Totowa

Another of the Little Falls waterfalls.  This water is coming from a channel of the Passaic
The channel is sectioned off from the river itself.  It is off limits to the general public.
However , it is visible in the Google satellite pictures

The duck weed is pretty thick hear.  Since I did not bring any weedless flies, I did not stay here
for a long time.

Below the channel there is this section of the river.  It looks like a great place for pike to hang
out and wait for the unsuspecting.

A few soft bait flies I tried today.

Passaic River at Little Falls II

There are smallmouth bass and carp in this part of the Passaic River.  I caught this one with a small
clouser (black).

The wooded area near the access point to the river.  Tricky walking, I advise wearing
hiking boots for support of your ankles while you walk on the loose shale stones,

I saw several hedge hogs in this wooded area and another large white tail deer.

Carp were near, in fact while I was fishing for bass, four carp approached the shore line.
They were no more than three meters from where I stood on the river bank.  I was stunned
by their boldness.  They did not try to avoid being seen by me and simply swam up river .

I stood on the river bank hoping that they would return but They did not.  I also saw two koi
They were orange and white each more than 60mm in length.

Little Falls

These are the Little Falls of the Passaic River.  Not as spectacular as The Great Falls further
north but you can see how it got it's name.

I apologize for the blurred photo.  I was shooting through a chain link fence when I took this
photo.  If you look closely you will see what I saw when I looked  down at the river.

There were about twenty carp , all feeding on debris that had fallen from the over hanging
trees.

Here you can see an area loaded with carp swimming, tailing and clooping on the surface.

There are pools of calm looking water and smaller falls and more pools of water.

Further away from the area with carp swimming and feeding, I found a couple of fly fishers
catching smallmouth bass and panfish in another pool.  As you can see they were wet wading
The river water is still relatively warm even after 6:00 pm in the evening.

The Passaic River water level is low.

Passaic

THE AFTERNOON STARTED OUT WITH ME LOSING THE FIRST TWO CARP WHEN MY TIPPETS SNAPPED AT THE KNOT.  I USE FLUOROCARBON NOT MONO.  I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THE TIPPET WAS TOO OLD BUT THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE THIS AFTERNOON.

AFTER THE FIRST BREAK I SWITCHED TIPPET SIZE TO 2X.  IT DIDN'T HOLD EITHER AND I WAS TARGETING SMALLER CARP.  MY THIRD TIPPET SIZE CHOICE WAS  MY STANDARD 4X. I HAD NO MORE BREAKS AFTER THAT.

THE LAKE IN PASSAIC IS ABOUT TO UNDERGO SOME DRASTIC CHANGES.  I DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT THE LAKE WILL BE LIKE NEXT SEASON.  THERE ARE TALKS OF DRAINING THE LAKE AND MAKING IT DEEPER.  IT IS WHISPERED THAT BASS AND TROUT MAY BE STOCKED.  REPORTEDLY THIS WILL BE DIFFICULT BECAUSE THE LAKE IS FEED BY RUN OFF FROM THE STREETS. 

Bound Brook II

Earlier this season I visited Bound Brook's Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Trail.
My first visit was to the trail on the west side of the park.  This time I fished the east side.
I saw at least six deer during my visit.  I estimate that this side is about 5 kilometers long.

The park trail runs parallel to the Raritan River all the way down to New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Prior to my trip today I visited the park in New Brunswick.  It is tidal river in that area and one can
literally walk across the Raritan River at low tide.

There is a lot of duck weed in the canal.  Usually one side of the canal had up to two meters
 of duck weed on one side or the other.  The next time I come here I will bring one of my Fenwick
fiberglass fly rods.  This is not the place to bring your standard nine foot fly rod.  There is almost no room for backcasting in this park.  I recommend single hand rod Spey casting or Roll casting to get your flies out.

Wading is possible but I wanted to survey the area first.

I caught a small perch using a soft bait. 

The Delaware & Raritan Canal The Delaware and Raritan Canal—along with bordering lands—became a state park in 1974 and offers a wide array of sportfishing opportunities. This includes a spring trout fishery along the Mercer County stretch plus stocked muskie and channel cats from Griggstown to its terminus at the Raritan near the Route 18 bridge. This fishery spills into the Raritan River, enhancing that angling experience well. The downside of this connection between the state’s two largest rivers is that it also serves as a fast lane for the spread of invasive species from one watershed to the next. Such was the case with the discovery of a 14-inch flathead catfish—the first in New Jersey documented outside of the Delaware River Watershed—electrofished during a 2013 survey in the lower Millstone River just upstream from the Island Farm Weir.

Fishing

Fishing is permitted the entire length of the canal. Anglers can find bass, sunfish, catfish, perch and pickerel within the canal as well as trout, which the Division of Fish and Wildlife stocks the canal with each spring. Fishing is also permitted in the Delaware River. All canal and river fishing is subject to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife regulations.

Passaic River, at Little Falls, New Jersey

  I fished the area in the town of Little Falls, New Jersey.  It is a place where the river has a
waterfall but one not as spectacular as the Great Falls in Paterson, New Jersey.
I plan to continue to fish rivers until the fall.  The Passaic, because of it's length, will require
 more inspections.

Just like Mountainview, the train service in this town is part time.  In fact there is no train service at all
on the weekends.  However there is a bus stop near the river and I had no problem finding points
to access the river after my arrival..  The north side of the river is blocked by private homes for the most part.  I found access on the south shore.

At the first spot I fished the river looked calm.  There was no wind this afternoon.  For a few weeks now I have experimented with fishing soft baits on my six weight rod.  I fished a small red rubber worm attached
to a bait hook.  The movement in the water is incredible!  The problem is,I think, the worm is too long.
I can not get the bass to attack the hook instead of the tail.  I had several big bass follow and bite the worm's
tail.  I switched to a BH white woolie bugger and caught a bass.

Tree fungus

Mountainview

Mountainview is a place I knew would have access to the Pompton River.  The
Pompton is a major tributary to the Passaic River.  The problem with going to Mountainview
is that it does not have return train service to New York after 10:00am.  In order to get
transportation back to New York I would have to take a bus back to Port Authority.  This involved
waking about an hour to the Willowbrook shopping area where the bus to the Port Authority stops.

The river had algae and duck weed in this area.  I tried to fish here for awhile but caught nothing.

  This spot, I'm told, has catfish, carp and panfish.  North of the Pompton River is
 The Pequannock River, a trout fishery.

As I walked to my "extraction" point at the shopping center,  I saw spin fishers fishing for bass.
There was less algae and clear water.  I even saw a cruising carp deep in the water column.

The closer I got to the mall the more fishy the water looked.  The river moves slowly and
is calm.  I even saw some white tail deer in the bush.

I caught several of these just before the Pompton River joins the Passaic River.

The Pompton River is a tributary of the Passaic River, approximately 8 mi (13 km) long, in northern New Jersey in the United States.
It is formed south of the borough of Pompton Lakes by the confluence of the Ramapo and Pequannock rivers. It flows south, passing between Lincoln Park and Pequannock Township (to the west) and Wayne (to the east). It enters the Passaic north of Fairfield. Its watershed encompasses section of the Ramapo Mountains along the New York-New Jersey border in the rural suburbs of New York City. It is the main tributary by volume of the Passaic. A portion of the river's water is diverted to the nearby Wanaque Reservoir.