<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Although the river continued to run low at 100 CFS, and was in need of serious rain, salmon anglers were scoring their three-fish limit, said Suzanne at <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. Some monster kings to 30 pounds were taken on Estros eggs, Wooly Buggers and Wollywogs, and orange and chartreuse were hot colors. Ten- to 15-pound brown trout were also inhaling the egg sacks and were a nice addition to the kings.

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

Smallmouth bass fishing on the Delaware River kept up a torrid pace, but seemed to drop off a little each week, said Bill at <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia. By no means was it over. During an evening session Bill tackled 25 of the fish, mostly on Zoom grubs, and he nailed a 3-1/2-pounder on another trip. The New Hope stretch produced 47 smallies for one customer, who said fathead minnows worked best. Four of his fish were longer than 16 inches. Another angler fished the Bull's Island area just below the walk bridge to pick up several smallies and a few small striped bass on minnows and twister tails. Up at the Water Gap a couple of customers were doing very well on bass and walleyes, and they reported catches of 19 smallies to 17 inches and seven walleyes to 23 inches, along with a mix of catfish and rock bass. Perkiomen Creek was the best spot for sheer numbers of fish, and one angler was out on the creek Sunday with minnows, catching 75 fish: smallies, rock bass, bluegills and pike.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

The Delaware River produced a smorgasbord, said Bill from <b>Bill’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Phillipsburg. Carl Summit bagged a pair of walleyes that weighed 4 pounds 5 ounces and 5 pounds 9 ounces. Mike Bellesfield scored a 12-pound 6-ounce striped bass, and Ray Tiani III hooked up with a whopper, 10-pound 2-ounce channel catfish. Austin Clymer hauled in a 29-pound striped bass. Although the Delaware was doing alright, local rivers and streams needed a good shot of rain to make them worthwhile to fish.

Northern pike were on the hunt on the Passaic River, said Adrian of <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Montville. Large live shiners and black spinner baits dragged across the surface were getting smaller, 5- to 8-pound pike to strike. Stream anglers waited for rains to replenish water levels, and most were heading to Lake Hopatcong to find a few largemouth bass in plenty of water.

After last week’s trout stocking, fishing was pretty good at the South Branch of the Raritan and on the Pequest, said Kevin at <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Paramus.  Flashy types of flies, such as flashback Hare’s Ears and Prince Nymphs, were working to fool the fish. Largemouth bass anglers were taking the trip to Lake Hopatcong to work over the weed lines with Senko worms for the bucketmouths.

A solid mix of species could be taken from the lake, said Laurie at <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong. Dave Faulkner weighed in a 5-pound 3-ounce walleye that grabbed a herring, and he reeled in other 3- to 5-pounders during the week. Smallmouth bass to 4 pounds could be found off weeds at Great Cove and Nolan’s Point, and largemouths bass were hanging along the weeds by the Windlass Restaurant. Hybrid striped bass were hitting herring around the yacht club, Bertrand’s Island, Sharp’s Rock, Pickerel Point, Great Cove and Elba Point. Anglers are just waiting for the water to cool and turn over, so they could start to jig Rapalas and Gotchas in the deeper water. This method will start to produce nice walleyes and striped bass along with huge channel cats.

The local streams were holding crystal clear conditions, said Al at <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. Trout fishers were happy to pull on the hatchery fish in the Paulinskill River, the Big Flatbrook and the Ramapo River, and pink salmon eggs could put together a stringer. Customers fished Lake Hopatcong to do well with largemouths, walleyes and crappies off the points and in the coves, and salted minnows seemed to take the bulk of the action.

Water levels ran very low on the South Branch of the Raritan River, said Chris at <b>Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop</b>. So trout fishing was a simple case of finding the semi-deep pools where most of the trout were gathered up. Spruce Run Reservoir’s level was being dropped every day to make up for a water shortage, but schools of hybrids were nailing herring schools in what was left of the coves around the impoundment. Largemouth bass casters were also finding decent action on the surface during the dusk hours. Because of low water levels the state said the second week of fall trout stocking scheduled for this week was postponed. Recent water temp readings at lakes scheduled to be stocked ranged in the mid to upper 70s, and scheduled lakes in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, Middlesex and Salem counties needed to be rescheduled. Check out the state’s<a href="www.njfishandwildlife.com/flstk07.htm" target="_blank"> web site</a> for all the updated info.

Trout streams were obviously low, so anglers needed to be hitting up Round Valley Reservoir for the fish, said Ron at <b>Ray’s Sport Shop</b> in North Plainfield. The boat launch area had trout hunkering down and hitting large nymphs, such as sizes 8 and 10 Wooly Buggers.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Doug Thomas fished Lake Mohawk with a live shiner to beach a 21-inch, 6.1-pound largemouth bass, said Ron at <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Trout fishers were pulling up fish from the deeper pockets of the Pequest River.

Anglers hungering for trout were chomping at the bit to get back on the water, but they wished rain would help out, said Eric at <b>L&H Woods & Water</b> in Wall. The only trout action in streams seemed to come from the Manasquan River, but Spring Lake doled out a few holdovers for those casting pink Power Baits.

With warm weather and warm waters continuing through the beginning of this week, the Riverwood Park section of the Toms River gave up a good shot of largemouth bass and chain pickerel, said Jim at <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. Johnson’s Pond at the Seacourt Pavillion and Long Swamp Pond were fantastic spots to hook up with a bucketmouth, and trouters found some activity along the Manasquan River. But they were tight-lipped about what part of the river attracted the most fish.

On the Delaware River the smallmouth show continued, said Sean at <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> of Robbinsville, and the Frenchtown section was hot to trot. Top-water action reportedly stopped, and now the smallies wanted Yo-Zuri Pin’s Minnows, spinners and Rapala crank baits. Crappie began to get on a decent feed, especially at Gropp’s Lake and in the back of Lake Mercer. Trout magnets and Mister Twister grubs were working well to draw the slabs.

Smallmouth bass were all the rage on the Delaware River, said Carl at the </b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Creature baits, Pin’s Minnows and Wooly Buggers connected with the bronzebacks to 4 pounds in the upper stretches. With humid, warm temps still hitting through the first part of this week, the Assunpink Lakes put out a fair share of largemouth bass that were attacking deep-diving crank baits worked over the underwater ledges and ridges.

<b>South Jersey</b>

A mess of pickerel were chewing hard at Lake Worth, keying in on live shiners, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers</b> in Blackwood. The pickerel pursuers were also finding the water wolves biting at New Brooklyn Lake. At Penn Bryn Lake large shiners were the ticket for 2- to 3-pound largemouth bass that were hitting during the mornings and evenings. Wilson Lake was also a hot spot for bucketmouths.

Crappie fishing actually seemed to get better this past week, said Lou from the <b>Sportsman’s Outpost</b> in Williamstown. Both Parvin’s Lake and Franklinville Lake gave up the fish on fathead minnows and yellow Mister Twister grubs. Largemouth bass cooperated at Malaga Lake and Union Lake, where white spinner baits and Rat-L-Traps gained attention.

Rain was definitely needed to fill up the lakes and cool down the waters, said Steve at <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. But that didn’t stop the largemouths from hitting at Parvin’s Lake and the tidal section of the Maurice River, and rubber worms and Slug-Gos fished down deep were sticking the fish. Hatchery trout were landed in the upper stretches of the Maurice River, and Power Bait and meal worms were getting the most attention.

Striped bass seemed to rise to feed again on the Maurice River, said Ki of <b>Huck’s Place</b> in Millville. Customers fishing with bloodworms were catching lots of schoolie-sized linesiders, along with a good selection of white perch. Very large white perch were taken from Vine Creek and other tidal creeks in the Port Norris area, and bloodworms were again the best baits.

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