| Lake Musconetcong is located in northern New | | | | average, and some much bigger have been taken. It |
| Jersey, between Sussex and Morris counties. It is | | | | is not unusual at all to catch 8-10 bass in the 3 pound |
| actually part of Hopetcong State Park, and doesn't | | | | range, and one 5 pounds or over on a good day. Last |
| receive the notariety of its bigger brother Hopetcong | | | | year, we even took a 6 1/4 pounder from here. |
| or Greenwood Lake or any of the central Jersey | | | | LURES AND EQUIPMENT |
| waters. Yet, it is one of the best bass waters in | | | | You should have plenty of weedless lures at |
| northern New Jersey | | | | Musconetcong. Tournament frogs, Bass Rats, |
| Years ago, this area was just swampland. It was | | | | Top-Props, and weedless spoons, along with Senkos |
| flooded a long time ago to allow coal transporting | | | | and worms rigged Texas style are a must. There are |
| barges to make their way to New York City along | | | | some open pockets where you can cast some |
| the Morris canal system. Efforts are being made right | | | | buzzbaits early in the year, but they disappear quickly |
| now, by the Lake Musconetcong Regional Planning | | | | as the water starts to warm. Most of the time, we |
| Board, to insure that nature does not reclaim the land | | | | rig the plastics without any weight, as the grass is |
| as a swamp. Their goal is to preserve the lake's | | | | just too thick. It is actually counterproductive |
| recreational capabilities, bass fishing being one of | | | | because the water is only 4-5 feet deep. We like to |
| them. They dredge the lake each year and perform | | | | use a spinning rod in 6 - 6 1/2 foot lengths in medium |
| weed harvesting. Even so, in the late spring, the | | | | actions and a 6-8 pound test Stren line. In the |
| weed growth in Musconetcong is very heavy. Thick | | | | baitcasters, we use a 7', med/hvy action rod, such as |
| mats of vegetation grow almost to the surface in | | | | a G. Loomis Crankin' Stick and a Shimano Chronarch, |
| most of the lake, and there are large boulders mixed | | | | spooled with 20-25 pound test Stren or Spiderline. |
| in this, which makes fishing with a bass boat hard to | | | | LOCATIONS |
| say the least. More than one trolling shaft and | | | | The best areas to work these lures is the edges of |
| outboard prop have been broken here. | | | | the lily pads, right in with the frogs and rats, and the |
| You won't see a lot of boaters, anglers, and water | | | | edges of the thick slop and mats of grass that |
| skiers here. The lake does not receive the publicity | | | | accumulate on the surface. If you get there early in |
| the other lakes do. In fact, even in the spring and | | | | the year, you can learn where all the boulders and |
| summer on weekends, surprisingly few people will be | | | | underwater objects are, which will aid your boating |
| on the water at any one time. The lake is open to | | | | and fishing later. It is also worth searching the small |
| the public and has a good launching ramp. It is located | | | | drop-offs or depressions, many of which are right in |
| right in the town of Netcong. It is a beautiful 329 | | | | the middle of the heavy grass. These areas will |
| acre lake loaded with a variety of cover and some | | | | concentrate the fish, and at times we catch several |
| real nice bass. | | | | from a small area before moving on. |
| There are reasons for the lack of traffic on | | | | Two areas that are really good are the edges of one |
| Musconetcong. For one, it is pretty shallow. It's | | | | small island, and the length of the tow path used by |
| average depth is about 4 feet, with the deepest | | | | the old barge system. If you picture a line drawn |
| water being only 6 feet. Since the bottom of the | | | | from the public ramp to the far side, passing through |
| lake gets a lot of sunlight, there is tremendous weed | | | | a point about midway between the island and the |
| growth. In fact, this lake is probably the "weediest" | | | | right hand shore, you'll have a good idea of where it |
| you'll see in this region. The shallow water also allows | | | | is. |
| for rapid warming and cooling of the water compared | | | | Some other good baits to try in Musconetcong are |
| to deeper lakes, so Musconetcong is usually a few | | | | soft plastic jerk baits like a "Sizmic Flu-Go or Toad", |
| weeks ahead of the other lakes in its seasonal | | | | Bearpaws Jerkbaits, or Sluggos and Bass Assassins. |
| warming and cooling. The daily temperature changes | | | | All in all, Musconetcong is a good time lake for all. |
| are more pronounced. | | | | Hopefully, it will be there for many years to come. |
| For the bass, this is an ideal habitat. There is a lot of | | | | Practice catch, photo, and release and you can |
| food and cover to hide in. The bass we catch in | | | | assure the future of fishing and Lake Musconetcong |
| Musconetcong are usually about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds on | | | | for everyone. |