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Jimmy Steal

5 Favorite Summertime Freshwater Fishing Spots In Ocean County

By Jimmy Steal
KENMORE, SCOTLAND - JANUARY 16: Angler Jim Rielly casts during the opening of the salmon fishing season on the River Tay January 16, 2012 in Kenmore, Scotland. A procession with a pipe band and anglers made its way through Kenmore at the east end of Loch Tay to mark the start of the 2012 salmon season on the River Ta.y (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Well it’s the dog days of summer, and you gotta get out there and fish before the cold weather sets in! Now I know Saltwater Fishing has some of it’s best months in the Fall. However, if you’re into freshwater fishing, especially pond and lake fishing for the likes of  Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegills, Pickerel, Catfish, and more, now is the best time to go! So grab the kids at sunrise or just before sunset, get some worms, or your favorite lures, heck bring some bread and hot dogs, because the fish are hungry and sometimes they ain’t picky eaters! This list is not a top 5 list, no instead it’s just a group of freshwater ponds and lakes that I’ve fished and really enjoyed over the last 20 or so years. So that said, here they are in no random order.

  • 1. Lake Shenandoah County Park 660 Ocean Ave Lakewood

    An awesome place to dock fish or boat with bathrooms and a bait and tackle shop right on site! Big Largemouth Bass have been pulled out of here. I’ve never been boat fishing here, but I snagged a gigantic Bluegill off the northern edge of the lake a few summers back, on a live mealworm. I swore it was a Bass it fought so hard! They had some issues a few years back with heavy algae in the pond that skunked the fishing, but I believe the state came in and remedied that.

  • 2. Double Trouble State Park 581 Pinewald Keswick Rd Bayville

    Not just a great place to hike but also to fish! With multiple watersheds to fish from, like the Cedar Creek, Mill Pond Reservoir, Platt Reservoir, and my favorite, the Sweetwater Reservoir. There are some serious Chain Pickerel in the reservoirs here. I’ve nailed a few monster Pumpkinseed Bluegills over the years on spoons as well as Nightcrawlers. Bring the bug spray too! The Cedar Creek in particular, is great for kayak fishing.

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  • Forge Pond Route 70 Brick

    Great fishing here! canoe, kayak, and shore fishing can all land some nice Largemouth Bass, but a lot of Yellow Perch are caught here all Summer long!

     

  • Lake Riviera 371 Lake Shore Dr, Brick Township

    An absolute blast to fish this place. If you bring the kids here, odds are they will catch something! Maybe a Sunny, or maybe even a big ol Largemouth Bass! if you don’t have a boat canoe or kayak, try and fish from the dock on the southeast side of the lake, or the runoff stream east of the lake. In August they usually have a kids fishing tournament, and every summer for years now the local Cub Scout Troops in the area use it for their own fishing derbies.

  • Ocean County College Pond, College Dr, Toms River

    Well for a lot of folks in the area, this is the old standby. Both my kids caught their first Bluegills here when they were each 5 years old, and I’m sure generations of Ocean County folk can say the same thing. It’s loud with the cars on Hooper Ave,  you may snag a damn turtle before you get a fish, and quite frankly it’s so overfished many anglers wont bother, but I have a sweet spot for it. I have nailed a 5 pound catfish there and seen a few people pull out those giant grass eating carp that were purposely put in there to keep the waters from getting, well, too much grass in them, I guess.

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