landscraper

dave from ocean county here. i too frequent the hidden sand pits and blue waters in the pine barrens.

Caught this guy in my pond a while back and havent a clue as to what sort of fish it is. Never seen one before.

sorry, but that's not 5 lbs 6oz. more like 3.5 -4 lbs.

thats sucks! must have scared the poo outta ya

Unless the scenario has changed since I last fished Chatsworth, there are two spots where I put in. Approaching the lake from the village of Chatsworth (Ocean Spray Cranberries) the first clearing on your right (right front corner of lake) is a decent launching spot, and the best spot for shore fishing, but the shoreline is wild and the going is slow. I typically fished Chatsworth with a 10-ft cartopper, and continued just past the Lake then took the first nondescript sand road into the piney woods. The narrow sandy road meanders through the pine trees and ends up at the lake shore. If you paddle to the left, the first thing you'll encounter is a cranberry runnel entering the lake on your left (wooden frame). If you continue north into the shallow-water arm of Chatsworth, you'll likely encounter a drove of small chains (snakes under 18"). Pay dirt for us was the large center bay that's strewn with stickups and lined with wild rice. Bring a portable depth sounder and locate the deepest holes in the middle bay. You'll find that most food shelves are around 30" deep and the lake basin is about 7 ft deep, plenty deep enough for pickerel. In spring, you can enjoy an action-packed day with a 1/2oz Johnson Spoon with grub trailer. Only once did we see any other anglers. It was two fellows in a canoe who were only there about 20 minutes until they capsized their canoe. They immediately left the lake, soaking wet and laughing. Again, if you want to get into the big boys, it's Wading River and Mullica River. Roger that sand road around the bend has a small creek feeding the lake, if you walk up it about twenty feet to the creeks edge you can launch rite there into the creek and motor up to the lake. just be nice to there sident duck who lives there.

glad to see so many picerel fans out here in nj! the pines are loaded with pickerel infested waters. i would recommend hunting down some "sand plants". they are usually private so you need to sneak in, but they produce some of the largest pickerels and some huge numbers of bass and all other species. they are like nothing you normally fish here in nj. my friend caught a huge one this past year ,(i posted it earlier) at the intersection of rt. 539 and rt. 72.

they are good at getting away with all that slime on them. i ve dropped a few and they slid right down the bank back into the water.

i live in the great state of nj. right by the pine barrens. best place tpo fish for them guys.

this is a nice one caught by a lady friend of mine. caught on a pumpkin green senko jigged on the bottom real slow. she had a great time trying to get it in. prob measured somewhere between 27 and 30 inches. tried to show her how to hold it for the picture but....well you'l see. great fish nonetheless . the melon on this guy was huge.

congrats fellow jersey fisherman.

friend just came back from washington state with a picture of this strange, to me at least, sign about the local fishery.

the thunder from down under!

georgeous fish. hope your brother gets through this. best wishes.

a brown bullhead nailed a colorado blade spinner one day when i was out pickerel fishing. surprised the heck out of me.