ROUND VALLEY RESERVOIR, NJ
One doesn’t need to take a float plane into Great Slave Lake in Canada to experience trophy lake trout fishing. The 200-foot depths of Hunterdon County, New Jersey’s Round Valley Reservoir fits the bill and requires less fuel. The combustible angling action has everything to do with cold bottom temperatures. On hot summer days, the surface can be a balmy 80 degrees while the bottom is a cool 50. Lake trout to 30 pounds have been taken by anglers and state biologists. Several large lakers have been landed already this spring and Greg Young’s state record of 32 pounds, eight ounces is in jeopardy of being broken. Lake trout have multiplied after initial stockings after the dams were constructed and the valley was flooded in 1960. These char have done too well and the state has continued to liberalize size and bag limits to encourage anglers to keep lake trout so other species have a better chance at eating the limited amounts of forage. Hundreds of trophy brown and rainbow trout are stocked annually by the state and the Round Valley Trout Association (www.fishrvta.com). They need a boost, and taking as many lakers as possible and stocking forage like shiners may be the answer to Lenny Saccente’s 21-pound, six-ounce state record brownie caught in 1995. Unfortunately, since Saccente’s remarkable catch, the sizes of browns and rainbows have been on a steady decline.
Two methods of angling take place as boaters chug out with 9.9 horsepower engines since this is a back-up reservoir for drinking water. The bait and wait approach with one or two anchors is effective, especially when chumming with chunks of dead bait. Herring are the bait of choice on the hook and nearby Lebanon Bait and Sport carries these delicate fish that do not fall under the current herring ban. Lines are set just off the bottom with egg sinkers for lakers and slip floats and flat lines are used 20 to 50 feet below the surface for browns and rainbows.
The other method, and one employed by Trout Association sharpies, is trolling with downriggers or lead core. Spoons, flies and meathead rigs are pulled with or without the aid of planer boards to increase the size and width of the trolling spread. “I like to run the Offshore in-line planers with a few colors of lead core and it catches those fish that move out from under the boat,” says Round Valley regular and Trophy Trout stocking Chairman Mike Roman.
The Valley produces trout as well as huge small and largemouth bass in addition to some of the biggest sunfish you will see in four states. It is definitely worth checking out, but be sure to check the weather. Severe storms pop out from around the Cushetunk Ridge and can take you by surprise. With the horsepower restriction designed to cut down on emissions, getting back to the boat ramp may take some time. If the lights at the boat ramp, on top of the dams and southern end are flashing, that means winds are above 35 miles per hour and no craft are allowed to launch or be on the water. Be safe when boating, learn from the best tour anglers in the state and you will catch a boatful at beautiful and scenic Round Valley.