Live wading and fishing conditions for 41 New Jersey rivers
Every river below is monitored through its USGS streamflow gauges, refreshed every 15 minutes and rated in plain language for wading safety. Select a river for the live dashboard with current flow, trend, weather and community reports.
Delaware River
The Delaware is the region's great border river — a free-flowing, undammed main stem that is New Jersey's premier smallmouth fishery and the heart of the spring American shad run. This is big water best fished by boat or from the bank; conditions frame boating and wading-shoal safety, and it rises hard and muddy after upstream rain.
Region: Delaware · Fish for: Smallmouth Bass, American Shad · USGS gauges: Delaware River At Belvidere Nj, Delaware River At Riegelsville Nj, Delaware River At Trenton Nj
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South Branch Raritan River
New Jersey's premier trout river — the South Branch tumbles through the Ken Lockwood Gorge, a rugged catch-and-release wild/stocked reach that is the crown jewel of Garden State fly fishing. Cold, boulder-strewn, and holdover-rich above and below the gorge, it fishes best in spring and fall and shrinks to pockets in a hot, dry summer.
Region: Raritan Basin · Fish for: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout · USGS gauges: South Branch Raritan River Near High Bridge Nj, South Branch Raritan River At Stanton Nj
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Big Flat Brook
New Jersey's classic fly-fishing water — the Big Flat Brook runs through the Delaware Water Gap NRA and Stokes State Forest, with the famous Blewett Tract fly-fishing-only, catch-and-release reach. Cold, wild, and beautiful, it holds stream-bred browns and brookies plus stocked trout, and it fishes best spring and fall.
Region: Skylands / NW · Fish for: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout · USGS gauges: Flat Brook Near Flatbrookville Nj
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Musconetcong River
The 'Musky' is a Wild & Scenic Highlands river and one of New Jersey's finest trout streams — cold, freestone, and holding wild browns plus heavy stocking from Lake Hopatcong down to Bloomsbury. Dam removals have restored long free-flowing reaches; the lower river adds smallmouth as it warms.
Region: Skylands / NW · Fish for: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout · USGS gauges: Musconetcong River At Outlet Of Lake Hopatcong Nj, Musconetcong River Near Bloomsbury Nj
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North Branch Raritan River
The North Branch runs out of the Somerset Hills through a mix of stocked trout water up high and warmwater smallmouth reaches as it broadens toward Raritan. The upper reaches near Far Hills get spring trout; downstream it's a wadeable smallmouth and panfish river over gravel and ledge.
Region: Raritan Basin · Fish for: Brown Trout, Smallmouth Bass · USGS gauges: North Branch Raritan River Near Far Hills Nj, North Branch Raritan River Near Raritan Nj
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Raritan River
Formed where the North and South Branches join at Branchburg, the main-stem Raritan is the state's signature smallmouth float below Manville and Bound Brook. It's a broad, wadeable-to-floatable river over rock and gravel; dam removals have reopened long stretches to migrating fish and smallmouth.
Region: Raritan Basin · Fish for: Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: Raritan River At Manville Nj, Raritan River Below Calco Dam At Bound Brook Nj
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Pequest River
Home water of the state's Pequest Trout Hatchery, this Warren County river is stocked as heavily as any in New Jersey and holds trout year-round below the hatchery. Cold, accessible, and family-friendly, with holdover browns in the deeper runs.
Region: Skylands / NW · Fish for: Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout · USGS gauges: Pequest River At Huntsville Nj, Pequest River At Pequest Nj
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Mullica River
The Mullica is the great river of the Pine Barrens — a tannic, cedar-dark river draining the heart of the pinelands past historic Batsto Village to Great Bay. It's a premier chain pickerel and largemouth fishery in wild, remote water, best paddled and productive year-round.
Region: Pine Barrens · Fish for: Chain Pickerel, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: Mullica River Near Batsto Nj
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Paulinskill River
The Paulinskill drains the Skylands from Sussex County to the Delaware, a stocked and holdover trout river up high that broadens into a smallmouth and mixed-warmwater stream downstream. Recent dam removals have reconnected long reaches and reopened shad and trout access.
Region: Skylands / NW · Fish for: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout · USGS gauges: East Branch Paulins Kill Near Lafayette Nj, Paulins Kill At Blairstown Nj
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Rockaway River
A Highlands trout river with a wild streak — the Rockaway holds stream-bred browns above Boonton and runs through the rugged Boonton Gorge before its reservoir. Stocked heavily in spring, with a productive wild-trout reach and cold, boulder-strewn pocket water.
Region: North Jersey Highlands · Fish for: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout · USGS gauges: Rockaway River At Warren Street At Dover Nj, Rockaway River At Main Street At Boonton Nj, Rockaway River Below Reservoir At Boonton Nj
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Lamington (Black) River
The Lamington — called the Black River up top — is a scenic stocked and holdover trout stream falling through Hacklebarney State Park's gorge before easing into warmwater reaches near Pottersville. The upper canyon is rugged, cold pocket water; the lower river holds smallmouth and stocked trout.
Region: Raritan Basin · Fish for: Brown Trout · USGS gauges: Lamington (Black) River Near Pottersville Nj
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Ramapo River
The Ramapo crosses from New York into the northern Highlands, a stocked-trout river up high that becomes a smallmouth and mixed-warmwater river as it broadens toward Pompton Lakes. Popular and accessible, with trout in spring and river smallmouth through the summer.
Region: North Jersey Highlands · Fish for: Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass · USGS gauges: Ramapo River Near Mahwah Nj, Ramapo River At West Oakland Avenue At Oakland Nj, Ramapo River At Pompton Lakes Nj
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Pequannock River
The Pequannock drains the Newark watershed lands in the northern Highlands, with a designated trophy-trout reach and cold, clear water holding wild and stocked browns and rainbows. Access on the upper river runs through watershed permit lands; the lower river warms toward the Pompton.
Region: North Jersey Highlands · Fish for: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout · USGS gauges: Pequannock River At Oak Ridge Nj, Pequannock River At Macopin Intake Dam Nj, Pequannock River At Riverdale Nj
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Maurice River
The Maurice (pronounced 'Morris') is a federally designated Wild & Scenic river draining Cumberland County to Delaware Bay — a largemouth, catfish, and pickerel river up high that turns tidal below Norma, adding striped bass and white perch. Broad and slow, it's a bank-and-boat fishery.
Region: South Jersey · Fish for: Largemouth Bass, Channel Catfish · USGS gauges: Maurice River At Norma Nj
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Manasquan River
The Manasquan runs from the Monmouth County uplands to the sea, stocked with trout in its cooler upper reaches near Squankum and holding largemouth, pickerel, and smallmouth as it broadens. A two-in-one river — spring trout up high, warmwater and coastal fishing downstream.
Region: Central Coast · Fish for: Rainbow Trout, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: Manasquan River At Squankum Nj, Manasquan River Near Allenwood Nj
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Great Egg Harbor River
A federally designated Wild & Scenic river draining the southern pinelands to Great Egg Harbor Bay, the Great Egg is a long tannic chain pickerel and largemouth fishery. Cedar-stained and mostly slow, it broadens toward the coast and adds smallmouth and catfish in reaches.
Region: Pine Barrens · Fish for: Chain Pickerel, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: Great Egg Harbor R Near Sicklerville Nj, Great Egg Harbor River Near Blue Anchor Nj, Great Egg Harbor River At Folsom Nj
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Spruce Run
A cold Highlands tributary of the South Branch feeding Spruce Run Reservoir, stocked heavily with trout each spring and holding wild browns in its upper reaches near Glen Gardner. Small, brushy, and intimate — a classic small-stream trout fishery.
Region: Raritan Basin · Fish for: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout · USGS gauges: Spruce Run At Main Street At Glen Gardner Nj, Spruce Run At Clinton Nj
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Passaic River
The Passaic rises in the Great Swamp and loops through northern New Jersey — its upper reaches are a slow, weedy largemouth, pickerel, and pike fishery, while the lower river below Little Falls and Dundee Dam broadens into bass and catfish water. This is a bank-and-boat river; treat conditions as bank-fishing safety, not a wade number.
Region: Passaic & Northeast · Fish for: Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass · USGS gauges: Passaic River Near Chatham Nj, Passaic River At Pine Brook Nj, Passaic River At Little Falls Nj, Passaic River At Dundee Dam At Clifton Nj
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Toms River
Toms River is a tannic Pine Barrens river winding through the pinelands to Barnegat Bay — a classic chain pickerel and largemouth fishery in cedar-stained water. Slow, dark, and beautiful, it's best fished from a canoe or the bank and stays productive through the cold months.
Region: Central Coast · Fish for: Chain Pickerel, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: Toms River Near Toms River Nj
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Wading River
The Wading River is one of the classic Pine Barrens canoe rivers, its West Branch and main stem running clear and tannic through Wharton State Forest. A fine chain pickerel and largemouth fishery in remote, cedar-lined water.
Region: Pine Barrens · Fish for: Chain Pickerel, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: West Branch Wading River Near Jenkins Nj
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Pompton River
The Pompton forms where the Ramapo, Wanaque, and Pequannock join and runs a short, broad course to the Passaic — a slow warmwater river of smallmouth, largemouth, pike, and catfish best fished from the bank or a boat. Northern pike stocked into the system make it a cold-season draw.
Region: North Jersey Highlands · Fish for: Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: Pompton River At Pompton Plains Nj
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Rancocas Creek
The Rancocas drains the northwestern pinelands to the Delaware in Burlington County, its North and South Branches running tannic and slow through farm and forest. A quiet chain pickerel, largemouth, and catfish fishery best paddled; the lower main stem turns tidal below Bridgeboro.
Region: Pine Barrens · Fish for: Chain Pickerel, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: North Branch Rancocas Creek At Pemberton Nj, South Branch Rancocas Creek At Vincentown Nj
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Millstone River
A slow, meandering Raritan tributary running north through Princeton and the Delaware & Raritan Canal corridor — a warmwater river of largemouth, smallmouth, pickerel, carp, and catfish rather than a trout stream. Best fished from the bank or a canoe around the many impoundments and slow bends.
Region: Raritan Basin · Fish for: Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass · USGS gauges: Millstone River At Blackwells Mills Nj
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Pohatcong Creek
A limestone-influenced Warren County trout stream running toward the Delaware near Carpentersville, holding wild browns and brookies in its cold upper reaches plus spring stocking. Small, spring-fed, and rich — a fertile little wild-trout gem.
Region: Skylands / NW · Fish for: Brown Trout, Brook Trout · USGS gauges: Pohatcong Crk At Creek Rd Nr Carpentersville Nj
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Cedar Creek
A pristine, fast-flowing Pine Barrens stream running to Barnegat Bay near Lanoka Harbor — one of the most popular canoe runs in the pinelands and a fine chain pickerel and largemouth fishery. Cedar-stained, sandy-bottomed, and lined with Atlantic white cedar.
Region: Central Coast · Fish for: Chain Pickerel, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: Cedar Creek At Western Blvd Near Lanoka Harbor Nj
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Metedeconk River
The Metedeconk drains the Ocean County pinelands into Barnegat Bay, a tannic largemouth and pickerel river through Lakewood and its branches. Slow, cedar-stained, and best paddled — a classic Pine Barrens-edge warmwater fishery.
Region: Central Coast · Fish for: Largemouth Bass, Chain Pickerel · USGS gauges: North Branch Metedeconk River Near Lakewood Nj
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Oswego River
The Oswego drains Penn State Forest and the eastern pinelands past historic Harrisville, a tea-dark, cedar-lined river feeding the Wading system. Remote and pristine, it holds chain pickerel and largemouth and is a favorite quiet paddle.
Region: Pine Barrens · Fish for: Chain Pickerel, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: Oswego River At Harrisville Nj
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Neshanic River
A modest South Branch tributary winding through the Hunterdon farm country near Reaville, holding smallmouth, rock bass, and panfish in its rocky riffles and pools. A quiet wade-and-explore warmwater stream that comes into its own in early summer.
Region: Raritan Basin · Fish for: Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: Neshanic River At Reaville Nj
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Wanaque River
A short Highlands river running between reservoirs from Awosting to Wanaque, its flow tightly controlled by the Wanaque and Monksville dams. Stocked with trout in the cooler reaches, it's a small regulated stream where the release schedule matters as much as the weather.
Region: North Jersey Highlands · Fish for: Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout · USGS gauges: Wanaque River At Awosting Nj, Wanaque River At Wanaque Nj
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Tuckahoe River
The Tuckahoe runs from the southern pinelands to Great Egg Harbor Bay, tannic and slow through wild cedar country before turning tidal below the Head of River. A chain pickerel and largemouth fishery up top, with striped bass in the tidal reach.
Region: South Jersey · Fish for: Chain Pickerel, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: Tuckahoe River At Head Of River Nj
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Assunpink Creek
The Assunpink runs from the Mercer County uplands through the Assunpink WMA and historic Trenton to the Delaware, a largemouth and smallmouth stream with a chain of lakes on its upper reaches. Bass, catfish, and panfish in the creek and its impoundments.
Region: Trenton / Lower Delaware · Fish for: Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass · USGS gauges: Assunpink Creek Near Clarksville Nj, Assunpink Creek At Trenton Nj
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Mulhockaway Creek
A small, clear wild-trout tributary of Spruce Run flowing past Van Syckel — one of New Jersey's designated wild-trout streams, holding stream-bred browns and a few brookies. Tight, cold, and lightly fished; a stealth-and-small-fly game.
Region: Raritan Basin · Fish for: Brook Trout, Brown Trout · USGS gauges: Mulhockaway Creek At Van Syckel Nj
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Stony Brook
A pretty Millstone tributary running through the Watershed Institute's reserve and Princeton, holding smallmouth, panfish, and stocked trout in its cooler upper reaches. A wadeable neighborhood stream with better fishing than its size suggests.
Region: Raritan Basin · Fish for: Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: Stony Brook At Princeton Nj
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Saddle River
A Bergen County stream running through dense suburbs from Upper Saddle River to Lodi, stocked with trout each spring and holding bass, carp, and panfish. The Saddle River County Park path follows much of it — an accessible urban trout-and-warmwater stream.
Region: Passaic & Northeast · Fish for: Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout · USGS gauges: Saddle River At Ridgewood Nj, Saddle River At Lodi Nj
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Cohansey River
The Cohansey winds through the Cumberland County farmland to Delaware Bay, a slow largemouth and pickerel river up high that turns broad and tidal below Seeley. A quiet bank-and-paddle fishery for bass, pickerel, and catfish.
Region: South Jersey · Fish for: Largemouth Bass, Chain Pickerel · USGS gauges: Cohansey River At Seeley Nj
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Crosswicks Creek
Crosswicks Creek drains the Burlington/Mercer border country to the tidal Delaware near Bordentown, a slow largemouth and pickerel creek through farm and forest. A quiet bank-and-paddle fishery for bass, pickerel, catfish, and carp.
Region: Trenton / Lower Delaware · Fish for: Largemouth Bass, Chain Pickerel · USGS gauges: Crosswicks Creek At Extonville Nj
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Rahway River
A Union/Essex County stream flowing through the South Mountain Reservation and Rahway toward the Arthur Kill, stocked with trout in its cooler upper reaches. An accessible urban-and-suburban stream with a reliable spring trout fishery in the park reaches.
Region: Passaic & Northeast · Fish for: Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout · USGS gauges: Rahway River Near Springfield Nj, Rahway River At Rahway Nj
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Salem River
The Salem River drains western Salem County to the Delaware, a slow largemouth and catfish river through farm country that turns tidal in its lower reaches. A bank-and-boat fishery around Woodstown and Memorial Lake, with bass, cats, and carp.
Region: South Jersey · Fish for: Largemouth Bass, Channel Catfish · USGS gauges: Salem River At Woodstown Nj
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Beaver Brook
A small cold-water tributary running to the Delaware near Belvidere, stocked with trout in spring and holding a few wild browns in its cooler reaches. An intimate, lightly-pressured little stream for the small-water angler.
Region: Skylands / NW · Fish for: Brown Trout, Brook Trout · USGS gauges: Beaver Brook Near Belvidere Nj
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Whippany River
A small Morris County stream running from Morristown toward the Passaic, stocked with trout in its cooler upper reaches and holding bass and panfish as it warms. An urban-edge stream with better fishing than expected right after spring stocking.
Region: Passaic & Northeast · Fish for: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout · USGS gauges: Whippany River At Morristown Nj, Whippany River Near Pine Brook Nj
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Hackensack River
Above the Oradell Reservoir the upper Hackensack is a slow, weedy largemouth and pickerel stream through Bergen County; below the dam it turns tidal. This is a bank-and-paddle fishery for bass, pickerel, and catfish in the freshwater reaches — frame conditions as bank safety, not a wade number.
Region: Passaic & Northeast · Fish for: Largemouth Bass, Chain Pickerel · USGS gauges: Hackensack River At Rivervale Nj, Hackensack River At New Milford Nj
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