<b>North Jersey</b>

A saltwater angler who wanted to learn about freshwater fishing jumped aboard at 7 p.m. Thursday on Lake Hopatcong, fishing into night, said Capt. Dave from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale.  Wasn’t the best fishing, but the angler top-water plugged a decent-sized largemouth bass and landed a crappie on a livelined herring, fished 15 feet down. The plug was a Yo-Zuri 3DB Prop lure, with a propeller on the back. The angler left at 11:30 p.m., because of work. That was potentially too early for walleyes to bite that Dave previously caught on lures on lakes in the small hours of the night, like 12:30 or 1:30 a.m., and later. The season was becoming late for the walleye fishing, but the fish still might bite, and Dave’s up for fishing for them, and might try for them on his own and with clients. Walleyes push to shallows, where they can be plugged, in the middle of the night to forage on spawning herring, in spring and summer. Herring are finished spawning, but walleyes could still move to shallows in the dark like that for a time. Dave on Saturday took his nephew and the nephew’s friend bass fishing at Echo Lake during daytime, though Dave usually fishes for muskies on Echo. They walloped 14 bass, a mix of largemouths and smallmouths. Dave landed six, and his nephew landed five, and the friend landed three, but the biggest, probably a 3-pound largemouth. Wacky-rigged Yum Dinger rubber worms caught well. Dave’s also been catching bass well on wacky-rigged BioSpawn ExoStick rubber worms. On the trip, two musky follows were scored, and another musky was seen holding atop weeds. Dave trolled for muskies solo on Greenwood Lake on Monday, and none of the fish of 10,000 casts bit. Greenwood was 77 degrees, cooler than earlier this summer, but the whole lake was green, because of an algae bloom. Echo was 83 degrees on the trip there. Trips are booked to fish with Dave today through Saturday. Two of the trips will probably fish for bass. One wants to learn trolling, and the other trip will probably fish for a little of everything, Dave said, including muskies. Dave donated that trip to the Bergen Bowmen to award at a dinner.

Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna was at Delaware River this weekend, and didn’t fish, but a friend fly-rodded a bunch of smallmouth bass that day on the river, Kevin said. The friend hooked the fish in deep pools while wading, and Kevin saw another angler land a small striped bass from the river at Walpack that day. The angler had been hooking small stripers on rubber twister tails. The river looked absolutely perfect, Kevin said. Participation in trout fishing slowed on streams, because of summer heat. Anglers sometimes avoid trouting in summer, because fighting the fish can kill them in the warm water. But some still fished for trout, and rain Tuesday probably cooled the water and raised the streams. The water had been low, but not extremely. If rain continues, the fishing could be alright. One customer said there was somewhat of a different “aura” now than earlier this summer, because of rain lately. Tricos are probably coming off in mornings and evenings. Kevin saw lots of Tricos on the Delaware. Cahills are probably hatching in evenings. Largmouth bass bit at Lake Hopatcong. A friend clocked four, weighing a total of 8 pounds, at Hopatcong on Monday in overcast skies on white spinner baits. A top-water bite could erupt like that on overcast days.

Catfish, northern pike and occasional smallmouth bass got cranked from Passaic River, said Joe from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. Largemouth bass fishing was pretty good on Lake Hopatcong. Chain pickerel also bit there, and anglers complained about pickerel biting off lines. Joe recently returned from competing at Lake Champlain in a Rayovac FLW tournament, winning third place, catching lots of smallmouth bass. That was mostly on drop-shotted Keitech Fat Swing Impacts on ½-ounce Keitech football jigs. He used the tungsten jigheads, because most of the fishing was in Vermont, where lead is prohibited.  From saltwater, Joe heard fluke fishing had been good, but might’ve slowed in past days, because of weather or conditions like wind against tide that hampered boats’ drifts.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Most customers heavy into fishing worked Spruce Run Reservoir for hybrid striped bass, said Braden from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. The fishing slowed at night, though night produced previously, but heated up at dawn and dusk now. Some of the hybrids were really good-sized or 24 or 25 inches, and most were boated on slow-trolled, live herring. They were also trolled on Phoebes. The slow-trolled herring also hooked suspended catfish. A couple of fly-anglers, one on the North Branch of the Raritan River, the other on Paulinskill River, played a variety of fish, lots, including bluegills, redbreasted sunfish, small smallmouth bass and occasional largemouth bass in evenings on poppers on 3-weight rods, just for fun. Northern pike fishing was good on Passaic River early last week and slowed during the weekend. But after the shot of rain this week, once the water clears, the pike will probably chew again. A few chain pickerel were picked on Delaware and Raritan Canal on shiners. Anglers there often bottom-fished there, sliding in good-sized channel catfish and bullhead catfish.

A couple of customers who’d been frequenting Manasquan Reservoir hooked a couple of largemouth bass on 10-inch, rubber worms worked along bottom, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. The water was pretty stagnant, because of lack of rain, they said. Fish like bluegills and crappies bit in the impoundment, mostly around the trees, they said. Those anglers tried for trout at Round Valley Reservoir recently, but caught nothing. Another customer kept catfishing at the lakes in Lacey Township, mentioned in previous reports here, but Dennis hadn’t seen him since the last time the angler headed for the lakes. A few chain pickerel and some panfish were fought from local ponds. Kids fished for them, dunking nightcrawlers. Murphy’s, located on Route 37, also owns <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Any trout hooked would likely die from the fight because of warm water, said fly-fishing manager Bob Atticks from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Trout streams ran very low, and Ken Lockwood Gorge flowed at 39 cubic feet per second Tuesday morning. That’s low, and that contributes to warm water. When water is warmer than 70 degrees, trout are likely to die like that. So most anglers avoid the angling in summer. Trouting will become popular again when the water rises and cools this fall. The water’s even been low during fall trout stocking, usually in early October, in recent years. When the fish are stocked in low water, anglers tend to catch many right away, because the trout stack up in deeper, habitable spots that make them vulnerable. If Bob had a choice, the fish would be stocked whenever the water becomes high enough, like in late October or in November. Smallmouth bass fishing happened in Delaware River, downstream from Trenton. The river’s level fluctuated recently, keeping news scarcer about the fishing than sometimes. Largemouth bass were targeted at the lakes at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area on rubber worms, top-water lures and other artificials like that.

Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood was unsure about the spelling, but the lake that sounds like Surrey Lake, in Lakeland, gave up largemouth bass on shiners, he said. A few small largemouths were angled from Puppyland Lake on minnows. Minnows picked up chain pickerel from New Brooklyn Lake, always a spot for pickerel.

Not a lot was heard about fishing in the summer warmth, but Salem Canal doled out largemouth bass, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. The canal is typically a place for largemouths in summer. Not much was hard about Union Lake during the week. A couple of customers scored okay at Malaga Lake on largemouths, especially in evenings. A couple talked about good largemouthing at Elmer Lake in the dark. Lots of Jitterbugs and buzz baits, even some popper lures, were sold for largemouth fishing. Panfish will always bite in summer at lakes. Kids hooked bluegills well, and nightcrawlers sold like crazy for panfishing like that. In saltwater, summer flounder fishing was fair, mostly in the ocean, because of the deep water. Hear about Delaware Bay’s flounder? Steve was asked. “I wish,” he said. News was scarce from there.

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