Fishing at Oak Ridge Reservoir, Passaic County, New Jersey

• Overview

  Passaic County, New Jersey, is where Oak Ridge Reservoir sits. The surface lies 850 feet up. At 464 acres this is proper open water rather than a pond. With 5.2 miles or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. Size puts it in the front rank of our Passaic County list. 5.3 miles away sits Ogdensburg, the nearest town. Beyond it, Franklin at 6.3 miles and Lake Telemark at 6.8 miles. The county line runs close by, so rules can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Oak Ridge Reservoir

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Standing timber shows when the level drops, and fish sit against it. County-wide records name brown trout, walleye and brook trout. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. At Oak Ridge Reservoir the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 70°F and January about 25°F. The calendar is generous: something works in nearly every month. In milder years the edges alone go, and the middle never sets. Spring and autumn carry the year; summer squeezes it into the ends of the day. Oak Ridge Reservoir runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. Public data records a boat ramp half a mile out. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. If the gate is shut, Schaffers Ponds at 1.6 miles is the nearest alternative. None of that is settled for Oak Ridge Reservoir in what we hold.