<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Steelheads, lots of the fish, filled the river, and quite a few brown trout roamed the waters, but the river’s run of king salmon was practically finished for the season, said Ben from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. One last school of the kings swam up the river in the past week, and some stragglers now remained. So this was currently steelhead time, and fishing for them was good, mostly at mid river. Egg sacks and egg flies go them to hit, and chartreuse and blue were popular. But any natural colors also drew interest. Brown trout were staged at the staircase, and anglers kept saying they were starting to come up. The river ran at 750 CFS.

An average of 15 steelheads per trip were hooked on the river, and usually five or six were landed each trip, with <b>Salmon River Guide</b> from Pulaski, Capt. Shane Thomas said. Lots of steelheads swam the river, and a few straggler salmon remained, but the salmon run dropped off. This was steelhead time, and November is one of the best months for steelhead catches, but many of the fish will fill the river through winter. Steelheads swim into the river from Lake Ontario, remain all winter, spawn in the spring, then return to the lake. April is also a prime month for the angling, and catches will last through May. But winter is also an excellent time. The fish currently weighed up to 12 or 14 pounds, and most were 7 or 8 pounds, and Shane’s anglers caught them mostly on trout beads under a float, fished from the drift boat. He heard about a few brown trout bagged, but none showed up on his trips. One Atlantic salmon was caught with him. Crowds became lighter on the river, so fishing pressure eased up, and that was good. The river was scheduled to be kept at a flow of 750 CFS at least until Thursday. Rainfalls weren’t too bad. Lake-effect rains fell on Wednesday, and an inch of rains poured on Friday or sometime toward the end of the week, but that was all. Air temps were usually in the mid 50s, reaching 60 on Tuesday, but in winds that made the day feel cooler. Nights were in the mid 30s, and the weather was typical for fall.

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

Trout fishing was the “hot thing,” said Bill from <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia. Trouters who fished at Pennypack Creek averaged 4 to 15 of the fall stockers per trip, and 30 of the trout that one angler bailed was the best report from a trip. Several customers trout fished at Levittown Lake, hooking no big numbers, but the fish were a bit larger than at other places. Most trout anglers fished with wax worms, meal worms, earthworms, Power Bait, salted minnows or corn. But spinners and flies also worked well. Nobody mentioned trouting at Wissahickon Creek, and apparently Lake Luxembourg at Core Creek Park was not going to be stocked with trout this fall. The Delaware River ran high and muddy because of rains, but some anglers on the upper river, like at New Hope and Bull’s Island, landed smallmouth bass, walleyes, catfish and striped bass. One who fished at the New Hope wing dam, on the New Jersey side, totaled five smallmouths, two walleyes, a bunch of catfish and two stripers on a trip. The smallies, walleyes, smaller catfish and the smaller striper bit worms and minnows. But the bigger cats and a 27-inch striper were eeled. A guide who fished at Bull’s Island ran two trips that trolled a total of 16 walleyes, mostly 18- to 24-inchers, on Wally Divers and Rapala lures. Smallmouths, catfish and stripers were mixed in. An angler who tried fishing the river at Point Pleasant found the waters too high to wade, though the river ran clear. So he fished the lower end of Tohickon Creek instead, grabbing four walleyes and a smallmouth. On the lower Delaware around Philly, off-color, muddy waters failed to keep plenty of catfish from chewing. Several anglers nabbed 4 to 10 of the whiskerfaces per trip. The fish will sniff out shrimp, chicken livers, bloodworms, nightcrawlers and bagels. Largemouth bass fishing, on the other hand, seemed slow on the Delaware in that area. One customer in three days only picked up two small largemouths from the waters.  Another, fishing at Dredge Harbor on the river, managed five largemouths that were all smaller than 12 inches. Another hooked largemouths from the docks at Salem River Harbor off the Delaware on minnows. He said lots of the fish swam along the docks and the rocks there. A 24-inch muskie was nailed on the lower river. Not a lot was reported about largemouth fishing on Pennsylvania’s lakes, but one angler at Lake Nockamixon wrangled up three of the fish to 3 and 4 pounds at the water discharge on shiners. In South Jersey, Union Lake turned up lots of largemouths and chain pickerel. A customer whacked 25 of the two species combined on a trip, and many of the pickerel were around 20 inches. Pickerel fishing was on a roll at the Mullica River around Sweetwater, and the fish attacked minnows and rubber twister tails. A bunch of pickerel also pounced in the nearby spillway at Batsto Lake, and the lake itself tossed up lots of 10- to 14-inch largemouth bass, and pickerel were mixed in. In North Jersey, Spruce Run Reservoir reportedly gave up good angling. One angler there put the brakes on nine smallmouth bass to 4 pounds on a trip. He saw a couple of flurries of hybrid striped bass, but paid no attention, because smallmouth fishing was so productive.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Customers “were talking good things about trout,” said Don from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Ledgewood. Fall stocking locally took place last week on the streams and was taking place this week on the lakes. He heard about large trout busted on the Big Flatbrook. Trout seemed pooled up wherever the state released them into the waters. Most customers bought garden worms for the fishing. But some picked up flies, mostly nymphs, and no dry flies. Others favored spinners like CP Swings. The stream levels were fairly healthy after rains this season. Trout were the main interest for customers, and nobody really talked about fishing for largemouth bass, chain pickerel or other species. But many were interested in saltwater fishing for migrating striped bass and blues and steelhead fishing in the rivers along upstate New York’s Lake Ontario.

Winds and rains kept most from fishing the lake through the weekend, but a few rental boaters headed out, said Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong. They rounded up good catches of yellow perch and some hybrid striped bass. Alex DeRocco from Landing hauled in an 18-1/2-pound channel catfish that inhaled a herring. New, wooden muskie lures from Muskie Train were stocked at the shop, and the store began to be readied for ice-fishing season.

Shoreline anglers began to bank rainbow trout at Round Valley Reservoir on Power Bait, said Dan from <b>Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop</b>. Waters were low at both the Valley and Spruce Run Reservoir, and launching boats was difficult. Not much was heard about fishing on Spruce, but a few hybrid striped bass and northern pike probably milled around. Trout fishing went well on the streams after stocking last week, and the stream levels weren’t bad, because rains somewhat replenished them. Meal worms, other worms like garden worms, Power Baits and the usual artificials like spinners connected. Overall, local fishing began to improve a bit, after slow angling since summer.

Anglers fishing the fall trout stocking reported success at the Ramapo and Rockaway rivers and the Big Flatbrook, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. The fish hardly bit at first, taking a moment to acclimate. The big ones will especially refuse to eat in the beginning. But then the trout began to feed. The stockers are larger in fall, and a few customers saw some monsters landed. One saw an angler whale three huge ones, rainbows on the Rockaway, Nick thought. “So far, so good,” he said about the trouting. The fish were belted big time on butter worms, and many were socked on meal worms. Nick, who reports lots about largemouth bass fishing earlier in the year, heard nothing about the bigmouths this past week. The bass tournament season was finished, and customers keyed in on trout and the migration of striped bass and blues along the coast.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Interest in trout fishing perked up because of the fall stockings, said Burt from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Most customers picked up bait, especially small shiners that produced well, for the fishing on the streams. But they also favored meal worms and garden worms. One of the staff from the shop hit the Black River before the stockings, cleaning up on nine or ten trout. He strictly fishes with dry flies, and probably used cinnamon caddis, Burt believed. Caddis and midges are nearly the only dries that will come off the streams this time of year. Smallmouth bass fishing on the South Branch of the Raritan River was a feasible option at places like Neshanic, though nobody talked about the angling at the shop. But anglers hunt the smallies until the coldest weather of the year. Customers headed to Pulaski in upstate New York for steelhead and salmon fishing on the Salmon River. Many traveled to the New Jersey coast for the fall migration of striped bass and blues. Burt tried surf angling for the fish on a trip with little luck. But bass and blues reportedly blitzed the beaches at times, and currently the migration seemed to by-pass Sandy Hook, showing up toward Manasquan instead. The fish pushed butterfish, bunker and spike weakfish into the shore. Boaters banged away at the bass and blues, and more of the fish should swim into the surf this season.

Hybrid striped bass fishing served up lots of the fish at Manasquan Reservoir, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. More and more were angled on deep-diving crank baits instead of chicken livers like before. Largemouth bass catches somewhat picked up at the rez, and 12- to 14-foot depths held the fish, as they swam shallower because of cooler waters. Spinners, rubber worms and tubes worked along the bottom gained strikes. Low waters somewhat hampered trout fishing since the waters were stocked with the fish in the past week. But a few trout were creeled on the Toms River. Dennis used a white Roostertail to clock a 12- or 14-inch rainbow trout on the South Branch of the Metedeconk River, and the waters were probably 6 inches low. A couple of anglers who fished on the North Branch of the Metedeconk said Power Baits worked much better on trout there than spinners or other artificials did. Kayakers and canoers fought chain pickerel on the Trilco stretch of the Toms River, mostly on spinners or on floating Rapalas cranked in slowly along the top. Trilco used to be a home supply store that is no longer open. No sign identifies the building anymore, but locals know the area of the river, located around the Garden State Parkway, by the name Trilco. Kids fishing at the Ocean County College pond waxed lots of bluegills on nightcrawlers.

The water level began to come down on the Delaware River, after rains flooded the Big D previously, said Sean from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. Smallmouth bass fishing on the river somewhat slowed, because the weather cooled down. Previously the shop reported good fishing for the bronzebacks at places including Bull’s Island and Frenchtown. But this is the season when the action begins to taper down. Largemouth bass fishing should pick up a little because of cooler temps. Look for them at lakes including Stone Tavern and Rising Sun at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area and Carnegie Lake. Soft plastics including Senko worms will work.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Fishing began to go better at the lakes, because water levels came up from rains, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b> in Brooklawn. Customers talked about better action from largemouth bass at Alloway Lake and Daretown Lake, and a few of the bucketmouths were taken at Blackwood Lake and Newton Lake. Soft-plastic lures including creature baits were popular. Largemouth fishing started to pick up at the creek mouths along the Delaware River, and catfish were tugged in from the river as usual. Small striped bass, usually throwbacks, were bloodwormed from the shore of the river from the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge to farther north. Fishing for larger stripers was yet to become solid on Delaware Bay. An occasional striper was reported beached from the ocean surf in South Jersey. Most stripers held at Long Beach Island and farther north. But they will make their way south. Rick joined a trip on the ocean on Monday that found pods of small weakfish, but some keepers, and small blues close to shore from Sea Isle City to the south. Tog could be located at most wrecks on the inshore ocean, and little was heard about fishing farther offshore for tuna, because of windy weather. Big Timber stocks tackle and bait for fishing on all waters from freshwater to bays to offshore.

News was mostly about kids tackling lots of sunfish at Puppyland Pond and the spillway across the road from Blackwood Lake on meal worms, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. Nobody talked much about fishing for largemouth bass. But trout were being stocked Tuesday and today in South Jersey, including at Grenloch Lake and Oak Pond today. Anglers should hone in on trout now.

Trout were slated to be stocked at local waters this week, said Lou from <b>Sportsman’s Outpost</b> in Williamstown. All the baits are stocked for the angling, including Power Bait, the different worms and spinner lures. Waters that were set to receive the trout on Tuesday of this week were Grenloch Lake, Oak Pond, Sylvan Lake, Crystal Lake, the Maurice River, Giampetro Park Pond, Hammonton Lake and Mary Elmer Lake. Those set to receive the fish today were Iona Lake, Greenwich Lake, Shadlers Sand Wash Pond and Swedesboro Lake. Anglers waited for the migration of striped bass to reach South Jersey’s coast and Delaware Bay. The fish seemed to begin biting as far south as Long Beach Island so far.

Chain pickerel fishing gained steam on most lakes because of cooler weather, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Fishing in general was sluggish but began to improve in the cooler weather. Little was heard about good catches of largemouth bass except from a bass tournament on Parvin Lake. Some big bass were hammered in the event, and the angling sounded like a Rat-L-Trap bite. Not much was heard about smallmouth bass catches on Lake Audrey and Union Lake, the two lakes that harbor the fish in South Jersey. But the time of year was here when the cold-water fish should start to become more active. Fall trout stocking was under way Tuesday and today, and results of the angling should be heard soon. In brackish waters anglers pounded away at loads of white perch in the Cohansey River, Maurice River and the feeder ditches. Saltwater anglers waited for the fall run of striped bass, and a few shorts began to chomp in Delaware Bay.

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