<b>North Jersey</b>

One musky blew up on a cast bucktail but was missed on Echo Lake on Sunday evening on a trip, Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale said in a phone call aboard the outing. He’s begun his season’s musky fishing, and is ready to fish for walleyes at night with cast plugs. Herring are spawning in lakes, and walleyes move into shallows to forage on the baitfish after dark during the spawn. Then walleyes will smash lures along the water surface, great sport, and big, tasty fish. A trip Saturday attempted to fish Greenwood Lake, but winds blew to 30 or 35 knots, kicking up white caps all day. Dave fishes Greenwood for muskies and walleyes, and heard about a trip that crushed walleyes at Greenwood after dark. Walleyes also bit at Lake Hopatcong at night. Echo Lake was 75 degrees in the weeds in the back when the musky blew up on the bucktail. Greenwood was 65 to 68 degrees on the trip there.

Hatches came off trout streams in the warmer season, so anglers fished for trout more than before, said Brian from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. Sulfurs hatched, and trout streams probably ran at about an average level. Musconetcong River looked that way when Brian saw the stream this week. Fishing for largemouth bass, required to be released through June 15, seemed okay on lakes. Keitech soft-plastic lures and Senko rubber worms seemed to catch them best, because waters were a little cold, and largemouths were spawning. The bass were more likely to hit the sub-surface artificials in the low water temperatures, as opposed to attacking something along the surface that takes faster metabolism in warmer waters. Plus a Keitech or a Senko could be cast into a spawning bed, causing the bass to try to remove it, getting hooked. The fish are reluctant to feed during spawning, of course.

Hybrid striped bass and walleyes whacked livelined herring during daytime and top-water lures at night on the lake, Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong wrote in an email. Walleyes checked-in included Jerry Freeman’s 5-pound 9-ouncer and Jim Welsh’s that was larger than 6 pounds.  Alexander Gofman nailed a 41-inch musky on a live herring off Nolan’s Point. Crappies jumped on fathead minnows, small herring and small jigs. Trout 2 to 3 pounds hit the small herring and also Phoebes or small, floating Rapalas. Chain pickerel swiped cast or trolled Mepps spinners and stick baits along the weed lines.

Passaic River’s northern pike fishing began to pick up, said Cheryl from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. The river, flooded a long time this spring, was back to a normal level. Largemouth bass, restricted to catch and release through June 15, also attacked in the river, and anglers tried for carp in the Passaic, but whether they caught them was unknown. From Lake Hopatcong, hybrid striped bass, largemouths and crappies landed were heard about.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Sulfurs started to hatch pretty heavily on trout streams, said Angelo from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Hendrickson hatches were tapering off, but decent numbers of caddis, dark-colored and green, came off. The streams ran somewhat low this week, but rains were forecast for last night and maybe the rest of the week, and that could raise them. Though they flowed low, they were in good condition for fishing. Cast pheasant-tail nymphs or hares-ear nymphs in sizes 14 to 18 for the trout. Green caddis larvae were deadly, because of the caddis along the waters. At lakes, crappies and catfish bit. Good catfishing went down at Spruce Run Reservoir and from Round Valley Reservoir’s shore. Rainbow and brown trout were also tugged from Round Valley’s shore.  Good reports rolled in about largemouth bass fishing from lakes. Be sure to release the bass by law through June 15.

Some chain pickerel and largemouth bass on killies were mentioned from Lake Riviera, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Largemouths are limited to catch and release through June 15. He went on a trip to Winding River, fishing shiners, that only managed two pickerel. Jeff’s kid plucked two white perch from the Toms River at Trilco, the closed building supply near Garden State Parkway. No sign identifies the building. Someone talked about playing sunnies at Ocean County College Pond on nightcrawlers. Nothing was heard about trout. Nobody mentioned Manasquan Reservoir, but largemouths are usually clocked there this time of year. Maybe the angling was slow for some reason, or maybe largemouths bit and nobody happened to say.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Lots of catfish chewed in Delaware River, said Karl from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Chicken livers and nightcrawlers were dunked for them. Schoolie striped bass 10 to 20 inches were caught and released from the river on chunks of bunker and shad at Bordentown, like up on the channel flats, at no particular time of day. The only walleye reported from the river was one that inhaled chicken liver meant for catfish. Largemouth bass, relegated to catch and release through June 15, hammered buzz baits at Assunpink Lake in early mornings and late in the day. White and chartreuse were the colors. A few anglers said they tackled largemouths at Manasquan Reservoir “in the wood” on ½-ounce jigs in black-and-blue or black-and-brown.

Fishing for largemouth bass, catch and release by law through June 15, was okay on lakes, said Jeff from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. The fish were mostly finished spawning, and Senko worms beat most, and rubber frogs worked second-best. Anglers fished shallows and lily pads for them, and the fishing will get into the summertime pattern. Then anglers will fish for them at night, or will work top-water lures like the frogs. Jeff wasn’t asked about the time of day to fish frogs in summer, but dawn and dusk are common. Crappie fishing was “eh” this year. But fishing was currently good on nearly any lake, and this was a time to go. In saltwater, drum fishing was good on Delaware Bay. Summer flounder fishing was yet to take off on the bay. But lots of flounder filled back bays, and weakfish were angled in back bays, like behind Stone Harbor and Avalon.

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