Wading the Trenton falls area of the D

[fishngun]

Does anyone know how wadeable the river is in the Trenton falls area? I've got a hankering for a striped bass. I know it's a little early yet, but the time is coming.

 

[phiendWMD]

The NJ side is deep and has a big wall that makes access impossible.
Getting into the water on the PA is much easier and you can wade pretty far out. Make sure you know when the tide will come in and how high to expect it to come in. I've gone swimming a couple times when I pushed the limits a little too far. I can get you a link if you need it but it's pretty easy to google. Also watch the USGS gauge. Something around 10k CFS is perfect for me, after about 12K CFS I wouldn't wade myself. If there are fish around you'll be able to see the boats and have an idea of where to fish. I'd say start around the railroad bridge just below the RT 1 bridge down to the baseball stadium on the NJ side. Just above the Trenton Makes bridge is a very large pool on the NJ side that you can wade up to the edge of from the PA side. A further up a creek comes into the river on the NJ where people fish a lot too. If the water is low enough you can make it across from near the Calhoun St bridge if you are slow and careful.

 

[fishngun]

Wow, thanks for the info! Any suggestions on flies? I was thinking deceivers would more or less cover me. I'll either use an 8 or 10 wt rod.

 

[phiendWMD]

I'm not really sure about flies, sorry. I've tried to catch stripers and so far the results have been embarrassing for me. Hopefully someone else will be along to add their thoughts and help us both out. I know the area because we fish just upstream from there for other stuff and I see all the boats out there in the spring.

 

[sandfly]

lead core shooting heads, and large deceiver/herring patterns. I came up with a herring fly several years ago for there. I would use a 10 wt. if you are casting herring flies (8-12" long) got to get down along the channel edge for them.

 

[Fredrick]

sandfly wrote:
lead core shooting heads, and large deceiver/herring patterns. I came up with a herring fly several years ago for there. I would use a 10 wt. if you are casting herring flies (8-12" long) got to get down along the channel edge for them.

Any success

 

[marcq]

one thing Im thinking about about trying is scaling size of flies down for stripers in rivers like the Delaware and skuke. I never really see any herring there. I mean I know they are but one thing I see a lot of are shiners. Full out schools like little bait balls just waiting to be crushed.

 

[poopdeck]

There are so many herring in the river that the shiner pods can relax all spring. They ain't eating shiners until there is no more herring to eat. Big herring looking streamers sounds about right if you want to catch big stripers, which is my goal. If you want to catch the small resident stripers throw a small anything streamer. The river is loaded with dink stripers year round and frankly can be an annoyance at times.

I use to wade out on the pa side in morrisville. Parking on river road at a ball field and a short walk down a flood berm just upstream from the Calhoun street bridge. You only needed to wade out about 20' On a good day the current is simply more then I care to deal with now. Sure was fun trying to land a striper in the swift current. Do they make a 15wt?

 

[sandfly]

Fredrick, lots of luck there over the years. largest was a 27 lb. lots of fish in the 10 - 20 lb. size. spent 20 years fishing there in the spring. another place I have caught big stripers is rt. 95 bridge area.

 

[Fredrick]

On flies or gear ?

 

[sandfly]

Uh, always fly gear no gear for me in the "D". beach yes river never.

 

[Mike]

The stripers are there now and will be around at least through May, but the best numbers of 18" and over fish are in late April and the first three weeks of May.

 

[fishngun]

I've never fished the tidally influenced part of the river before. Is there a better time to be fishing in this area, meaning incoming or outgoing or slack low or high?

 

[marcq]

Not sure how it holds up in the Delaware nut guys who fish stripers saw two hours before incoming and two hours after. I have spots in jersey on the beach where we only catch at dead low tide so id say just get out and fish when you can. The fish are gonna be moving so anything can happen.

 

[Mike]

The fish are there at high and low tide; they just change positions.

 

[poopdeck]

Low light, two hours before high tide to two hours after high tide is preferred by me since they are easy to find on the flats eating.

 

[sandfly]

what flats in Trenton poopdeck ??

 

[poopdeck]

I was referring to the tidal part below the Trenton ramp down to the bay. By flats I'm referring to any part of the river that goes from the channel edge to the bank. I was thinking boat but now I am reminded of the title of the post.