<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

The river’s flow dropped to 1,800 CFS, high but fishable for bank anglers, and perfect for drift-boaters, said Mike from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. Steelhead fishing was pretty decent, he said, the last few days, all up and down the river, at no particular stretch. Trout beads and stick baits mostly caught. Fishing with stick baits is easier for drift-boaters than shore anglers, but anglers from shore could also fish them. In past weeks, the river ran too high to fish, including at 3,000 CFS last week, because of runoff from melting snow.  Then shore anglers and boaters fished for brown trout that this time of year swim Lake Ontario’s shallows, tight to shore. Those fish should still be around, but strong winds kept anglers from fishing for them in past days. The winds were forecast to keep blowing this week.

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

Not many reports were posted about striped bass landed from Delaware River on Bill Brinkman’s Facebook page from <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia. One angler who posted on Bill’s page said he hooked no stripers larger than 15 inches in a couple of weeks. Another said he didn’t score a bite recently. But one posted a photo of a good-sized striper he reeled from the river’s shore, saying he put lots of hours into the fishing this year. Another posted a photo of a smaller, 21-inch striper boated, the only striper on his six-hour trip. Another shared photos of someone with large stripers from Hudson River, saying the angling looked hot there now. Bill boated for stripers on the Delaware on Tuesday, but weather was windy and cold. “… it was a bit of Captain Ahab,” he said. He hooked a fair-sized striper that broke off on the anchor line, and blamed the weather. So he packed it up and got beat up by the seas to return to the boat launch. “Not going out (today) for any reason,” he said.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Shad started to be fought from Delaware River locally, though the water was a little cold for them to bite, said Joe from <b>Stokes Forest Sport Shop</b> in Sandyston. The fishing was good on some days, slow on others, but the fish were definitely migrating up. Anglers hope this week’s rains won’t affect the angling. The shad will still be there, but if the river cools more because of the rains, that could slow the bite. Trout fishing was great on Big Flatbrook. Respectable numbers were caught, and bug hatches became prolific. Dark Hendrickson’s, Quill Gordons and blue-winged olives came off. Many lakes began to turn out good crappie fishing. Angling was picking up in general. Walleye season will be opened on Thursday, and was catch and release through today. Largemouth bass fishing is catch and release through June 15.

From <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna, Don saw Rockaway River a few times, and the river had run high, then became low, he said. He pasted just a couple of trout from the river on Trout Magnets. A few customers trout fished on different trout streams, all saying they caught the fish. They reported low waters, but Don found that difficult to imagine. Trout anglers were disappointed about the many trout that had to be killed, instead of stocked, at the hatchery, because of disease. Spring trout stocking ended, but would normally still be happening, because of that. Stocking usually lasts seven weeks once trout season is opened, and was shortened by several weeks this year. Trout are also stocked a moment before the season is opened. Customers who fished for shad on Delaware River sounded pleased with the population of fish that migrated up the waters. One who fished upstream from the Interstate 80 Bridge said all anglers fought the fish on the trip. Don fished for crappies on a lake this past week, pumping in a perch and a couple of small largemouth bass. Anglers found that Senko worms were the lure to toss to the lake’s bass.
  
The Knee Deep Club stocked 1,500 trout in the lake on Saturday, and will stock 1,700 this Saturday, Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong wrote in an email. That’s before the club’s trout and chain pickerel tournament this Sunday on the lake. The Lake Hopatcong Foundation made a matching grant of $5,000 to help with the stocking, because the state stocked fewer trout than usual this year, because of disease at the hatchery. The foundation matched donations from anglers, according to a previous report from Laurie. She thanked the foundation in this week’s report. The trout stocked were all 12 inches or larger, almost up to 10 pounds.  Trolling Phoebes and small Rapalas should pick up both trout and pickerel in the shallows. Lou Marcucci on the lake limited out on crappies to a 1-pound 13-ouncer he checked in. Fish for crappies in the shallows, with fathead minnows or small jigs. Walleyes were caught and released in the shallows on Husky Jerks, and walleye season will be opened on Thursday.

Northern pike and catfish were sometimes clubbed from Passaic River, said Cheryl from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. Not too much was going on from the river yet, she said, but previously the river was too high to fish. Trout fishing remained good at different waters this week. But trout stocking ended early, because of trout that had to be killed at the hatchery, instead of stocked, because of disease. The trouting might taper off earlier than usual.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Trout fishing went well on streams, and Hendricksons and caddis started to hatch, said Angelo from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Blue-winged olives still came off, and the good trouting included at Pequest River and South Branch of the Raritan River. A couple of 7-pound rainbows were weighed-in from the South Branch for the store’s trout tournament that lasts until May 31. A 6-pound brown was checked-in for the tournament from somewhere. When rains didn’t flood Musconetcong River, plenty of trout were also pulled from there. Angelo saw smallmouth bass, restricted to catch and release through June 15, on trout streams, but none swiped his flies meant for trout, like streamers. Smallmouths don’t really become active enough to bite until water temperatures are 10 or 12 degrees higher than temps that trout bite in. Largemouth bass, also restricted to catch and release through that date, were probably in pre-spawn and therefore hungry.  Lots of crappies were active in lakes including Farrington and Spruce Run Reservoir. Northern pike and perch hit in different lakes and ponds. Chain pickerel were abundant at Round Valley Reservoir’s swimming area. In saltwater, Raritan Bay’s striped bass fishing took off on chunked and live bunker, and slowed on clams, Braden from the shop said. Shore anglers still clammed the fish, or the bass still bit clams where the bay was very shallow. But livelining was good for 15- to 25-pound stripers in 20-foot or deeper, relatively shallow flats for boaters.  Boaters also trolled the bay’s stripers on lures like Stretch 25’s or X-Rap 20’s, especially in bunker color or chartreuse. Many of the bass usually migrate the bay during April’s new moon that just happened, and anglers hoped for good fishing for them this weekend.  Blackfishing just started to pick up on the ocean, but blackfish season will be closed Thursday.

The Toms River’s trout fishing was good at Riverwood Park, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in the town of Toms River. One customer yanked six 12-inch trout from Spring Lake on yellow PowerBait on a 20-inch leader with a large, size-2 split shot. He saw lots of trout, including jumping from the lake, but they were difficult to hook. He also grabbed two small largemouth bass on the trip, and said a variety of fish bit there. Farther downstream on the Toms at Trilco, chain pickerel, crappies and a few white and yellow perch were hung. Trilco is a closed building supply, and no sign identifies the building. But locals know the stretch by the name, located near Garden State Parkway. A few white perch nibbled in Forge Pond, but the fishing was off this year, apparently because of unsettled weather. Murphy’s, located on Route 37, recently bought <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River, and is running both shops now. At Murphy’s, baits stocked include trout worms, meal worms, garden worms, baby nightcrawlers, larger nights and killies. Shiners ran out this weekend at Murphy’s, but more will be stocked Friday. All those baits except shiners are carried at Go Fish. The bait tank for that arrived but needs to be installed.

<b>South Jersey</b>

A few shad, not many, remained in Delaware River around Trenton, said Karl from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. The fish apparently migrated upstream, and will be caught again a few days at Trenton when they migrate back to the ocean. Striped bass were still beaten at night from the river around Trenton on swimming plugs and Northbar Tackle Bottledarters. A 42-pounder that was kayaked was the largest heard about recently. Be sure to follow regulations for the river’s striper fishing, including where stripers must be released and are allowed to be kept, and the types of hooks required to fish for them. Largemouth bass, required to be released through June 15, were clutched from different lakes on ½-ounce, brown chatter baits and rubber worms like Senkos or Yum Dingers, in natural colors like watermelon or green-pumpkin, or in red shad. At Pine Barrens ponds, chain pickerel attacked red and white Daredevils and silver Johnson spoons. Shiners always work great on the picks, too. Trout fishing was winding down for customers, since stocking ended early, because of the disease at the hatchery.

Fishing for trout kept producing, including at Grenloch Lake and Rowan’s Pond, said Joan from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. Customers sometimes fished for largemouth bass, required to be released through June 15. The angling sounded hit or miss, but gave up the bass well at Blackwood Lake, Lakeland Lakes and “the quarry.” Striped bass were angled from Delaware Bay from shore at Fortescue and from Delaware River at places like National Park and West Deptford on bloodworms and bunker. The worms and frozen bunker are stocked, and so are minnows and shiners and all baits. Minnows seemed scarce in the state.

Largemouth bass fishing was fair, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. The bass must be released by law through June 15, because of spawning, and some spawned around the last full moon, and more probably will around the next full in two weeks. Anglers began to fish for the largemouths with soft-plastic lures like lizards and Senko worms. Union Lake and Elmer Lake were some of the places where fishing for them was good lately. Trout were still whacked at all the different waters stocked with them. No place seemed better than another, because all the waters seemed good. That was because more trout than usual were stocked in this area, something to do with the disease at the trout hatchery. Striped bass fishing was turned on in Delaware River, Delaware Bay and Maurice River. On the bay, both shore anglers and boaters drilled them. The shore anglers fished usual places like Fortescue and Gandy’s Beach. The boaters were hush about locations they fished, and Steve was trying to pin that down, and had the impression they caught on the upper bay, but was uncertain.

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