New Jersey Fishing Reports

Fishing on the lower Delaware River became largely about catfish and white perch, said Bill from Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle in Philadelphia. A few striped bass were around in the waters, but were smaller than 15 inches. The perch were also small, though anglers could hook as many as they wanted. But the cats weighed 4 to 8 pounds. Clams, herring, shrimp and chicken livers got the whiskerfaces to chomp on the bottom in 15 to 25 feet in the evenings. Bloodworms and nightcrawlers drew the perch and stripers to bite. Largemouth bass gave up super catches in the lower river, and they moved to deeper waters. Anglers searched out underwater structure for a tug from the bucketmouths to 3 pounds, and catfish jumped on the hook in the same holes. Smaller largemouths, mostly under 10 inches, loaded the waters at the harbors and marinas along the river, and plastic worms worked well for a hit. But one angler worked crank baits to land four on one trip and six on another. Smallmouth bass fishing on the upper river really picked up. One angler drilled 25 to 35 per trip at Lambertville, finding that minnows worked best, but also connecting with rubber grubs, tubes, spinners and top-water lures. He also said smallies were plenty active on the river at the Water Gap, and some of those fish were larger or 15 to 18 inches. A few better-sized striped bass to 32 inches could be hooked at the Gap in the deeper holes in the evenings, and a few walleyes could be nabbed in this stretch. Another customer waded the river upstream from Point Pleasant, landing 32 smallies on one day and 23 on another. Another drifted the river from Frenchtown to Point Pleasant, totaling 25 smallmouths, two striped bass and a walleye on a trip. But several anglers said smallmouth fishing was no good on the river from Yardley to Trenton. They waded the waters, reeling up only small ones in the fast waters. Boating the river here was almost impossible because of low waters. Other places that tossed up lots of smallies included Neshaminy Creek at Tyler State Park and Playwicki Park, Perkiomen Creek including at Route 29 and Collegeville, and the Schuylkill River at Gladwyne and Norristown. Some bigger smallmouths swam at Norristown, and one angler there tied into 16- to 18-inchers in the deeper holes behind bridges. “A pair of junk sneakers and a bathing suit and you’re ready to jump in and beat the heat while having a good time,” Bill said about smallie fishing in the rivers and streams. Smallmouth fishing was about the best angling at this time of year, he said. In other waters largemouth bass fishing was great at Lake Luxembourg at Core Creek Park. Several customers who had never fished there before came back saying they axed excellent catches. Bluegills, small crappies and yellow perch also gave up fights. Nockamixon Lake was another terrific place to bang out a bucketmouth, but customers said fish the lake early to avoid pleasure boaters. One and his wife at Nockamixon tangled with 15 largemouths before sunup along the lily pads on plastic worms. A few smaller bass grabbed the worms at the pads after the sun rose.

NEW JERSEY

North Jersey

Capt. Dave Vollenweider from Live to Fish Guide Service from Montvale fished for muskies on two trips at Echo Lake this past week, and another trip was probably going to fish for walleyes at Greenwood Lake at night from Tuesday to today, he said. He might give an update on the walleye trip that would be posted here later today. The musky fishing was difficult, and Echo Lake might’ve been treated for weeds, possibly the cause. Hardly any weeds could be located, and weeds that were found were new growth. Muskies like to hover along the weeds, and Dave fishes along the weeds to nail them. Dave’s wife accompanied him on one of the trips, casting a Rapala Skitter Pop to try to catch a smallmouth bass. But a musky, the only one Dave saw on both trips, surprisingly followed the small lure, biting it! Dave saw the fish with the lure in mouth, but his wife, apparently shocked at seeing maybe the biggest fish that ever attacked one of her lures, never hooked the musky, and the fish got away. She did hook a few smallmouths. Muskies usually prefer large lures. The fact that Dave saw no other muskies on the trips was unusual, and muskies often follow lures, are usually at least seen. Coaxing them to bite is the challenge! A friend fished the lake at the same time, also finding the fishing dead, and both Dave and he fished hard. Bait was abundant in the waters, though. Dave tried all different ways to catch a musky, including fishing a lure down deep to 30 feet to see if a musky hung there, instead of fishing with top-water lures like usual. The lake was brown, another potential sign that the waters were treated for weeds. Fish can go in a funk when the waters are first treated. But it was still beautiful to be on the waters, he said, and that’s musky fishing, and fishing in general. When a photo is seen of a great catch like a big fish, the fish is usually the result of lots of effort. Muskies in particular are known as the fish of 10,000 casts, though the angling was unusually slow on these trips. But anglers fish for them because a catch is often the biggest fish one ever landed. Musky fishing should pick back up, and Dave will certainly keep running trips for them. The warm months are best, making the muskies most active. Dave normally begins musky fishing in May, and just now began concentrating on them. His trips in May honed in on terrific trout angling on the streams, and soon began walloping walleyes on the lakes. Both those fisheries were too productive for Dave to pass up, and there’s an old saying: Never leave fish to find fish. Still, musky fishing is Dave’s No. 1 sport. He talked a little about musky lures. Lots of unique lures are being made for muskies, often beautiful, and expensive. Many, such as the top-waters, could be used for striped bass fishing in saltwater, and no striper probably ever saw them before. Dave will also continue walleye fishing, and runs trips that fish for them in the middle of the night, when the fish move to the shallows from the deep, following baitfish that come to forage on zooplankton. His anglers work top-water lures that the marble eyes slam among the bait. The lakes were heating up, but the walleye fishing in past years continued throughout the heat, and, taking a look at his log books, Dave saw descriptions he wrote that talked about catches made during extremely warm weather. 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.

Smallmouth bass pooled up in the Delaware River, easy pickings for anglers, because of low waters, and the fish were small, but fought like heck, said Bill from Bill’s Bait & Tackle in Phillipsburg. Leeches, tubes, and white, rubber curly tails hooked them. Small striped bass will strike in the river through the warm season, especially on chicken livers, but sometimes on nightcrawlers or minnows. But Gary Sinko, Alpha, heaved a 24-pound 40-inch striper from the river, and Tyrone Smull, Phillipsburg, hauled a 20-pound 38-incher from the waters. Big stripers held in the river, were seen. But few were caught because of the low waters. If rainstorms come and raise and muddy the waters, fishing for them will take off. Big channel catfish are usually a by-catch when anglers fish for the big stripers, and fishing for the cats was also slow because of the water level. In recent years storms made the catfishing take off, but not this year. This week’s severe heat wasn’t helping, and Bill read a temperature of 92 degrees at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Joe Piro checked in an invasive 4-pound 14-ounce flathead catfish from the river, and that was the second flathead Bill saw from the river, the other being a 14-pounder mentioned in the last report. The state encourages anglers to kill the flatheads that could be a threat to native fish, taking over the habitat or maybe eating fish like smallmouths. The river’s fishing was mostly made up of lots of small fish at the moment, and angling was similar at Merrill Creek Reservoir: Lots of small fish including trout, chain pickerel, and largemouth and smallmouth bass. But Dave Howie, Washington Township, turned up a 6-pound 6-ounce largemouth from Merrill, winning a New Jersey Skillful Angler Award. Catches seen at the shop also included John Morris from Phillipsburg’s 4-pound 9-ounce largemouth from Oxford Furnace Lake, Chris Bogoly from Easton’s 5-pound catfish from Spruce Run Reservoir and Zachary Fry from Phillipsburg’s 2-pound 3-ounce brook trout from Pohatcong Creek.

At Lake Hopatcong hybrid striped bass could be socked at night at places like Henderson Cove on black Jitterbugs, said Kevin from Ramsey Outdoor in Ledgewood. Some of the Newark Watershed reservoirs will give up walleyes in the deep during the daytime. One angler jigged for them with a black Gulp. The Delaware River’s smallmouth bass fishing seemed to turn on. Keitech Swing Impact 3.5- or 4-inch soft-plastic lures on light jigs like 1/16-ounce will work. The light jigs help the Keitechs impart the most action.

Not much was happening with fishing on the lake during the holiday weekend with the heat, said Laurie from Dow’s Boat Rentals in Lake Hopatcong. But some fish were caught. Lou Marcucci slugged several good-sized smallmouth bass to a 3-pound 6-ouncer on livelined herring. He also beat chain pickerel and largemouth bass. Robert Muraski barreled up walleyes to 7 pounds off Elba Point. Hybrid striped bass gathered in the early mornings off the yacht club on Bertrand’s Island. Hybrids were sometimes top-water-lured at night. Crappies gobbled small fathead minnows or rubber jigs around the lake.

Largemouth bass fishing, the main action for local anglers during this season, was way off, for unknown reasons, said Nick from Meltzer’s Sporting Goods in Garfield. Anglers could hardly convince the fish to bite, and maybe the extreme heat was the reason, but Nick usually catches them well in the warmth. Maybe some of the waters were treated for weeds, and Nick saw no signs of that, but a buddy did. The buddy fished the private Highland Lake, and the waters were exceptionally off color or chocolaty. Weed treatment can discolor waters like that. The buddy only landed 10 largemouths, a low number on the waters. Largemouth fishing was also horrible at a private lake in Vernon that Nick frequents. Another buddy fished in a largemouth tournament at Merrill Creek Reservoir, and fishing at Merrill is usually difficult in summer, but among 24 boats entered, the anglers on 12 of the vessels caught no bass. Anglers on one boat limited out, but trips on the rest of the boats rounded up one or two bass apiece. If anglers fish for largemouths, Nick recommends angling along the docks with Senko worms or 4-inch Keitechs. Largemouths will also hang along the weeds, but weeds are trickier to fish, and Nick always concentrates on the docks.

Round Valley Reservoir’s fishing was slow for shore anglers in the summer doldrums, but boaters had a chance at clocking lake trout from the depths, said Steve from Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop. They needed to locate the fish and jig for them with any metal. Hybrid striped bass fishing was on a roll, was on, at Spruce Run Reservoir in the evenings and at night on top-water lures and livelined herring. Forget about angling for them during the day, though. “Dead,” Steve said. The trout streams ran low and clear, but not bad conditions for angling. Fly fishing on them is best during the low levels and heat.

Central Jersey

Smallmouth bass were drummed up from the South Branch of the Raritan River in the mornings and evenings at Clinton and maybe at High Bridge, said Nick from Efinger Sporting Goods in Bound Brook. Smallmouths and largemouth bass could be fought at Round Valley Reservoir, and rainbow trout could be plucked at night at the lights at the reservoir. One angler said he claimed the rainbows on dried shrimp. Water levels steadily receded in the heat, including at Spruce Run Reservoir. But plenty of baitfish were seen at Spruce at night, and hybrid striped bass and catfish gave anglers a tug there in the dark. Largemouth bass fishing was good at the farm pounds. Trout fishing was almost dead in the heat, but a few could be picked on the South Branch by anglers who put in effort with flies, spinners or small Rapala lures.

A 7.08-pound hybrid striped bass was weighed in from Manasquan Reservoir, said Dennis from Murphy’s Hook House in Toms River. George Jone (not “Jones”) swam a shiner to catch the fish. The reservoir is loaded with hybrids, and anglers often fish for them at sunrise and sunset, when the ‘brids come to the surface. Shiners are one of the better baits, but so are chicken livers. Anglers chum with the chicken livers, impaling some on a hook on a leader with a barrel swivel with an egg sinker above. They anchor in the middle of the reservoir, toss out the bait and wait. Dennis stopped by the reservoir briefly on a motorcycle trip, picking a couple of small, 8- to 9-inch largemouth bass on Senko worms on a rod he stowed away. He saw lots of anglers fishing, some landing one or two bass, not easy fishing in the heat. Chicken livers are an effective bait for lots of different fish, including catfish. Catfishing really takes off in the heat. A few cats and some largemouth bass could be banked at Lake Riviera. Nightcrawlers and chunks of bluegills could also toggle up the cats. The Toms River at Trilco, was one of the better places to fish in the warmth. Pickerel are always active in the waters cooled from the flow. The stretch known as Trilco is located behind the post office. Trilco used to be a lumberyard there but is no longer, and no sign identifies the area as Trilco, but locals know the place by the name. Dennis’s nephew fished at Lake Assunpink, dialing up crappies and a largemouth bass.

Among the lakes at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, Stone Tavern was a lot clearer than Assunpink Lake itself that was full of algae, said Frank from Harry’s Army and Navy in Robbinsville. Anglers at Stone Tavern fished Senko worms for largemouth bass in the mornings and evenings. Most local ponds yielded healthy largemouth fishing on Senkos or on top-water lures at dawn and dusk. Customers bought up shiners for largemouths, too. Fair fishing for smallmouth bass went down on the Delaware River from Yardley to upstream. Catch Ross Marine Center in Trenton’s <a href="http://www.rossmarineservice.com/" target="_blank">2010 Delaware River Roundup Catfish Tournament</a> on Saturday, July 17. The captain’s meeting is that Friday at Harry’s.

South Jersey

Lots of small striped bass collected in the Delaware River at places including the back side of the island at National Park, around the Commodore Barry Bridge and at the Pennsville jetties, said Rick from Big Timber Bait & Tackle. Rubber curly tails, soft-plastic lures and sometimes top-water plugs dusted them up. Big catfish milled around the river. The tributaries Woodbury Creek and Rancocas Creek served up quality largemouth bass catches on soft-plastics, spinner baits and, early and late in the day, top-waters. Blackwood Lake and Newton Lake were some of the still waters for notable largemouth angling. Newton also harbored crappies, and the Cooper River attracted a bunch of big crappies. Some anglers might’ve hesitated to fish in rising temperatures, but catches were had. Stay tuned for info on Delaware River largemouth bass tournaments that Rick will announce. He hosts the events at Gloucester City Marina.

One angler and his son copped catfish at the spillway across from New Brooklyn Lake on worms, said Ed from Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle in Blackwood. They also fished at the pond at Crown Point Road in West Deptford, cranking in crappies and a 4-pound largemouth bass. Kids had fun rustling up sunnies at Puppyland Pond and the spillway across from Blackwood Lake. Not a lot of people fished in the hot weather.

Malaga Lake shoveled up crappies, largemouth bass and chain pickerel on minnows for Diana Papapietro and husband on a trip, said Lou from Sportsman’s Outpost in Williamstown. Other anglers had a good day on pickerel and largemouths at Hammonton Lake. Those were the only two waters Lou heard about, and the shop was closed during the holiday weekend.

Early mornings and late evenings really became the times to fish in the excessive heat, said Rick from Blackwater Sports Center in Vineland. Usual waters like Union Lake, Parvin Lake and Sunset Lake were spots to try for largemouth bass, but the angling was challenging in the weather. The fishing was dreadfully slow at Union at a tournament during the weekend. But if anglers are going to stalk the bucketmouths toward dawn and dusk, they should fish with top-waters, everything from Jitterbugs to Hula Poppers to rubber frogs. Smallmouth bass fishing at Lake Audrey shut down in the heat. So anglers there fished at night with drop-shot rigs to reach deep. In saltwater, Delaware Bay’s flounder fishing was good, and Rick took a trip that bagged four among 30 throwbacks.