Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Freestone
Species
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Brook Trout
(Stocked with Holdovers – Some wild
brook and brown, )
Size
Medium
Location
Northwestern New Jersey
Nearest Towns
Hackettstown
Hampton
Asbury
Season
Almost year-round. Closed for three
weeks prior to the opening day which
is usually the second Saturday in
April.
Special Regulation Areas:
Yes, Seasonal Trout Conservation
Area (See N. J. Regulations)
Access:
Good
Non-Resident License
State of New Jersey
Seasons:
The season runs almost year-round. It is closed for 3 weeks.
Spring:
Springtime provides some good
hatches and good fishing if the water levels are good.
Summer:
The fishing is good during most of the summer provided there’s enough rain and cool temperatures to keep the water cool.
Fall:
Fall can be an excellent time to for fly fishing the Musconetcong River, again depending on the amount of rain the area gets.
Winter:
It’s possible to catch trout on warm, winter days and the fishing is sometimes surprisingly good.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 & 12 ft., 5 or 6X, Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Superb Five or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Musconetcong River Fishing Report 04/16/24 The stream is flowing at a normal level and clear. Good hatches are taking place.
Stream Conditions: Rate: 693 cfs
Level: 2.91 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 50
Clarity: stained
At Bloomsbury
7 Day Weather Forecast: (click the box below for more detailed weather information)
Recommended Trout Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, 18 nymph, emergers, duns and spinners
Aquatic Worms, size 12, pink, red, and others
Midges: Cream and Red (Blood) midges sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adult. Our larva and pupa midge flies, pre-rigged in tandem, are very popular here. You can fish them under a strike indicator keeping the larva fly near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet
Blue Quills: 18 nymphs, emergers, duns, spinners
Little Black Caddis: 18, pupa, adults
Little Brown Stoneflies: 12, nymphs, adults
Fly Fishing Musconetcong River New Jersey: The Musconetcong River, called the “Musky” by local anglers, is a tributary of the Delaware River. Although it’s a heavily stocked trout stream, there’s a good number of holdover trout consisting mostly of brook and some brown trout. The Musky also supports modest populations of wild brook and brown trout in some stretches of water. Fly fishing the Musconetcong River is very popular for many New Jersey anglers. The upper part of the stream below Saxton Falls, consists mostly of pocket water with some fairly deep pools, long runs and plenty of riffles. This section of the river enters the Stephens State Park not far above Hackettstown, where there’s a continuation of prime pocket water. The stream is surrounded by trees that help keep the water cool during the summer months.When the stream enters Hackettstown, the water slows down and changes into long pools connected by short sections of riffles. There’s less pocket water here than exists in the uppermost section. The bottom becomes soft in some areas and there’s lots of aquatic vegetation on its bottom. The river continues to flow through the Beattystown and Penwell areas.From the Penwell Bridge on Route #57, downstream to the Point Mountain Bridge, a distance of about a mile, the river is designated a Seasonal Trout Conservation Area. From there the stream flows through the towns of Hampton and Ashbury where there’s are some private clubs, but plenty of public access despite those closed sections. The river here has a typical large trout stream feel with long, smooth pools separated by comparatively shallow riffles and short sections of pocket water. If you are fly fishing Musconetcong River on its lower section you will find far less pressure from anglers. This section is just before it reaches the Delaware. It continues to have ample access and the fishing remains quite good most of the time.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Musconetcong River: Fly fishing Musconetcong River can require matching the hatch. The Musky has a tremendous variety of aquatic insects. When there’s a hatch underway, the trout usually key in on it. Because the Musconetccong River has a wide variety of water, the methods and strategies used to catch trout on a consistent basic vary greatly. This beautiful stream has sections of fast water riffles and a few runs in areas and slow, placid sections of water in other locations. Its substrate consist of both rocks and soft sand and mud. This provides a great variety of aquatic insects with both clinger and burrower mayflies along with plenty of crawlers and swimmers. This results in having to match a large number of insects throughout the season.While it is true that the newly stocked trout are not selective and will take a large variety of generic and attract flies, the larger holdover trout won’t be so easy to please. They have to become use to and rely on the natural foods that are in the Musconetcong River. This includes not only the aquatic insects, but also the terrestrial insects, crustaceans and marine species such as sculpin, baitfish and minnows. You will need to match the hatch as well as what is about to hatch in the nymphal stage of life to fool most of the holdover trout. The better fishing starts on the upper end of the river around Saxton Falls. The Stephens State Park below Saxton Falls offers some good runs, riffles and pools as well as good access. There is also access where it flows under U. S. Route 206. Below that is access from Kays Road which parallels a railroad bridge. Most of these areas which are close to the towns of Netcong and Stanhope, are heavily stocked. A favorite of local anglers is the area between I-80 and Kinney Road. There is ample access along Waterloo Road which runs from Saxton Falls through Stephens State Park and on to the town of Hackettstown. This is another heavily stocked section of the river. It is also a beautiful area of the stream.The part of the stream that passes along the town of Hackettstown is heavily stocked with ample access. From Hacketstown, it parallels State Road 57 as far as Port Murray. This is probably the best access.You can get to the river via several crossroads. Most of these bridges are stocked. Those bridges which have the old stone foundations have some nice pools beneath them. There’s the old mill pool in Stephensburg and the area below the fire-house. The old milldam at Penwell has access. This area is the Seasonal Trout Conservation Area which runs just over a mile from the Penwell Road Bridge to the Mountain Road Bridge.You can also access the river along the Musconetcong River Road, or county route #645. Four different bridge cross the river along this route and stocking takes place at each of them.
Musconetcong River Hatches and Trout Flies: Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Musconetcong River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else.1-800-594-4726. The earliest hatches on the Musconetcong River are the early stoneflies. Little Winter Stoneflies, often called Little Back Stoneflies, begin hatching in February and last through the month of March. The next hatch is usually some little Blue-winged Olives. The mayflies are bi-brooded and hatch twice a year in the Musconetcong River. The normally hatch starting in mid March and last through April. They hatch again in late August and September. Blue Quills usually start sometimes in the first of April. These and other April hatches are rely very much on the early season weather. The exact times can vary greatly at this time of the year. Normally the hatch will last all of April. In addition, the Hendricksons and Red Quill mayflies will start in April. Again, it is highly weather dependent. The Hendricksons usually run just behind the Blue Quill and the hatch ends about a week or two past the Blue Quills. The Green Sedges, or Green caddis whichever you prefer, start hatching in May and last into the first of July. Trout can be taken on imitations of their larvae, or Green Rock Worms as they are called during most of the fishing season. Sulphurs begin to hatch in mid May and last into July. There are also hatches of Eastern Pale Evening Duns, also called Sulphurs, that precede this hatch by about two weeks of the true Sulphurs. It ends about two weeks prior to the true Sulphur hatch. LIght Cahill mayflies start hatching around the first of May and last through June. You will find these in the faster water sections of the stream.Eastern Green Drakes hatch to some extent. They usually show up about the middle of May and last for about two or three weeks at the most. This isn’t a very prolific hatch. Slate Drakes start hatching in May and last through September. However, the bulk of this hatch takes place in May and early June, then again in late August and September.Trico mayflies, or the White Winged Curse, start to appear about the middle of June in the slow water sections of the Musconetcong River. These hatch for about two months. White Flies show up in August and September in the slow water sections.Great Autumn Brown Sedges hatch in September and the first two week of October. These large caddisflies hatch during the evenings but imitations of both the larva and the adult egg layers are effective in the afternoons.Don’t overlook terrestrial insects. Imitations of ants, beetles and grasshoppers work from late June through September. Streamers imitating sculpin, crayfish, baitfish and minnows work year-round. They are great in dingy water and very early and very late in the day.n April you will also find the Grannon Caddisflies, including Little Black Caddis and the later, Apple Caddis, both of the Grannon genus of caddisflies, will hatch. Both of these hatches cans string out last into the first of June.Cinnamon caddis are the most prolific of the caddisflies on the Musconetcong River. They start as early as mid April and last through June. There are several species of these net-spinning caddisflies.