<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Rain fell during the weekend, including showers Sunday night, and the river flowed at 335 cubic feet per second this week, said Jay Peck from <b>Jay Peck Guide Service</b>. That’s compared with a low flow of 185 previously, and the current flow was almost average for the time of year. That might bode well for the impending salmon migration to the river from Lake Ontario. The river’s temperature, 62 degrees, was good for the migration. That good a temperature hadn't been seen in a while, he said, and reports about salmon fishing on the lake looked good for the impending migration. Lake anglers scored well on the fish close to shore. Tons of salmon will suddenly be found in the river one morning. Currently, a few salmon trickled up the river in mornings. Fishing for them at the moment was about landing one or two in a trip. The fish early in the run are fresh, strong and, when hooked, angry. Right now, they’re amazing fish, he said. Jay early in the run looks for the salmon at the heads of pools on the river. When not a lot of salmon are “moving” through the river, like now, his trips move a lot on the river. He hits prime water, fishing carefully, then moves to the next spot. Jay specializes in fly-fishing and catch-and-release, and books trips that fish for the salmon with conventional tackle with his other guides on the river. Jay currently will fish wooly buggers in earth colors or olive, black and brown for the river’s salmon. That’s always worked well for him in the early season. Weather was in the 60 degrees early this week, and was supposed to become warmer later this week. Forecasts looked like weather would become cooler again next week. Previously, weather was warm, and the migration was probably still affected by that. The river needs to cool for salmon to migrate up, but the water temperature now, 62 degrees, did look good. Jay thinks the migration is just a matter of time, he said. Salmon, mostly Chinooks or kings, and some cohos, migrate up the river from Lake Ontario to spawn in late summer and fall. Fishing for them is world-class in the river then. The salmon die in the river after spawning. Steelheads migrate up the river from the lake next in fall. When the salmon run is finished, Jay and his guides fish for the steelheads on the river. The steelhead fishing, also world-class, lasts through winter into spring on the river, because steelheads winter in the river, spawn there in spring, and return to the lake for summer. Steelheads don’t die after spawning, unlike salmon. Jay also fly-fishes for trout, huge browns, in fall into winter on different rivers and creeks in the area, until the trout waters freeze. Salmon River never completely freezes, because of the big river’s strength of flow. The browns grow large because they summer in the lake. They winter in rivers and creeks because forage is more abundant there during the season.  Jay resumes the trout fishing when trout waters ice-out in spring, while also steelhead fishing.

<b>New Jersey</b>

Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> whacked a large musky, probably 46 or 47 inches, releasing the fish, at Oxford Furnace Lake on Sunday, he said. That was on a bucktail with silver tinsel aboard the boat just off the launch ramp. He had been ripping the lure under the surface, called “bulging,” when he saw the fish following. He worked the lure in a figure-eight at the end of the retrieve, and the musky attacked. That’s a known technique that sometimes makes muskies bite. Earlier in the trip, another fish boiled on a top-water lure but never bit, and another followed a Nimmer Swimmer Wolly Pog musky lure. So he had two follows. The trip was when a cold front was moving in, and Dave could feel the day become cooler, and dark clouds developed, and wind made the lake choppy, and a little rain fell. “Boy, you really have to be out there when the weather is changing,” he said. The fish were turned on, and fronts like this can do that, he’s noticed. A trip Monday with a client was skunked on Greenwood Lake. Weather was beautiful with clear skies, a high-pressure day, after the weather front. Maybe that was a reason. Greenwood was 74 degrees, cooler than before. Oxford Furnace was 76 degrees. But that was still warm, like bath water, he said. Dave hopes that when lake temperatures dip into the 60 degrees, that’ll be good for fishing. He’ll keep fishing until weather becomes too cold, usually in early December. Dave visited nearby trout streams when he fished Oxford Furnace, and the streams ran very low. 

Most customers fished for largemouth bass with top-water lures, like Hula Poppers and Jitterbugs, at Lake Hopatcong and lakes in Randolph and Roxbury, said Don from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. Some fished for them with Senko rubber worms, but the top-waters caught better, the anglers said. Trout fishing was probably a couple of weeks away yet, when weather and waters cool. Anglers said trout streams flowed low to the west and north. But Don lives near Rockaway River, and the Rockaway and streams near there seemed to flow at a decent level, not especially low. Not much was heard about saltwater. A few bluefish gave up action, and anglers hoped more would show up. Nothing was mentioned about striped bass yet. A buddy was headed to bottom-fish on the ocean for catches like ling.

The lake’s walleye fishing picked up in the past week, Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong wrote in an email. Some bit in shallower water, and some bit deeper. Nightcrawlers and livelined herring hooked them. Bob Orta landed several to an 8-pound 3-ouncer, and Bob Smith caught the walleyes to 4 pounds. Lots of white perch and some yellow perch and crappies jumped on small herring or small jigs with rubber curly tails. Hybrid striped bass to 7 or 8 pounds and chain pickerel were in the mix in the lake. The Knee Deep Club will hold the King of the Lake Contest from Saturday to Sunday on the lake. The club hopes for a good turnout in the better weather and less boat traffic this time of year.

Passaic River ran very low, said Cheryl from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. No fishing for northern pike or other fish was heard about from the river in the past week or 1 ½ weeks, because of that. Largemouth bass catches were talked about from Pompton Lake. In saltwater, fluke were still angled, and bluefish were showing up, but the angling for both was hit and miss.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

A couple of anglers heaved a few channel catfish from the Delaware and Raritan Canal locally, said Braden from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. They also lost two rods when the fish pulled them into the water! The cats seemed to bite better, even during daytime, because of cooler weather. Hybrid striped bass were trolled at Spruce Run Reservoir on live herring, even on live shiners, in mornings until 10 or 11 a.m. They were willing to bite including when the sun rose a while. Boat launching was difficult, though, because of low water. Vessels like kayaks were used. Lake trout to 7 and 8 pounds, sizable, were jigged in Merrill Creek Reservoir, down 65 to 85 feet, on blade baits. Now that weather was a little cooler, largemouth bass fishing improved somewhat in park ponds in Union County. Many of the bass were clocked on Senkos, and a few were taken on white spinner baits. Braden saw photos of 4- or 4-1/2-pounders caught from pretty heavily fished ponds. Trout streams ran low, and not much was heard about trout fishing.

Lots of largemouth bass were tied into on nightcrawlers and artificials, said Virginia from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. The fish were hooked at Ocean County College Pond, and her son lit into them, good catches, at Allaire State Park. Manasquan Reservoir also fished well for the bass, and also turned out crappies. Crappies were nabbed at Lake Riviera’s lower lake. Shiners, 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>

Rain fell, but that would raise trout streams only a moment, said Fly-Fishing Manager Bob Atticks from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. The South Branch of the Raritan River flowed at 27 cubic feet per second near High Bridge on Tuesday, and flowed at 15 the other day. Both levels were low, and all streams flowed too low and warm for trout fishing, really. Bob said in a past report that the waters usually run too low, even when fall trout stocking takes place. The stocking is slated for October 12 to 21 this year. He’d rather the waters be stocked whenever streams flowed higher, usually later in the year. Delaware River might’ve flowed dirty, because of the rain. But that depended on whether the rain fell upstream in the Catskills. If the rain only fell locally, that wouldn’t dirty the water now. Anglers on the river had been landing smallmouth bass on top-water lures like Rapala CountDowns and poppers at night. The top-water fishing lasts until weather cools a little. Then live bait, usually shiners, mostly catches them. Largemouth bass fishing was probably yet to change for the season on lakes. Top-water lures like rubber frogs probably nailed them in evenings. Or rubber worms probably connected in evenings or other times. Mornings and nighttime also produce this time of year, while lakes are warm.

The same catches as before were heard about, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. Surrey Lake near Lakeland was talked about for largemouth bass catches on shiners and minnows. Chain pickerel chewed at New Brooklyn Lake. Panfish like sunnies nibbled at Puppyland Lake and the spillway across the road from Blackwood Lake.

Not much was reported, for unknown reasons, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Maybe that was because of weather including wind and sometimes rain. Or maybe it was because of the time of year, just after Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer leisure. He’d hoped the rain and cooler weather would help fishing, and maybe it will. Maybe the rain would “freshen” lakes, and maybe the weather would cool the water. But Salem Canal still gave up decent largemouth bass fishing. Try throwing a chatter bait or flipping a jig. Panfish like sunnies and bluegills, and chain pickerel, are always fish to fall back on now. They should bite. Nothing was really reported from saltwater. Wind didn’t help that angling, keeping boaters from sailing in seas the wind would kick up.

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