Tag Archives: NJ-Outdoors

NJ Striper Fishing! A Indian Summer Adventure with Ken Beam

“NJ Striper Fishing and a beautiful Fall Day,…..The ideal combination for an awesome Indian Summer Adventure!” I thought as I was watching the weather forecast days before. 
Definitely like to take advantage of any prime-time fishing weather if and when possible and having three days of vacation-time left for the year, would make this the perfect time to burn one of those days. 
Loaded up the `Yak and my gear in the truck the night before, grabbed my Hat and made my way South to the Garden State parkway at daybreak. 
Default 1
“Was very excited to have a go at some NJ Stripers. as I was looking forward to getting towed in my `Yak!”
Default 1
Only fished for about an hour or so, and landed my 1st Striper I ever caught while fishing out of a `Yak! A smaller Bass, but nonetheless, still my 1st in the `Yak!
I fished all day enjoying this gorgeous weather and catching a few Stripers along the way. Then in the evening things got very interesting………
Default 2
While working a Bomber lure barely under the surface, the water exploded violently as a good-size Striper attacked it! BAM! Striper on indeed!
This was good, solid size fish as the big Bass gave me the “towing” in my `Yak that I was hoping to experience pulling me everywhere! WOW!
Now it certainly wouldn`t be a complete Adventure without a Go PRO Video right? This is the clip that I shot of the day`s adventure. You`ll enjoy this one!
I filleted that nice Bass and my girlfriend Sharon, made this incredible Herb Encrusted Baked Striper dish the next night! I certainly love eating fish, but I have to tell you,……Striper just became my all-time favorite fish after that amazing supper!!!  
Default 2
The perfect ending, to the perfect Indian Summer Adventure!
Till next time…..

2015 End of Summer “Fun in the Sun” with Sharon & the pups

As Summer fades away, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather last weekend and head back up north to Blue Mountain Lake in Sussex County with the pups for a little fun in the sun.
Default 2
It was the perfect day to go swimming and to have an awesome picnic, as we were up there almost five hours. A very relaxing time indeed!
Default 2
As you can see, the “Gang” loved Sharon`s little raft-chair too! 
Default 1
As we were leaving Blue Mountain Lake, Sharon spotted and took this picture of this Black Bear! Plenty of wildlife up there that`s for sure, as Blue Mountain Lake is exactly where I almost stepped on that big Rattlesnake while Wild Blue Berry picking a couple years ago right by the parking lot!
On our way home, we stopped at Long Meadow Farm, just outside of Hope NJ, to do a little Raspberry and Apple Pickin`
Default 2
Default 3
Well of course you all know by now………. There must be a Video right?! ha! ha! So turn up your speakers and enjoy this clip that I shot of the day`s adventure up north;
 
With Fall just around the corner, it was certainly a great way to spend the last weekend in August!
Till next time…..

Swimming at Blue Mountain Lake with our Dogs!

Last Sunday was my last day of vacation and we thought about hiking Merrill Creek. But it was going to be a scorching hot August Sunday. So I said to Sharon, “The hell with hikin`……let`s head north with the pups and go swimmin` up at Blue Mountain Lake!” – And we did just that!

Default 2
Default 3
Default 5
Default 6
If you enjoy dogs as much as we do, I think you`ll really enjoy this Video
                            I shot that day up at Blue Mountain Lake!
Till next time…..

NJ Shad Fishing with Ken Beam on the Delaware River – Shad Fishin` Time!

NJ Shad Fishing in the Springtime on the Delaware River. One of my favorite Spring activities! The forecast
for this past Saturday was ideal. Sunny and breezy with temperatures not expected to get much over 70 degrees. Perfect Shad Fishing weather in my book. I only had about two and a half hours to fish on Saturday as I had a good bit of yard work to get too. So I had to get busy on the river fast.
I loaded up my gear in the truck and was on my way by six a.m. on Saturday morning to my destination: Riegelsville. It`s late in the season for Shad in this part of the river and I was guessing I`d pretty much be by myself fishing the Delaware River that day.
Default 1
Upon arriving at my spot, I anxiously tied on my favorite flutter-spoon….
An unpainted, smooth-blade Gold spoon, as I have caught count-less shad over the years. Not really sure if indeed colors are that big of a factor when it comes to shad fishing. Hell my friend Curt Ryder would say, “Ken……when that`s the only lure you use, of course the odds are goin` up for that particular lure in regards to how many fish you catch!!” – ha! ha!
I eased myself down the bank and into the river, then slowly worked my way out into the dark water of the Delaware to begin casting.
Default 2
It wasn`t long……then BAM! A strike! Shad on! These Springtime Shad are the most feisty freshwater fish I have ever caught!
Default 2
More than once, they`ll give you a nice “Air-Show” too!
Default 2
Here`s a Video of my NJ Shad Fishing Adventure on May 24th 205 below;
Ended up catching four Shad in those two hours on the Delaware River. Hell….. to me, just being out on the River is like some sort of utopia. Catchin` a fish or two is a heck of a nice added bonus though!
Ken-
Default 2

NJ Pike Fishing – A Canadian comes to NJ to catch Pike with Ken Beam as his “Guide”

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.
Default 1
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.
Default 1
Default 2
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.
Default 1
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.
Default 1
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!
Default 2
Default 3
Wasn`t long until we were into some nice-size pike on the Passaic on the cool, cloudy day!
Default 5
Nathan caught two beautiful pike that afternoon! One was a tad over seven pounds!
Default 2
Watch the Video of our Pike Fishing Adventure on the Passaic River! You`ll enjoy this one!
Default 1
I do indeed believe this Pike Fishing Adventure left quite an impression on my new Friend from New Brunswick Canada.
Good Friends and Good Fishing…………
It doesn`t get any better.
Ken-
Default 2

NJ Tiger Musky Fishing – Ken Beam chases Tiger Muskies at Oxford Furnace Lake

Made my way out & about on Saturday to try my hand at some Tiger Musky Fishing for the first time in some new territory. Loaded up my `Yak & headed out at daybreak to my destination….. Oxford Furnace Lake.
I really don`t know all that much about this beautiful Lake other than it`s only a hop, skip & jump from my house in Warren County NJ and that I heard there are Muskies in it.
It is an absolutely gorgeous, very serene location. The water was very calm with hardly any ripples as there was only a hint of a light breeze.
Default 3
“It was a gorgeous Spring day to be out in the `Yak”, I thought to myself as I started working the water with
my Bomber Lures.
Default 5
This adventure was indeed very
exciting because everything I was
doing that morning was purely trial
and error, as I had never fished
specifically for Tiger Muskies, nor
had I ever fished Oxford Furnace
Lake before. I didn`t have a map of the Lake, so I really don`t know what it`s like structure-wise. As I scouted the entire Lake the one thing I did notice was the fact that the majority of it appears to be fairly shallow. If I had to guess, I`d say the deepest seemed to be around 30 feet or so.
I worked various spots for a good two to three hours………Then it happened! BANG! Fish on!
Watch the Video below that I shot that morning of my first Tiger Muskie. It wasn`t a monster by any means, but it was still the targeted Tiger Muskie that I had come there for so I was pretty darn psyched!
Hope you enjoy the Video!

Too Windy To Take The `Yak out…..but…

Despite the strong windy conditions today, I launched my `Yak in the Passaic to see if I could chase a few Northern Pike around. I launched it at 2:30 and at 4pm looked at my watch & thought, “What the hell was I thinkin` about?” A cold-front had come through the night before and the high temperature was 58 degrees today. Surely this would shut the fishing down in my book. As I worked my way down-river I was coming upon a dead sycamore tree laying half-way across the river. My first cast was picture-perfect, landing inches from the submerged tree trunk. BAM! The water boiled as a Monster Pike grabbed my spinnerbait!
“WOW!…..This is a good fish!” I said out loud as the river monster towed my `Yak sideways across the river!
I fought this big Pike for nearly ten minutes, playin` him out.
 Then he showed himself in the sunlight near my `Yak! As I grabbed my folding little kayak net, I knew I was in trouble! I could never get his thick head, let alone his huge body in that puny net!
My only plan was to attempt to scoop him with that little net & flip him in my `Yak!
As I got him closer, I slid the net under him & as I lifted him out of the water, he thrashed his head violently, shaking the spinnerbait loose & gliding back down into the deep murky water of the Passaic River…….
I smiled as I looked down at that little net and said, “Why didn`t I have my “real” net today???!”
So I regrouped & started paddling back down river. “Perhaps all of the Pike were not turned off by the cold-front” I thought as I paddled.
The on my fifth cast since losing the river monster, I thought I was snagged in some weeds……… Wait!
That`s a fish running! Fish on! As I set the hook!
Even though I hadn`t seen nor caught one of these in years, I knew immediately what I had landed……
A really nice 24″ Chain Pickerel!
 Well now this certainly was unexpected & definitely added to this Adventure!
*Also check out the video I shot of the three deer swimming across the Passaic as I sat in my `Yak. Pretty darn cool eh???