Fly Fishing Road Trips
Good People      Good Water       Good Fish

The Musconetcong River, NJ, was not my original NJ stream choice, so my research was limited. I drove most of the Musconetcong River through Hackettstown, NJ, to the source. It goes through old stone bridges through beautiful little towns and villages. Halfway up the river, I stopped to fish for 30 minutes before sundown as I was ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, I could not raise a freckled fish despite perfect trout water.

I passed a packed Mattar's Bistro during Covid-19 and decided to celebrate my Delaware trout. Dinner, wine, and then sleeping at another rest stop.  

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The rest stop was a scenic overlook, but I couldn't see anything except black at night. At 1:00 am, I got a tap on the window from the State Patrol; no overnight parking at this scenic overview. With no services, I guess the correct rest stop was a quarter of a mile up the road, and I had to move. The state patrol was friendly, and I had no problems moving. At 5:00 am, I drove back to the scenic overlook...wow! NJ is more than just Newark.

I'm an experienced small creek fisherman, so I headed to the headwater of the Musconetcong to find slower water. I could find anything, so I drove down, following the river and looking for a spot to fish. I finally found a bridge on Continental Drive (40.91911, -74.73663) with comfortable water.

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I enter the stream behind the bridge and cast my Yellow Stimulator and Red Copper John dropper. Throwing my rod line under the bridge, I hooked a nice 12-inch rainbow on my fifth cast.  

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New Jersey is Done!

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At about 6:30 am, I released my trout, not choosing to have it for dinner. However, with it being so early, I could now get Connecticut and Rhode Island done on the same day, which I did!