Fly Fishing the South Branch of the Raritan River and Teetertown Brook

Last week I dodged the rain and fished both the Ken Lockwood Gorge and Teetertown Brook. My second trip to Teetertown wasn't as productive as the first; indeed, I only caught five wild brook trout. In addition, the trout were less willing to hit the small wooly bugger that was so effective the last time I drove up to Califon (I only caught two on the fly rod; the other three took my small spinner). Before heading to the Raritan, I stopped at Hickory Run. The state owns land along this wild brook trout tributary near Route 513. I added one wild brook to my total.

The Gorge was running high, but I managed to land three trout on the fly. Two took a "gummy" stonefly and one took a bead-head hare's ear nymph. Interestingly, one of the stonefly trout was a wild brown. I've found that the Raritan's wild trout hide out in the fast runs; apparently, the stocked fish find this type of terrain somewhat undesirable.

I also fished a section of the Rockaway Creek near Mountainville. The river was running high and clear, and I didn't catch anything. I hope to try again sometime soon. My time at Teetertown, Hickory Run, and Rockaway is part of my effort to catch more wild trout in the state of New Jersey. If any readers know of any good wild trout spots (in addition to these and Van Campens/Dunnfield Creek) please let me know!


Image #1: Teetertown Brook
Image #2: Wild brook trout from Teetertown Brook
Image #3: Purple Flowering Raspberry




Overall Total: 84

River Breakdown:

Teetertown Brook - 17 (17 Wild Brook)
Raritan River, South Branch - 12 (8 Stocked Rainbow, 3 Stocked Brown, 1 Wild Brown)
Marshalls Creek - 8 (8 Wild Brook)
Elk Creek - 5 (5 Wild Brown)
Elk River - 5 (3 Stocked Rainbow, 1 Stocked Brook, 1 Wild Brown)
Penns Creek - 5 (5 Wild Brown)
Spring Creek - 5 (4 Wild Rainbow, 1 Wild Brown)
Stony Brook - 4 (4 Stocked Rainbow)
Paulinskill River - 4 (2 Stocked Brook, 2 Stocked Rainbow)
Bushkill Creek - 3 (2 Stocked Rainbow, 1 Stocked Brown)
Fishing Creek - 3 (3 Wild Brown)
Lost Cove Creek - 3 (2 Wild Rainbow, 1 Wild Brook)
Brodhead Creek - 2 (1 Stocked Brown, 1 Wild Brown)
Roaring Run - 2 (2 Wild Brook)
Hickory Run - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Little Glade Creek - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Mill Creek - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Mud Run - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
Poplar Run - 1 (1 Wild Brook)
White Deer Creek - 1 (1 Stocked Brook)


Species Breakdown:

Brook Trout - 36
Wild - 32
Stocked - 4

Brown Trout - 24
Wild - 18
Stocked - 6

Rainbow Trout - 24
Stocked - 18
Wild - 6


Wild Trout - 56
Stocked Trout - 28


Trout 15+ Inches: 4


Fly Breakdown:
Olive Wooly Bugger, size 14 - 19 (19 Wild Brook)
Bead-head Pheasant Tail Nymph, size 14 - 10 (8 Stocked Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brown)
Tan Caddis, size 14 - 5 (5 Wild Brown)
Sulphur dun, size 16 - 4 (2 Wild Rainbow, 1 Wild Brook, 1 Stocked Rainbow)
Bead-head Copper John Nymph, size 16 - 3 (3 Wild Brook)
Black Caddis, size 14 - 3 (2 Wild Brown, 1 Stocked Brown)
Bead-head Black Stonefly Nymph, size 10 - 2 (1 Stocked Brown, 1 Stocked Rainbow)
Brown Stonefly nymph, size 10 - 2 (1 Stocked Brook, 1 Stocked Rainbow)
Green Weenie, size 14 - 2 (2 Wild Rainbow)
Gummy Stonefly, size 14 - 2 (1 Stocked Rainbow, 1 Wild Brown)
Bead-head Green Weenie, size 14 - 1 (1 Stocked Brook)
Bead-head Hare's Ear Nymph, size 14 - 1 (1 Stocked Rainbow)
Blue Quill, size 16 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Blue Winged Olive, size 18 - 1 (1 Wild Rainbow)
Golden Stonefly, size 8 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)
Scud, size 16 - 1 (1 Wild Rainbow)
Sulphur dun, size 14 - 1 (1 Wild Brown)


Angling Breakdown:

Fly Fishing Rod - 59 (23 Wild Brook, 13 Stocked Rainbow, 11 Wild Brown, 6 Wild Rainbow, 4 Stocked Brown, 2 Stocked Brook)
Spinning Rod - 25 (9 Wild Brook, 7 Wild Brown, 5 Stocked Rainbow, 2 Stocked Brook, 2 Stocked Brown)


State Breakdown:
New Jersey - 38
Pennsylvania - 35
North Carolina - 9
Virginia - 2