tjc76

Where are you in Bergen thedanger?

Tyson- welcome to the site. I live about 15 minutes from ya. If you are looking for nearby fishing spots, look no further than your backyard. The Passaic River, especially for smallmouth and northern pike. Here is my personal best smallmouth, 20 and a 1/4, caught right out of the Passaic in Little Falls.

chatterbaits penetrate weeds very well. They also drive fish hog wild.

tough decision. all depends on what you want to fish for most. As J Francho and Snakehead Whisperer said, NY and VA. NY has so much incredible water, it has to rank up there. Erie for monster smallmouth. Ontario for monster browns. Oneida for walleyes. Lake Champlain for any and every species imagineable. St Lawrence River smallmouth and Muskies. Salmon river. Montauk for stripers. The list goes on and on. I haven't done much fishing in Va except for smallmouth, but the New and James River are world class smallmouth fisheries. The James is also renowned for Muskies. Chesapeake Bay is the largest striped bass estuary in the world. Pennsylvania gets a vote in my book as well, with many fine smallmouth rivers. Also some fine muskie fisheries. Florida goes without saying. Huge largemouth, and peacock bass. When you get bored of targeting them, you can fish for tarpon, permit, bonefish, snook, cobia, grouper, snapper, bluefish, flounder, tuna, redfish, speckled trout, you get the picture. Too bad they don't have any smallmouth. that is a dealbreaker for me. LOL I'll just live there November to May, then go back to my beloved smallies.

My personal best 3-6 18 inches http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w438/tjc76/august%209%202012/009.jpg The best looking http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w438/tjc76/001-1.jpg

Caught my personal best smallmouth bass yesterday. 18 inches 3 lbs 6 oz. www.photobucket.com/tjc768912

best fish of the day today. www.photobucket.com/tjc76july30

Nice work Steven, keep at it. They will get bigger. Rapalas work real good. It is always good to have a crankbait, minnow or spinner tied on a rod. You can cover water fast and move on if nothing is happening. Seems it worked for you.

Steven, I fish the Passaic mainly in the Little Falls/ Totowa area. I park in any office lot I can find with easy access to the river. As for Elmwood Park, you can do really good in that parking area. walk down the path headed south on river road, there are some deep holes right along the bank, eight to ten feet deep. the fish stack up there and will crush soft plastics

Steven, welcome to bassresource. I live in Waldwick and fish Whites quite a bit. It can be pretty good. Most of the fish there are cookie cutter size. 1 to 2 lbs. My pb from whites is 3 lb 9 oz. There are also lots of sunfish, carp, and catfish. I spend most of my time fishing the Passaic and Ramapo rivers for smallmouth. If you ever want to meet up, send me a pm.

Brian, Been fishing pretty much everyday in the little falls/ totowa area. It has been on. xraps and senkos are hot.

Fished the passaic river today in the pouring rain. The smallmouth bite was ON. 14 smallies landed, 3 dropped. 2 on a silver phoebe, 2 on a powerteam lures grub, 10 on a black/blue flake senko. Nothing huge, all fish 10 -14 inches. A couple of pictures.

I've been nailing trout in all the stocked brooks and creeks. Getting kind of tired of trout fishing. Time to start concentrating on smallies. Hit the Passaic River yesterday. Smallmouth fishing is heating up. Had 4 bronzebacks 11- 19 inches. Hitting Rapala xraps and soft plastics.

curado

I am glad to see so many responses to this thread! Keep em coming. Maybe at some point we can arrange a fishing get together or mini tournament at a central location in the state.

I don't think it is illegal. I have never heard of such a law.

I would try something like a keitech swing impact paddletail if they are chasing bait. rig it on a 1/16 jig head and just run it back steady. I get lots of slackwater smallies this way.

I purchased a Veritas 7 ft Medium/fast two weeks ago for river smallie fishing and I couldn't be happier with it. I have been throwing mostly soft plastics like keitech swing impacts, power team craw doerves and senkos with it. My local retailer has coupons for 25 off $100, so for $75, i could not turn this rod down. Mine is matched to a Shimano Symetre 2500. I am very happy with it.

I have been in the hvac r industry for 13 years now, union for 8 of them. I really enjoy the work, but as slonezp says, it is not the field to be in if you are looking for more family time. I have never been laid off, the company that I work for now, going on six years, is extremely busy. We do a lot of refrigeration work, cold storage, meat plants, and supermarkets. This emphasis on refrigeration keeps me working anywhere between 400-800 hours of overtime each year. No vacations allowed May through September. You just need to remember that you are only as good as your last service call. If you messed up, they remember, if you did well, they forget as soon as you f up again.

thanks for posting bilgerat. As for everyone else, 63 views and not one response except bilgerat. Comeon, New Jersey!

Hello everybody. I was just curious to see how many members we have here from the Garden State. So I'll get it started, My name is Tom and I am addicted to bass fishing. I live in Bergen County. I try to wet a line everyday, although fishing time is at a premium. My goal for the summer of 2011 is to not fish with Senkos at all. Oh, and I want to catch lots of Smallies. So, any other Garden Staters out there?

I have three mojo rods, all casting models. A jig and worm, crankbaits, and slop and frog. I personally like all three of them and will purchase others as my finances permit. I don't personally have any issue with them being tip heavy. They all feel pretty well balanced. I realize the original poster specifically asked about the plastics model. I just figured I would add my two cents.

From Mid June through October, you can catch multiple limits of smallies on the entire length of non tidal river. Most are average size, with some giants mixed in.

I would like in as well, please. I will be fishing NY, NJ, PA, and CT.

beautiful fish!