<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River and Western N.Y. Rivers</b>

This was a time of transition, and sometimes weather and water were warmer, and sometimes colder, said Jay Peck from <b>Jay Peck Guide Service</b>. When the conditions were warmer, fishing was okay, and when colder, slower. He’s mostly fishing for the big brown trout that migrate to Lake Ontario’s tributaries this season. The tributaries he targets are rivers and creeks near Rochester, in western New York, and the waters ran low and clear. That made the trout fishing challenging, but water from the canal should be released in the next week or so, and that should “change” the angling, he said. A few of the trout currently migrated to the tribs from the lake, and more should push in, if the canal release raises the water. A friend’s trips scored well on the trout farther west, in Lake Erie’s tribs, landing a half-dozen a day. That seemed to show that more of the trout were ready to migrate in, near Rochester. The trout migrate to the tributaries in fall to spawn. They remain in the tributaries in winter to early spring, because forage is more abundant there than in the lake then. Jay targets the trout this season and in early winter, until the tributaries freeze. Some of the browns Jay recently reported his anglers catching included a 17-pound cock and a 14-pound hen. Most of the trout weighed 6 to 8 pounds, still huge. They grow that large because they summer in the lake. Jay’s anglers are landing them on small egg flies. A friend this week hooked a few on streamers. The streamer fishing seemed to begin. Jay and his guides also fish for steelheads on Salmon River, farther east in New York, this season and into spring. The steelheading lasts throughout winter, because the Salmon never completely freezes, and the angling can be world-class throughout all this time. The Salmon ran at 335 cubic feet per second this week, and rain could be used to raise the river, causing more steelheads to migrate to the river from Lake Ontario. Still, steelheads already swam the river, mostly holding in the upper stretches. Again, fishing for them was better in warmer weather and water, and slower in colder, in this season of transition. Both the steelheads and trout will become more acclimated to cooler water as the season continues. Yesterday’s air temperature reached a high of 36 degrees. Later this week is supposed to reach the 50s. Water will probably warm, and fishing will be okay then. Trips currently hooked a few steelheads per day, and they were challenging to land. That was because the fish were “hot,” because they were fresh from Lake Ontario, and light tippets and small hooks were fished in lower, clearer water. Landing them was quite the sport, though. Jay specializes in fly-fishing and catch-and-release, and books trips that fish with conventional tackle with his other guides.   

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

A repeat customer jumped aboard to fish for muskies on Lake Hopatcong on Saturday, said Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b>. The angler also decided to spend half the trip trying for hybrid striped bass that Dave’s been angling on the lake. No muskies bit, not unusual for the fish of 10,000 casts. Then the trip fished for hybrids, but that was slow. Dave had originally brought the rods and bait, chicken livers, for hybrids, in case the angler wanted to switch to hybrid fishing, if musky fishing was slow. The angler decided to spend half the trip on muskies, and half on hybrids. Not a full effort was made for the hybrids, because the full trip didn’t fish for them. But the angling was given a shot. Only one white perch was hooked, and the perch have been mixed in with the hybrids. Some of the hybrid trips have scored quite well aboard in past weeks on Hopatcong, covered in past reports here. The hybrids need to be located. If none of the fish bite after a half-hour, anglers should relocate the boat, Dave explained in a past report. Dave searches for bait marked on the fish finder, then anchors the boat. He does something to attract the hybrids that he didn’t want to reveal. Chicken livers have been catching the hybrids best. Hopatcong was 48 to 51 degrees on the trip, and a father and son are supposed to jump aboard Friday to fish the lake with Dave, and that will be the season’s final trip on the lake for him, because the boat launch will be closed after this holiday weekend. No other public launch is available that he’s aware about. But he’ll switch to fishing Greenwood Lake then, and knows a launch that’s available past Christmas there. Greenwood was 42 degrees, the last Dave saw, and all these lake temperatures were relatively warm, in this warm autumn. Dave’s made catches at Greenwood late into the year, including a 7-pound walleye two weeks before Christmas. He’s also been fishing Monksville Reservoir on his own a little for muskies. Giant muskies swim Monksville, and the angling can be tough, but this is the time of year to catch large ones. A trip might fish all day and land one or none, but the fish can be giant. Dave is featured in the new, December/January issue of Musky Hunter magazine in the article Garden State Muskies. Muskies, and any fish in lakes like these, for that matter, can be found anywhere in the water column this time of year. That’s because water temperature becomes the same, from top to bottom, once the lakes turnover for the season, which they already have.

Water levels rose on trout streams by now, probably reaching average, said Brian from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. The higher water helped disperse trout throughout the streams from the fall stocking, after the fish previously gathered in pools for deeper water. The trout are being caught, and some are good-sized, like 18 inches. Trout were sizable in the stocking, and while that stocking, locally, is at streams, the winter trout stocking took place this week that is all at lakes. The fall stocking is at streams locally, but also at lakes farther south in the state, where fewer of the warmer streams can harbor trout. One customer currently reported catching on Trout Magnets. Customers who fly-rodded nabbed the trout on small flies like blue-winged olives and midges. One connected on streamers about size 8. Nothing was heard from Delaware River, like about smallmouth bass. Hybrid striped bass were boated from Lake Hopatcong, and walleyes were also heard about from Hopatcong that were jigged on Rapala ice-fishing jigs. Someone said trout began to be landed from shore at Round Valley Reservoir that cruise along the shoreline this time of year.

Walleyes were jigged from Greenwood Lake, said Cheryl from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. Anglers bought worms for trout fishing, but no results were reported. Passaic River ran low, but not drastically. Anglers will still fish for northern pike that the river is known for. See this <a href=" http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/artpassaicpike13.htm" target="_blank">article</a> about the pike. Carp fishing was heard about from the river last week, but not this week. Customers geared up for saltwater fishing for striped bass and blackfish. Both fish “were out there.” In the surf, striper fishing would come and go, and that’s typical. But the angling was a decent experience, overall, she said. Anglers might not beach the keepers they’d like, but the fishing didn’t get skunked.

<b>South Jersey</b>

A couple of customers talked about good catches of trout, rainbows, 16 to 18 inches or sizable, they made at the South Branch of the Raritan River, downstream from Clinton, said Braden from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. They caught on salmon eggs and Mepps spinners, mostly silver, because of clear, low water. Braden saw an angler who tabbed into trout well on Big Flatbrook, mostly on dark nymphs in sizes 16 and 18. The fish seemed a combo of trout from the fall stocking and wild trout. Customers bought shiners to fish for crappies at Farrington Lake. Braden previously reported the crappies biting, and the fish must’ve still chewed now, if those customers bought the bait, he said. Lots of mini marshmallows and meal worms were sold to fish the two baits combined, known as the M&M combo, for trout that cruise Round Valley Reservoir’s shoreline this time of season. So the fish were probably still angled from shore, like before.

From <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River, no customers fished lakes or streams, Dennis said. If you stop by the shop this time of season, surf anglers, fishing saltwater’s fall migration of striped bass, are abundant. But fishing for chain pickerel and crappies would be main targets at lakes this time of year. They bite well in chillier water, and killies would probably hook them best. Trout from the fall trout stocking would be another target now, locally on the Toms, Metedeconk and Manasquan rivers. Lake Shenandoah, another local spot, was supposed to be included in this week’s winter trout stocking. Killies, nightcrawlers and garden worms are stocked. Murphy’s, located on Route 37, also owns <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River.

Both participation in fishing, and fishing itself, was sluggish, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. But decent reports about largemouth bass catches, big fish, actually, came from Rainbow Lake. What the fish were hooked on was unknown. But for largemouths at lakes, suspending jerk baits began to come into play. Some were drop-shotted, and some were Rat-L-Trapped. Chain pickerel fishing was good at lakes the last few weeks, and nothing was heard about the angling in past days. But Steve couldn’t imagine anglers couldn’t catch the heck out of pickerel currently. Pickerel remain aggressive in cold water. Nobody reported trout fishing. But waters that were supposed to be included in this week’s winter trout stocking were South Vineland Park Pond and Shaws Mill Pond. See the <a href=" http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/wintrstk15.htm" target="_blank">winter trout stocking schedule</a> online. Maurice River was among waters included in the <a href=" http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/flstk15.htm" target="_blank">fall trout stocking</a>. In saltwater, some migrating striped bass finally began to show up for boaters sailing from places like Cape May and Wildwood. The fish all seemed to be trolled on the ocean. Nothing was heard about stripers from Delaware Bay, when Steve gave this report. But other sources suggested the migration began to arrive at Cape May Rips, at the mouth of the bay. See this <a href=" http://delaware-surf-fishing.com/first-migratory-bass-show-up-in-delaware-bay/" target="_blank">report</a> about a couple of 15- and 16-pounders trolled at Overfalls Shoals. That’s at the Cape May Rips, and the fish were the season’s first migrators seen at Lewes Harbor Marina in Delaware, the report said.

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