New Jersey Fishing Reports

Smallmouth bass tore up the upper Delaware River before last week’s rains, and nothing was heard about the angling since then, said Bill from Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle in Philadelphia. But he expected the river to clean up from raised waters by last weekend. He saw the river at the Delaware Water Gap on Thursday, and waters were clear and low. He also saw the river at Yardley then, and the flow was low, but the waters were a little off color. But, again, the smallie fishing was turned on before the rains, and fishing for them was also hopping at all the creeks. An angler on the Schuylkill River knocked out 15 to 25 smallies to 15 inches per trip while wading at Norristown. The lower Delaware River toward Philly became muddy after the rains, but that turned on catfishing. One customer picked up five cats to 4 pounds off Linden Avenue, all on shrimp, except one that scarfed up a nightcrawler, and a big runoff that grabbed herring but got off. Anglers fishing the river off the Frankford Arsenal landed 14- to 25-inch cats all last week, and they were practicing for a monthly tournament there last Sunday. Shrimp, chicken livers, herring, mackerel, nightcrawlers and bagels worked well. Small striped bass were played on the river off Station Avenue. One angler there fought 17 stripers under 15 inches on bloodworms on a trip. Three other anglers on a trip ran across a school of small stripers around the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, while they were looking for largemouth bass. They picked more than 20 stripers 14 to 17 inches in a couple of hours on Rat-L-Traps and small jigs. On the largemouth front, one angler showed off photos of the bucketmouths to 4 pounds he hooked on the river near Rohm and Haas Company at Bristol in the lily pads on weedless frogs, plastic worms and jigs. He pulled in more than six on one trip, and said the angling was picking up. Other largemouth anglers scored at the lake on Burlington Island, paddling kayaks across the river to reach the island, throwing crank baits, plastic worms, spinner baits, Rat-L-Traps and top-water lures for the fights. In other waters, fishing remained slow at Lake Luxembourg at Core Creek Park because of the heat, but a few largemouths to 2 pounds, smaller fish, were taken. Lots of panfish hit on the lake. Lake Nockamixon was somewhat slow, but an angler and his wife rounded up 11 largemouths to 2 pounds on a trip. They fished lately in the lily pads with weedless frogs in the dark and, during the day, in 5- to 10-foot depths with plastic worms. At Union Lake in Millville in South Jersey, a customer fished deeper waters in the heat, coming up with five largemouth bass, nine pickerel and a couple of yellow perch on plastic worms, spinner baits and twister tails on jigs. Another tried for muskies at Lake Hopatcong in North Jersey, coming up with 15 pickerel but also a 31-inch musky.

NEW JERSEY

North Jersey

Anglers with Live to Fish Guide Service from Montvale waffled seven walleyes, a couple of small smallmouth bass and a hybrid striped bass on a midnight-shift trip on one of the lakes Tuesday, Capt. Dave Vollenweider said. The anglers, Andrew Noonan and brother-in-law Dan, fished throughout the night, when walleyes are most active, until morning, working Rapala F18 lures to axe the ‘eyes. Most were 18 inches, and one weighed 5 ½ pounds. They kept that fish, filleted for breakfast. Not a huge presence of walleyes erupted, but baitfish did start to pop, and the marble eyes crashed them. At first during the night, nothing bit, but Dave told the anglers, just trust him, and keep working the F18’s. The baitfish began to splash, and the catches began. Walleyes follow the bait or herring to the shallows in the middle of the night, coming up from the deep during hours like 12 midnight or 2 a.m. That’s when they can be hooked on lures near the surface. The herring come up to feed on zooplankton in the dark. The anglers tried for smallmouths afterward, and the bronzebacks were small, unlike the 2-1/2-pounders on a trip previously reported, but a couple were hooked. Dave’s anglers often fish for smallies with surface lures like Bomber Badonk-a-Donks or Rapala Skitterpops. The hybrid was a surprise, bonus catch that smacked one of the lures. The night trips are unique and exciting, haunting the dark when hardly anybody else is seen on the lakes, waiting for action to explode. Many recreational lakes come alive for fishing long after the waters settle from daytime crowds like water skiers and pleasure boaters in summer. Though Dave feels like he’s figured out the walleye fishing at night this season, he plans to begin trying for them during the day. Then he’ll fish the deep, trolling lures like soft plastics on rigs that dress them up with spoons. Dave took a shot at musky fishing on Echo Lake on his own from 2 p.m. to dark one day this past week, and the fishing seemed difficult in warm waters, some spots as warm as 85 to 87 degrees. That angling might need to catch a break through weather like rains or somewhat cooler days to become more active. Muskies become more active in the warmth to a point. But when waters become too warm, the fish become lethargic. Dave saw no muskies, and had none follow a lure, and usually he at least sees a follow on a trip. But he won’t give up on the angling, his favorite fishing, and musky fishing is challenging anyway. But it’s rewarding, giving up some of the biggest, strongest fish around. He even tried fishing 25 to 30 feet down, though he loves angling for muskies with top-water lures. He might try trolling for the fish soon, looking to locate the thermocline where muskies could be hanging in a comfortable temp. Walleyes remained plenty active in the heat, and often do throughout this month. When walleye fishing begins to fade for the season, fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass can become a focus for Dave. He already ran a trip for largemouths that caught plenty at Lake Hopatcong in the middle of the day, covered in the last report. Live to Fish Guide Service guides trips for trout, muskies, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleyes, crappies, chain pickerel, panfish, yellow perch, white perch, carp and more. Lakes fished include Greenwood Lake, Lake Hopatcong, Monksville Reservoir, Echo Lake, Mountain Lake and Furnace Lake. Rivers fished include the Flatbrook, Pequest, Paulinskill and Ramapo.

Little was heard about the Delaware River’s big striped bass that had seemed to start becoming more active previously, but the heat keeping anglers from fishing probably caused most of the lack of news, said Bill from Bill’s Bait & Tackle in Phillipsburg. Previously a few large ones, like a 29-pounder checked in, were clubbed when rains raised and roughed up the river a little. Rough weather that disturbs the river is a time to catch them, especially at night on eels. Big channel catfish are a by-catch. Keith Kulp, Phillipsburg, weighed in an invasive 9-pound 6-ounce flathead catfish from the river. The state encourages anglers to kill flatheads that could take over the river from native species, and about one flathead a week was weighed in at the shop in the past several weeks. Small striped bass will always hold in the river through the summer, and small smallmouth bass will always be able to be caught in the waters this season. News was quiet about Merrill Creek Reservoir, and small fish including chain pickerel, smallmouth bass and trout had been the common catch there. But now word about the small fish was even scarce. Again, the heat was likely to blame. Not many anglers fishing. Not a heck of a lot was heard about hybrid striped bass fishing at Spruce Run Reservoir, only because of fewer anglers. But Chad Daly, Bath, showed off an 8-pound 15-ounce hybrid from the impoundment. Brian Russo, Wilson, walloped a 7-pound largemouth bass at Spruce. Great catch.

At the ponds and lakes largemouth bass hid under the weeds, lily pads or areas with shade, escaping the heat, and finding any conditions that created cooler waters mattered when trying to catch them, said Kevin from Ramsey Outdoor in Ledgewood. Late in the evenings was a time to find the fish more active. Lakes with a stream that flowed in could offer cooler waters. Kevin lives on a lake with a stream inflow that helps the angling. When anglers fished areas like the pads, they worked them slowly. A friend fished in a bass tournament at Lake Hopatcong, and the angling was a slow pick, but he tugged in some of the largemouths from along the deep-water docks on Keitechs. Waters deeper than 12 feet seemed best. A few hybrid striped bass and walleyes were popped at Hopatcong, but the weather was hot for them, too.

A couple of trips at Greenwood Lake put a beating on largemouth bass that Nick from Meltzer’s Sporting Goods in Garfield took, he said. On Thursday he reeled in 10 or 12 keepers 2 to 3 pounds along the weeds out away from shore. On Sunday a tournament was held on the lake, and not a lot of good fishing was going on, and Nick first started to look for largemouths at the deeper weeds. Then he moved to shallow weeds, hooking two or three largemouths 2 to 3 pounds. He fished on the trips with 15-pound braid, mostly with Senko worms. He almost dead-sticked the worms, letting them sit still in the waters, except shaking them time to time. The bass hit them hard. He also fished with Keitechs a few times to connect. The 4-inch Keitech Swing Impacts were doing a job on largemouths for everyone. A New Jersey Bass Federation Tournament was held on Lake Hopatcong on Sunday, and the winner reportedly racked up a total weight of 13 pounds for five fish. Most anglers who fished Hopatcong said they nailed largemouths mostly along the weeds instead of the docks. That surprises Nick, because the angling along the docks is usually better. Maybe low waters from the heat was the reason. The fish might move keeper toward the weeds if waters at the docks are shallower than usual. Many lakes were extremely low and affected by the heat. A private lake Nick fishes for largemouths in Vernon was brown and full of algae for weeks now. Rains sometimes fell in the last week, including during a strong thunderstorm Monday, but more rains would help fishing. Catfish were sometimes claimed from the Passaic River at night on chicken livers. Carp fishing was spotty on the river in the low, warm waters, but can be good at other times. The Passaic becomes very low in weather like this summer’s. But the river should rise in fall, and the fishing should explode when it does. The river’s angling can be excellent during seasons when waters flood the place. Fishing for lots of big striped bass goes off during the high waters of springtime, for example.

Hybrid striped bass fishing on Spruce Run Reservoir was really the only angling that was great locally, because of the hot weather, said Steve from Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop. Evenings from 6:30 p.m. until dark served up the best action, and the fishing after dark was just okay. Livelined herring was the way to go. At Round Valley Reservoir fishing for lake trout held up fairly well. Fishing for them on the bottom in 65- to 75-foot depths with live bait, especially herring or shiners, both stocked at the shop, was best. Rainbow trout fishing was good at the Valley from boats, though lots of shorts bit. Handle the shorts carefully or they’ll easily die in the heat. Plenty of largemouth and smallmouth bass kept shoreline anglers busy at Round Valley, mainly on medium shiners, but anglers who liked artificials used plastic worms effectively.

Central Jersey

Though the hot weather made some fishing lethargic, smallmouth bass angling improved a bit all around, said Nick from Efinger’s Sporting Goods in Bound Brook. He fly-rodded the bronzebacks at Round Valley Reservoir on olive and green Clouser Minnows. Little was heard about trout fishing at Round Valley, except about rainbows boated at night while anglers used Hydro Glow lights, submersible, waterproof lights, to attract them. Rock bass and smallmouths swarmed around the lights, too. The waters in the “back, far corner,” Nick said, near the camp sites attract a mess of the fish. Hybrid striped bass fishing went well at Spruce Run Reservoir in the middle of the night, like at 11 p.m. or 12 midnight, on livelined herring or top-water lures. The trout streams ran low and warm, and the rains cooled them slightly, but not much.

A couple of customers stopped by who kept pancaking largemouth bass, good catches, some of them 3 and 4 pounds at Pine Lake Park in Manchester at the main pond, one of two ponds, said Dennis from Murphy’s Hook House in Toms River. They bought two quarts of killies, lots of the baitfish, for the fishing. Anglers fished Lake Riviera from the dirt road, looking for shade, tackling a few largemouths and some catfish. Hot weather’s been the challenge at all the lakes. Some kayakers fished Trilco, the area that’s like a lake on the Toms River in South Toms River, for the first time, landing a few chain pickerel. That spot usually puts out pickerel, holds cooler waters because of the river, and is located between Route 166 and the Parkway. It’s named for a building supply store that no longer exists, and no sign identifies the stretch, but locals know the waters by the name Trilco. Families with kids headed to the Ocean County College pond for fun with mostly bluegills on nightcrawlers under a bobber. Eight or ten people are usually fishing the waters, and some tried for largemouth bass with things like poppers, but mostly bluegills swam the pond. Dennis will stock shiners again this week after stopping stocking them for a moment because of hot weather.

Catfish could be rounded up from the Delaware River, said Sean from Harry’s Army and Navy in Robbinsville. He said in a past report that a simple rig with a three-way swivel, a 2/0 hook and a weight to sink to the bottom was a way to catch them. Baits like chicken livers, worms or hot dog can draw the whiskerfaces to chomp. Ross Marine Center in Trenton held the Delaware River Roundup Catfish Tournament on Saturday, and a 10.6-pounder was the biggest entered. The same angler won for the heaviest weight for three cats that totaled 26 pounds, if Sean remembered the weight. Harry’s hosted the captain’s meeting. The river’s smallmouth bass fishing, previously best from Frenchtown to upstream, became somewhat slow. Largemouth bass fishing produced in lakes in the early mornings and evenings and was slow at mid day. Senko worms, buzz baits and lures like jitterbugs were whacked. Gropp’s Lake and lakes at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area were a couple of top spots.

South Jersey

Tina Rodano socked a 5.2-pound largemouth bass at Blackwood Lake, said Ed at Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle What she used for the catch was unknown, but if she fished a shiner for such a bass, that wouldn’t be surprising. Largemouths 1 ½ to 3 pounds were on the chew at Puppyland Pond, and all the catches Ed heard about were on shiners. Not a lot of people stopped by during the heat, but this was the fishing any talked about. Kids could always have fun with panfish like sunnies at Pupplyland and the spillway across the road from Blackwood Lake. A meal worm under a bobber is tough to beat.

Lots of anglers sat around on the lakes, watching a bobber with a minnow underneath, said Lou from Sportsman’s Outpost in Williamstown. The weather was hot. But panfishing was actually good in the heat. Little was heard about largemouth bass fishing in the summer doldrums, but if anglers wanted bass, working a lure like a top-water popper at dusk or dawn was one way to go. In saltwater, summer flounder fishing on Delaware Bay remained about the same: Anglers hooked 10 or 12 throwbacks to bag a keeper.

Dealing with the heat was a challenge for largemouth bass anglers, but they made off with solid catches from the Salem Canal, said Steve from Blackwater Sports Center in Vineland. A couple of tournaments were held there, and the entrants, and other anglers, caught the bass while flipping jigs or skipping Senko worms. A couple of good reports were heard about bassing at Rainbow Lake. Union Lake’s angling was hit or miss, kind of spotty, but anglers on the lake could still land a mix of largemouth and smallmouth bass. Largemouth anglers ran across schoolie, resident striped bass on the Maurice River near the Union Lake Dam. Jerk baits, popper lures and a little of everything will nab the stripers. No particular time of day sounded best, but Steve suspected incoming tides might’ve been better. Catfishing was strong in the heat in the different tidal waters and ditches. In saltwater, Delaware Bay’s summer flounder fishing was steady, and customers talked about boating the fish to the north, south and all over on the bay.