<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

The season was early for the river’s salmon fishing but looked promising, Jay Peck from <b>Jay Peck Guide Service</b> wrote in a caption for a photo of a king or Chinook salmon landed from the river this week on his Facebook page. The river was raised to 750 cubic feet per second this weekend and was dropped down to 335 afterward. That’s after the river ran low at 185, the minimum summer level, previously. The raised water triggered a few salmon to migrate up the river from Lake Ontario – a few began to trickle in lately – and boaters on the lake made good catches of salmon near the river. The fish, a substantial population, were pushing close to the river, getting ready to migrate up. Salmon migrate to the river each late summer to fall to spawn, and anglers including Jay and his guides get after them on the river then. Currently, if anglers worked for the fish on the river and walked around, they’d score a hook up or two, and that was excellent for the time of year. The lower river was 68 degrees in mornings and 72 later in the day, not bad. The upper river was 72, about normal, and weather was supposed to be become warm late this week.  Jay specializes in fly-fishing and catch-and-release, and books trips that fish with conventional tackle with his other guides.  Currently, fly-fishing connected on size-4 black Wooly Buggers – “big black things,” Jay said – maybe with orange or chartreuse mixed in. Zonker streamers could also work, and the flies were swung across current to make them look “alive,” not a dead-drift or slower presentation. The salmon were “hot,” fighting hard when hooked, “like you insulted their mother or something,” Jay said!    

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> “moved” four muskies on a trip to Echo Lake on Monday, he wrote in an email. None bit, and one of the fish, good-sized, turned toward his lure with fins breaking the water surface, while Dave swam the plug in a figure-eight at the end of the cast. He thought the fish was going to hit, but it never did. “That’s musky fishing!” he said. A figure-eight like that sometimes triggers a bite. Muskies seemed more active than earlier this season, and the lake was 75 degrees. Two of the fish were moved on a bucktail, and the other two were on a glide bait and a Wolly Pog, a top-water from Nimmer Swimmer. The Wolly Pog was the lure during the figure-eight.

Tropical Storm Hermine offshore caused rough weather forecasts stretching inland, and weather turned out better than predicted but kept anglers from fishing, said John from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. Little was heard about angling, and before the storm, catches included a few largemouth bass and smallmouth bass at spots including Lake Hopatcong and Budd Lake. Many anglers fishing for them tossed Keitech soft-plastic lures on jigs or, in evenings and mornings, top-water lures. Anglers might expect the top-water fishing, best in hot weather, to begin to slow now, because summer’s waning. But hot weather is forecast later this week, so maybe the angling will continue. Not much is ever reported about trout fishing by late summer, because of warm water. But fall trout stocking will begin on October 11, and the schedule will be posted soon on the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife’s <a href=" http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/trtinfo_fall.htm " target="_blank">website</a>, the site said at press time. The two-week stocking will take place at large streams and rivers in the northern and coastal state the first week and at ponds and lakes in the central and southern state the second week, the site said.

Hybrid striped bass to 8 pounds were clutched from the lake on livelined herring, Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong wrote in an email. Chain pickerel, smallmouth bass and lots of panfish were nipped along the shoreline. During Labor Day weekend, Connor Dougles weighed-in a 6-pound 12-ounce hybrid, and Tyler Muscolino checked-in a 2-pound 14-ounce pickerel. Both are junior members of the Knee Deep Club, and the club will hold the annual King of the Lake Contest, a multi-species tournament, Saturday to Sunday, September 17 to 18, on the lake. Dow’s will remain open, including for boat rentals, until early November sometime. Then the shop is closed each year for a break until being reopened when ice-fishing becomes possible. An assortment of jigs will be on hand for fall jigging on the lake.

Not a lot was reported because of the storm, said Joe from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. But usual customers cranked carp, catfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and a few northern pike from Passaic River. Mostly carp were heard about, and the river ran somewhat low but very fishable. Joe and Cheryl from the store landed largemouth bass from Lake Hopatcong before the storm, covered in the previous report here. Anglers during the trip seemed to tackle lots of the bass, mostly on drop-shots, all at edges of grass in 8 to 14 feet of water. In saltwater, customers boated fluke okay off Coney Island before the storm, they reported.

Smallmouth bass were going crazy in Raritan River in past days, said Bill from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. He scored well on them, including landing seven on Labor Day, and the fish will jump on many different lures, including crank baits like Rapala X-Raps, crawfish imitations and rubber baits like 3- and 4-inch Senko worms. White Mister Twisters also beat them well lately. Anglers just needed to put in time to hook up, and Bill fished the lures slowly, including slower than earlier this season. Crappies bit in Raritan and Delaware Canal, and he’s been fishing both waters in the last 1 ½ hours before dark. He’s also been catching largemouth bass at New Market Pond in Piscataway during the same hours, mostly on crank baits, sometimes on rubber worms. Largemouthing sounded similar at other places including Colonial Lake, Echo Lake and the reservoir at Chimney Rock Park. Fishing was changing with the changing seasons. Top-water lures were less effective on largemouths than before, and crank baits caught them better now. Fishing for the smallmouths slower than before, mentioned above, was another change. Many different fish seemed quite active, and anglers just needed to adjust to changes in tactics. Many anglers have been fishing waters like these, and the fish are pressured. Nothing was reported about trout fishing, and weather was still warm for that.

<b>South Jersey</b>

News was scarce during the storm, but Virginia from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River fished Lake Riviera two days, she said. Small pickerel and plenty of sunfish bit. Largemouth bass fishing might’ve been slow during the weather, but small pickerel seemed willing to hit, and panfishing was okay. A few crappies were eased from Manasquan Reservoir. Catfishing seemed good at waters that held them in the Pine Barrens, and nightcrawlers will hook them. The shop will probably begin stocking shiners next week. The baitfish are carried once summer heat begins to be cooler. The fall trout stocking is supposed to begin October 11, and the exact schedule was yet to be published at press time. But local waters like the Toms and Manasquan rivers are supposed to be stocked during the first week of the two-week stocking. Virginia hopes big trout are stocked like last fall. Murphy’s, located on Route 37, also owns <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River.

Largemouth bass were plucked from lakes here and there, said Matt from <b>Harry’s Army Navy</b> in Robbinsville. Anglers showed photos of the fish from Manasquan Reservoir, and the angling sounded decent there. He was unsure what they fished but assumed soft-plastic baits were popular. Closer to the store, lots of crappies and some largemouths were angled at lakes like Stone Tavern and Assunpink in the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area. Delaware River is running about as low as possible, and needs to rise 2 or 3 feet to be a good level. Rain from the tropical storm would’ve helped but never fell. James from the shop in previous reports here said the river’s been choked with weeds, because of the dry, warm summer. But plenty of smallmouth bass swam the river. Many of the fish are always small, Matt said, and anglers weed through them to catch better-sized, but the angling can be decent. Different soft-plastic lures including Senko worms can nab them.

Nobody fished, really, in rough weather forecasts because of the tropical storm, said Brian from <b>STC Sports</b> in Gibbstown. But he expects fishing to kick back in during the next days. The storm was parked off the coast longer than usual, and effects including wind were diminishing.

Fishing was about the same as during the past few weeks, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Nothing outstanding, he said. But a mix of largemouth bass and smallmouth bass were yanked from Union Lake on drop-shots, sometimes on Senkos and jigs. Lots of largemouths hit at Lake Audrey. A couple of customers reported good days of largemouthing at South Vineland Park Pond. Good fishing for white perch and croakers was clubbed from brackish creeks along Delaware Bay. In saltwater, few fished, including for summer flounder, because of the storm. Just before the weather, lots of kingfish, croakers and spots were beached from the surf. The surf will take time to clean up after the seas.

Back to Top