<b>North Jersey</b>

One walleye was landed, and another got off, on one of the nighttime trips that plug for them with Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale, he said. That was on Greenwood Lake on Wednesday, and Dave is a biology teacher, and school now let out for summer. He’ll begin guiding trips more frequently, because of that. He’s already guided some this year, but frequently fished solo, like on this trip, or with friends, until now, this year. These nighttime walleye trips fish when walleyes push into shallows to forage on spawning herring in the dark this season. Then walleyes, big, tasty fish, a member of the perch family, can be smashed on cast lures. Good sport. Fishing at night is unique, too. The fish that was caught hit an orange and gold Rapala Original Floating Lure in size 18. That was at 10 p.m., an hour after dark, and the walleye that got off attacked at 1 a.m. Dave trolled for muskies on Greenwood on Monday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and none of the fish of 10,000 casts bit. Not many fish have bitten on Greenwood for Dave this year, for unknown reasons. He’s had better catching on Lake Hopatcong, and better reports have rolled in from there. Dave might need to fish Hopatcong or elsewhere more frequently, though Greenwood usually produces. Greenwood was 71 degrees on the musky trip, and is usually 80 degrees or warmer this time of year. The lake had been up to 74 or 75 degrees this year, but weather became cooler and rougher since. Weather felt like spring on the lake, and was 50 degrees in the morning, on the musky trip. Dave’s friend Paul Schmidt’s club the Northeast Bass Masters held a largemouth bass tournament on Lake Hopatcong, and the fishing seemed good. Fifteen pounds for five fish was the winning weight, and Paul landed 10 largemouths in the event, Dave thought.

A customer on Wednesday said trout streams, like the South Branch of the Raritan River, ran high, because of rain, and that cooled the water, said Brian from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. Trout anglers fished mostly small flies, like blue-winged olives, and the rain and high water disrupted bug hatches. Anglers hoped the hatches got back on track, including isonychias or brown drakes. Sulfurs were known to catch trout on the West Branch of the Delaware River. Catskills rivers like that also ran high, because of rain. A customer said the waters were up during the weekend. Not a lot of details were heard about largemouth bass and hybrid striped bass. But both should be chomping well in lakes. Many Zara Spooks, Jitterbugs and top-water lures were sold for the angling.

Though only 28 fish were entered in the Stew Lant Bass Contest on the lake Sunday, some of the fish were big, Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong wrote in an email. That’s the Knee Deep Club’s largemouth and smallmouth bass tournament, and Ed Mackin won first place with a 5-pound 13-ounce largemouth. Harvey Bank placed second with a 3-pound 11-ounce smallmouth bass, and Dominic Sarinelli came in third with a 3-pound 3-ounce smallmouth. Harvey Bank also tackled two sizable chain pickerel, about 3 pounds each, and two hefty largemouths, not eligible in the tournament. The largemouths weighed 3 pounds and 3 pounds 3 ounces. Lenny Salvatore, who wasn’t in the tournament, hauled in a 6-pound largemouth. “Still some action on topwater,” Laurie wrote, and lots of panfish chewed in the shallows. “Happy 4th of July,” she wrote!

Lake Hopatcong’s largemouth bass fishing was pretty good, said Joe from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. Hybrid striped bass were socked from Hopatcong on livelined herring. Different ponds served up largemouths, crappies and panfish. Northern pike fishing went well on Passaic River. The river ran somewhat high, because of rain, but wasn’t flooded.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Good fishing was reported from Ken Lockwood Gorge, said Braden from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. A couple of anglers talked about the angling for small rainbow trout this week. Some anglers landed 20 or 25 in a morning, mostly on nymphs, like size-16 pheasant-tails or hares ears. But many anglers fished a big caddis dry fly as a strike indicator for the nymphs, and trout hit the caddis just as often. The Gorge’s water dropped somewhat low but was still fishable. The herring spawn was ending that attracts hybrid striped bass and walleyes to lake shallows at night. But some of the fish, reportedly 90 percent hybrids, were still caught at Lake Hopatcong, mostly from 1 to 3 a.m., on surface lures or stick baits. Hybrids were hooked at Spruce Run Reservoir three ways: on livelined herring during daytime on boats; on top-water lures at night on boats; and on chicken livers or chunked herring meant for channel catfish at night from shore. The catfishing was decent for the shore anglers. Lake trout were trolled at Round Valley Reservoir, down 80 to 110 feet.

Two anglers headed to Manasquan Reservoir, to fish on two different boats, on Tuesday morning from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River, Dennis said. They’d been bailing lots of big white perch and token largemouth bass, here and there, in the trees on killies the past two weeks. Anglers at the reservoir sometimes saw a hybrid striped bass jump, but nobody knew about any caught. Another angler kept tying into largemouths, pretty good catches, at Lake Riviera, on shiners free-lined, with no bobber.  Sometimes a catfish grabbed the shiner, because the baitfish was fished near bottom. Chain pickerel could always be fought from the Toms River at Trilco, the closed building supply. No sign identifies the building, but locals know the stretch by the name, located near Garden State Parkway. That’s almost always good pickerel water, and carp were very active there currently, like small torpedoes swimming around. Anglers chum for the carp with raisins and fish for them with raisins, dough balls or corn on the hook. Ocean College County College Pond has become difficult to fish, because the road has been reconstructed, leaving only two parking places for cars. The shop used to report about fishing on the pond frequently for catches like bluegills, a few largemouth bass. Shiners, killies, nightcrawlers and garden worms are stocked. Meal worms are still on hand, and no more will be ordered this season, once they run out. Murphy’s, located on Route 37, also owns <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Rubber-frogging nailed largemouth bass great in weeds and lily pads at local lakes, said Karl from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. That included at Assunpink Lake and Stone Tavern Lake, both in the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area. At night, largemouths were clobbered on black buzz baits, black Jitterbugs and black or black-shad, 10-inch, rubber worms at lakes. Delaware River was dirty, because of rain. When the river’s clear, smallmouth bass and catfish usually bite in the river this time of season.

Customers fished for largemouth bass, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b>. They mentioned a lake that sounded like Serry Lake, and Ed was unsure about the spelling. But they caught there, on shiners. Smaller largemouths were angled from Puppyland Lake on minnows. Nothing was heard about the spillway across from Blackwood Lake that usually gives up sunnies. Ed guessed the panfish bit there. Anglers sometimes said they were skunked while fishing at Grenloch Lake. But they were probably inexperienced. Other anglers headed to New Brooklyn Lake to fish for chain pickerel, though no results were reported. New Brooklyn is a popular lake for the picks. The shop was closed a few days, because of a power outage locally, because of the severe storm last week.

With all the crazy storms, water was sometimes churned, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. But largemouth bass fishing was great at Salem Canal during the weekend. Not a lot of news came in, because of the weather. But if anglers try for largemouths on lakes, fishing with rubber frogs was awesome. Top-water lures scored in mornings and evenings. Many buzz baits sold. So did chatter baits, and anglers could always flip jigs to the largemouths. Panfishing was good on lakes, like on nightcrawlers and trout worms. Catfishing went well on Maurice River. In saltwater, summer flounder, some of them keepers, were reeled from back bays. Not much was heard from Delaware Bay.

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