<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

The river was flooded, flowing at 5,200 to 6,000 CFS, so steelhead fishing was only possible in the side streams and creeks, said Mike from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. The flooding wasn’t necessarily unusual during the spring thaw, and the river’s steelheading will probably last another month. Waters were currently about 35 degrees, and will need to reach the low to mid 40s for the fish to migrate back to Lake Ontario for summer. Steelheads winter in the river, spawn there in spring and return to the lake in summer. Currently, anglers fished for brown trout from the lake’s shore. The trout usually swim there this time of year, and anglers now took more advantage of fishing for them than usual, while steelheading wasn’t so practical.

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

“They are here!” one angler posted on the Facebook page from Bill Brinkman from <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia. The angler was talking about striped bass in Delaware River. Plenty of anglers posted photos of stripers they angled from the river on his page. None of the bass seemed particularly sizeable, but Bill mentioned a 20-pounder an angler picked up Monday. Bill that night landed seven stripers and four catfish from the river. Be careful to follow the river’s striper regulations, including where and when the fishing is open, and the types of hooks required. Plus, the river’s shad fishing was the best in years. Strong winds often prevented fishing in past days. “(But) yesterday in the rain, there were some nice stripers caught still,” Bill posted today. 

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Trout streams ran high and cold, slowing down trout fishing, said Brian from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. Nothing was heard about nabbing trout on flies, and customers hooked them on butter worms. Perch and crappies were rustled up from Lake Hopatcong, and little was reported about largemouth bass from lakes. But plenty of panfish like the perch and crappies nipped. Fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass became catch and release by law on Tuesday through June 15 for spawning. Fishing was two weeks behind, Brian said. Fish will be found in the shallows in lakes, because of warmth. Largemouths 4 pounds could be seen in shallows in the lake where Brian lives. Lots of sizeable chain pickerel could be wrestled at lakes on C.P. Swing spinners or silver Rapala lures. Unconfirmed reports said a few shad reached Belvidere in the Delaware River. The season was somewhat early for shad fishing that far upstream, and if the shad were in, the high river this week would probably make the fishing a little slow. But anglers during high water catch them in the shallows close to shore.

Lots of crappies, beaten from the lake’s shallows on fathead minnows or small jigs under bobbers, were seen in the past week, Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong wrote in an email. The slabs could also be swiped on cast or trolled, small Husky Jerks. Pete Pellegrino checked in two that weighed 1 pound 5 ounces and 1 pound 4 ounces. His wife Darlene axed a 1-pound 13-ouncer and a 2-pound 14-ounce largemouth bass.  Fishing for largemouths and smallmouth bass is catch and release through June 15, according to law. Brandon Schmidt showed up with a 1-pound 6-ounce crappie. Several walleyes were whacked, and fishing for them is catch and release by regulation through April 30. Stephen Ness weighed in a 2-pound 7-ounce chain pickerel. The Knee Deep Club will stock trout in the lake on April 26, and the Lake Hopatcong Foundation will make a matching grant to the club to stock extra trout if the club raises $5,000 by that time for that. That’s because the state stocked fewer trout than usual in the lake this year, because of diseased trout at the hatchery. “Remember, there’s still time to make a donation,” Laurie said. The club’s trout and chain pickerel contests will be held May 4 on the lake.

Passaic River ran high, so the river’s northern pike fishing wasn’t talked about much, said Cheryl from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. Trout, from the spring stocking, were claimed from streams and lakes. Yellow PowerBait and meal worms were popular to catch them. But spinners tackled some.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

From <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook, Angelo, a trout fly-fisher, mostly cast bait, mostly meal worms, to the fish, he said. That’s because recently stocked trout usually favor bait, and he fished smaller streams, because larger ones ran high. This week’s cold snap could slow the fishing a moment, but that should recover by the weekend. Smaller streams like Pequest River and Big Flatbrook will be more fishable than larger ones that flood more, like Musconetcong River. Good trouting was heard about from lakes, including Blair Lake. At Round Valley Reservoir, boaters trolled trout, and shore anglers hung trout on M&M combos, or meal worms and marshmallows, and PowerBait. But plenty of chain pickerel and largemouth bass swam the reservoir at the swimming area, and Angelo hooked them there.  Largemouth and smallmouth bass fishing is catch and release by law through June 15. Delaware River’s shad migration began to reach as far upstream as Easton and Delaware Water Gap.

A couple of customers tugged a few trout, not many, from Spring Lake, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. They saw lots of trout jumping, and fished with PowerBait. A friend banked two trout along Metedeconk River on spinners. Customers headed to Toms River to fish for trout at Riverwood Park one day this week, and no results were heard. Farther downstream on the Toms, a few yellow and white perch and some chain pickerel hit at Trilco. Carp started to become more active than before there, kicking up wakes. Trilco is a closed building supply, and no sign identifies it. But locals know the stretch by the name, located near Garden State Parkway. Customers who fished Lake Riviera came up with a couple of pickerel, a crappie and no largemouth bass. By law, fishing for largemouths and smallmouth bass is catch and release through June 15. Murphy’s, located on Route 37, recently bought Go Fish Bait & Tackle, on Fisher Boulevard in Toms River. Bait stocked at Murphy’s includes trout worms, meal worms, garden worms, baby nightcrawlers, larger nights, killies and shiners. All those baits except shiners are carried at Go Fish. But shiners will be stocked there soon, when the tank is installed.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Shad fishing exploded on Delaware River at Trenton, said Karl from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. All anglers caught them, and if they fished on foot, behind the Trenton Thunder stadium was a place for that. Flutter spoons worked best, but shad darts sometimes connected. The shad were some of the biggest in a long time, and Karl smashed one that was almost 6 pounds, the biggest he saw in years. Striped bass were landed from the river at night, a half-hour before high tides until 2 hours afterward, on Daiwa SP Minnows in a variety of colors; Bomber 16A’s in black, chicken scratch or green back; 2-1/2-ounce Northbar Tackle bottle darters; and cut shad. Kayakers trolled the stripers, and 40 kayakers must’ve been seen fishing at midnight Saturday. Be sure to follow regulations for stripers along the river, including when the fish must be released, and the required hooks. Lots of herring migrated the river. Anglers limited out on brown trout and bagged some rainbows along Delaware and Raritan Canal at Route 29. Trout fishers also limited on Assunpink Creek where the fish were stocked.  Largemouth bass fishing was decent on lakes, and largemouth and smallmouth are required to released through June 15.

Anglers from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood mostly trout fished, Ed said. They reeled them in at Grenloch Lake, Oak Pond and Rowan’s Pond on wax worms, meal worms, PowerBait, minnows and Roostertails. One day the trout would bite, and on another, they wouldn’t. Joe Casey weighed in a 7-pound, 6-ounce, 26-inch rainbow trout from Rowan’s on Saturday. Chain pickerel and largemouth bass were grabbed on shiners at lakes, and largemouthing on Tuesday became catch and release by law through June 15.

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