<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Fishing was plugging along on the river for <b>Jay Peck Guide Service</b>, Jay Peck said. A few salmon migrated through on some days, and not on others. Steelhead fishing improved sharply on the river. A little rain fell, like “maintenance” to the river’s flow. The river ran at 350 CFS, up from 325 CFS previously. Jay liked the flow for fishing. The river was in the mid-50 degrees, ideal for the fishing. The reservoir recouped a little water from the rain, but could use more. Jay’s trips scored some good steelheading. The chromers weighed about 9 pounds, and one weighed 14 with Jay. He saw a few larger. His trips also hooked a few brown trout, just a few. They weighed 8 or 9 pounds, an average size for the river. One of Jay’s guides also fished for trout on one of the streams, catching well. Jay specializes in fly fishing and catch and release on the river. But he books trips to fish conventional tackle with his other guides. Jay fished wooly buggers and sometimes egg flies for the salmon, because salmon began to spawn. For steelheads, he fished steelhead wet flies and sometimes eggs. On most of the other major Lake Ontario tributaries in western New York,   the salmon migration trickled up, and steelheads and brown trout swam. Watch a recent video of salmon fishing on the river from Jay.

Salmon were landed from the river with <b>Dreamcatcher Guide Service</b> when the fish happened to migrate through, Capt. Rick Miick said. But more steelheads filled the river than salmon, and steelhead fishing could be good. He expects to fish for salmon when his trips come across them, and otherwise fight the steelheads. He saw 10 salmon and like 1,000 steelheads on Monday.  Plenty of steelheads, 8 to 15 pounds, mostly 8 to 10, swam the lower river in mornings. The river’s salmon were mostly found in deep holes, and were also mostly hooked in mornings. Rick’s trips mostly fished with white and blue egg sacks on light, 4- to 6-pound, fluorocarbon leaders. The light leaders were a must in the river’s low and clear water. The river ran at 350 CFS, and Rick’s trips also caught on egg flies, when anglers wanted to fly fish. One of his anglers fly-rodded one of the fish on Tuesday morning, when Rick gave this report in a phone call. His trips almost always drift-boat the river. Some anglers caught on trout beads. Rick’s trips also fished the river’s tributaries.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

A musky, probably 42 inches, was nailed and released off Storms Island on Greenwood Lake on a trip that Capt. Dave Vollenweider, from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale, took with friend Dr. Rich Cabana, Dave wrote in an email. The fish cleared the water during a jump in the fight. The lake was 62 degrees, a good, low temperature to help the musky fare well in the release. Dave held the musky in the water, “and whoosh, it was gone!” he said. Rich also boated a healthy-sized walleye, and he and Dave both took a fillet home. Fishing for the musky, the fish of 10,000 casts, scored no catch at first. Flat-line trolling, trolling with planer boards and trolling in the prop wash drew no bites. Then a trolled, red and white Buck Perry Spoonplug smashed the musky.

Nobody mentioned trout fishing, said Don from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. But fall trout stocking was slated to begin last week. Trout streams had been low, but Don saw Rockaway River, near where he lives, recently, and the Rockaway was a little low, but didn’t seem low enough to make stocking or fishing difficult. Customers bought worms to fish for panfish at Lake Hopatcong with kids. Some geared up for salmon fishing on upstate New York’s Salmon River. No results were heard, and nothing was heard about other fishing, like about fishing for largemouth bass or walleyes on lakes.

Only nine anglers entered the Knee Deep Club’s King of the Lake Tournament during the weekend, Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong wrote in an email. That’s an annual multi-species tournament on the lake, and Jack Dziduch kept his crown, winning for the fourth year in a row, remaining King of the Lake. His catches included a 12-pound 14-ounce channel catfish and a 3-pound 1-ounce walleye. Pete Rathjens won second place, and his catches included a 3-pound 8-ounce largemouth bass, a 2-pound 11-ounce pickerel and some panfish. Mike Truglio won third, and he caught a 1-pound 8-ounce largemouth and some perch and crappies. For some of the club’s contests in the next year, “changes are coming,” Laurie said. Catches not entered in the contest included Dziduch’s 10-pound channel cat, Alex Gofman’s 5-pound channel cat and 3-pound walleye, Wieslaw Skarzynski’s 8-pound 7-ounce walleye and Marcin Dolegiewicz’s 7-pound 3-ounce walleye. The shop will be open, including for boat rentals, until about mid-November. 

Anglers crushed walleyes at Lake Hopatcong in 20 to 25 feet, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. Nick was unsure what the anglers, his son’s buddies, fished, but thought they trolled. Nick’s buddy jigged walleyes on Greenwood Lake in 30 feet off points. Nick will compete at Lake Hopatcong in his season’s final largemouth bass tournament this weekend, so he’ll be able to report how that fishing was. In a largemouth tournament at Waywayanda Lake last weekend, 10 or 11 pounds won, Nick thought. The anglers said the fishing was pretty slow, but they caught mostly on jigs in weeds in deeper water. On Passaic River, a bunch of smallmouth bass were beaten at Elmwood Park Marina. Anglers cast shiners, fishing them beyond the weeds, there. Northern pike fishing was good in the river below or in the falls on shiners. The shiners were flat-lined, possible because the water was low. Bait was sold for trout fishing, and fall trout stocking began last week. But nobody reported about the angling.

Passaic River ran low, but northern pike were fought from the water on spinner baits, said Cheryl from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook.  Largemouth bass were tugged from lakes, and one angler yanked in a bunch of yellow perch. Cheryl wasn’t asked where the perch were hung, and customers bought supplies for trout fishing, because fall trout stocking began last week. Not much was heard about the angling, but nobody seemed to catch trout great. Salmon eggs are commonly fished for trout in fall.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Smallmouth bass gave up good fishing on the South Branch of the Raritan River, said Ron from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Crawfish flies, wooly buggers and tiny Clouser Minnows are often fished for them. The river ran especially low, like trout streams did recently. No reports were heard about trout fishing, since fall trout stocking began last week. Customers stopped in for supplies for salmon fishing on upstate New York’s Salmon River. The salmon fishing was slow, but the customers were optimistic, Ron said, about the river’s steelhead fishing. In saltwater, striped bass fishing was spotty, giving up a few catches at night. The striper migration was yet to kick in, and the season was early. Braden from the shop was away on a party boat tuna fishing trip, when Ron gave this report. Braden before the trip said the fishing seemed so-so.

One angler pasted smallmouth and largemouth bass at Manasquan Reservoir at the dam on 4-inch, green-pumpkin and black Senkos, said Karl from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Good fishing for crappies was had at the impoundment at the wood on shiners under floats. Another angler tackled lots of crappies and some largemouth bass at Rising Sun Lake on shiners over top the submerged brush piles. Trout fishing was okay at certain northern streams, like Ken Lockwood Gorge and Musconetcong River, on Roostertails and small Yozuri Pins Minnows. That was since fall trout stocking began last week. Waters in the northern state were slated to be stocked last week, and waters near the shop and in the rest of South Jersey were scheduled to be stocked this week. Nobody mentioned fishing on Delaware River, and the river was a little stained, but didn’t flow too high or badly, after recent rains.

The fall trout stocking happened at Grenloch Lake on Tuesday, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. He spoke with four or five customers who fished the lake, and one knew about only one trout bagged, and a couple of others said they knew about three. The fishing seemed slow, but that’s not unusual at first after stocking. The fish seem to need to become acclimated sometimes. Oak Pond was another local place stocked that day, to Ed’s knowledge, he said. Hammonton Lake was another that was supposed to be stocked that day, but he heard nothing about that lake. Largemouth bass were tied into at Puppyland Lake on minnows. One angler cranked three or four sunfish and a small largemouth from the spillway at Blackwood Lake on a trip.

A 4-pound brown trout was weighed-in from Giampetro Park Pond on Tuesday at <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland, Steve said. The pond was stocked for the fall trout stocking that day, and other local waters were slated to be stocked this week. They included Maurice River and Iona Lake. Largemouth bass fishing improved a little on lakes, but anglers didn’t know how this week’s warm spell would affect that. The change would probably slow the fishing. Senkos did a job on the bass, and spinner baits began to work on the fish. A fair number of largemouths were grabbed at a tournament at Salem Canal this past week. Chain pickerel fishing was pretty consistent at lakes. Stick baits, jerk baits, minnows or in-line spinners should clock them. In saltwater, bluefish were wrestled, and lots of resident striped bass bit in back bays and some of the creeks off Delaware Bay. The smaller, usually throwback, stripers, young fish yet to migrate, could be fun on light tackle. Anglers waited for the migration of large stripers to head south to the local coast this fall. White perch fishing was good on many of the brackish creeks and rivers.

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