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New Jersey Freshwater Fishing Report 10-26-16


<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Seven inches of rain poured from Thursday night to Sunday, said Jay Peck from <b>Jay Peck Guide Service</b>. The drought is finished. “It’s over,” he said, and the drought had lasted since last year. The river had run low at 185 cubic feet per second, including last week, because of the drought. The rain raised the river to 1,800 – that’s high – and the river now dropped back down to 750, a good level for fishing. The level will probably remain at 750 a while, he thinks. The reservoir’s level was in good shape. Fishing the river for salmon and steelheads dealt with the rain, flooding and debris in the water from all of that during the weekend. During his fishing Saturday, rain poured, wind blew, weather was 40 degrees and dirt and leaves filled the high river. A cheeseburger never tasted so good as when he got off the river, he said! His trips had been fishing “soft edges” and spots like that on the river during the flooding. By Monday, the river was down to 750, and the fish were moving back to usual haunts. The river would probably be back to normal yesterday, Tuesday. During the high water, he fished the upper river, where water was lowest. On Monday, the fish were “crabby,” less reluctant to bite than usual. He suspected they’d bite like normal Tuesday. He fished a variety of flies throughout the high water and immediately after. Anglers needed to experiment and see what the fish would take. Jay this season’s been fishing flies including eggs, wooly buggers, egg-sucking leaches, stoneflies and streamers. They all were worth a shot since the rain. His trip Monday caught some on eggs and some of the other patterns. Eggs have been popular since the salmon began to spawn. The peak of the spawn is finished, and salmon die after spawning, but some spawning was still happening. The high water “flushed out” much salmon fishing, but the fish currently still bit. The high water also drew in the migration of steelheads in a big way. Trips largely targeted them currently, but hooked salmon, too. Steelheads migrate to the river after salmon in fall. The river was 52 degrees, a great temperature for the fishing. Air temperature this season had been mild, temperate. Only two frosts had happened. But weather turned colder now, and was supposed to freeze yesterday for the first time this season. Although the rain was an event, it was needed to end the drought. Jay also fishes for huge brown trout in rivers and creeks farther west in New York, around Rochester, beginning in late fall. Only 3 inches of rain fell there, and the area was still in a drought. The trout grow large because they summer in Lake Ontario and winter in the rivers and creeks, where forage is more abundant that season. The angling is a chance to land trophy browns. 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>

A ton of trout were reportedly stocked in the fall trout stocking recently, but they seemed to be not biting well, said Dean from <b>Stokes Forest Sport Shop</b> in Sandyston. Customers mostly fish the Big Flatbrook, and the reason for the slow bite couldn’t be known. Some anglers might speculate that the fish needed to acclimate. Many said the fish might’ve behaved like spawning trout that refused to feed while breeding. But Dean didn’t want to speculate a reason. When anglers caught trout, that was often on PowerBait. Fly anglers fished “a little of everything” for the fish, but never caught often. So saying a pattern that worked was difficult. Not much other fishing happened, and trout were the focus. Walleye fishing should take off in Delaware River soon. They bite in cold water.

Good and bad reports were heard about trout fishing since the fall trout stocking, said Junior from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. The <a href="http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/flstk16.htm" target="_blank">stocking</a> took place for eight days through last Wednesday, but the fish failed to bite well. Maybe they needed to acclimate or were “shell shocked.” He tried fishing salmon eggs for the trout, but the eggs never worked. Eggs can work because of trout spawning in fall. Many customers fished meal worms and nightcrawlers for the trout, and also bought spinners for the angling. Rain this past week might’ve helped raise streams after they ran low this season. But some places remained low, he knew. Places fished for the trout included Musconetcong River near Lake Hopatcong, because the river ran higher than some places, because Hopatcong was being lowered for the season, dumping water into the river. On lakes, largemouth bass fishing seemed difficult or on and off, maybe because of rough weather. Weather might’ve also kept anglers from trying for the bass, limiting news. Weather included fierce wind in the approaching cold front in past days. He’s been fishing jerk baits and crank baits for the bass lately. Soft-plastic baits are always a go-to.  A couple of boaters catching hybrid striped bass at Hopatcong, often on chicken livers, were heard about. Customers kept gearing up to travel north to fish the salmon and steelhead migrations in upstate New York at waters like Salmon River. Many customers stopped in for saltwater supplies, including for striped bass and blackfishing.

Catches of rainbow trout from shore at Round Valley Reservoir were about the only action lately, said James from <b>Behre Bait & Tackle</b> in Lebanon. That’s because reservoirs, including Round Valley, were low for launching boats. Weather was also windy for boating, and a few anglers boated, but Round Valley’s shore angling was the most angling done. The fish were banked at the boat-launch cove or Ranger Cove on shiners under slip-bobbers or PowerBait fished on bottom on Carolina rigs. Good catches were reported.

Anglers were known to head out for trout from the fall stocking, said Bill from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. No results rolled in, and windy, rough weather limited news about any angling. Despite rain, Passaic River ran especially low like before. But it ran muddy because of the rain. Anglers fished saltwater for striped bass on boats on Raritan Bay, like toward Verrazano Bridge and Hudson River, and in the surf at Sandy Hook to farther south, at places like Sea Bright. Some of the bass to 20 or 25 pounds were heaved from the surf on plugs and bait.

Trout were seen from Metedeconk River, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. A customer checked-in two caught on PowerBait there. Another customer banked three from the Toms River at the Trout Conservation Area. Fishing is limited to artificials there. A few trout were lifted from the Toms near the tree farm in Jackson. The Metedeconk and the Toms, and also Manasquan River, were included in the fall trout stocking in past weeks. Trout rivers locally ran somewhat low, not badly, and rain probably helped this past week. Some lakes were low. A few customers fished Lake Riviera, banking mostly chain pickerel on killies and big sunnies on nightcrawlers. A few largemouth bass, not many, came from the lake. A few pickerel and sunnies but no bass were heard about from Ocean County College Pond and Lester’s Lake.  Largemouth fishing was probably slowing, because water was cooling. Nothing was heard about Manasquan Reservoir. A few pickerel bit in the Toms River at Trilco. That’s a closed building supply, and no sign identifies the building, but locals know the stretch by the name, located near Garden State Parkway. Murphy’s, located on Route 37, also owns <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River.

Largemouth bass definitely stalked shallows in lakes, feeding up for the season, said James from <b>Harry’s Army Navy</b> in Robbinsville. Buzz baits and jerk baits caught them well. In summer, James fished for smallmouth bass on Delaware River, covered in past reports here. But the smallmouth fishing becomes slower in fall. “I don’t know if they go deep or what,” he said. He knew nobody who fished for them currently. Nobody reported fishing for trout from the recent fall trout stocking. Rosedale Lake is always popular for the fishing. Gold spinners connected with the trout there last year. James was mostly fishing saltwater this season. Fishing for striped bass began to turn on in saltwater. That was mostly along the state’s northern coast, including in Raritan Bay to Sandy Hook and Monmouth County. Big stripers were trolled on the ocean in 45 to 60 feet of water on green bunker spoons in afternoons consistently. In the surf, smaller stripers weighing up the teens were beached on swim shads and top-waters in mornings and sometimes on darters at night. Bait anglers caught the biggest bass from the surf, on clams or bunker. Thousands of 1- to 5-pound blues swam the surf, hitting nearly anything. Small metal like Deadly Dicks or Hopkins could clock them. So could small pieces of mullet.

Some anglers scored success on trout, and some didn’t, at local lakes included in the fall trout stocking, said Brain from <b>STC Sports</b> in Gibbstown, and they fished PowerBait and meal worms. Give the trout a week to acclimate, and catches should improve dramatically, he thought. Largemouth bass anglers caught on Ike’s Mini Flip Jigs and crank baits at local lakes. Matt Gigz walloped a 3-1/2-pound largemouth on a crank bait at Swedesboro Lake. Shore anglers plugged away at small striped bass on Delaware River at RiverWinds in West Deptford on bloodworms. Strong wind kept many boaters from fishing, and some took advantage of the shore angling. Fishing for snakeheads, the invasive species, and bowfins slowed, for unknown reasons, like maybe the change in temperature. Customers target them in the tributary creeks of Delaware River.

Trout were tugged from Grenloch Lake, including a couple of better-sized, 14-inchers, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b>. Trout were also pulled from Oak Pond, and both waters were included last week in the fall trout stocking. The fish are stocked once in fall, at the different waters where they’re stocked, unlike a number of times in spring. PowerBait, meal worms and wax worms were fished for the trout. Also at Grenloch, one angler nailed a 3-pound largemouth bass on a shiner, and another whacked a 30-inch chain pickerel. Otherwise, only a few small largemouths seemed to be hung from lakes. One customer bailed lots of crappies, good-sized, at Newton Creek.

Decent trout fishing was plucked from Iona Lake and Maurice River, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. At both spots, PowerBait was fished, but so were spinners like Panther Martins and Roostertails. Not much success with largemouth bass was reported. Sudden warmth last week, reaching the 80 degrees, seemed to put off the bite. Weather became colder now, and that should get the bass “back into a little fall pattern,” he said. Steve previously reported largemouths swiping soft-plastics including Senko worms and creature baits and also spinner baits. Chain pickerel fishing began to heat up pretty well. Pickerel thrive in cooler weather, and minnows will sock them. Fishing for crappies, another fish active in cool water, began “to pop a little,” he said. In brackish water, plenty of white perch were swung from creeks and rivers off Delaware Bay. In saltwater, weakfish schooled the bay. Little was reported about striped bass from South Jersey in saltwater. Fishing for them was probably a week away from beginning, Steve thought.    

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