Well I guess……. some of us take lunch and some of us need to quench that “thirst” for adventure! Ha! Ha!
I opted for the latter today and took my Ronco Pocket Fisherman to the river for a hour to see if indeed I could tangle and wrangle with a Northern Pike.
I think you`ll enjoy this quick Go PRO Video I shot of my Friday Lunch-time Adventure;
I was sittin` out back on the patio last Thursday night, enjoyin` an ice-cold PBR in the breezy Springtime air, contemplating my next NJ Pike Fishing Adventure. As I looked at my Passaic River Map, I noticed what appeared to be a small tributary stream off of the Passaic called Dead River. “Heck”, I thought to myself, “Ought to be able to wrangle one or two Pike outta there” – So I decided to “Scout it out” on my way home from work the next evening.
Upon arriving at my destination on Friday evening, I jumped down along a swampy river bank and noticed fresh Black Bear paw prints in the mud. “Well heck, if the bears are fishin` here, that just might be a good sign!” I thought out loud.
It wasn`t too long before I got into a couple decent Pike that next day. I worked that Clown Bomber lure as a jerk-bait, mixing it up with slower retrieves which proved to be a very effective method for those “River Wolfs” that day.
A fine NJ Northern Pike in the net!
Crank up those speakers and enjoy this little Video of the day`s adventure on the river!
Despite the muddy water conditions, I did manage to wrangle up this decent 7.25lb 34″ Pike last Saturday.
I certainly enjoy chasin` Pike on the Passaic and hopefully when I`m out and about, we`ll cross paths somewhere along the river. Till next time…
Yesterday definitely wasn`t the best afternoon weather-wise, as the forecast was calling for severe thunderstorms late in the day. It was really a little too late of a start, but I threw the `Yak and gear in my truck, got some gas, a couple cold drinks and decided to roll the dice for a little NJ Pike Fishing on the Passaic River.
Decided to try some new territory, which again, I wasn`t sure how this was all going to pan out as I was hearing thunder rumble the further east I went down Route 80.
I arrived at my new spot at 4p.m. and figured I`d fish and be back at the truck by 6:30 at the very latest, that is if the weather would hold out that long. My plan was to paddle up river and estimate roughly how long it would take my to drift back down to my starting point, as I worked the murky waters of the Passaic River for those razor-toothed NJ Pike.
I had just got the `Yak in the River and it really began to rumble. Thought for sure this would more than likely be a very short trip as lightning was flashing more frequently and the thunder was rumbling much quicker and closer now.
Every now and then though, the sun would peek through momentarily as I began to work some deep pools as I drifted downstream.
Then it happened…….. A strike! Fish on! And a good fish at that!
The Jersey Pike dove quickly under my `Yak as I set the hook and the fight was on!
Then the mighty Pike danced in the air, showing his acrobatic moves!
The water boiled around the `Yak as I got the Pike closer!
A very nice NJ Pike indeed!
Enjoy the short Video below I shot of my latest adventure;
Only fished for an hour and a half and managed to wrangle up that one nice NJ Pike before the sky started getting a little too dark as a flash-flood warning was out.
All in all, a mighty fine fast-action, NJ Pike Fishin` Adventure in some new territory!
Well our NJ Pike Fishing Adventure this past weekend was nothing short of yet another excellent fishing excursion with a gentleman by the name of Nathan Robinson from New Brunswick Canada.
Nathan found my website three months ago, as he was “Googling” NJ Pike Fishing and reached out to me me through the site. He explained that he was coming down to New Jersey the first week in May and wanted to fish for northern pike, as he had never caught one simply because there aren`t any pike in New Brunswick. Quite frankly I was surprised that there aren`t Pike up there. Heck my Step-Father & I traveled up to northern Ontario for eight years fishing for smallmouth bass, walleye and of course, northern pike. I really thought they were everywhere in Canada. Hey you learn something new everyday right?
Being an experienced kayak fisherman, Nathan liked the idea of chasing those pike in the Passaic in the `Yaks. He has quite the kayak set-up(see pics below) at his home in New Brunswick.
Notice it`s a Pedal-Driven Kayak. An extremely well-equipped, very professional-looking vessel, I must say.
Quite the `Yak indeed!
Initially he planned on bringing this elaborate kayak to New Jersey, but decided not too, as it probably wasn`t a good idea to have it sit on top his vehicle all week as it might`ve “grown legs” and disappeared. So the next option was to rent one while he was down here. I myself, wasn`t really sure where to rent a kayak, as everything I found on-line was in South Jersey. I thought, “Ahhhhh what the hell……I`ll ask the question, where to rent a kayak on the NewJerseyHunter.com forum. Well what happened the next day was incredible………. I got a response and the subject said, “Ken…why rent?” I thought, “Great….someone wants to sell me their kayak”. I read the message and was shocked at what it said, “Hey Ken…don`t rent one, I`ve got a kayak that you can use”….WOW! I thought. This gentleman who is a complete stranger to me, graciously offered to let Nate use his kayak! He proceeded to give me his address and said it would be out by the pond and to help myself to it and no rush to bring it back. Wasn`t this an incredibly nice offer? An act of pure kindness…….The kind of gesture that restores one`s faith in humanity as my friend Lisa put it.
I threw the `Yaks in the bed and loaded up my gear and headed east to meet up with Nate on Friday. Nate was pretty darn excited to have a `Yak to fish the river in and my goal was to hopefully get him into a few pike out there.
Nate caught his first pike that afternoon. He said, “Well this is what I came for,….at least I caught a pike….I`m satisfied” –
But I wasn`t,…… as I wanted to get him into a decent size pike. With paddled back to the lot at dark that night and talked about where to fish on Saturday. We decided to meet twenty miles away from this location, at 7am the next morning.
Then it was Saturday………. and then the Adventure kicked in!
Wasn`t long until we were into some nice-size pike on the Passaic on the cool, cloudy day!
Nathan caught two beautiful pike that afternoon! One was a tad over seven pounds!
Watch the Video of our Pike Fishing Adventure on the Passaic River! You`ll enjoy this one!
I do indeed believe this Pike Fishing Adventure left quite an impression on my new Friend from New Brunswick Canada.
