Six Ponds to Wade for Bass in South Jersey

Banking on South Jersey Bass

The Garden State is birdshot-pocked from Sussex to Cape May counties with publicly owned small lakes and ponds where bass are plentiful and angling pressure, save for stocked trout is nil. However, largemouths are there for the taking. “You’d be surprised at the quality of the bass fishing down here on the small waters where you can’t use a boat,” said Carmen Bersani, the event coordinator for the South Jersey Bass Club Association and president of the Happy Hooker Bass Club based in North Wildwood. He knows whereof he speaks: decent largemouths can be caught from shoreline swims next to heavily trafficked roads, in city and county parks and, when permission is granted, in and around housing/condo developments. Lou Rodia, long-time outdoor columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News, Ocean City Sentinel and Cape May Star & Wave, agrees. Says Rodia: “It’s a matter of familiarity breeding indifference. If you drive by a lake or pond often enough and never see anyone fishing, you figure that there’s nothing in there worth casting to. Big mistake, but I’m not complaining because I often have the spot to myself. Some of the nicest bass, and I’m talking over 4 pounds, I’ve caught from walking around lakes and ponds all through South Jersey. No boat. And no hassles dealing with one. In, around and out. Just how I like it.”

Here are a half-dozen consistent bass-from-the-bank waters where you don’t need a boat, or they are not allowed, and there is an appreciable amount of shoreline access:

Birch Grove Park Ponds (Atlantic County)

This series of 13 small ponds in various configurations, thick with shoreline brush conceal largemouths well over 5 pounds; but be warned – lots of lure and line eating snags make the fish tough to get to. This is perhaps the toughest shoreline approach in south Jersey, but the quality fish are worth the inevitable loss of tackle.

Riverview Beach Pond (Salem County)

Size: 5 acres

Bordering the pulsing Delaware, this park swim will open your eyes with the bass within. Fish will not be big, with 2 to 3 pounds being the high end of what you can expect, but large numbers are there. Now that it has been removed from the spring trout-stocking schedule, pressure will be scant at best.

Mullica Hill Pond (Gloucester County)

Size: 10 acres

Oh boy, what a bassin’ secret Mullica Hill Pond is! Though this water is pounded during the April and late November trout stockings, pressure just about ceases during the in-between months, with the exception of the locals in the know. Despite the number of bass kept by “bucket fishermen,” there are still some eager, decent-sized largemouth hidden within this pond.

Giampietro Park Pond (Cumberland County)

Size: 11 acres

Stuffed with trout during April, angler interest wanes dramatically well before the Memorial Day weekend. But there are good bass in there for those who care!

Laurel Acres Pond (Burlington County)

Size: 2½ acres

A mere dot, but it holds a lot of bass! Stocked with 790 trout during April, this pretty lil’ place is, for all intents and purposes, vacant, angler-wise, after early June until October.

Swedesboro Lake (Gloucester County)

Size: 20 acres

Another recipient of April trout, the brush and trees along the shoreline makes for some tough going, but there are enough bankside openings for an underhand or side-cast presentation. Nice bass hang amongst the pads and weeds, along the laydowns and under the overhangs.

Source: https://onthewater.com/six-ponds-to-wade-for-bass-in-south-jersey

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