Stanton Stretch Yields a Nice One

Nice one, 20 ¾ inches, 3.88 pounds, caught at Stanton, South Branch Raritan River.

Stanton is Published by the State

I might seem to give away my spot, but I’m just pointing to the generality the state already lists online as a fishable stretch it stocks with a bridge over it. I do that, because my hope is that you’ve searched Google for fishing at Stanton in the South Branch Raritan River and glean some good information from my post. Otherwise, it just wasn’t going to rank in Google searches and be read by more people than those who follow my posting every week. Even as it is, a relative few will search for information on fishing in Stanton, let alone gain a yield by fishing there, but I’m not only happy to reach out if you find my post and take interest.

I also happen to like the concept of naming certain areas of a river and writing about them. I did that on Litton’s Fishing Lines and generated some interest that didn’t result in massive depletion of fish stocks.

It was Ayn Rand who said, through her character Howard Roark in the novel Anthem, that she’s grateful to her readers because they give her the opportunity to write. I feel the same way. I couldn’t write as well if I thought I’d reach no one.

Beginning Down Below

The South Branch Raritan is a big river with 2210 rainbow trout stocked by the state during October 2025. In addition, South Branch Outfitters usually stocks trout in public stretches of the Califon area, including the notorious “Bubba” brown trout, weighing as many as 12 pounds.

Stanton is only special because of the people who take interest in it. From Long Valley to the Confluence where the South Branch and North Branch meet, the river has plenty of trout, although north of Lake Solitude is where you can find wild and native ones in addition to stockers.

On Wednesday, December 10th, I began searching the river near the Confluence, seeing that because the river is very low, I might not catch any in the shallow spot I felt interested in. I had fished there last year when the river was low and didn’t get a hit. Also, a wide shelf of ice existed where I always put my camera bag on a gnarly bunch of roots.

I drove on upstream, parked, and walked onto a bridge. From there I looked down to see ice covering the next spot I wanted to fish.

Having driven further upstream yet, to Neshanic, a shelf of ice extended from the bank that made wading downstream borderline doable at best. Wasn’t going to try. I walked my black Labrador Loki, then went through Flemington instead of fishing there—headed for Stanton.

My other trout caught on Wednesday didn’t quite measure 15 inches.

Ultralight Action

They’ll hit when the river has a lot of ice on it. The two trout I caught Wednesday came during what amounted to a short stint of about 45 minutes. I had two spots in mind back downstream, but I decided to wait and fish them with Fred when he comes up to visit. Maybe after rain when ice melts, though it’s quite possible the cold weather will remain all winter. Temps on Wednesday ranged from 39 to 43, although with all that ice on the water, that water was cold. No wind made things very nice.

Part of what’s so beautiful about fishing is the apparel, gear, tackle, and any boats or canoes we use. Invest well, and it affects the quality of experience.

That’s why I’m still on the fence about a trout rod made by St. Croix I saw at Fat Nancy’s in Pulaski this past November. As things have been the past three years since I began fishing the river trout with marabou jigs, I’ve used a four-foot, six-inch St. Croix ultralight I’ve inherited from a brother-in-law. I feel very pleased with it. I’m sure that even if I buy the other St. Croix, I’ll still use Jim’s former rod frequently. But I might pass on the Shimano five-and-a-half-foot ultralight I use on occasion to get longer casts.

About apparel, nothing beats the Hisea boot-foot neoprene waders I bought new for only $150.00. The boots are 600 gram Thinsulate and keep feet warm; the neoprene suit keeps the body warm. I’ve owned mine for four years, and though I had some minor trouble with just enough water getting into my right boot to wet the socks, while on the Salmon River this past November, none of that water sloshed around, and on my recent outing at Stanton, the socks never got wet, even though I waded.

I bought a tube of Aquaseal and some little brushes, so I can tidy up the seams near that boot, if I have more trouble this winter or in the future.