Musconetcong River Fishing Guides and Conditions, New Jersey

About the Musconetcong River

The Musconetcong runs about forty-five miles from Lake Hopatcong southwest through Hackettstown, Beattystown, Point Mountain and Asbury to the Delaware River near Riegelsville. It is a National Wild and Scenic River over much of that length, and it has been the focus of one of the most sustained dam-removal efforts in the eastern United States: a series of old mill dams have come out over the past two decades, reconnecting the river and letting American shad and other migratory fish return from the Delaware.

For trout anglers the Point Mountain and Asbury reaches are the draw. Cold groundwater and limestone influence give the river a wild brown trout population that is genuinely self-sustaining, and there are designated wild trout and special-regulation sections along the corridor. Stocked rainbows and browns fill in the rest, brook trout live in the tributaries, and the lower river toward the Delaware warms and holds smallmouth bass. Hatches are good: caddis and Hendricksons in spring, sulphurs into June, terrestrials in summer and olives in fall.

The Bloomsbury gauge reads the lower river above the Delaware. This is a small river and it responds quickly to rain, rising and coloring within hours and dropping within a day or two. Moderate readings are ideal for wading the pocket water and the runs; low late-summer flows warm the middle reaches and push trout into the spring seeps and the coldest tributary mouths, and anglers should watch water temperature in July and August.

Hackettstown, Washington, Asbury and Bloomsbury are the towns along the river, all within an easy drive of the New York and Philadelphia metro areas, which is a large part of why it matters.

Access

Point Mountain Reservation: the best-known wild trout water, with parking and trails.
Asbury and the Musconetcong Gorge: lower river access and preserve land.
Bloomsbury: access at the gauge above the Delaware.
Hackettstown: town access and the hatchery reach.
Beattystown and Penwell: middle-river access points.
Stephens State Park and Saxton Falls: upper river below Lake Hopatcong.
Riegelsville and the Delaware confluence: the bottom end and shad water.

Seasons

March and April: stocking, high water and the first hatches.
May and June: the best trout fishing of the year, sulphurs and caddis; shad in the Delaware nearby.
July and August: low warm water; fish the wild sections early and watch water temperatures.
September through November: cooling water, wild browns in spawning color and few anglers.