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 (Stocked with holdovers)
Rainbow Trout (Stocked with some
holdovers)
Size
Small to Medium
Location
Northwestern New Jersey
Nearest Towns
Great Meadows
Buttzville
Season. J. General Trout Season
Access:
Good
Non-Resident License
State of New Jersey
Season:
The season falls under N. J. General Trout
Season
Winter:
Fly fishing the Pequest River during the Winter is fine during the nicer days.
Spring:
Springtime is normally the best time to for fly fishing the Pequest because of the hatches. Make sure you check the water levels which can be high at times.
Summer:
Trout fishing stays pretty good during the Summer due to the shade but slows down some.
Fall:
Fall is a great time, maybe the best time for big trout.
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
Pequest River Fishing Report – 04/16/24
The stream is flowing a little above a normal level and lightly stained. There are some good hatches taking place.
Rate: 377 cfs
Level: 2.56 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 53
Clarity: stained
USGS Real-ime Stream Flow Data at Pequest NJ
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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
Pequest 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 Pequest 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 This river provides a huge diversity of aquatic insects but most of them exist in sparse quantities.As with most other trout streams, Blue-winged Olives are among the most important insects in the stream. More than one species of these little mayflies will start hatching as early as the middle of February and hatch until the middle of April. There’s another hatch (Easter Blue Winged Olives) that occurs from about the middle of May until the first of June. Another Finally, the last BWO hatch occurs from the middle of August through the month of September. Around the first or second week in April, the Quill Gordons will hatch. It’s a rather short hatch lasting only about two or three weeks. At about the same time the Quill Gordons show come off, the little Blue Quills will start to hatch. The hatch tends to last for about a month.From the middle of April until about the middle of May, the Hendrickson hatch occurs. You will find them in the more moderate sections of the stream.From the last of May until about the middle of June you will find hatches of Eastern Pale Evening Duns (invaria species) occurring. Before the hatch ends, their little sisters or Sulphurs (dorthea species) will start hatching and last until the middle of July. March Browns hatch from about the first of May for most of the month. They are usually found in the faster to moderate sections of the stream. Another clinger mayfly, the Light Cahill, will hatch starting about the last week of May and last throughout the month of June. Slate Drakes hatch over a long period of time, but usually irregularly. They first show up about the first of June and hatch off and on until the middle of September. The little Trico mayflies start hatching about the middle of June and last through the month of July. You will find both the Yellow Drakes and the Tricos in the slower sections of the stream. Caddisflies are also present in good numbers on the Big Flat Brook River. The first hatch of significance is the Little Black Caddis, or American Grannoms. Some of these are called Apple Caddis, named for their apple green bodies. They start hatching about the third week of April and last until near the end of May.Dark Blue Sedges are very plentiful and start hatching near the end of April. This hatch can last into the first of the month of July. The most plentiful caddisflies are the Cinnamon Caddis. Several species of them hatch from about the last week of May all the way through most of the month of September. Green Sedges hatch from about the first of June through August. Their larvae, called Green Rock Worms, are available for trout to eat year-round. Imitations of them should produce just about anytime. Midges hatch throughout the year. They become most important when there isn’t anything else hatching. Imitations of their larvae, pupae and of the adults will produce. A Griffith’s Gnat is the top midge dry during hatches of these tiny flies. Also, don’t overlook streamers. The Pequest River has plenty of minnows, baitfish and sculpin. Streamers are usually most effective under low light conditions or when the water is slightly off color from heavy rain. We have “Perfect Fly” imitations of all of the insects in this stream. They are not only the most realistic flies you can purchase, they are the most effective at catching trout. If you haven’t done so already, please give them a try.