<b>NEW YORK</b>

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

Salmon River’s steelhead fishing gave up a pick of the fish, said Jay Peck from <b>Jay Peck Guide Service</b>. Trips covered lots of water, and egg flies caught best on the upper river for his outings. But streamer flies, fun to fish, began to grab steelhead bites a little better than before on the lower river for the trips. Jay thinks that’s because steelheads that just migrated to the river, from Lake Ontario, were less accustomed to feeding on eggs. The eggs are from salmon that spawn in the river. A few “green” salmon, fresh from the lake, yet to spawn, remained in the river. But most of the river’s salmon were “zombies,” spawned-out fish that would die soon. Salmon migrate to the river from the lake in fall to spawn, and die in the river after the spawning. Steelheads migrate to the river from the lake next in fall, but don’t spawn until spring in the river. They winter in the river, giving up fishing for them there the whole season. The river ran at 335 cubic feet per second. Rain fell Friday but was like “maintenance” for the river level. A good rain would be good for the steelheading, encouraging more of the fish to migrate into the river. Two-and-a-half inches of rain fell in a storm earlier this season, picking up the river’s salmon fishing for some days, for the same reason. That much rain is a “game-changer,” Jay said, and even mattered to the steelhead fishing now. “We wouldn’t be doing this,” he said about catching steelheads currently, if that rain hadn’t fallen. Fishing with streamers also covered more water, helpful when the steelheads were scattered throughout the river. A warm spell this week would probably help steelheading, causing warmer water to make the fish more willing to chase streamers. The river had been in the mid-40 degrees, and would probably warm to the low 50s this week. That’s a big deal, Jay said.  Steelheads would definitely get after streamers in that temperature. Jay in November also begins fishing for huge brown trout that migrate to rivers and streams farther west in New York, around Rochester, like the Genesee and Old Orchard rivers. This is how big the trout can be: A trip with Jay on Monday landed two 17-pound browns and some 15-pounders. The browns just began to arrive in the rivers. They grow big because they summer in Lake Ontario. They migrate to the rivers and streams in fall to spawn, and spend winter in the rivers and streams, where forage is more abundant than in the lake that season. The trout don’t die after spawning – neither do steelheads – and the trout return to the lake for summer, like steelheads do. Most of the browns currently were large males, typical in the early season. Probably 1 in 10 was a hen. A trip for the trout with Jay on Tuesday probably covered 5 miles of water, grabbing eight bites, landing five, “not bad at all,” he said, for the time of year. The trip was still fishing, when he gave this report in a phone call that afternoon. Salmon and steelheads also swam those western New York rivers, and egg flies, because of spawning salmon, caught the browns best currently. Jay specializes in fly-fishing and catch-and-release, and books trips that fish with conventional tackle with his other guides.  Watch a video of Jay’s salmon fishing for Chinooks or kings in late fall.

<b>North Jersey</b>

Eighteen hybrid striped bass were bailed from Lake Hopatcong on a trip Saturday with <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b>, Capt. Dave Vollenweider said. Thirty-eight were cracked on a trip aboard the previous weekend, covered in the last report here. On this last trip, all the fish were hooked on chicken livers, fished just off bottom, in 25- to 30-foot depths. Sometimes livelined herring are fished for hybrids, but Dave found the livers to catch best, and chicken livers are more economical than herring. He saw an angler on another boat jig a hybrid on a blade bait during Dave’s trip. Dave’s trip bagged two hybrids, releasing the rest. Hybrids are tough fighters, and they doubled over the rods, ripping out drag. Seven-foot crappie rods were fished with 6-pound line. “It’s awesome,” he said. White perch were mixed in, and anglers knew right away whether a hybrid or a perch was hooked. The fish bit as soon as the bait reached near bottom. The three anglers, including Dave, only fished four rods, because of that. The hybrids weighed up to 3 ½ or 4 pounds, and similar-sized hybrids school together. A friend said a trip could get into a school of 4- to 8-pounders. The trip at first ran into a school of huge bluegills and sunnies, the size of a hand, biting in the same depths, in 25 feet of water. The boat was moved to get into the hybrids. The lake was 54 degrees, and had already turned over for the season. Dave had a way of getting into the hybrids that he didn’t want to reveal. The fishing didn’t seem as popular as some angling, but other boats did fish for them on the trip. It was sort of undiscovered, or boating isn’t as popular this time of year. Some fishing can be difficult this time of year, once lakes turn over and water becomes cooler. The hybrid fishing was on, and anglers will see how long it lasts. A client is supposed to fish for them with Dave this weekend. The trip was on a beautiful fall day with little wind. Dave would also like to fish for muskies this season, a great time of year for musky angling. He’d like to fish for them on Greenwood Lake that he frequents. He knew about a musky caught there in recent days.

Trout streams ran a bit higher than before, because of rain last week, but still ran low, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. But low water is typical this time of year, and weather was cooling, and that was good for trout fishing. The fish were banked at Musconetcong River and Ken Lockwood Gorge, including on small, bead-headed flies and Wooly Buggers. Little was reported about Delaware River, but walleyes had sometimes been caught from the river around Poxono Island. Nothing crazy, he said. Lakes were no longer crowded with anglers like in summer. Not a lot was heard about lakes, but fishing on them should be good through the weekend, because of warmer weather this week. Chain pickerel fishing should be good on lakes on No. 4 or 5 Mepps spinners. Sizable pickerel to 4, 5 or 6 pounds are usually walloped this season. Walleyes were reported jigged from Lake Hopatcong on blade baits. Kids often geared up to fish lakes later this week because school would be closed during a teachers’ convention.

“Catching hybrids again on chicken livers,” Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong wrote in an email. The fish seemed to move toward the yacht club and the ridge area, after gathering near Chestnut Point previously. Hybrids prefer the livers over herring this time of year. “Although they are quite messy, the fish do love them!” Laurie wrote. Lots of yellow and white perch and some crappies bit. “Seeing some walleye,” she said, on Rapala jigs, and some of the new colors are stocked. For pickerel, cast spinners along weed lines. Boat rentals are still available, and probably will be the next couple of weeks, because of good weather. The shop, open at 6:30 a.m. daily, is no longer netting herring to stock. But chicken livers, shiners, fathead minnows and worms are on hand.

Northern pike, good catches, were tackled from Passaic River, said Joe from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. The river was low, “but they get into pools, and they do well,” he said. Most reported fishing with big Mepps musky spinners for them. Sometimes anglers toss swim baits to the pike. Nobody talked about both lakes and trout fishing. In saltwater, boating for striped bass nailed good catches around Raritan and Hudson bays. Customers who surf-fish for stripers usually fish Sandy Hook, and the angling was slow there, but supposedly okay around Monmouth Beach.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Good trout fishing was claimed on Musconetcong River and South Branch of the Raritan River, said Scott from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Water levels rose because of last week’s rain, but dropped right back down. The levels were somewhat better than before the rain. Still, low water and leaves in the streams were tough on the fishing. Those who caught scored well on caddis and small flies like midges and emergers. Anglers began to see trout landed from shore at Round Valley Reservoir that start to cruise along the shoreline now, though the reservoir was low. Shiners under slip-bobbers and M&M combos, marshmallows and meals worms, caught them. One angler said he reeled in two 4- and 5-pound smallmouth bass from Round Valley on shiners, and that was unconfirmed. Hybrid striped bass bit chicken livers at Lake Hopatcong. Not much was heard about largemouth bass, and participation seemed to “tone down a bit.” In saltwater, striped bass fishing really started to be good. Most customers were interested in that.

A couple of customers trout fished on the Toms River near the tree farm, nabbing a few, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in the town of Toms River. They connected on spinners and PowerBait, and a couple of others fished for chain pickerel and crappies on lakes with killies. They caught. Nothing great, but caught. One customers had been largemouth bass fishing, but hadn’t stopped by recently. He might’ve packed in the fishing for the year. 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.  

<b>South Jersey</b>

Sylvan Lake served up trout for a couple of customers, said Dom from <b>Barracuda’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Riverside. Sylvan and Crystal Lake were included in the fall trout stocking, but Sylvan was the only where customers reported angling for the fish. Largemouth bass could probably be landed in the week’s warm weather. They’d probably be “nipping,” and Dom would probably throw top-water lures to the bass. Soon, largemouths would probably be reluctant to bite, maybe after this week, because weather and waters were cooling for the season. Crappie fishing also usually slows in colder conditions this time of year, but crappies might become active, like the bass, in the week’s warmth. Crappie fishing is good, and the fish are big, at local lakes, during the seasons when crappies chew. 

One angler picked up a couple of trout at Oak Pond on worms, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. Anglers tried for trout at Grenloch Lake, near the store, but none reported a catch. That’s not unusual, because the fish typically take time to acclimate, after stocking. Both places were included in the fall trout stocking recently. Nobody mentioned largemouth bass fishing, and participation might’ve slowed for the season. Chain pickerel were clubbed from New Brooklyn Lake. Saltwater anglers waited for the migration of striped bass to amp up. A few stripers were taken already.

Fishing began to improve across the board, said Andrew from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Freshwater fishing definitely began to toggle up. Crappies and largemouth bass bit well, the crappies on typical crappie jigs, the largemouths on tackle like Rat-L-Traps, jigs and jerk baits. Largemouths began to move to winter haunts, like deeper water, deeper water near weeds, secondary points, and any deeper water along points. Trout were known to be caught, since the fall trout stocking recently, though Andrew was unsure about any places that were especially hot for the catches. A bunch of anglers bought supplies like spinners and PowerBait for trout. Saltwater fishing improved a little, and migrating striped bass began to be pulled from the ocean. The angling was still hit and miss, and resident stripers, juvenile fish yet to migrate, were played on back bays.

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