<b>North Jersey</b>

Fishing was slow on a trip during rough weather on Lake Hopatcong on Friday, said Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale. Rains fell, and winds swirled, but the anglers, Rachel Howald and son, wanted to sail. A bluegill was reeled in, and they returned at 2 p.m. Tough day. Dave fished solo on Greenwood Lake on Sunday, trolling a couple of smallmouth bass, including a 3-pounder. The lake temperature had dropped to 79 to 80 degrees, and the storm had also broken up algae that had been filling the waters. No muskies were landed on either of these trips and on a previous trip aboard, after muskies had been landed on the previous four trips that targeted them with Live to Fish. A trip is slated to try for muskies Thursday, and another angler called and expressed interest in musky fishing with Dave on Saturday. Dave ran none of his overnight trips for walleyes in past days, so he didn’t know whether walleyes still moved to lake shallows in the middle of the night, when his trips catch them on cast lures. The trips walloped walleyes, lots, so far this season. Eventually walleyes stop moving to shallows each summer, staying deeper in the cooler thermocline. Then trips troll them aboard. But casting to the fish is great fun. Dave will soon vacation on the Ottawa River, angling on the trophy musky fishery. 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.

On Delaware River, Ben from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna landed a bunch of smallmouth bass on green-pumpkin tubes, watermelon Senkos and Keitech swim baits, he said. He also lost a musky he hooked. He spinner-baited largemouth bass at dusk on a lake on Monday. On another trip on a pond, he yanked in bullhead catfish on cut bunker and hot dogs.

 The lake’s temperatures dropped from rains and cooler weather, but its fishing remained about the same as before, said Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong in an e-mail. Hybrid striped bass, smallmouth bass and crappies were cracked off the points. Walleyes were sometimes still caught at  night on top-water lures. Chain pickerel pounced along weed lines on cast Mepps spinners or shiners. Panfish were plucked from the shallows on worms under bobbers.

One angler nailed good fishing for northern pike on Passaic River on spinner baits, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. Largemouth bass jumped on top-water lures at Pompton Lakes in early mornings and late in the day. Al from the shop clocked largemouths on Greenwood Lake on Senkos off the docks and small, 3-inch Slug-Go’s trailed behind the boat. Nick will compete in a largemouth tournament at Hopatcong this coming week, so will be able to give the scoop on that fishing. His friend’s son kept catching walleyes and hybrid striped bass, not great catches, but “some nice fish,” Nick said, at night on livelined herring off the back of the boat, and trolled Rapala Shad Raps. Kids played small largemouth bass on Dahnert’s Pond on nightcrawlers. Carp, good catches, were tugged from Pehle Lake in Saddle Brook.

Ed Harabin and Tim Muscatel trolled eight hybrid striped bass at Spruce Run Reservoir on flies early in the morning last Wednesday, said Jody from <b>Lebanon Bait & Sport</b> in an e-mail. Harabin on a previous trip there axed a 10-pound hybrid. Last week on Tuesday at Spruce, Mike Roman and family socked a 7.2-pound hybrid on an extra-large shiner. Joe Satkowski the previous day at Spruce put together a good catch of hybrids on shiners. Also last week, three other anglers on a trip at Spruce smoked plenty of hybrids to 7 pounds on herring livelined 12 feet down in 20 to 30 feet of waters. The rez was as warm as 84 degrees on the trip. At Round Valley Reservoir, Fred Benitez kayaked a 2.08-pound rainbow trout on a garden worm, and Zach Merchant pulled in two 5-1/2-pound and 5-pound channel catfish and a 3-1/2-foot eel. In the Round Valley Trout Association’s tournament on the impoundment two weekends ago, the top fish were Steve Herasymchuck’s 3.92-pound rainbow, Rocco Cataina’s 1.76-pound brown trout and Bob Galasso’s 3.62-pound lake trout.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Because of somewhat higher waters from rains, one angler on Ken Lockwood Gorge snatched a good catch of 18 rainbow trout and a couple of brown trout on small, sizes 18 and 20 nymphs, said Braden from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Lake trout were picked from Merrill Creek Reservoir in 70 to 80 feet, deeper than before, because of heat. Livelined herring and shiners caught them, and some anglers began to vertical-jig them, like on small diamond jigs. Catches of largemouth bass in evenings and at night started to be heard about from lakes, especially Farrington Lake, on rubber frogs and rats. Smallmouth bass were managed, nothing great, on the north and south branches of Raritan River. Very small striped bass were caught and released on the Raritan around New Brunswick.

A few hybrid striped bass were caught from Manasquan Reservoir, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. Hybrids like heat, but temps were getting to them. The fishing slowed, but some bit, more on shiners than on chicken livers that caught them best previously. Crappies chomped in the rez along the outer edge of the trees in deeper waters on Mister Twisters on jigs 3 feet under bobbers. Boaters beat crappies at Lake Carasaljo on lines drifted under the Route 9 Bridge. The fish attacked when the hook reached the shade line. Chain pickerel fishing never stops on the Toms River at Trilco. The waters are cooler there, and Trilco is a closed down building supply. No sign identifies the building, but it’s located near the Garden State Parkway. Tiny striped bass 8 to 14 inches swam the area, hitting spinners or small plugs. At Lacey Lakes, at the lake closest to the road, one customer kept nightcrawlering catfish, none big, but plenty. Shiners, killies and nightcrawlers are stocked.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Largemouth bass were top-water plugged on lakes, said Eric from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. Previously he said the fish bit in evenings. But he landed 40 in the middle of the day on Jitterbugs. Carp were copped at the lakes and canals that held them. On Delaware River, smallmouth bass were slugged from Trenton to Delaware Water Gap. River2Sea poppers and Daiwa Dr. Minnows creamed them well. Striped bass 6 to 12 inches – “yearlings,” Eric said – flooded the river. A friend dragged an invasive snakehead from the river, killed it and brought it to Fish and Wildlife.

On Delaware River from Milford-Montague Bridge to Worthington, smallmouth bass, rock bass and yellow perch snapped, said Tom P. from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. The smallmouths weren’t large, but they smacked Yozuri Pins Minnows and streamer flies. Flathead catfish 8 to 15 pounds could be hauled from the river from Trenton to Burlington. Small striped bass to 18 inches were chicken-livered on the river from Washington’s Crossing to downstream. On Raritan River smallmouth bass swam from Duke Island to the town of Raritan. Plenty of walleyes were wrangled from Lake Hopatcong at night. Hybrid striped bass, great catches, were honked at Spruce Run Reservoir at night. Tom on a trip trolled lake trout to 4 and 5 pounds, good-sized, at Round Valley Reservoir on Sutton Spoons and Big Weenie Meatheads with herring from Lebanon Bait & Sport. Trout streams were “critically low,” Tom said. He wasn’t even bothering fishing them.

Mostly largemouth bass were wrangled in, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b> in Brooklawn. Plastics like creature baits and Senkos caught them, and productive places for the angling included the DOD ponds, the sand wash past there in the Penns Grove area, and southern lakes like Maskells Mill Pond and lakes in Bridgeton. Probably 75 boats competed in a largemouth tournament on Cooper River. Some quality bass were reportedly entered. A few sizeable bass came from Malaga Lake, but waters were weedy. Wilson Lake dished up largemouths and crappies. A bunch of crappies were clapped from Stewart and Audubon lakes. Catfish and carp swam abundant in Delaware River and tributaries.

Kids tugged in sunnies from the spillway across the road from Blackwood Lake and Puppyland Pond, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b>. Not a lot else was heard about fishing. Most customers showed up for supplies before fishing in the middle of the day. So they usually caught nothing. Ed’s back from fishing at 7 a.m. this time of year. Nothing was even heard about chain pickerel fishing at New Brooklyn Lake. But that’s usually a reliable hole for picks. They probably bit.

A few largemouth bass were cashed in on, said Vince from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Fish with anything that can be worked slowly, like plastics or Senkos. Catches were heard about from South Vineland Park. Vince competed in a largemouth tournament on Lake Hopatcong to the north during the weekend. He drop-shotted for the bass, and the fish swiped Senkos along the docks and grass, typical in summer. Sunnies and bluegills will chomp at the local lakes. Fish with worms. Chain pickerel will remain active in the heat. Swim minnows for them.

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