<b>NEW YORK</b>

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

Trips with Jay Peck from <b>Jay Peck Guide Service</b> fished for steelheads on Salmon River several days in a row through Monday, he said that evening in a phone call. On the first day, no steelheads were landed. On the second, four were. On the third, five were banked, and on the fourth, Monday, seven were. The numbers increased, because Jay adjusted the ways the trips fished, and he learned, as the days went on. Steelheads weren’t behaving the ways they’d usually do this time of year. Maybe that was because weather was warm, keeping the river warm. The water temperature also fluctuated drastically in short periods of time, like a day, sometimes, because weather would be warm a moment, and then colder. The river, running at 335 cubic feet per second lately, was 40 degrees on Monday. The water fluctuated from 38 to 44 degrees these days, depending on location and time of day. Still, a good number of steelheads held in the upper river. In the lower river, a light but steady trickle of the fish migrated in from Lake Ontario. The river was “definitely fishing,” he said. Streamer flies caught on the lower river, but smaller than usual streamers for the time of year. Small Intruder streamers were fished. Usually this time of season, big, 6-inch streamers on heavy leaders can be fished. On the upper river currently, nymphs hooked the steelheads well. Jay found that the nymphs needed to fished somewhat higher in the water column than usual. The haunts the steelheads held in were different than usual for the time of year, too. The steelheading was more challenging than usual, but that can be enjoyable to Jay, gratifying when adjustments are made, and the fish begin to be caught. On Saturday’s trip, two brown trout were landed. One was a spawned-out, 6-pound hen, and the other was a 15-pound cock, a fantastic fish. Big males like that are usually seen earlier in the season. Jay during these days did no fishing for big brown trout like this in Lake Ontario’s tributaries farther west in New York, around Rochester, that he also does this time of year, because he steelhead fished. But a couple of his scouts fished for the browns in western New York, banking the trout here and there. Those tributaries have been low, and higher water would help draw more of the browns to migrate into the streams and rivers from the lake. The Erie Canal was drained for the season in the last week, and that helped raise the western New York tribs a bit, increasing the number of browns there a little. The browns currently will be caught on a mix of egg flies and streamers. The trout migrate to the tributaries to spawn in fall, remaining there through winter and early spring, because forage is more abundant in the tributaries than in the lake that time of year. They return to the lake for summer. Steelheads migrate to tributaries like the Salmon in fall, spend winter there, because of forage, spawn in the tributaries in spring, and return to the lake for summer. The brown trout fishing will last this year until the waters freeze. The steelhead fishing will last all winter, because the Salmon never freezes entirely. 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>

Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> fished solo for muskies on Greenwood Lake on Saturday, he said. None of the fish of 10,000 casts bit, and he mostly fished a jig from Bondy Bait Company, a large rubber one with a Colorado blade. He also trolled spoon plugs, but wanted to jig. Musky anglers this time of year will jig all day, and every once in a while, a musky will feel like feeding, and swipe the jig. Dave saw on the fish finder a line representing a fish sometimes rise up to the jig, but no fish bit. Most other boaters he saw were anchored and jigging slowly in the cooler water. A vertical presentation was popular. Though the lake was warmer than usual or 46 to 50 degrees, compared with 42 last year, anglers might fish a long time before catching this season. The body temperature of fish will be the same as the water temperature, so the fish will move slowly, and will practically need to be bonked on the head with a hook to get them to bite. But the fish need to feed, and big muskies can be caught this season. So can other fish, like a 7-pound walleye Dave clocked near Christmas in a recent year. Somebody last year angled a 40-pound musky at Greenwood this time of year. Dave’s trips had been catching hybrid striped bass on Lake Hopatcong until now. But the boat launch was now closed for the season at Hopatcong, and apparently only private launches were available there now. Public launching remained available at Greenwood, and Dave will keep fishing until weather becomes too cold. In other news, he saw photos online of walleyes hooked from Delaware River. 

Fish were reeled from lakes, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. That included yellow perch, often hooked on meal worms under bobbers. That also included largemouth bass whacked on Lake Hopatcong on Rapala Husky Jerks. He saw boaters fishing on Lake Musconetcong, apparently for largemouths. Largemouthing was slow, but caught the fish, and weather was yet to be too cold. Big chain pickerel could be fought at lakes this season, on spinners, covering lots of water.  No walleyes were heard about from Hopatcong recently, but walleyes were probably jigged from the lake, like before. Again, weather was warm. Trout streams were low, but trout were picked from the waters in deeper holes, including on egg flies and San Juan worms. Nothing was reported about Delaware River, and the river probably ran low, but walleyes could probably be yanked from the river. One customer fishes the Delaware for walleyes until Christmas, jigging the fish at deeper spots. Binsky blade baits are popular to jig, but any blade baits could work.

Customers sometimes fished for trout stocked at lakes in the winter trout stocking, said Larry from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. The stocking took place Thanksgiving week, and the winter stocking is at lakes. The fall trout stocking is mostly at rivers and streams, and just a few lakes. Northern pike could surely be wrestled from Passaic River. They bite most of the year, and anglers often fish big spinners for them. In saltwater, Larry surf-fished for striped bass at Sandy Hook on Monday. None bit, and the angling seemed to slow for the season, according to anglers he spoke with there. They said stripers seemed to bite in the surf farther south currently. Boaters in the Sandy Hook area still seemed to angle stripers sometimes.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Anglers bought shiners and meal worms to fish for trout from shore at Round Valley Reservoir, said Braden from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. They probably banked mostly rainbow trout and a few brown trout, because more rainbows than browns were known to be reeled from the impoundment this season from shore. The trout cruise along the shoreline this season, and when anglers fish meal worms for them, they often fish a combo of the meals and marshmallows, called the M&M combo. The combo is fished along bottom on a slip sinker 1/8 ounce to 1 ounce. A tiny split shot or swivel is used to prevent the sinker from reaching the hook. The leader is light monofilament or fluorocarbon. A mini marshmallow is usually impaled on the hook near the eye, and the worm is hooked below that. The marshmallow helps hold the worm off bottom a little. Some anglers use the bright pink marshmallows. One customer fished hair jigs on the South Branch of the Raritan River, trying for smallmouth bass and trout, mostly catching small smallmouths, and an occasional rainbow trout. The last rains helped raise trout streams that were low, and the flows were dropping back down now. Not a lot of anglers trout fished, but plenty of trout swam waters like the north and south branches of the Raritan. Walleyes were socked on Delaware River on twister tails with nightcrawlers.

Fishing for trout was an option, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. Lake Shenandoah was included in the winter trout stocking during Thanksgiving week. Autumn’s cool weather is also usually conducive to trout fishing on the Toms, Metedeconk and Manasquan rivers. Those were included in the fall trout stocking in October. Fishing for chain pickerel and crappies on lakes were also options. Those fish are active in cooler water. News was scarce from freshwater, because most customers took advantage of fishing for striped bass and blues happening in the surf and, for boaters, on the ocean. But freshwater baits are stocked, including killies, garden worms, nightcrawlers and trout baits like PowerBait and salmon eggs. Once the killies and garden worms run out, no more will be stocked until spring. Nightcrawlers are carried year-round. Murphy’s, located on Route 37, also owns <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River.    

Though weather was calm and warm, largemouth bass fishing was slow, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. The bass were sluggish, but chain pickerel and crappies bit everywhere. They’re aggressive in cooler water, and Union Lake was a hot spot for both. Alloway Lake fished alright for them, and Rainbow Lake was a good spot for pickerel. Mostly minnows were fished for the picks. Nobody mentioned trout, though waters included in the winter trout stocking, during Thanksgiving week, were South Vineland Park Pond and Shaws Mill Pond. Fishing for striped bass in saltwater was the “hot ticket.” The angling was good on the ocean on trolled Mojos, bunker spoons and Stretch lures. Anything in Delaware Bay? Steve was asked. “Water!” he said. Striper fishing sounded slow on the bay.

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