An online trail description suggested
visitors arrive early at Ramapo State Forest. We drove in as a car left, one space
open for us at 1:00 p.m., and hiked into the forest, passing many dozens of
people on the trails and at the lake when we got to the dam less than a half
hour later. My wife mentioned Central Park. I’ve never before—besides in
Manhattan—seen a park so crowded. Immediate access from Interstate 287 explains
this in part. From Bedminster, it’s half an hour away at 36 miles.
This is an interesting place. One
group of younger people we met inquired about the turn of the 20th
century mansion. We hadn’t seen it, but we saw older ruins, rock walls
suggestive of New Jersey’s 18th and 19th century iron
industry. History in addition to fairly easy, yet hilly, hiking trails offers
something special.
So does Ramapo Lake. At 120 acres,
it’s more impressive than I expected, with clear-toned, tannic water of very
good quality little more than half a mile from the lot. Since free-floating
masses of vegetation—not algae—characterize the area at the dam, I tried a
method I perfected at Lewis Morris County Park’s Sunrise Lake years ago. The
important detail is to cast a weightless plastic worm inches from a weed edge.
At least at Sunrise Lake, a bass stationed in the shade underneath would rush
out, take the worm, and turn back. I let line tighten and set the hook.
You need a fairly good sized worm for
casting range. I use seven-and-a-half to eight inches. Either a plain shank
size 1 or 3/0 snagless inset hook arrangement works, depending on whether you
anticipate weeds and snags or not. You mount the worm’s head near the tie loop,
and bury the inset hook in the plastic so the point is just underneath the
skin. Years ago, when I first started using this type, I feared necessity to
set the hook with the force of a tractor trailer jack, but it’s easy. You do
need to let line tense just enough so the bass doesn’t feel resistance before
you pull back hard, but especially with a Lazor Sharp or comparable brand, it’s
not a problem getting the hook into the jaw. Since clouds sealed out light when
I began fishing Ramapo, a dark green worm blended in. I switched to bright blue
when the sun came out to stay.
That’s about the time I decided to
give up on floating weeds, weed pockets, and weedlines. I sat down on a large
rock by the water and casually cast straight out into 10 feet of water, let the
worm sink and settle, and then while remaining comfortably seated very slowly
jiggled it towards me until I felt a tug. I gave the fish slack. Nothing
happened, so I tightened the line to feel yet another tug just like the first. This must be a crappie. I allowed a
little slack, and then tightened again to set the hook.
It turned out to be a smallish
largemouth, and I was happy I caught something. I sat on that rock—while my
wife, Patricia, read and son, Matt, explored here and there and also read—and
fished for about another hour for nothing more. But I spoke to one of nearly a
dozen other fishermen I met in passing. He claims to have once seen a good sized
northern pike caught. Whoever planted any possible pike to begin with, the lake
is certainly large and deep enough to hold some. Judging by the
height of the dam, water is nearly 15 feet deep. I heard from a number of other
sources that pickerel are fairly abundant especially in the shallows at the
back of the lake. Black crappies also result in catches.
This same fisherman I first spoke to
said the lake’s best in the spring before aquatic vegetation is prominent, but
summer weeds are not so thick you can’t find plenty of open water. Seven to 10-foot depths had some weeds on the bottom, which isn’t a bad thing. I carefully
pulled the snagless worm through. Summer fishing typically requires you to slow
down.
If you have an afternoon and evening
to fish Ramapo, August is a great time to do it. Trails extend all the way
around the lake, and many openings between brush offer opportunities for bass
and pickerel. Especially in low and/or changing light with calm surface,
topwater plugs may be best by imparting life to them. Try a popping variety,
prop plug like the Hedden Torpedo, or surface walker like the Zara Spook.
Possibly snagless frogs and rats would be even better right in and on top of
vegetation.
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