More people fished through the week because of the beautiful weather, said Adrian from Fairfield Fishing Tackle in Montville. The Passaic River at the Route 80 Bridge had plenty going on, with smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, panfish and the occasional northern pike eating up shiners and Senko worms. The key was to stay off bottom to avoid lots of snags. So float out shiners on a 3-foot leader, and reel up Senkos after a few solid twitches before hitting bottom.

The Rockaway River was loaded with smallmouth bass, said Dom from Ramsey Outdoor in Paramus. He fished from the Golf Club to Boonton with wooly bugger spinners, hooking a bunch of bronzebacks to 14 inches. The river was filled with crawfish, and crawdad imitations should also work well for the smallies. Beware of black snakes in the river, because they seemed to be all over the place, Dom said. Largemouth bass could be caught at the local Boonton ponds, and Senkos in brown sparkle were best lures.

Hybrid striped bass continued biting in the lake, said Laurie from Dow’s Boat Rentals in Lake Hopatcong. Most weighed 3 to 4 pounds, but 8-pounders were drilled at times, and most of the action came from 40-foot depths on live herring. Some hefty largemouth bass were caught off Nolan’s Point on rubber worms, and the biggest was a 4-pound 8-ouncer that Richard Hilton subdued. Kevin Russo checked in a 2-pound 5-ounce smallmouth bass. Walleye action was on the slower side, and smaller fish started to appear, but John Swenty smacked a 6-pound 15-ounce marble eye.

Morning and evening hours produced best for largemouth and smallmouth bass fishing on the Passaic River, said Tom from Meltzer’s Sporting Goods in Garfield. Pike to 8 pounds could also be found there, and Tom saw one of the beasts along the banks that refused to hit lures, but he thought a live sunfish might’ve been just what the water wolf was looking for. The South Branch of the Raritan River turned up seven smallmouths to 12 inches for Al from the shop, who used a black wooly bugger.

In the South Branch of the Raritan, largemouth bass fishing turned on early and late on buzz baits, and smallmouths hit stick baits during the same hours, said Chris from Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop. An angler and son fished Round Valley during the night, claiming 12 trout to 4 pounds—nine rainbows and three brownies—on shrimp.

Cheaper gas prices and cooler air temps brought out a bunch more anglers, said Ron from Ray’s Sport Shop in North Plainfield. The Musconetcong and Pequest rivers were solid trout locales, and midges in sizes 18 to 24, streamers in sizes 8 to 10 and beetles and ants in sizes 14 to 16 all worked in the morning hours. Smallmouth bass were on the menu on both the Delaware River and the North Branch of the Raritan River, and black or olive wooly buggers or silver and black Rapala Countdowns got the nod.

Bass anglers found plenty of largemouths to 4 pounds and bigger in the deeper sections of Manasquan Reservoir, said Dennis from Murphy’s Hook House in Toms River. Big rubber worms fished on a drift over channel edges were key to getting a hook-up. Forge Pond put out a sustained pickerel chew on killies. The Trilco beat on the Toms River also offered a run of pickerel as well as a few rainbow trout, and both chased down killies.

Fish the Delaware River at Lambertville for the best smallmouth catches, said Sean from Harry’s Army and Navy in Robbinsville, and Senko worms will take the bulk of the action. Largemouth bass anglers targeted Lake Mercer, Gropp’s Lake and Prospertown Lake for bucketmouths to 3 pounds. Live shiners and buzz baits did the job in the mornings.

The Delaware River was a top producer, said Carl from the Sportsmen’s Center in Bordentown. Catfish could be found in the Trenton area and farther south, and stink baits worked well. The Phillipsburg area was home to smallmouth bass, and black or olive wooly buggers, Yo-Zuri Pins minnows, 1/8-ounce Rat-L-Traps in chrome and black and Zoom Fat Albert swim baits in green pumpkin were all hammered. Manasquan Reservoir gave up a good show of largemouth bass for anglers using jig-n-pig combos around fallen timber. Other anglers had luck dragging Carolina-rigged, 10-inch rubber worms along the bottom in the deeper channels.

Locals concentrated on largemouth bass, said John from Big Timber Bait & Tackle in Brooklawn. Newton Lake, Stewart Lake, Greenwich Lake and the Pine Hill area lakes were all solid bets. Shiners and Senko worms were top offerings, but nightcrawlers worked as a backup. In the Delaware River largemouth fishing became more consistent and also offered bigger lunkers than before. Fish the grass beds around high tides or along the docks in the early mornings or late in the day, tossing lures like Spro Aruka shads, Rat-L-Traps or X-Raps. But Spro frogs also started to get pounced. Catfishing was productive on the river, and lots of small striped bass filled the waters, biting along the island at National Park, off the Gloucester City pier and at the mouth of the Schuylkill River. Small jigs, such as ones with curly tails, and bloodworms drew strikes.

Lake Rene served up a catch of 20 pickerel and largemouth bass for one angler, said Ed from Creek Keepers in Blackwood, and medium-sized shiners were the preferred bait. Largemouth anglers also scored a mess at Lake Arial, Penn Bryn Lake and the Blackwood Lake spillway, and Puppyland Pond materialized both bass and a selection of big sunfish for the frying pan. Pickerel chasers also headed to the Route 206 section of the Mullica River to pull on chainsiders to 2 pounds that attacked shiners.

White perch fishing was hot and heavy at Menantico Creek and the Maurice River, said Lou from Sportsman’s Outpost in Williamstown. A customer fished grass shrimp and minnows to put a bucket of whiteys together. Another hit Wilson Lake with a dozen shiners, battling two largemouths to 2 pounds and two pickerel to 2 pounds. The working method was to freeline the shiners on the bottom.

The weekend’s full moon put largemouths down a bit, but the feed should rebound this week, said Steve from Blackwater Sports Center in Vineland. Evenings turned on catches in the Salem Canal on Jitterbugs and buzz baits, but the local sand washes were the best bet for bucketmouths, with more consistent fishing than at the lakes. Catfishing was strong on the Maurice and the Cohansey rivers, and cut baits and stink baits both raised the whiskerfaces.

The Maurice River was a playground for anglers, said Ki from Huck’s Place in Millville. A medley of white perch, catfish and smaller largemouth bass were on the hunt, and fathead minnows bagged them. Union Lake provided a steady pull of sunfish and bluegills that came up on garden worms.

The Delaware River put out super hot smallmouth bass fishing, said Bill from Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle in Philadelphia. The stretch above Callicoon gave up 25 smallies, mostly 10- to 12-inchers, for one angler who worked a Rebel crawfish. At Bull’s Island smallmouth fishing was solid from the dam to the walk bridge, and small striped bass were in the mix, with white grubs and fathead minnows hanging both. Boaters who drifted from Frenchtown to Bryan nailed plenty of smallmouths, including catches in the 30 to 40 fish range. Grubs in pumpkinseed and black were best lures there. One customer fished the Point Pleasant area, picking up 40 smallies, 11 catfish and plenty of bluegills on nightcrawlers, minnows and leeches. The Water Gap area was really productive, not only with smallmouths but also with big striped bass that hit live shiners in the evenings. One angler released three stripers 29, 31 and 37 inches long.

NEW JERSEY

North Jersey

Merrill Creek Reservoir was a hotbed of activity from trout that fed in the mornings, said Bill from Bill’s Bait & Tackle in Phillipsburg. Paul Murray tackled a 4-pound 4-ounce brown trout and a 7-pound 3-ounce lake trout there. Lance Conover hit the reservoir for a 5-pound 5-ounce brownie. The Delaware River held catfish and both smallmouth and largemouth bass, and Chris Farley Jr., 8, fished the Big D to bank a 6-pound channel cat. Donald Pierson muscled out two channel cats 7 pounds 9 ounces and 6 pounds 4 ounces. Pat Storm reeled in a 3-pound 9-ounce smallmouth, and Jim Berger scored a 4-pound 12-ounce largemouth. Andrew Farley, 4, wrestled in an 8-pound carp to boot.

A surge in pike fishing went down on the Passaic River, said Adrian from Fairfield Fishing Tackle in Montville. Anglers caught sunfish, and when the panfish were on the hook, big northern pike attacked them near the Route 80 Bridge. Large, noisy spinner baits dragged across the surface also got whacked.

Nighttime was the right time on Lake Hopatcong, said Dom from Ramsey Outdoor in Paramus. Both walleyes and hybrid striped bass smacked heavy surface lures such as large Jitterbugs, and the more noise and splash anglers could create, the better. Split Rock Reservoir also had a good feed going on, as smallmouth and largemouth bass took Husky Jerks and Senkos rigged wacky style.

A week of varied catches on the lake, said Laurie from Dow’s Boat Rentals in Lake Hopatcong. Striped bass action was decent, and Dan McErlean and son weighed in a 7-pound 4-ouncer taken on herring. Big largemouths were also checked in, and two identically weighed 4 pounds 15 ounces, and Pete Rathjens and Dan Crouch caught them. Monster channel catfish gobbled up anything from hot dogs to chicken livers, nightcrawlers and live or dead herring. The Knee Deep Club held its annual catfish derby, and some true whoppers were fought. Top honors went to Jim Archambault with a humongous, 17-pound 8-ounce channel cat! Bill Hand drilled a 15-pound 4-ouncer, and Joey Grieco, 11, nailed a 13-pounder. Tom Kennedy waxed a 14-pound 7-ouncer. Most of the larger kitties were found in the shallower sections of the lake.

Budd Lake put up good numbers of largemouth bass, said Al from Meltzer’s Sporting Goods in Garfield. A 4-pound 14-ounce bucketmouth was top catch from the lake, and scores of 1- to 2-pounders were taken on Senkos, live shiners and 4-inch Fin-S Fish. Lake Hopatcong offered steady walleye and hybrid striped bass fishing on live herring or top-water poppers worked 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Trout anglers found fish in the Paulinskill and Pequest rivers on nightcrawlers and meal worms.

Round Valley Reservoir was the top spot, said Chris from Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop. Customers anchored in 50 feet just inside the launch cove with spotlights under the boat for night fishing. Rainbows to 3 1/2 pounds, brown trout, large sunfish and crappie were all attracted, and frozen shrimp was best bait, though Power Baits worked for the rainbows as well.

The Manville and Hillsborough sections of the Raritan River served up solid smallmouth fishing, said Ron of Ray’s Sport Shop in North Plainfield. Silver and black-backed Rapalas and size-1 Clouser minnows were the ticket. Bass anglers hit the shores of Round Valley Reservoir in the evenings to pull on bronzebacks that chased top-water poppers and Rapala crank baits.

Central Jersey

Waters were low at Spruce Run Reservoir, but anglers there got into decent nighttime fishing nonetheless, especially around Camper’s Point, said Nick from Efinger Sporting Goods in Bound Brook. Nightcrawlers stuck yellow perch and catfish in the dark. Trout anglers headed to Ken Lockwood Gorge with Phoebes and Mepps spinners to pull on the fish.

Lake Riviera and Forge Pond were places to target, said Dennis from Murphy’s Hook House in Toms River. Both pickerel and crappies ate up fathead minnows, and the pickerel also grabbed live shiners. A few reports came in about anglers trolling hybrid striped bass at Manasquan Reservoir on small crank baits. Sundown through the night hours to about midnight was the best time.

Largemouth bass were hungry all around the area, said Sean from Harry’s Army and Navy in Robbinsville. Gropp’s Lake, Lake Assunpink and Mercer Lake all gave up the fish when the sun dropped. Shaky-headed plastics with curly tails were best offerings when drop-shotted through the weed beds. Look for the bucketmouths to really get active as air temps begin to drop. Smallmouth bass were on a tear in the Delaware River, especially north of Trenton, and Yozuri Pin’s Minnows were the lure of choice.

Largemouth bass opened their big mouths at Carnegie Lake, Mercer Lake and Lake Assunpink, said Tony from the Sportsmen’s Center in Bordentown. Lake Assunpink was most productive of the three, with average catches of six to eight bass a day from 2 to 3 pounds. Live shiners and nightcrawlers were the baits to use. Pickerel anglers looked to Plainsboro Lake to find the toothy predators.

South Jersey

Tuckerton Lake continued to please with a wide variety of fish, said Scott from Scott’s Bait & Tackle in Mystic Island. Live shiners drew the attention of perch, largemouth bass and sunfish on most days. Larger pickerel will chase after a Mepps spinner or a large shiner.

Largemouth bass fed along the grass beds in the tributaries, said Rick from Big Timber Bait & Tackle in Brooklawn. The deep edges of Woodbury Creek at National Park, the mouth of the Schuylkill and the mouth of Big Timber Creek were all major hangouts for the bucketmouths. Medium-sized shiners were most productive baits. Haddon Lake had a fair crappie happening, especially by the dam. Try using small, curly tailed grubs under a float. Small striped bass were picked up from the Gloucester City pier on the Delaware River, and lots of catfish swam the Big D, and dead baits and stink baits got engulfed from the bottom.

Fishing was all about largemouth bass, said Ed from Creek Keepers in Blackwood. Both mornings and evenings were most productive, and live shiners and Senko worms were the offerings. Collins Lake, Lake Rene, Lake Arial, Penn Bryn Lake and Atsion Lake were all places to be. The upper Mullica River also housed largemouths.

A variety of warm-water species were on tap, said Lou from the Sportsman’s Outpost in Williamstown. Two customers fished Union Lake to come up with two smallmouths, a hybrid striper, largemouth bass and pickerel, all on Rat-L-Traps. Oak Pond was a good place for one angler, who beat largemouths to 3 pounds on Bomber crank baits and Senkos. Private ponds held some monster largemouth bass, as one report had Bells Lake give up a bigmouth in the range of 11 to 13 pounds! If you can get permission to fish the waters, that might be in your best interest.

Thunderstorms put lots of water back in the local lakes, said Steve from Blackwater Sports Center in Vineland, but kept many anglers inside, too. Water temps dropped from the rains, and bass anglers were better served plying the more tannic, cedary holes of Malaga Lake, Iona Lake and Cedarville Lake. The best methods were to slow-drag rubber worms on the bottom or use the new flick shake worms, fishing them in a flip-n-jig style. Catfish sniffed out stink baits on the bottom of the Maurice River.

Most customers focused on catfishing on the Maurice River, said Ki from Huck’s Place in Millville. Larger channel cats to 7 pounds could be dusted on dead whole or cut herring around the higher tides. Largemouth bass pounced on shiners at Union Lake.