<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Steelheads, lots, reached the river at Douglaston the past several days, said Eric from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. A few salmon remained in the river, but the salmon migration was practically finished. No brown trout really swam the waters. Imitation eggs, egg sacks and trout beads socked the steelheads. Steelheads migrate to the river in fall, toward the end of the salmon run. They spend winter in the river, spawn there in spring, and return to Lake Ontario through summer. Steelheading is world class in the river through winter.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Lakes seemed to turn over, because fishing picked up, was good, on a lake Sunday with <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale, Capt. Dave Vollenweider said. Tom Maffucci from Edison and son joined the trip, trying for muskies on the troll. But the fish of a thousand casts never showed up, and that’s musky fishing. A catch is never a guarantee. So the anglers switched to crappie fishing, bailing a healthy bunch on jigged Binsky Lures, a blade bait, in 25 feet. Then a rod doubled over, and a big fish was on. A big walleye was landed. The scale aboard said the fish weighed 8 pounds, but Dave thought it was probably bigger. It looked large, and had a huge head. Dave thought the fish was probably the angler’s biggest walleye, and the angler had landed walleyes while traveling around. So the catch was good, the fish were active, after angling on lakes previously was slow a moment, apparently because of the turn over. Dave anticipates good fishing for muskies, walleyes and crappies into November, especially when waters dip into the 50s. The lake on the trip was 58 to 60 degrees. Musky and walleye fishing can be excellent in November. Crappie fishing was also on a tear last November with Live to Fish. Live bait can be most productive for them in cool waters. Few boaters fished the lake on the trip, an advantage to the time of year. The fish can become less pressured, more willing to bite.  Live to Fish Guide Service guides trips for trout, muskies, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleyes, crappies, chain pickerel, panfish, yellow perch, white perch, carp and more. Lakes fished include Greenwood Lake, Lake Hopatcong, Monksville Reservoir, Echo Lake, Mountain Lake and Furnace Lake. Rivers fished include the Flatbrook, Pequest, Paulinskill and Ramapo.

Trout fishing was slow on streams last week after the fall stocking, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. But the angling began to pick up in past days, and the fishing is always slower at first, after the stocking, until the trout become acclimated. Somewhat better catches began to be heard about from Pequest River on salmon eggs and San Juan worms. Stream levels were a little low, but not bad, and were better than in many falls, when waters can be quite low, after summer dries them up. Lakes were cooling, and largemouth bass seemed to move deeper. Kevin landed a couple of largemouths and a smallmouth bass at a lake in the Newark Watershed on a trip. He caught on heavier jigheads than before, 3/8 ounce and ¼ ounce, with Keitechs, in 8 feet of waters, at drop-offs.

Good fishing for trout, from the fall stocking, was heard about from Pequest and Ramapo rivers, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Good</b> in Garfield. No great catches were reported, but if anglers got into great trouting, maybe they weren’t telling. That would be understandable, Nick said. Many trout seemed axed on salted minnows. Lots of Power Bait was sold for trout fishing, but whether that meant Power Bait was the “ticket,” Nick said, was unknown. Trout catches sounded decent on Rockaway and Wanaque rivers. At Pompton Lake one angler mugged crappies and yellow perch at bridges on jigged spoons and livelined fathead minnows with small weights. A couple of customers whacked walleyes at Greenwood Lake on live bait, nightcrawlers on bottom, or jigs in shallows later in day. Hybrid striped bass were nailed at Lake Hopatcong from shore and drifted boats around the state park and Lee’s Cove on large shiners. A buddy cranked in a musky 15 to 20 pounds at Monksville Reservoir, probably on a large spinner. 

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Darrel from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook fished for trout at Pequest River on a trip, he said. Waters were high, fast and dirty, but he managed two rainbow trout 17 and 18 inches, one on a wooly bugger, the other on a salmon egg fly he tied. Darrel also missed a couple of trout, and saw only a few trout, but conditions weren’t good. During better conditions, he probably would’ve caught even better. A customer also mentioned wooly buggering a trout at the Pequest. Darrel stopped at Musconetcong River at Point Mountain a short time, 20 minutes, and caught no trout, but waters weren’t as high, and weren’t dirty at all, and one angler there told him about landing four or five trout on tiny nymphs. A couple of trout were seen banked during the short time. Though trout streams ran high a moment from rains, the level was probably back down now. The usual level currently was a little low, but good for fishing. Waters were cool, productive for angling. Rains are predicted this week, but probably not enough to affect stream levels badly. Fallen leaves were difficult to fish around in the waters. Nothing was really heard about other fishing, like largemouth bassing. Everyone was honed in on the fall trout stocking.

A few customers, not many, trout fished, banking a few on Toms River on spinners and worms, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in the town of Toms River. One fished the South Branch of the Metedeconk River, limiting out on trout, none big, on Power Bait. Largemouth bass, lots, were banged away on trips one customer took to the waters at the Lakehurst naval base. He fished with shiners, and showed photos of 3- and 4-pound bucketmouths. Another angler tried for crappies at Manasquan Reservoir, but drilled yellow perch instead, on marabou jigs and Mister Twisters. Nothing was heard about hybrid striped bass or other fish from the reservoir. At Lake Riviera a customer picked away at largemouths and chain pickerel on shiners on a couple of trips a week. Shiners are stocked, and killies will probably arrive this week. Nightcrawlers, baby nightcrawlers, garden worms and meal worms are on hand.

<b>South Jersey</b>

A few trout were reported creeled in the northern state, but trouting sounded slow on local lakes, said Eric from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. Delaware River ran high and muddy, but that seemed to push smallmouth bass into the river’s feeder creeks. One kid crushed smallmouths on the feeder creeks on spinner baits and Rat-L-Traps. Largemouth bass were shinered at the lakes at Assunpink Wildlife Management Area. That’s all that was reported about largemouths. Many customers geared up for steelhead, salmon and trout fishing on upstate New York’s rivers.

From <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown, Tom P. jumped on trout from the fall stocking on Paulinskill and Pequest rivers and Big Flatbrook, he said. Three inches of rains on Friday had raised the waters, so lots of weight had to be fished. But he and a friend pasted brook, rainbow and brown trout to 17 inches on worms and Gulp Waxies. Delaware River’s level was smoking, not fishable. Hybrid striped bass to 9 pounds, good-sized, and good amounts, were live herringed at Lake Hopatcong. Waters would need to cool for jigging for them to take off. A 20-pound channel catfish was hauled from Hopatcong on a herring. Customers traveled south in the state to Union Lake for good catches of largemouth bass and smallmouth bass on ½-ounce Rat-L-Traps, and to Parvin Lake for quality catches of largemouths to 5 ½ pounds. At Parvin, ¼-ounce Rat-L’s, buzz baits, spinner baits and worms did the job.

Customers fished for trout stocked last week at Grenloch Lake and Oak Pond, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. But they seemed to catch few. Maybe the trout needed to acclimate a moment to bite better. Anglers fishing for trout bought all different baits from minnows and Power Baits to meal worms, trout worms and nightcrawlers. Ed sent other customers to New Brooklyn Lake with minnows to fish for chain pickerel. He imagined they caught. Others headed to Atsion Lake for pickerel.

Catches of trout seemed okay from the fall stocking, including from Maurice River, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Fly fishing for trout seemed to score well. Trout fishing was pretty good at Giampetro Park Pond. Largmeouth bass fishing was spotty but not bad, somewhat improved, on lakes. Crank baits and Rat-L-Traps began to cop them. Smallmouth bass fishing was alright at Lake Audrey for anglers who chucked minnows. In saltwater a few smaller striped bass began to be claimed from Delaware Bay and other waters along the coast. The wait was on for big, migrating stripers to push in.      

Back to Top