Share your catch
US

Swartswood Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

New Jersey’s first state park lake: Swartswood holds walleye, bass and hybrid stripers in Sussex County.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~55 F est.
Air / High
53 / 58 F
Wind
NE 10 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Swartswood Lake feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 10 mph, steady pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 58. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:33 AM-11:33 AM and 10:02 PM-12:02 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

WalleyeGood

Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Smallmouth bassGood

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Northern pikeGood

The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Yellow perchGood

Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

Tomorrow: Similar at 60 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp53 F
High / Low58 / 40 F
WindNE 10-15 mph
Pressure1026.7 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain3% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset07:19 / 18:06
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Swartswood Lake this week

The best day on Swartswood Lake this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:33 AM-11:33 AM and 10:02 PM-12:02 AM
Minor period
3:55 AM-4:55 AM
Sun
07:19 to 18:06
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 10 mph
Rain chance
1%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Swartswood Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: cool water, from ice-out through spring, in fall and under the ice

A long, duck-billed predator of weedy lakes, slow rivers and backwaters that ambushes fish from vegetation. Wisconsin DNR points out that, unlike most of the state's common game fish, pike do their best feeding in cool water. The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

When to come: the Swartswood Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Walleye
Smallmouth bass
Northern pike
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Swartswood Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye led the card at good. High of 66 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Walleye led the card at good. High of 68 F, wind to 11 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

New Jersey requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

New Jersey license. Walleye, hybrid striped bass and black bass limits per current NJ Fish and Wildlife regulations; horsepower restrictions apply.

Access

Swartswood State Park boat ramp, beach, camping and shoreline access.

About this water

A 500-acre glacial lake in Swartswood State Park, Sussex County, New Jersey: the state’s first state park.

Fishing Swartswood Lake: the full guide

A glacial lake in the northwest

Swartswood Lake covers about 500 acres in northwestern New Jersey, the centerpiece of the state’s first state park, established in 1914. It is a clear glacial lake with weed beds, drop-offs and depths past 40 feet, holding walleye, hybrid striped bass, largemouth and smallmouth bass, chain pickerel, crappie and perch through active state stocking.

Walleye and hybrids

Walleye are stocked and hold the deeper weed edges and drop-offs, taking jigs and live bait at dusk and after dark: New Jersey manages Swartswood as one of its better walleye waters. Hybrid striped bass are also stocked and school over open water, providing hard-fighting action on jigs and swimbaits in summer.

Bass and panfish

Largemouth relate to the weed beds and shoreline cover, smallmouth to the rockier points and deeper structure in clear water that rewards finesse. Chain pickerel are abundant. Crappie and perch fill the weed lines, and ice fishing is popular when the lake freezes, targeting pickerel, perch and the occasional walleye.

Sussex County logistics

Swartswood State Park provides a boat ramp, beach, camping and shoreline access, with horsepower restrictions keeping the lake calm. Newton is minutes away. The park’s age shows in the mature forest around the lake, and the northwestern New Jersey setting is quieter than most of the state.

Common questions

What is stocked here?

Walleye and hybrid striped bass, both managed actively by the state alongside naturally reproducing bass and panfish.

Is there a horsepower limit?

Yes: park restrictions keep the lake calm and favor anglers over recreational boating.

When is walleye best?

Dusk and after dark on the deeper weed edges, with spring and fall the strongest windows.

Is fishing good at Swartswood Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Lake Hopatcong14 miGreenwood Lake28 miMusconetcong River30 miSpruce Run Reservoir30 miRound Valley Reservoir31 miLake Wallenpaupack32 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 41.0700, -74.8200 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.