Pompton Lakes Fishing Guide, Passaic County, New Jersey

• Overview

  Pompton Lakes stands in Passaic County, New Jersey. The water sits 213 feet up. It runs to roughly 175 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. There is roughly 4.1 miles of bank, more than one visit can cover properly. Size puts it in the front rank of our Passaic County list. Nearest place of any size is Pompton Lakes, 0.7 miles away. It is 8.1 miles to Paterson, the nearest city. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Pompton Lakes

  Depth is on record at 22 ft. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Open biodiversity records for Passaic County list brown trout, walleye, brook trout and bluegill. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. On Pompton Lakes a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 73°F, while January sits near 27°F. A lid forms in a hard winter only. Cover comes and goes, so treat it with suspicion rather than trust. March through May is the strongest run, with October and November a second stretch. The season on Pompton Lakes follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is listed as public in our records, so the bank is open. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Parking within half a mile means no long carry with tackle. A jetty or pier is mapped about half a mile from here. A picnic spot sits half a mile from the bank. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Should this one be busy, Pines Lake is 0.9 miles off. For Pompton Lakes, the notice at the access point is the final word.