Striper Regs Open for Comment

Al Ristori Tight Lines 

Black Jig Over White

Never underestimate a black jig. Trout followed it my first two casts, and since the sun was out, I decided to switch out to a white/flashabou jig before I threw another. I took maybe a dozen casts and aroused no interest in that jig whatsoever that I saw. I tied the black jig back on. I did work my way upstream along the stretch, testing new waders for leaks, before I returned to where I began and soon caught the 16-inch rainbow I photographed. Soon thereafter, I cast short to a trout that had followed and taken station in view, lifting the jig off bottom and letting it drop back, catching the first trout I've hooked that way. All of the others have hit as I retrieve the jig at a moderate to quick rate.

I tried another spot in the area, where I caught one last November, and got no interest from any fish I could detect. Then I returned to my car and drove to another area that gets stocked where I've never fished. After finding stretches that seemed too shallow, though I tried them, I walked maybe three football field lengths downstream, where I found at least three feet of fairly swift water. 

I fished the jig carefully and repeatedly, finally hooking another trout of about 14 inches, and when I unhooked it, I understood I had hooked the fish well. I had the two previous, also. A barb doesn't seem to help as often as it might. 

New Jersey Trout Fishing

 

Could Have Put the Fish Off

According to the U.S. Geological Survey gauge, the Passaic River level rose only a foot or so where we were going, and when we got there, Oliver Round and I found the current was heavy and the water stained but not muddy. Oliver tried topwater and I fished a jerkbait, before Oliver switched out to a Senko and then buzzbait, and I took the jerkbait off and snapped on a white spinnerbait. 

We hiked way back there, seeing some frogs along the way, listening to insects, probably footing a total of three miles or so round trip. I put casts where I wanted them to go. Very persistently, I fished along the bank where usually there was several feet of water or so, right into and next to any wood I could see in the water, behind other current breaks, shallows created by the river's high level, and even mid-river I found there's a lot of stuff on the bottom that can serve as cover. Oliver hit his targets, too, but neither of us got hit once. 

"You don't think it's because it's fished out?" Oliver asked.

"No. The fish are there."

I had no answer at the time as to why they weren't hitting. Earlier on, I'd pointed out that the water can't be colder than the 50's. We just got through a heat wave with temps in the 80's, and since then, it's still been in the upper 50's afternoons and low 50's at night. But from the perspective of having lain back to take a mental snapshot of that whole situation, it was easy to see the water temp--especially with the heavy rain overnight being on the chilly side--must have taken a sudden dip. It could have put the fish off.

Round Valley Reservoir Eels