Union Lake is southern New Jersey's largest freshwater body of water.
It is considered the premier lake in this area for angling. It has had a
history of providing good fishing for a variety of species. The lake was
constructed in the 1790s, and later in 1868, it was sold to the Millville
Manufacturing Company, and a new dam was built downstream of the original,
and it significantly increased the size of the lake. Union Lake is located
in Millville, New Jersey, right off Route 49, about 45 minutes from the Delaware
Memorial Bridge. It is part of the Union Lake Wild life Management area,
and is located on the Maurice River Drainage.
The lake and it's surrounding properties were purchased by the New Jersey
Fish Game and Wildlife in 1982, and the Division reconstructed the dam in
1989, and built a fish ladder in 1990. This enabled anadromous fish to spawn
above Union Lake.
Union is 898 acres, with an average depth of 9 feet, with a maximum depth
of 27 feet. The water in Union is highly productive due to the high fertility
of the soil around the lake. It has a brown humic color, and is subject to
algal blooms in the summer. The lake develops a thermocline in the summer
at about 10 feet, and there is a lack of dissolved oxygen at about 15 feet.
There is a variety of vegetation, both emergent and submerged, with some
laydowns, and islands with lily pads throughout the lake.
There have been man made structures added also, such as
Christmas trees reefs, and tire reefs, at various locations
throughout the lake. There are two boat launches at Union that
are available to the public.
The ramp located on the
Southeast end of the lake is owned by the city of Millville. The other ramp
located on the West shore of the lake, has parking available for 50 car and
trailer rigs, and is owned by the Division of Fish Game and Wildlife. The
parking lot and ramp are fantastic, and it is lighted for night time fishing
also. There is a 10 HP maximum on the lake. There are also shoreline angling
areas around the lake.
FORAGE
The main forage base in Union Lake are alewife and Gizzard Shad, and they
are in the lake in good numbers. There are also a good population of panfish,
including crappies and bluegill. There are also some channel catfish and
Pirate perch, along with some Swamp Darters.
SPECIES AVAILABLE
Fish species found in the lake are Largemouth and smallmouth bass, Yellow
Perch, Black Crappie, White Perch, Striped Bass, Chain Pickerel, Channel
Catfish, and Sunfish of several varieties. The smallmouth bass population
in Union was small, so the State has been doing some stocking to increase
the population, but they are still greatly outnumbered by the largemouth
bass. The Stripers that are in Union are contributed to Anglers releasing
them from the Maurice River population. There is currently an advisory on
largemouth and chain Pickerel, because they exceed the level of Mercury allowed.
BEST LOCATIONS
The best locations for smallmouth bass are around the dam and adjacent
sandy shoreline, and across the lake by the Millville ramp, around the rip-rap,
near the stumps and deep water structure. Some of the smallmouth we caught
in Union were around 3 pounds, which is a nice size smallmouth for this area.
The largemouth bass will hold on traditional structure in the lower end of
the lake, such as the brushy areas along the shore near the Dam, and in the
coves on both sides.
There are also 3 artificial structures in this area, and they hold baitfish
and Crappies, and subsequently bass. A good fish locator is required to find
them now. One is located about 40 yards off shore by the Millville ramp,
the other one is about 30 yards up from the dam off the rip-rap bank. The
third is on the adjacent shore by the sandy cliffs after the first cove by
the dam. The best lures for smallmouth bass in these areas include tubes,
small hair jigs, in Brown and Black, and small crankbaits in crawfish colors.
The largemouth here will hit a variety of soft plastics, but we have had
the best luck on small worms and Senkos by Gary Yamamoto baits. The 4 and
5 inch models have been taking big largemouth bass from these areas. About
a third of the way up the lake from the dam, near the state boat ramp, there
are 2 other artificial attractors, made of Christmas trees and tire units.
These areas also hold bass. a good tactic is using medium to deep diving
crankbaits in this area, and bumping the structure as much as possible. Small
straight tail worms and Senko's also produce when cast to the structure and
shoreline cover in this area. In the early mornings, and late afternoon and
evenings, largemouth bass have been hitting walking type baits, jerkbaits,
and buzzbaits in this area also. The next area to try would be near the upper
end of the lake on the West shore of the lake. There are marsh reeds and
lily pad fields in this area, and they hold a good deal of large bass and
Pickerel. The best baits for here would be weedless topwaters, such as a
Top-Prop, and other buzzbaits worked around the edges of the cover. Small
worms, in 4," and Senkos, cast to the edges of the deep weedlines here will
produce in the daytime. Also, this year we have had a good deal of bass hit
Spider Grubs on a light weight or rigged Texas style, and cast to the edges
of cover rigged weightless. There are a variety of Spider Grubs, but I like
the ones made by Gary Yamamoto the best. The earth tone colors are easy to
match to the forage and water color.
The last place you should try is in the upper end of the lake, on the right
hand side, right before it turns into a narrow, winding, swamplike area.
There is a Christmas tree reef in this area, mixed with other vegetation,
that you should work with 5" Jerkbaits, in Gold/Black, and other soft plastics.
The pads on the left side in this area also hold a good deal of bass that
go to 5 or 6 pounds. Many largemouth's were taken here by working the pads
with a "Tournament Frog"
Steve with a 10.16 pound bass from Delaware. 4 ounces shy of the
state record.This bass appears in all of Bass Pro
Shops Master Catalogs on page 90.
in Black and Brown, and a Terminator spinnerbait in 3/8 ounce, with Tandem
blades, with a Golden Shiner skirt. Buzzbaits took some largemouth also from
this area that exceeded 6 pounds! Some other good baits to try in Union are
lipless crankbaits like a Rattlin' Rapala, and spoons in the reedy areas
for Chain Pickerel and bass.
EQUIPMENT
I like to have a couple spinning rods, with a good reel, such as a Shimano
Sustain, or Daiwa Z series, spooled with 6 and 8 pound test Stren. These
are good for small grubs and the smaller Senkos. I also like to have a couple
of good baitcasters, such as a 61/2 to 7 foot G.Loomis, with a medium, and
a medium/Heavy action, with a Shimano Chronarch, spooled with 20-25 pound
test Stren, and a separate rod for Cranking. I use a Lews Crankin' Stick,
and a G.Loomis Cranking Stick for this, with a Lews reel, spooled with 10-12
pound test. These reels are necessary to present the crankbaits properly,
and reduce angler fatigue.
Use these tactics at Union this coming year, and you will increase your catch
rate and your fun. Union has variety of scenery and wildlife also, and can
provide a great day out for the whole family.
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