Best chain pickerel lakes in New Jersey
23 New Jersey waters hold chain pickerel, 17 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. The eastern esox — a lie-in-wait weed-bed assassin that bites all year, including through the ice.
- Lake Hopatcong — 58 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, CrappieWhy #1: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Newton Lake — 11 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow PerchWhy #2: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Hammonton Lake — 10 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel CatfishWhy #3: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Greenwood Lake — 57 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, CrappieWhy #4: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Lake Pemberton — 6 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow PerchWhy #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Swartswood Lake — 42 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, CrappieWhy #6: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Deer Park Pond — 10 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Chain PickerelWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Bargaintown Pond — 6 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow PerchWhy #8: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Monksville Reservoir — 90 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, CrappieWhy #9: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Shaws Mill Pond — 12 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel CatfishWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Big Pine Lake — 7 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow PerchWhy #11: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Pohatcong Lake — 7 ft max · survey depth data · Bluegill, Chain Pickerel, Brown BullheadWhy #12: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Mill Pond — 6 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Chain Pickerel, Brown BullheadWhy #13: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Sylvan Lake — 4 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #14: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Mary Elmer Lake — 6 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Rainbow TroutWhy #15: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Grenloch Lake — 7 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #16: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Surprise Lake — 12 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Chain Pickerel, Brown BullheadWhy #17: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Etra Lake — 7 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Common Carp, Chain PickerelWhy #18: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Echo Lake — 5 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel CatfishWhy #19: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Lake Ocquittunk — 10 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Rainbow Trout, Yellow PerchWhy #20: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- West Pond — 34 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel CatfishWhy #21: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Budd Lake — 12 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Channel CatfishWhy #22: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Lake Musconetcong — 10 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, BluegillWhy #23: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
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How to use this ranking
The order is a map-planning ranking, not a claim about today's fish population. It favors larger mapped waters and gives survey-backed contours a three-times data-quality boost. Agency population surveys, current regulations, access and recent conditions should make the final decision.
Compare maximum depth across 37,233 lake records · See New Jersey waters with public access data
When to fish chain pickerel in New Jersey
- Spring 2–10 ft — Early spawner: post-spawn fish prowl warming, weedy bays and eat everything that moves.
- Summer 3–15 ft — Classic ambush game: weed edges, pad fields and dock shade — flashy, steady retrieves.
- Fall 4–15 ft — Feeding hard around the last green weeds as water cools.
- Winter 5–18 ft — One of ice fishing's most reliable biters — shiners on tip-ups over weed flats.
Also in New Jersey: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best muskellunge lakes · best striped bass lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best common carp lakes · best brown bullhead lakes · best summer flounder (fluke) lakes · best bluefish lakes · best black sea bass lakes · best tautog (blackfish) lakes
Chain Pickerel elsewhere: Québec · Maine · New Hampshire · New York · Massachusetts · New Brunswick · Connecticut · Vermont · Nova Scotia · Delaware · Rhode Island