<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Steelheads swam throughout the river, and the fishing was on-and-off depending on the day, said Ben from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. On some days the fish bit, and on some days they didn’t, because of factors like weather, like any fishing. Lots of smaller steelheads were around, but big slammers were sometimes banked, for sure. Quite a few customers landed 15-pounders. Beads and egg sacks especially caught. Egg patterns were effective flies, and some anglers began to fish stoneflies with success. Brown trout, not a lot, but a relatively good population, held in the fly-fishing zone in the upper river. No snow yet blanketed the local area, but flurries fell in some places.

Lots of steelheads were drift-boated on the river with <b>Salmon River Guide</b> from Pulaski, Capt. Shane Thomas said. The angling was tougher in weekend crowds, but better on weekdays. November is a popular month for the fishing, though excellent catches will last through the winter. A few more brown trout slid up the river than before, and the salmon run was finally kaput. The river had flowed at 750 CFS a long time, but would now be dropped to 500 CFS. That’s on the verge of being low but is still a medium level. Trips with Shane fished the whole length of the river on the boat this past week, but would probably fish the upper river when the level was dropped. Anglers with him caught the fish on floated trout beads. Anglers with some of the guides who work with Shane back-trolled the fish. Anglers on the river also fly-rodded the steelheads on egg patterns and began to crunch catches on stoneflies.   

<b>Oswego River</b>

Steelheads, rainbow and brown trout – about an equal mix of the three – and an occasional salmon plied the river, said Bill from <b>Larry’s Oswego Salmon Shop</b> in Oswego. The population of steelheads was decent. Only a few salmon, kings, were bagged, but the fish were fresh from Lake Ontario. The flow bounced around wildly on the Oswego, ranging from 2,000 to 7,000 CFS on the wide, deep river. Beads were probably fished most predominantly with results, but egg sacks also grabbed hits. Many fished the baits under floats. The shop includes a motel for convenient access to the river and the tackle store.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

One customer pulled a couple of trout from the shoreline at Round Valley Reservoir, and that fishing was under way, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Ledgewood. The one rainbow and the one brown that the customer bagged were clocked on Power Bait. A few trout catches were made on the Pequest River. Fish small zebra midges slowly there. Largemouth bass were still copped from the lakes in this late season for the catches, even if the angling was a pick. Again, fish slowly, and the bass are lethargic in the chilly waters. Use a rubber grub, a jig-and-pig or a suspending bait like a Husky Jerk that gets down in the waters. No reports rolled in from the big lakes like Hopatcong.

Anglers from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield did a little trout fishing, and hook ups were spotty, but the customers were catching the fall stockers, Nick said. Another trout stocking for winter was coming up this month at the lakes, after the fall stocking dropped the fish in the streams in October. Currently the Big Flatbrook was one of the better trouteries. Berkeley Power Bait Trout Nuggets or Power Nuggets, as they’re also called, became all the rage. The nuggets are meant to imitate the pellets that trout are fed at the hatchery, and anglers said they did the job as billed. A few said they caught on meal worms. Trout fishing on the Ramapo River was reportedly horrible, and anglers wondered whether the 870 trout were placed in the waters that were supposed to be stocked for fall. Trout fishing was supposedly also spotty on the Wanaque River, and 330 trout were supposed to be stocked there. News from the lakes was quiet, and Nick’s largemouth-bass-angling buddies, tournament anglers, all winterized their boats.

Shoreline angling pummeled rainbow trout at Round Valley Reservoir, said Steve from <b>Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop</b>. This was it – the annual bite was happening. Rainbows to 20 inches were creamed on Power Bait or other small bait like meal worms. Boaters at the Valley caught and released lake trout, but the laker season is closed until opening on December 1 on Round Valley and Merrill Creek reservoirs, designated trophy trout lakes with special regulations. News from boaters was thin from Round Valley because of the closed lake trout season. Low waters made fishing and launching a boat way difficult at Spruce Run Reservoir. Occasionally boaters landed a hybrid striped bass at Spruce when they managed to sail the waters. But catfish were scrappy and on the prowl for shoreline anglers at Spruce Run, who fished with nearly any baits, including nightcrawlers, shiners and the whole variety of commercial catfish baits.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

A 5-pound 12-ounce 25-1/4-pound walleye was weighed in that Sean Litwin beat on the Delaware River on a Rapala plug, said Burt from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Walleyes are cranked from the river and other waters in colder weather, and anglers even ice fish for them. Many use live bait for them but also work Lindy Rigs, the spinners with a hook to fish a worm on. They also use crank baits or any lures that get down in the water column. Lures imitating yellow perch are deadly, and walleyes are members of the perch family, but love to gulp baby perch. Trout anglers bought flies to fish the fall stocking. They never talked about the angling, but they purchased bead-headed nymphs, scuds, wooly buggers, blue-winged olives and caddis. If warmer weather arrives later this week like predicted, trouters could expect to find blue-winged olives and caddis hatching, an opportunity for dry-fly angling. Customers often came in for saltwater tackle, honing in on the fall migration of striped bass along the coast. Burt’s wife beached a 15-pound striper from the surf on a 5-inch Storm Shad on a trip they took to Island Beach State Park. At first she thought the lure was hung up, until the line began to bounce. There was no blitz that morning, but several short stripers were seen reeled in. The linesiders seemed to cruise down the surf, beginning to bite when outgoing tide got moving. Don saw an angler hook a blue from the beach as Don and his wife left the surf at 12:30 or 1 p.m. A couple of customers checked in 7-pound tog they boated at the Shrewsbury Rocks. The blackfish were becoming active in the cooling ocean, and the bag limit will be raised to six on Tuesday from the current limit of one.

Not a lot was doing in harsh, windy weather that kept many from fishing, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. He fished Lake Riviera on Monday, scoring two largemouth bass 1 ½ pounds apiece on Senko worms, and no other fish. Then he fished Winding River, and not a thing bit. He didn’t even see a fish there, though fish from largemouths to chain pickerel, crappies, yellow perch and sunnies are usually seen in the shallows near the shoreline. He saw no other anglers during the day either. Jeff at Winding River fished with spinners, poppers, Rapalas, Senkos and nightcrawlers. Recently stocked trout seemed to be caught on the Metedeconk River. Ed McGlone Jr. stopped by after a day on the river with four trout, including a 3-pound 4-ounce breeder, fish that were taken on Power Bait and worms. Nothing was heard from the trout-stocked Toms and Manasquan rivers. Sales of trout worms were popular, though. Word was mum about Manasquan Reservoir or any other waters, because of lack of anglers. The shop previously reported that the impoundment’s largemouth bass fishing had improved once the weather cooled. The bass had moved closer to the shoreline, within reach of bank anglers, and hybrid striped bass had continued to be nabbed from the reservoir then.

Winds, winds and even more winds, and the shock of the cold, put the damper on angler participation, said Sean from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. Anglers probably weren’t yet adjusted to the cold. If anglers were going to fish, they might try for largemouth bass at lakes like the impoundments at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area. Those lakes are Rising Sun Lake, Stone Tavern Lake and Assunpink Lake. Soft-plastic lures could be fished slowly in the low water temps to crack a lethargic largemouth. The Delaware River’s smallmouth bass fishing petered out weeks ago because of cooler waters. Strong winds and chilly weather failed to encourage anglers to toss a line there anyway through the beginning of the week. Warmer, sunny days were coming through this weekend

<b>South Jersey</b>

Freshwater fishing will probably keep anglers catching another couple of weeks, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b> in Brooklawn. The lakes churned out largemouth bass, often on small crank baits. Notable waters included Sunset Lake, Parvin’s Lake, Stewart Lake, Newton Lake, some of the lakes around Medford, private lakes and the Cooper River. Bigger lakes fared better on the fishing than smaller lakes did. Small striped bass, occasional larger ones, were angled from the Delaware River from Palmyra to downstream on bloodworms or clams. Catfish, including big ones, swam abundant in the river, sniffing out nightcrawlers or cut baits. Customers who fished saltwater crushed striped bass on Delaware Bay at places like along the edges of 60-Foot and 20-Foot sloughs and at the Banana Peel on fresh bunker chunks. The fish were hefty, and one angler heaved aboard a 53-pounder. Small stripers were sometimes banked on the bay at Fortescue. Blitzes of striped bass erupted in the ocean surf at different places each day. That was mainly a clam bite, sometimes a bite on bunker, but apparently not much of one on plugs or metal. Windy weather kept boaters from fishing the ocean. Big Timber carries tackle and bait for fishing on all waters from freshwater to bays to the ocean. The shop will be open this season through Christmas Eve.

Plenty of fall-stocked trout bit, Lou from <b>Sportsman’s Outpost</b> in Williamstown guessed. He was hearing about action from Iona Lake and Oak Pond, but not good trouting from Grenloch Lake. Some of the trout were sizeable, and the fall stocking is known for larger fish. The trout seemed to become acclimated to the waters, because they pounced on all types of usual lures and baits, after they seemed to be reluctant to feed when first stocked. Spinners, among other offerings, worked well now. Trout were the focus for anglers at the shop, and nobody mentioned other fishing like for largemouth bass or chain pickerel. But saltwater anglers whacked striped bass, hefty ones to 45 or 50 pounds, on Delaware Bay. That fall fishing was on. The TV news this week featured a teenage girl who walloped a potential IGFA world-record striper in the female junior angler division. Juliana Merighi, 13, Vineland, boated the 58-pounder, a 54-inch fish with a 32-inch girth, from the bay on October 24, Field and Stream’s Web site said on Tuesday, and the IGFA would have to confirm the record, the site added. A 47-pounder, caught in the ocean off North Wildwood in May 2006, was the current world record for female junior anglers, the site said.

Trout angling that pounded away at the recently stocked fish on the Maurice River was some of the main fishing, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Roostertails, Power Bait and meal worms like usual shoveled up the fish. Trout angling was good for the stockers at Iona Lake. Some who fished for largemouth bass at Giampetro Park Pond waxed trout as a by-catch. But the Maurice River was really the place for trout. Chain pickerel, cold-loving fish, went wild at Sunset and Union lakes, attacking nearly anything. Largemouth bass fishing was spotty, but the fish were picked up on Rat-L-Traps, and a fair chew was happening on crank baits. Saltwater boaters cleaned up on striped bass on Delaware Bay on fresh bunker chunks on the rare day when winds calmed enough to sail.

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