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<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

Schools of shad were finning around the Delaware River, but all they did was swim up and down, not hitting anything, said Bill of <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia. The big story continued to be smallmouth bass fishing on the Big D, and Yardley, the Delaware Water Gap and the stretch from New Hope to Washington’s Crossing gave up the bronzebacks in the 10- to 14-inch range. Best baits were minnows and leeches, but if anglers liked to use lures, tubes, spinners and surface plugs were working just as well. One angler was fishing the Treasure Island area and picked up 15 smallmouth bass and also reeled in nine catfish and four small stripers, all caught on minnows. Another customer was wading around Point Pleasant and had a real good day, landing 42 smallmouth bass to 15 inches, 10 catfish to 18 inches, a 15-inch striper and a 4-pound walleye that he pulled from along the ledges while fishing minnows and leeches. Throughout the river, bloodworms, herring, chicken livers, shrimp and nightcrawlers were finding catfish, stripers and perch, and most anglers were getting out as early as possible, doing well till mid morning.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Heat and high water temps moved in, said Bill of <b>Bill’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Phillipsburg. But that failed to slow things down, because trout, smallmouth bass, pickerel and other species were aggressively biting. Joe Seigfried pulled up a 9-pound 9-ounce lake trout from Merrill Creek Reservoir, and Ken Zugar hit Merrill to boat a nice pair of fish: a 6-pound 12-ounce laker and a 3-pound 8-ounce smallmouth. Danny Scott also had luck at Merrill Creek with a 4-pound pickerel and a 3-pound 6-ounce smallie, and Raymond Walters fished there and hooked into a 4-pound brown trout. Joe Talbot fished the Delaware River and claimed an 8-pound walleye, and Mike Riffert cast along the river to take a 5-pound 8-ounce smallie. Bill Cavanaugh, 11, also took a trip to the Delaware to beach an 18-pound 9-ounce striper. Kyle Murphy tried Oxford Furnace Lake and battled a 19-pound musky that he released.

Lots of kids were out fishing lately with their families for sunfish and small bass in local ponds, so garden worms and nightcrawlers were the big sellers of the week, said Adrian of <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Montville. Trout anglers were still hitting the Rockaway River, though they were working the deeper pools with worms to find holdovers. Bass fishers were targeting Lake Hopatcong, using weedless stuff, such as spinner baits and Hula Poppers, to find a few bucketmouths around the weed pads.

A nice smallmouth bass bite continued on the Delaware River, said Greg at <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Paramus. He and a friend trekked up to the Water Gap area to pull on 20 fish between them, using Senkos rigged wacky style and also Texas rigged. The river was a bit off color, and that might’ve contributed to slower fishing than usual. Lake Hopatcong anglers were finding rip-roaring hybrid bass activity as well as walleye during the early mornings until sunup, and live herring was the ticket.

Lots and lots of smallmouth bass from 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 pounds were hitting on the lake, said Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong. The fish were inhaling herring or jigs in 20 feet off any of the points. Matt Downey fished the Brady's Bridge area and landed a nice channel cat weighing 6 pounds 1 ounce. Hybrid striper action was going off, and lots of smaller, 2- to 3-pounders were whacking live herring. Joe Tekula weighed in a 7-pound 15-ouncer, and Dominic Sarinelli checked in a 7-pound 9-ouncer. Byram 's Cove, Bertrands Island and any of the points were hot spots. Norm Daily weighed in a 7-pound 15-ounce walleye that he caught on herring while fishing around the islands. Panfish were taking worms and grubs, and lots of perch and crappie were in the mix. The Knee Deep Club will hold its 11th Annual Hybrid Striped Bass Contest on Lake Hopatcong on the weekend of July 14. The contest will run from 5 a.m. Saturday till 12 noon Sunday, and a pay-out of 80 percent of the entry fees will go to the anglers weighing in the three heaviest hybrid striped bass. The entry fee for club members is $20 and for non members is $25. Entry forms are available at kneedeepclub.org or at the club’s official weigh stations at Dow's Boat Rentals and Lake's End Marina. Mail-in entries must be received by Friday, July 13, and in-person entries can be made until 8 a.m. that Saturday.

Largemouth bass anglers were all smiles, said Rich at <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. Lake Hopatcong, Greenwood Lake and Lake Waywayanda were all productive bigmouth locales, and the key point to catching was to fish the nighttime hours, drifting live herring in the 12- to 20-foot depths. Monksville Reservoir was giving up a few large muskies for boaters who trolled large spinner baits across the surface.

The South Branch of the Raritan River in Clinton was dishing out a mixed bag of smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, panfish and crappie, said Chris at <b>Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop</b> in Lebanon. Small marabou jigs worked along the brush piles were finding the crappie, though anglers really had to get deep into the sticks to get them to bite. Largemouths and smallmouths were chasing both jointed and Countdown Rapalas in the deeper holes. Shannon Roche kayaked up the South Branch to connect with smallies to 2 pounds. Large carp were reported caught in the deeper pockets and were sucking down nightcrawlers. Spruce Run Reservoir anglers were targeting hybrids under the cover of darkness and in the early morning light, trolling herring at a slow pace 10 feet down.

Ken Lockwood Gorge was the most productive trout spot, said Ron at <b>Ray’s Sport Shop</b> in North Plainfield. Rainbows and browns there were inhaling size-14 Light Cahill dry flies, and the Black River was doling out brownies on size-16, yellow caddis. Round Valley Reservoir was fun for bank anglers tossing size-10, orange poppers for a mess of panfish and some small largemouths in the evenings.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Stream waters were low, said Mark at <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook, and customers were focusing on fishing the cooler, deeper pockets of the rivers to find holed up trout. The Long Valley section of the South Branch and the hatchery section of the Pequest were holding the fish. Brandon Gianotto, 13, fished Spruce Run Reservoir to pick up a 2.1-pound crappie on a live shiner.

Largemouth bass were on a top-water, evening type of pattern, said Roy of <b>L&H Woods & Water</b> in Wall. Zara Spooks, Rebel Pop-R’s and buzz baits ripped across the water surface were all doing well to attract bass, and anglers needed to focus on casting near the sunken logs and stumps. The Manasquan Reservoir put out a strong bite, but the chew got sluggish in the afternoons.

Manasquan Reservoir was a hotbed of bucketmouth activity, especially during the late evenings into the nighttime, said Greg at <b>Brielle Bait & Tackle</b>. The best section was along Georgia Tavern Road off the banks, where bassers tossed out live shiners on big bobbers to hook bigmouths to 6 pounds. Lake Carasaljo produced yellow perch and pickerel during the sunup hours, but that fishing quieted down during the heavy heat of noontime hours. Prospertown Lake and the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Areas were holding bass as well.

All the bass activity was on top-waters, said Frank at <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> of Robbinsville. Scumfrogs were selling like hotcakes, especially in black and yellow. Anglers working over the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area lakes and the local, private ponds were pulling on bucketmouths in the shallows around the lily pads during the early dawn hours. The key was to fish cooler waters before the raging sun was high in the sky.

Live shiners and top-water sputter lures, such as Jitterbugs and Hula Poppers, were the best bets to attract largemouth bass, said Tony at the <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Stone Tavern Lake, Rising Sun Lake and Lake Assunpink were all producers, and so were the Colliers Mills lakes and Mercer Lake. Really get the popper pushing plenty of water in short bursts, Tony said, but allow the popper to sit still after a good pop, so the bass can put a bead on it.

<b>South Jersey</b>

First light was prime time to land a largemouth, said Ed of <b>Creek Keepers</b> of Blackwood. Blackwood Lake went off, as bigmouths were taking live shiners fished 3 feet under a bobber. Matt Madden topped out with a 4-pound 11-ouncer. Chain pickerel were aggressively attacking shiners at New Brooklyn Lake, and they were also chasing down hula poppers and Jitterbugs. Nice crappie came from Grenloch Lake on small grub jigs, and a 22-inch, 4-pound brown trout was taken on a Royal Coachman fly in the spiller stream outflow, where other big holdovers might’ve ended up.

With sultry temperatures, bass fishing slowed down a bit, said Jeff at <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Lakes were low and scummed up, and bassers should really be going weedless, working on top of the weeds and across the scum. But Parvin Lake and Sunset Lake were both clear and clean enough to fish well, and the Spro bronze-eye frog and also black buzz baits were the top offerings and were worked around the edges of the lakes.

The Maurice River was giving up a boatload of white perch that were hitting bloodworms, said Ki of <b>Huck’s Place</b> in Millville. Anglers were now enjoying that fishery for the past few weeks, and catfish anglers were having no trouble bringing in 3- to 5-pounders on dead herring and bloodworms in the river. A few small, rat stripers were also eating the bloods, and largemouth bass fishers found Union Lake to be a decent spot, with plenty of action on smaller fish to 1.5 pounds on Senkos, meal worms and nightcrawlers.

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