Monday, May 5, 2014

Union County's Lake Surprise May be Worth the Price for Bass and Pickerel


This is Surprise Lake, Union County, NJ, on May 22nd last year, complete with full summer foliage and very thick aquatic vegetation, so thick that weedless lures, only, could be used. In the article, below--I wrote it last year--I mention it's a good pond for early season with in-line spinners before weeds set in. I've been meaning to fish it, but monsoon rain has cut me off for the time being. Even so, when I get there, the likelihood is that trees will be just slightly greening and aquatic vegetation nothing like what you see photographed. We'll see, but I was at Round Valley today, and a lot of the trees are still brown, barely greening yet at all. It's tough to fish from shore, but there are some openings between bushes. Like all of our New Jersey spots, it's a good place to release catches in healthy shape, perhaps a little less likely to take the next lure encountered, and growing big and wise.
Surprise Lake for topwater largemouth bass and pickerel



          The strike erupted like a baseball had swung up from below, the narrow form betraying a very good sized pickerel connecting with a Booyah Pad Crasher Hollow Body Frog. I had just asked the guy if he had caught any. “Not yet,” he said. Seconds later, Surprise Lake was true to its name.

          We struck up conversation and I learned that the 23-inch pickerel he released was not an uncommon expectation. Largemouths as big as seven pounds have come from this 25-acre pond narrow like a green bean that makes me think of bayou rivers in Louisiana or a lowland swamp from Jurassic times sunk below ridges of the ancient, volcanic Watchung Mountains. Lily pads and other aquatic vegetation make fishing with soft bodied, weedless surface lures almost a necessity from May onward.

           I asked the guy if fishing very early in spring—before weeds thicken—is good with in-line spinners, and he confirmed that, yes, you can catch as many as 20 pickerel on warm afternoons, but most of them are a foot long or so. Fishing is good through the summer, especially early and late in the day, by retrieving right over the vegetation and in among the open water pockets.

          This is a shallow pond. Most depths seem to be two or three feet with the deepest water over five feet at the western end. Water quality is good. The Blue Brook flowing out of the Watchung Mountains empties into this man-made basin, and the water retains clarity despite mud bottom underneath. Don’t confuse this lake with that of the same name near Bearfort Ridge. The 25-acre Blue Brook impoundment is in Watchung Reservation just off Interstate 78, accessible by northbound exit 45. The hills rise around and such a shallow, weed-choked salad of a lake is a surprise in itself given the surrounding environment.

          The launch at the eastern end for kayaks and whatever rowboat can be managed is not a trailer ramp. Union County reserves the privilege to anyone who buys a permit, and does not allow motors whether gas or electric. This is the sort of fishing situation kayaks are made for. While bank fishing will allow an angler to get his lure into many appealing spots, a kayak removes all the effort of getting through and around underbrush infested with ticks. If you want peace of mind and access to fishing across and throughout the lake, nothing beats a kayak here at dawn or sunset. However, trails are abundant in Watchung Reservation and Surprise Lake is no exception. You can bank fish all along the lake by moving from one open spot between the trees to another.

          Medium-power spinning tackle is fine, but don’t try to fish the thick with light monofilament line, whether from a kayak or the bank. Quality braid like Power Pro 15-pound test will allow you to move a big bass or pickerel out of vegetation. It’s important to keep tension on the line and free a fish that dives into thick weeds as quickly as possible. Once a fish buries its head and the line in weeds, it can loosen tension on the hook and shake it off.

          Soft-bodied surface lures like Booyah Baits, Mann’s Phatrat, Money Frog, and many other brands may be the most versatile lure choice. But you can rig a weightless plastic worm with an inset hook and fish it right on top of vegetation by reeling it slowly as if it were a small snake. This method is very effective especially for largemouth bass, which blast right through vegetation and leave a hole behind as if an M-80 went off. But setting the hook can be a problem, since often the bass gets the tail end and immediate reaction is hard to resist. Allow the fish’s taking the worm for a few seconds before setting. Set the hook hard because if you let the bass take, it will move off with the line at an angle to the weeds at the surface and not allow a direct pull.

          Another advantage to using plastic worms is that they can be allowed to sink in open water pockets. If any bass or even pickerel are under the weeds at the edge of a pocket, a worm slightly illumined in the light penetrating through open water will be highlighted. Whichever method used, soft bodied topwaters or worms, Surprise Lake is a little taste of southern fishing near the Highlands that can satisfy any time of year. 

3 comments:

  1. This is a great blog!! I love it! I have lived in Morris County for 3 years. Prior to that I was in Washington DC for 10 years where I mostly fished the Potomac. Tidal portion filled with catfish-catfish-catfish (some quite huge), above the Great Falls, less catfish and more smallmouth bass, etc.

    I put my poles away when I moved and just took them out again within the last six months. I am not having good luck on the Passaic River this year although I read plenty of internet stuff saying that you can pull in 30-40 Pike a day, etc. etc. I have fished near half a dozen bridges in the Upper Potomac (I won't fish from Twin Bridges and below as I don't want to catch fish with two heads). You could say it is me and my technique but, at and after dusk, I am used to seeing a decent fishing spot showing activity - fish jumping, splashing, concentric rings in the water radiating out, etc. The spots I have been to had NONE of that, water quiet as a soft snow. This Summer I spent a month or two up in Sherborn, Massachusetts and fished The Charles about 30-40 miles up from Boston. There were spots where you would pull in fish after fish (OK. Many small - yellow perch, white perch, etc. some largemouth bass) on a simple hook and live worm.). Would love comments on what I just said on the Passaic River. I keep trying different spots but still no luck yet.

    Also, I have been practising tying hair rigs and fishing for Carp. I find a spot that might hold carp (including in the Passaic River where there is little current, which is most of it). No luck on that yet. My hair rigs are getting decent. Still more to work on. When I find a spot, I pre-bait it heavily, then come back the next day or day after and fish it. If you, Mr. Litton, or any other reader can send me somewhere for Carp, I would be appreciative. Someone tipped me off that there are Carp in Briant Pond, in Briant Park, in Livingston. In fact, everyone says there are Carp in Briant Pond in Livingston. I pre-baited the Hell out of that place again, and again, and again, and have not had a bite from a Carp there. One guy from the Lawn Mowing crew came running up to me and said he saw huge fish coming into Briant Pond from one of the two or three inlets early in the morning. I searched all around those inlets with a flashlight at night SEVERAL TIMES and could find nothing. Another fellow told me they come to Briant Pond to spawn in the Spring, in a certain spot. OK. I will have a look in the Spring. But have now moved on to other spots I am discovering and keep trying although my wife is about to kill me. I make my own boilies in the kitchen which she doesn't love!!

    Finally, I will tell a secret: I grew up in Paterson, NJ until I went away to College. that was up to 1972. The Passaic River down there, at that time, made a sewer look clean. Funny enough, in view of my discussion above, the other kids (when I was growing up) said they still caught carp in the River in Paterson, NJ, even then. The carp, and the rats on the river bank (huge numbers and huge size) were the wildlife on the Passaic in Paterson back then. Appreciate any guidance, but do really love this blog and thank the author very much. Best, Reuben Vabner

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  2. Sorry. One more comment on Briant Pond in Briant Park, Livingston, since I have been beating the death out of the place recently. It is an urban pond in an urban park, of course, not a beautiful piece of nature. I have to say it is a terribly maintained pond. Water depth is about 6 inches to a foot through most of the pond. Maybe, Maybe, it hits two feet in some parts. I haven't boated so can't swear about the middle but would be surprised if much different. The border around most of the pond is overgrown with aquatic type vegetation that you would need a machete and a good amount of time to hack through to get near the water. There are a few spots where you can fish from the bank, one of which, I did hack through myself. The pond is so shallow that the growth of all kinds of vegetation in the pond is out of control. In those spots the sawater is, as I said, maybe 6 inches - a foot, so all kinds of huff grows in the middle of the pond. It would seem the town of Livingston, or whatever municipal government runs the pond, would hydro-rake or otherwise clean up this pond. But, OK, it is an urban pond and I wouldn't be there if I hadn't been told it is crawling with carp. There are a helluva lot nice places to fish, whether you get skunked or not elsewhere.

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    Replies
    1. Reuben, First, I'll confirm carp in the filthy 70's Passaic. A friend grew up in Patterson and caught carp there. It is amazing, given how polluted. I know nothing about Briant Pond, besides what you told me...so I can make the further inference that it may be unlikely there are many bass in it, if indeed there are carp, because my son & tried super-shallow Kay's Pond in Chester & got skunked. We did once get hit by something, so maybe there a FEW pickerel & bass there. Also, our neighborhood pond's maximum depth is about four feet & most of it is two or three. It was loaded with bass until after the winter of 2015, when it almost froze solid & there was a big fish kill.

      Yes, you'll catch plenty of pike in the Passaic, if you persist. In general, New Jersey offers plenty of places to fish. If you're like me, you'll at least be mostly limited to public places, and they do get fished heavily, but that's not to say the fishing is no good...if it is on the slow side. I catch plenty of largemouths over 18 inches every year. Streams and rivers get stocked with trout and you can find wild and native trout, if you search. Thanks for the kudos about my blog. Yes, you're a good reader and you can tell work gets put into it, but frankly, I just come home from fishing, sit down, type through, revise once or twice, and there you have it. But it all comes from both loads of experience fishing and reading. And writing. If you want to find some spots and glean some information about how to approach fishing them, you'll find plenty on my blog as well as elsewhere online. NJ Federated Sportsmen's Club publishes an excellent monthly resource, and The Fisherman can be helpful, too. Thanks for all of your input, Reuben. Bruce

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