Mid May NJ Fishing Report

Not much has been going on in NJ aside from rain. Fishing hasn't necessarily been tough, just perilous. The musky was close to 2,000 cfs in the beginning of May and the South Branch was flowing at around 1,000 cfs. Bryson and I stayed away until the flows went down to at least 600. In the mean time the North Branch has been yielding quite a few fish for Bryson and I. Over the course of a weekend, with about three hours of stream time, the NBR produced around 20 fish. Just bear in mind that most fish caught from the NBR are cookie cutter rainbows, although there is a healthy population of wild browns there too. Caddis are the predominant hatch right now, and with a half decent presentation many fish can be taken on top. On the evening of the 19th, I took our friend who is a relatively new angler, to the North Branch. He missed quite a few fish on Matt Grobert's Caribou Caddis, great fly - instructions here, and I brought seven to the net, all my fish were on a sexy walts. All though the river have been high, the good fishing has maintained. Just stick to the banks and stay safe.

Here are a few specimens from the North Branch,

Tightlines Everyone,

Alex Rundella