As a kid growing up in the 1980s, no other event was looked upon with such fervor as ice fishing on Lake Hopatcong. The thrill of pulling chain pickerel and yellow perch through a hole in the ice is why the big lake continues to get my blood flowing to this day.
Hopatcong, aka Huppakong, meaning “Honey Waters of Many Coves” in native Lenni Lenape language, is the largest lake in the state of New Jersey, spanning 4 square miles total. It was built by damming the Musconetcong River thereby flooding Great Pond and Little Pond to join themselves into one body of water. The newly formed lake created two new islands, Halsey Island and Raccoon Island, and two prominent peninsulas, Bertrand’s Island and Liffy Island.
As it is the dead of the winter, ice fishing prospects abound. Usually the first area to freeze is in the shallower waters near the southern area of the State Park, Landing and King Cove or Great Cove on the eastern side where depths range from 4 to 10 feet. Deeper waters off Nolan’s Point and off the Windlass can reach 30 feet and are prime turf for walleye jigged down deep. The River Styx section on the western side of the lake has steep drop-offs in the area, surrounded by milfoil growth where bluegill, yellow perch, pickerel and largemouth bass are in their glory. The Bertrand’s Island area was always the first spot we’d stop to set out tip ups as not only pickerel and perch run strong there, but crappie can also be found.
The submarine structure in Hopatcong is quite varied, running from rocky outcropping and slopes to milfoil choked coves and underwater ridges. Spring through fall, walleye fishing in the deeper waters of 35 to 50 feet is prime as leeches on jigheads can score with the marbleye. If you can avoid the boat traffic during summertime, both largemouth and smallmouth bass can be found hitting poppers and swimbaits in the many tucked away coves of the big lake. One of the main attractions to the area has been the red hot hybrid striper bite, where the broken-lined speedsters will inhale live herring or shiners with ferocity, especially during the dark hours in summer and fall months.
Dedicated anglers can attempt to find muskellunge by livelining suckers or herring in the cove sections, namely Great Cove, while catfishing, panfishing and pickerel fishing is always a reliable fishery to get a tug on the line basically anywhere around the lake. A strong thermocline is present during the summer months, so keep your baits up above the oxygen rich 20-foot depths during that time.
With 2,800 acres of sweetwater available to cast into, you’ll never run out of spots or fish to target on Lake Hopatcong. If you’re looking for daily reports, advice, bait, tackle or even a boat to rent, stop in to see the crew at Dow’s Boat Rental at 145 Nolans Point Road (973-663-3826). If you have the Navionics app, you’ll get key contour features too as well as unlocking a few hotspots like the underwater point around Bertrand Island Cove, Barnes Ridge and the Great Cove Buoys.
Meantime, I’m packing the sled, auger and tip-ups to hit the big lake, see ya out there!
