Lake Aeroflex

Lake Aeroflex, in Andover Township, Sussex County, is small at 119 acres but 110 feet deep, the deepest natural lake in New Jersey. Its clear, cold water makes it one of the state's few landlocked salmon lakes and a Holdover Trout Lake where trout survive year-round. It's also a very good bass and pickerel lake with plenty of shore access.

When to fish

• Fall: the state stocks landlocked salmon (about 500 in 2025), and shore fishing for salmon and trout is good.
• Winter: ice fishing is popular because fish get caught: trout and salmon, plus big bass and pickerel on tip-ups.
• Spring: trout stocking, and salmon come shallow in May.
• Summer: bass and pickerel along the weed edges.

Where to fish

• Weedbeds near the boat ramp and near the power lines: bass and pickerel, with topwater worth a try early and late.
• The back end beyond the narrows: a deep, cove-like basin with bass and pickerel. Pickerel have been caught along the base of the weedline in about 20 feet in late June.
• Rocky bottom near the power lines: where the lake's smallmouth hang out.
• Open water: for salmon and trout, which can be anywhere in the water column.

How to fish it

Shiners are the go-to live bait, and herring are even better when you can get them. Through the ice, jig tiny jigs tipped with grubs for trout and panfish, set fatheads just under the ice on tip-ups for salmon, and put the biggest shiners you can find on tip-ups 8 to 25 feet down along the weedlines for bass. Use a wire or heavy fluorocarbon leader, since pickerel are likely. In open water, plastic worms are the standard for bass. For salmon and trout, cast small spoons, spinners and jerkbaits on light line.

Getting there

There is a concrete boat ramp, and only electric motors, oars, paddles and pedal kayaks are allowed. Be careful past the weedbed near the ramp, where it gets very shallow. Aeroflex is a Holdover Trout Lake with its own trout and salmon rules; check the current Freshwater Fishing Digest.