New Jersey Fishing Reports

Plenty of smallmouth bass, with catfish mixed in, were plowed on the Delaware River, “one of the hottest places to head,” said Bill from Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle in Philadelphia. The river level was perfect, if a little off-color, and was 72 to 78 degrees, a great temp for wading anglers to cool off in the heat. Many spots on the river gave up the smallies, and minnows claimed the most, but lures including rubber grubs, tubes and top-waters were some of the best artificials. The angling at Yardley was mostly slow, but one customer hooked 25 on a trip at the stretch. Farther upstream at Lambertville, another angler landed 20 to 40 smallmouths per trip. Farther up the river, drifting from Frenchtown to Point Pleasant was one of the most productive options. The drifters totaled 40 to 70 per trip. “I can keep going on, but I think you get the point,” Bill said. The whole river below Trenton served up great angling for 1- to 3-pound catfish, and also tons of small striped bass, if anglers wanted to tangle with them at the bridges and creek mouths on bloodworms. Most catfishers dunked shrimp, chicken livers, nightcrawlers or bagels for bait. Good largemouth bass fishing was copped on the lower Delaware, and crank baits, Rat-L-Traps, rubber worms and soft-plastic lures on jigs worked best. One angler reeled up six, five and three in three trips on crank baits. Smallmouth fishing was also good at the streams. Perkiomen Creek was the best stream to catch numbers of smallmouths, mostly little ones. A customer who hit the Perkiomen at Collegeville walloped more than 100 in a trip. Several anglers who fished the creek where the Skippack, a tributary, meets the waters, beat up 50 to 70 smallies per trip. Plenty of small smallmouths were plucked from Neshaminy Creek, and Tyler State Park and Playwicki Park were two nearby places to head on the creek. A fly-rodder fished the Neshaminy at Dark Hollow Road in Bucks, below Doylestown, looking for holdover trout. Instead he found lots of smallies, including fish to 17 inches or 2 and 3 pounds, and bluegills, cracking them on streamers, wooly buggers and Clouser Minnows. Some anglers targeted smallmouths on Tohickon Creek right below Lake Nockamixon, hooking no great numbers, but sometimes sizeable bronzebacks 14 to 17 inches. Nockamixon itself put out solid largemouth bass fishing “for certain anglers,” Bill said. One of them dusted nine of the bigmouths and two pickerel on weedless frogs and rubber worms on a trip. Another put a stop to seven largemouths to 4 pounds in a couple of days along the dam on Arkie jigs. Several customers told Bill largemouth bass fishing was good at Lake Luxembourg at Core Creek Park, saying loads of bluegills also tore up the waters. One picked up largemouths 2 to 4 pounds on his last couple of trips. Another rubber-wormed four hefty largemouths on a trip to the lake. Both talked about the waters teeming with bluegills, one having fun jigging them, the other saying the panfish kept nipping his rubber worms meant for bass. Big bucketmouths 3 to 5 pounds pounced in the lakes at the Penn Warner Club.

NORTH JERSEY

The heat made angling slow on a couple of trips, said Capt. Dave Vollenweider from Live to Fish Guide Service from Montvale. A trip to Lake Hopatcong with his nephew only produced one largemouth bass and one sunfish, and they fished hard throughout the middle of a hot day. Largemouth fishing might’ve been challenging in the heat for many. But a friend who’s a pro bass angler competed in a tournament in one of the local lakes, maybe Hopatcong, though Dave was unsure. Participants pummeled good catches to the winning weight of 14 pounds for five fish. Some big ones were yanked in. Dave gave musky fishing a shot at Echo Lake last week, and he did raise a large one, a 4-footer, the first time he saw a large musky in a while in this heat. He made a classic mistake, he said. When his Golden Perch Sledge lure was almost reeled to the boat, he looked away. When he looked back at the plug, the big musky was following his lure! He tried doing a figure-eight with the lure that is often a sure-fire method to trigger a strike from a follower near the boat, with no luck. He quickly picked up another rod with a 6-inch Jake lure from Musky Mania Tackle, and the fish moved in on the lure but failed to attack. Conditions were perfect for the fishing: An overcast day with no rains, a little winds and some chop on the waters. A friend who’s been fishing Echo for muskies had no hook ups recently. Dave has usually scored good musky fishing in August, but this summer’s been so hot. He’ll keep fishing for them, but a break in the hot weather that should come soon would help. Dave did no fishing for walleyes that he’s been doing in the middle of the night at the lakes but will continue that angling, too. Even if walleye fishing might be slower in this weather, that’ll change, and the marble eyes could keep feeding well through September and even October. Practically all freshwater fishing will gain steam as cooler weather and fall come. 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.

A few big striped bass were checked in at Bill’s Bait & Tackle in Phillipsburg, according to the list on the shop’s Web site. The fish were Tyrone Smull from Easton’s 18-pound 4-ouncer, Gary Carita from Phillipsburg’s 17-pounder and Jerry Marra from Easton’s 15-pounder. Catches of 28- or 29-inchers were more common, but anglers typically release them, looking for larger ones, Bill from the shop said. All the bass around both these sizes – large and not as large – are usually eeled on the river. Low light like at dusk or especially at night, and rough weather that stirs up the waters, are best. But handle the bass with care in the warm waters that can quickly cause them to die from a fight that’s too strong. Bill heard little about small stripers landed on the river. But that could be because anglers seek bigger bass, don’t talk about the smaller ones that are typically common in the river in summer. John Viscomi from Phillipsburg hauled a 10-ound 12-ounce channel catfish from the river, earning him a New Jersey Skillful Angler Award. No invasive flathead cats were checked in from the river, though one a week was weighed in during most recent weeks. Still, Merritt Ebner, 13, from Palmer Township muscled up a 32-pound 8-ounce flathead during a catfish contest at Indian Creek in Danielsville, Pa. Smallmouth bass, little ones, swam all over the Delaware River, and now was the time to catch them, because the pockets that the low waters create concentrate the fish for anglers. Anglers could almost walk across the river. Fishing was mostly slow at Merrill Creek Reservoir in the hot weather, but two catches were weighed in from the impoundment: James Small from Easton’s 4-pound lake trout and Clinton Bentley from Greenwich Township’s 5-pound 10-ounce largemouth bass. Not much was heard about Spruce Run Reservoir except about low waters there. Last but not least, Isaiah Shearin from Phillipsburg checked in a 3-pound rainbow trout from the Musconetcong River.

Don from Ramsey Outdoor in Ledgewood fished at a lake in Boonton Township with his 6-year-old son, he said. Lots of yellow perch and three sizeable largemouth bass were clocked. Don likes to fish with artificials and worked Senko worms and Keitechs. But his son, fishing with nightcrawlers tossed 20 feet from shore, out-fished him by far. When Greg from the shop fished for smallmouth bass on the Delaware River, he found spotty angling, hooking alright catches on one trip and hardly any on another. No news was heard about other waters like Lake Hopatcong in the weather. The trout streams were too low for fishing, and Don saw the Rockaway River a couple of times, and waters were down. Customers bought flies for fishing but for vacations. A number of anglers stopped by on Wednesday for trips to Alaska.

Not much to report about the lake in the hot weather, said Laurie from Dow’s Boat Rentals in Lake Hopatcong. A few hybrid striped bass were angled here and there, and sometimes smallmouth bass and crappies were bonked. Catch the Knee Deep Club’s catfish tournament on the lake Saturday and Sunday. “Make a date with your buddies,” Laurie said in last week’s report. “It’s usually a fun time.” Anglers can call the shop for info: 973-663-3826.

Low, warm waters seemed to cause difficult largemouth bass fishing during a tournament that Nick from Meltzer’s Sporting Goods in Garfield competed in. Held at a reservoir in New York, the tournament put anglers on only two bass large enough to qualify, and only a 1-pound 2-ounce winner. Nick landed 20 largemouths but no keepers, and some of the fish were 3 and 4 inches. The water level was down 8 feet, and boulders and structure stuck out of the waters that he never saw before. He mostly fished with Senko worms but also used Keitech Swing Impacts and Spiders. The slow angling because of the weather seemed common at lakes, with some exceptions. A friend won a bass tournament at Pompton Lakes with a total weight of 13 pound 4 ounces for five fish. A couple of participants familiar with the waters did well, but the rest did not. Another friend won a tournament at Connecticut’s Candlewood Lake with a total weight of 11 pounds, if Nick remembered, and his catch included a 4.46-pounder. Closer to the shop, the Passaic River runs low in summer, but carp gave up action there. This was about the only news in the weather.

Rainbow trout fishing shoveled out the only substantial catches at Round Valley Reservoir because of the warmth, said Steve from Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop. Boaters tied into the trout in the late evenings and at night on any small baits like nightcrawlers or meal worms. Hybrid striped bass fishing was almost the only angling to connect at Spruce Run Reservoir, where the surface temp was 84 to 85 degrees. Anglers fished for them in the middle of the night, including with livelined herring. But catches of channel catfish were also drummed up from Spruce, another one of the bright spots in fishing. Live herring are difficult to obtain but are stocked when available, and shiners are on hand.

Central Jersey

Two anglers who work at the shop fly-rodded lots of smallmouth bass on the South Branch of the Raritan River at Neshanic, said Nick from Efinger Sporting Goods in Bound Brook. They cast wooly buggers and streamers, saying other anglers who livelined minnows mopped up the catches, too. Nick had been away on vacation, heard little about local fishing, but he tackled largemouth bass, small ones, on small spinner baits at a farm pond. Trout fishing on the streams was slow in the heat. Friends reeled in a few, maybe one or two per trip. If releasing the trout, handle them with care, or they’ll die in the warm waters. They can be guaranteed to die in the warmer waters, so either catch to keep or find the cooler waters to release.

Fishing at Manasquan River was tough in the heat, except for hybrid striped bass and a few catfish, both along the bottom, said Dennis from Murphy’s Hook House in Toms River. Largemouth bass anglers at the rez jabbed a few of the bucketmouths on the bottom on 7-1/2-inch rubber worms. Customers who fished in the deep at Lake Riviera from the dirt road hung mostly chain pickerel and a few crappies. Not many largemouth bass were belted anywhere because of the high temps and sun. Chain pickerel made up most of the catches at Presidential Lakes, apparently because the heat increased acidity in the cedar waters. Fishing for bluegills at the Ocean County College pond was one of the most active fisheries in the weather. Families with kids often plied the pond. Shiners and killies, both a top choice for bait, including for all the pickerel around, are stocked.

Customers stopped by who looked to angle for catfish on the Delaware River, said Frank from Harry’s Army and Navy in Robbinsville. He heard nothing about the catfishing, but the whiskerfaces should be able to be clubbed from the river. Smallmouth bass fishing should be hopping on the river north of Lambertville. The river wasn’t high, and no substantial rains fell that would raise the depths. That bode well for the angling, because catches are made most often when waters are low enough to form pools that corral the smallies. Many anglers bought shiners for largemouth bass fishing. Fishing deep and cold waters seemed key for the lunkers at places including Round Valley Reservoir and the lakes at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area.

South Jersey

Much talk in this report was about slower fishing because of the warmth. But the Delaware River’s largemouth bass angling was in full gear, said Rick from Big Timber Bait & Tackle in Brooklawn. Anglers cast in the creek mouths on the river at docks and pilings, mugging the bass. The mouths of Woodbury and Raccoon creeks were some of the waters. Cooper River anglers picked away at small largemouths. Rick also heard about catches of largemouths at lots of lakes, and soft-plastics were a favorite to fish. The PowerTeam Conviction Craw, a new crawfish pattern, worked excellent, and Rick believes the shop was only one of two in New Jersey carrying the hard-to-find bait. Rubber frogs were another choice, and the Spro frog is a quality one. Crappies were snatched from usual waters like Wilson Lake and Grenloch Lake. Fishing in saltwater socked summer flounder that still remained in Delaware Bay off Fortescue. Wrecks, reefs and lumps in the ocean also turned out the flatties. Lots of croakers schooled the bay off Cape May Point. Hardly any weakfish swam the bay. Kingfishing was spotty in the surf. Anglers found plenty one day and none the next. Tuna fishing was best at the northern canyons, and white marlin were fairly abundant around the canyons. Big Timber stocks bait and tackle for fishing on all waters from freshwater to bays to offshore.

Several largemouth bass 1 to 4 pounds were pulled from Grenloch Lake on shiners, said Ed from Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle in Blackwood. Some were also angled from Blackwood Lake. Those fish weighed from 1 ½ pounds to 6-year-old Steve Skaller’s 4.8-pounder, a great catch for the young angler. Largemouths were cranked up from the pond at the vocational school on Cross Keys Road. Tim who works at the shop and his son tugged in 1-pounders, not big, from the pond during a late afternoon. Families with kids could always see action with sunnies at Puppyland Pond and the spillway across the road from Blackwood Lake on baits like meal worms under a bobber.

Those who stopped by Sportsman’s Outpost in Williamstown mostly bought worms and minnows, probably to sit at the lakes with the kids for panfish, pickerel and maybe largemouth bass, Lou said. Panfish like sunnies will pounce on worms like nightcrawlers or meal worms. Pickerel and maybe an occasional bass will jump on minnows. Saltwater anglers kept busting summer flounder, lots of shorts, an occasional keeper, on Delaware Bay off Fortescue. Big sharks, probably including sand tigers, Lou guessed, haunted the bay. He wasn’t asked about a specific location, but the southern bay toward Cape May is a traditional area. A chunk of bait like bunker on a wire leader could draw them in. The shop carries freshwater baits and frozen saltwater baits.

No fishing really came alive in the heat, but a club who fished the Salem Canal axed respectable catches of largemouth bass on soft-plastic lures and jigs-and-pigs, said Steve from Blackwater Sports Center in Vineland. The canal is usually a better spot for the bigmouth angling in the summer temps. Steve actually heard two solid reports about catches of smallmouth bass, a cold-water species, at Lake Audrey, one of two lakes harboring smallies in South Jersey. Union Lake is the other. The anglers were tight-lipped about the smallmouth fishing, including about what they used to catch. But Steve would guess drop-shotting should work. Some anglers talked about scoring well on white perch at the brackish ditches and the Cohansey River. The perch fishing always can be some of the more successful angling in summer. In saltwater summer flounder fishing might’ve begun to taper off for the season in Delaware Bay. Kingfishing “took hold,” Steve said, in the surf along the ocean. Many customers bought frozen bunker for crabbing. Steve was unaware how they fared, but this time of year is one of the best for catching the blueclaws.