Fishing Fury » New Jersey

Back From New Jersey

Clive Mathias — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:34:30 +0000

It’s been over a week since I returned from New Jersey, the so called Armpit of America. Before I had visited Jersey I’d heard several stories about the filth and the smell, and I’m not just talking about the freakshows. I flew into Newark International, and at first glance Jersey lived up to the stories I had heard. After a week in Jersey, my opinion of the state changed greatly.

I worked all week, but as soon as the weekend arrived, I woke up early and took a 45 minute drive down highway, exiting at a small town name Hope. Ironically I was hoping to catch some muskie. I met up with a fellow Muskies Inc member name Cal, and after a quick introduction we headed out to Mountain Lake. When we arrived at the lake I was amazed how small it was. A lake this size I would usually refer to as a pond, but regardless of its size, Cal assured me that there muskies here that exceeded 50 inches.

One look at his Jeep and boat and I knew we’d get along just fine.

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Conditions looked great. It was warm, sunny with a few clouds in the distance, much nicer weather then I am accustomed to at this time of year. We set out casting Phantom Glide baits toward weed beds in about 5 feet of water. It didn’t take long to hook the first fish, a healthy 38-40 inch muskie caught within the first hour.

A beautiful New Jersey Muskie, caught on a perch pattern Phantom glide bait.

Things slowed down after that as the wind picked up and pushed us around. We tried casting a few other lure and then started trolling Bulldogs. Only electric motors can be used on Mountain Lake, and the strong winds were working against us. Having to use the electric motor constantly to reposition ourselves, ate up the batteries fairly quickly. We called it a day with one muskie and one bass boated, and a couple more seen, but not hooked.

We had talked about fishing another nearby lake that had a healthy population of tiger muskie, but I was was hoping to stay on Mountain Lake the next day since there were a few spots I wanted to fish again. The next morning I climbed into the car and I took a look at my window. The condensation on the window formed an unmistakable pattern of a tiger muskie, so I when I met up with Cal I suggested that we chase some tigers!

We headed to Oxford Furnace Lake which was even smaller then Mountain Lake, and again we were limited to using an electric motor. We started using glide baits again, but the weeds here were much thicker. We changed tactics and used large soft plastics to avoid the weeds. I landed a solid bass after a couple of hours on the water but that was the only action we saw.

Furnace Lake largemouth bass

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We went in for lunch and got a quick charge on the battery before heading back to Mountain lake for one last attempt. Sadly strong winds again ended our day early. Despite some tough fishing I really enjoyed my time in New Jersey. All of the people I met were great, especially my fishing partner Cal who was an exceptional host on and off the water.

Hello New Jersey!

Clive Mathias — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 02:11:00 +0000

So its been almost a week since I arrived in the Garden State and I have yet to go fishing. I’m actually here in business, but past business trips have always been filled with fishing opportunities and this one is no different. I’m currently attending software training in Parsippany, which does have a few lakes nearby, but none are known for their fishing. Tomorrow morning I’ll be heading out beyond Parsippany with one of my fellow Muskies Inc members and we’ll be chasing the fish of ten thousand casts. Luckily my fishing partners knows the water here and we should be able to find some decent fish.

It’s been 10 days since I last fished, which is the longest span since April. I have every intention of making up for lost time! From what I’ve heard glide baits are producing – luckily I have a few with me!

Gearing Up For Muskie!

Clive Mathias — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:35:09 +0000

I’ll be heading south to the United states in two weeks. Its a business trip, but I’ll be fishing every chance I get. I’ll be in New Jersey, about 40 minutes from New York, New York and I have a lot of fishing options. My goal is to catch a muskie though, so I just ordered a few new lures from a Eastern Esox. I fished for muskie with the co-owner in back in June and he turned me on to a couple of lures that I have wanted to buy ever since, and here they are!

7.5″ Phantom Canadian Crush

6.75″ Magic Maker Silver Shiner and Firetiger

Its been a couple of years since I’ve targeted muskie in the fall, but luckily I’ll be fishing with a guy who knows the area well. As our own Shop grows, you will definitely be seeing pike and muskie lures like these, so check back often!

What are your favorite fall muskie lures?