Aside from my trusted Phoebe metal lures, which come in a variety of metallic finishes, tiny Kastmasters and shiny spinners with gold or silver spoons also work quite well.

When I first started using artificials, I made the mistake of cranking too fast. Here, a slower retrieve is called for -- not super-slow, but a slow and steady crank.

When you get a hit, you'll know that you've hit the right speed.

The trout fishing action I found in the Rahway, close to my home, piqued my interest enough that I wanted to learn more about it.

I contacted Mike Rediger of Cranford, a founding member of the newly formed Rahway River Chapter of Trout Unlimited, which developed out of the Cranford Trout Fishing Club.

Mike admits that he does a lot of fishing in the Musconetcong and other more traditional trout streams, but he has an emotional attachment to the Rahway, going back decades.

A landscaper by trade, he still has fond boyhood memories of balancing a fishing rod while riding his bike to the river to fish for trout.

While this article focuses on the Union County portion of the Rahway, Mike notes that for the first time in decades, the state had stocked portions of the Rahway in Essex County -- in the area known as the West Branch of the river. This area is heavily damned, and the flow is very slow, but last spring's results were good. Expect this area to be stocked again this spring, which will provide more urban anglers with easy access to some good trout fishing.

The best time to fish the river is from April to early May, at which time stocking ceases and the water grows too warm to support the hatchery-raised salmonids, which rely on cooler temperatures to survive.

Mike Rediger prefers fly-fishing, but notes that while much of the river flows too slowly to employ that method effectively, areas farther north -- in the more wooded section of Mohawk Park -- are somewhat more amenable to fly-fishing.

He recommends bait and artificial spinners as the way to go. Furthermore, while much of the trout fishing in this area ceases with the advent of warmer water, there are some cool springs and holes that might hold trout longer. According to him, municipal workers have sighted trout in November. That's a very good sign, since the Rahway isn't currently in the state's fall stocking program.

Rediger is very excited about the comeback of this once neglected river and its potential for all types of fishing, not just trout. Since the river also supplies the water for the city of Rahway, efforts are underway to rehabilitate it and make it still more accessible.

To this end, groups like the conservation-minded Rahway River Association (at www.rahwayriver.org) and Rahway Trout Unlimited are making their presence felt.

It would have been hard to find a spokesman more enthusiastic than Mike Rediger for the state of freshwater fishing in New Jersey. But Jim Sciascia, of the state's Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), comes pretty close. A 28-year veteran of the DFW, Sciascia currently heads up the information and education section.

Bullish on trout and also the warm- water freshwater fisheries, he freely shared his knowledge about the state's efforts at making trout fishing more accessible for urban anglers.

There are many reasons why the Essex County portion of the Rahway has gotten recent attention. But Sciascia notes that with gas prices at the pump bouncing up and down, people want more opportunities to fish locally, if they can. So the state is looking at the possibility of directing more efforts in the urban arenas.