I took a drive Monday to scout out the Raritan River before I updated my weekly Orvis Fishing Report. I cover the Manasquan River to Raritan Bay report, you can see it HERE. One of the first things I saw was the remains of several striped bass in Whale Creek in Cliffwood Beach. I guess some fish moved in during the overnight and fell to one of the many anglers who fish along this stretch.
Tonight I am heading up to the North Country. I will be staying at the lodge through the weekend getting things ready for the season. We have a few clients lined up for June and July trips so this is a good time for an "early" spring cleaning. The waters up there have been as bad as they ever have. Roads and bridges have washed out. There was fear that dams would fail, and several rivers were above flood stage. Below is a shot of the East Branch of the Ausable were it flows into Ausable Forks. The gage height is currently over the 7 foot floodstage mark, and on April 28th it was at 11.5 feet. Needless to say fishing will be limited to the ponds or small tribs.
