or Drunk & Disorderly which have stinger hooks on the back and your short strike issue nearly disappears for good. I find a lot of NJ anglers fish nothing larger than a size 10 woolly bugger, but don't be afraid to toss a much larger streamer here locally.

I was throwing a conehead slumpbuster but that doesn't have a stinger hook. I'll have to give one of those other flies a try.

[Jaybird]

Fish an articulated streamer like a Sex Dungeon or Drunk & Disorderly which have stinger hooks on the back and your short strike issue nearly disappears for good. I find a lot of NJ anglers fish nothing larger than a size 10 woolly bugger, but don't be afraid to toss a much larger streamer here locally.

I was throwing a conehead slumpbuster but that doesn't have a stinger hook. I'll have to give one of those other flies a try.

If your tying your own putting a stinger hook through the pine squirrel tail of that slumpbuster will make it plenty sticky .... Little bit of backing is all you need .

[Dave B.]

Fish an articulated streamer like a Sex Dungeon or Drunk & Disorderly which have stinger hooks on the back and your short strike issue nearly disappears for good. I find a lot of NJ anglers fish nothing larger than a size 10 woolly bugger, but don't be afraid to toss a much larger streamer here locally.

When I happen to be in the mood to swing streamers I like to toss black or grey weighted zonkers in sizes 6 and 4. Some guys think these are far too big for Jersey trout. I generally find I don't encounter much under 14 inches or so with these sizes and the strikes tend to be generally pretty vicious.

[njcatchrelease]

Fish an articulated streamer like a Sex Dungeon or Drunk & Disorderly which have stinger hooks on the back and your short strike issue nearly disappears for good. I find a lot of NJ anglers fish nothing larger than a size 10 woolly bugger, but don't be afraid to toss a much larger streamer here locally.

When I happen to be in the mood to swing streamers I like to toss black or grey weighted zonkers in sizes 6 and 4. Some guys think these are far too big for Jersey trout. I generally find I don't encounter much under 14 inches or so with these sizes and the strikes tend to be generally pretty vicious.

Yep, that's why I like throwing streamers. The strikes really get your heart pumping!

[garden hackle]

Fish an articulated streamer like a Sex Dungeon or Drunk & Disorderly which have stinger hooks on the back and your short strike issue nearly disappears for good. I find a lot of NJ anglers fish nothing larger than a size 10 woolly bugger, but don't be afraid to toss a much larger streamer here locally.

When I happen to be in the mood to swing streamers I like to toss black or grey weighted zonkers in sizes 6 and 4. Some guys think these are far too big for Jersey trout. I generally find I don't encounter much under 14 inches or so with these sizes and the strikes tend to be generally pretty vicious.

Yep, that's why I like throwing streamers. The strikes really get your heart pumping!

Throwing streamers is like cheating, you know when you got a strike and most times they hook themselves. It’s like dry fly fishing, the real talen is nymphing.

[Dave B.]

When I happen to be in the mood to swing streamers I like to toss black or grey weighted zonkers in sizes 6 and 4. Some guys think these are far too big for Jersey trout. I generally find I don't encounter much under 14 inches or so with these sizes and the strikes tend to be generally pretty vicious.

Yep, that's why I like throwing streamers. The strikes really get your heart pumping!

Throwing streamers is like cheating, you know when you got a strike and most times they hook themselves. It’s like dry fly fishing, the real talen is nymphing.

Nah, nymphing is just worm dunking with feathers and thread! So easy a caveman could do it.

[garden hackle]

Yep, that's why I like throwing streamers. The strikes really get your heart pumping!

Throwing streamers is like cheating, you know when you got a strike and most times they hook themselves. It’s like dry fly fishing, the real talen is nymphing.

Nah, nymphing is just worm dunking with feathers and thread! So easy a caveman could do it.

[Rusty Spinner]

Fish an articulated streamer like a Sex Dungeon or Drunk & Disorderly which have stinger hooks on the back and your short strike issue nearly disappears for good. I find a lot of NJ anglers fish nothing larger than a size 10 woolly bugger, but don't be afraid to toss a much larger streamer here locally.

When I happen to be in the mood to swing streamers I like to toss black or grey weighted zonkers in sizes 6 and 4. Some guys think these are far too big for Jersey trout. I generally find I don't encounter much under 14 inches or so with these sizes and the strikes tend to be generally pretty vicious.

Yep, that's why I like throwing streamers. The strikes really get your heart pumping!

I horsed up a leviathan of the deep on the West Branch on Thursday that was hiding under a submerged tree. He came out to inhale my D&D streamer on a 7 weight until I right as I was pulling it out so it wouldn't hang up on a large branch sticking out of the water. He turned back and a subsequent cast didn't bring him up. We were drifting a back channel, so I only got those two shots. But I will never forget his size and where he was lying because it just screamed huge brown trout lie. The dry flies were much better for us this trip other than windy, rainy Friday. Saturday was everyone's redeeming day. Hendricksons, blue quills, spinners of both, and various caddis had them looking up most of the day until dark.