Brown troutBrown, rainbow and brook troutFish on your own. Guide prices are optional; check licence, permit and access requirements before going.
JFMAMJJASOND
- Guide, per angler
- $225–263
- Public access
- Good
- Crowding
- Medium
South Branch Raritan River
Califon and Ken Lockwood Gorge to High Bridge, New Jersey · USA
Right now
Loading current conditions…
Flow, last 7 days (cfs)Normal range for these dates
Weather forecast
Forecast data loads here when available. Official weather source ↗
Day ratings weigh rain first (it raises and colors the river), then wind.
Flow: USGS South Branch Raritan River near High Bridge, USGS South Branch Raritan River at Stanton. Recent readings are provisional. Normal range: the middle half of past flows for these dates. Forecast: National Weather Service.
Recent changes
All changes →When to go
JFMAMJJASOND
Apr–Jun and Oct–Nov; the Gorge is open all year Wrong?
The water
Ken Lockwood Gorge is a boulder-strewn trout conservation area where bait is prohibited, and it is some of the best pocket water for nymphing in New Jersey. It is close to the New York metro area and heavily fished after spring stocking.
- Target species
- Stocked rainbows and browns, holdovers, some wild browns and brook trout
- Trip style
- DIY-friendly
- Access
- Wade Wrong?
- Public access
- Good Wrong?
- Crowding
- High Wrong?
- Difficulty
- Intermediate Wrong?
- License and rules
- Fishing licenseRegulationsWrong?
What a trip costs
You came from a self-guided day-trip search. The calculator starts with one fishing day and no guide. Licence, permit, travel and any other costs still apply.
Flies by month
April
- Hendrickson nymph
- Bead-head Pheasant Tail nymph (and Blow Torch, Frenchie)
- Blue Quill / Red Quill dry
- Adams or Elk Hair Caddis dry
- BWO dry or Griffith's Gnat
May
- Sulphur nymph, wet and dun
- BWO Transitional Dun wet #18
- Deep Six caddis pupa
- Dark midge (WD-40, RS2) for evening PEDs/PMDs
- Olive Woolly Bugger
June
- Pheasant Tail nymph/wet #18–22
- Rusty Spinner #12–18
- Isonychia dry
- Sulphur, BWO, caddis and yellow sally dries
- Bead-head Woolly Bugger (brown, green)
October
- Orange Stimulator dry
- Tan elk/deer-hair caddis dry
- Green caddis larva
- LaFontaine Sparkle Pupa (bead-head)
- Pheasant Tail / Zebra Midge / stonefly nymph
Source notes
November is left out because no South Branch Outfitters November report could be read. Their hatch chart page loads by script and did not render. The June list comes from the week-of-May-31 report.
From local shops and guides: sboutfitters.com (4 pages). Ask the nearest shop what's working this week.
What to bring
- Rod
- 9 ft 4 wt
- Line
- Double-taper floating
- Leader and tippet
- 9 ft tapered
- Wading
- Waders
From fishingreports.orvis.com. Guides usually supply rods and flies on a guided day; ask when you book.
Guides and fly shops
- tightlinesflyfishing.com · guide rates
- South Branch Outfitters (Califon) · hatch chart or reports
These are the businesses this page's prices and fly lists come from. A listing isn't an endorsement, and nobody pays to be here.
Getting there
Getting there
Fly into EWR Newark, then 1 hr. About 44 miles (71 km) by road. Marker in Ken Lockwood Gorge, between Califon and High Bridge
Open in Google Maps · Directions from EWR
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Driving from Allentown about 1 hr 10 min, New York City about 1 hr 20 min, Philadelphia about 1 hr 40 min, Scranton about 2 hr.
Something out of date?
Rates, seasons and access change. Tell us what's wrong and, if you can, where you saw it.
More trout rivers
Brown troutBrown, rainbow and brook trout
Rainbow troutStocked rainbows, browns and brook trout; some wild brook and brown troutFish on your own. Guide prices are optional; check licence, permit and access requirements before going.
JFMAMJJASOND
- Guide, per angler
- $225
- Public access
- Good
- Crowding
- Medium
The posted rate is one shop's New Jersey wade rate; it doesn't name the Flat Brook
Brown troutWild brown trout, rainbows, brook troutFish on your own. Guide prices are optional; check licence, permit and access requirements before going.
JFMAMJJASOND
- Guide, per angler
- $250
- Public access
- Good
- Crowding
- Medium