<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

The Delaware River churned out smallmouth bass, said Bill from <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia. He fished the river in the fast waters at Trenton, landing more than 50 smallies that averaged 13 to 14 inches, but 17-inchers were thrown in now and then. The larger bass inhaled fathead minnows, and the averaged-sized fish honed in on Senkos and Zoom grubs in watermelon, cotton candy and June bug. A customer fished at Trenton, hanging 35 smallies in a few hours on minnows. Another angler had similar luck at Point Pleasant on the river, but walleyes, picked up on grubs and shallow-swimming crank baits, were also in the mix. Other anglers said the Yardley area held a solid show of smallmouths from the Route 95 Bridge to the Railroad Bridge, and grubs, minnows, hellgrammites and poppers all worked to hook them.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Smallmouth bass, none of them large, were about the only fish consistently  pulled from the local Delaware River, said Bill from <b>Bill’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Phillipsburg. But the Big D gave up a 6-pound channel catfish for Ron Carson and a 20.6-pound striped bass for Mike Moyer. More stripers should show up as waters cool. Most locals fished at Merrill Creek Reservoir, because lots of quality fish were caught there on a regular basis. Larry Monroe’s 5.4-pound walleye and Justin Dornblaser’s 5-pound pickerel were notable catches seen at the shop that came from the rez.

Trout fishing was the main attraction, said Don from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Paramus, and the Rockaway River was the most prolific spot, because waters were lower, and anglers could better target the deeper pools with nightcrawlers. Lake Hopatcong was weeded up pretty thick, but anglers tossing top-water lures in the state park area connected with largemouth bass. Customers started making the trek to New York’s Salmon River to do battle with king salmon and brown trout, though the fishing wasn’t full blast yet.

The lake’s fish began moving around but were mostly angled up from 20 feet of waters on herring, said Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong. Stick to the points, like Chestnut, Elba and Pickerel points, and the waters at Sharps Rock and The Ridge. Catches included Martin Dolegiewicz’s 9-pound walleye, Kevin Dempsey’s 7-pound 14-ounce ‘eye, Michael Coluccio’s 4.3-pound largemouth bass and Dariusz Klimowicz’s 9-pound 13-ounce channel catfish. Most of the walleyes were taken on live herring, and most of the largemouths were drilled on spinner baits.

Water levels were low at Pompton Lakes, but that failed to stop largemouth bass from jumping on Senkos, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. Drop-shotting the worms seemed to work best in the lower waters. But Swartswood Lake held the finest fishing around for largemouths, because better-sized ones were on prowl there. Rumors circulated about northern pike smacking shiners and nightcrawlers in the Passaic River.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Stream fishing was the most reliable pursuit, said Mike from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. The Pequest River and Ken Lockwood Gorge gave up rainbow trout for fly casters on San Juan worms and assorted dry flies. Charles Statemen wrestled out a 3.2-pound chain pickerel from the Briggstown section of the D&R Canal while swimming a live sunfish.

White perch catches took off in the deeper waters of Forge Pond, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. The fish ate up nightcrawlers around the bridge area. Anglers fishing shiners at Lake Riviera at the dirt road could pull out a mix of crappies and 1- to 2-pound largemouth bass. Crappies were also on the bite at the Route 528 Bridge at Lake Carasaljo, and fish with killies 2 feet under a bobber. Lake Horicon was a decent place to bang out pickerel.

Striped bass, smallmouth bass and walleye fishing really picked up on the Delaware River, said Eric from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville, First light and last light were times when all chased baitfish into the shallows from Trenton on north. Top-water poppers and Daiwa Doctor Minnows caught the bulk of the fish, but fathead minnows and shiners will also work. Lake Assunpink’s crappie and largemouth angling gained steam, and early mornings were best to work crank baits along the structure for both.

Lake Assunpink served up lots of action, said Carl from the <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Largemouth bass and crappies in the lake chomped on small hair jigs tipped with fatheads. Small striped bass could be pounded in double digits on the Delaware River north of Trenton, and white twister tails and Rapala Countdown crank baits in black and silver scored best. Smallmouth bass will also pounce on the twister tails and Rapalas.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Striped bass fishing was going wild on the Delaware River around the local piers and at National Park, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b> in Brooklawn. The linesiders to 38 inches were reported caught so far, and that meant more of that caliber were probably lurking. The larger channel catfish to 10 pounds were on the hunt in the river off the Gloucester Pier and at Raccoon Creek, and dead baits brought them up. Largemouth bass slammed poppers and shiners at the mouths of Big Timber and Little Timber creeks. Stewart Lake and the Cooper River were also bigmouth hangouts.

Lake Rene put out a big old 6-pound bucketmouth bass for a customer, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers</b> in Blackwood. A steady pull of quality trout were on tap at Rowan Pond on fathead minnows. Chain pickerel ran thick at Collins Lakes, and Puppyland Pond gave up plenty of large, pan-sized sunfish and small largemouth bass. Meal worms got most strikes.

One angler at Parvin Lake whaled a whopper, 7-pound 11-ounce largemouth bass, said Lou from the <b>Sportsman’s Outpost</b> in Williamstown. The angler was fishing for crappies when the hawg ate up a fathead minnow. Fatheads were also the choice bait for pickerel and small largemouths on the feed at Halcyon Lake.

White perch fishing was on fire in the Maurice and Cohansey rivers, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Grass shrimp and bloodworms were the treat of choice. Largemouth bass fishing started to gain momentum all around, including at Union Lake, Sunset Lake and Mary Elmer Lake. Drop-shotted tubes and Senkos and slow-worked Rat-L-Traps copped the most. Pickerel were getting really active at Lake Lenape. Any flashy jerk bait or fathead minnows will almost guarantee a hook up.

The Maurice River maintained a steady pick of small striped bass, catfish and white perch, said Ki from <b>Huck’s Place</b> in Millville. Larger linesiders should move in, as water temps drop a bit, and swimming plugs and Rat-L-Traps should nail them.

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