New Jersey Fishing Reports

A few pods of four, five or six salmon began to be seen shooting up the river, but the season’s run of the fish was far from beginning, said Rick from All Seasons Sports in Pulaski. Only scattered salmon were seen in Lake Ontario near the river. Still, the river’s run could begin any time, and now was the moment to keep an eye on the fishing. Once the catches begin, the run will happen quickly. Four inches of rain fell, and the river ran high, about 1,000 CFS. The shop is open, fully stocked and poised for the 2010 salmon season.

PENNSYLVANIA

Delaware River anglers scored some fantastic smallmouth bass fishing before the week’s storm, said Bill from Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle in Philadelphia. Minnows were a top bait, but artificials including rubber grubs, tubes, spinners and top-water lures worked. One angler on the river at Lambertville knocked down slower catches than before but still pelted 60 smallies per trip. The bigger fish, 12- to 14-inchers, swam the main river, and the smaller ones, 4- to 6-inchers, lots of them, held along the shoreline. Smallmouth fishing farther downstream at Yardley began to improve, but most of the fish were small. One customer there hooked 50 smallies in a trip. A couple of others fished around the same area from the Route 95 Bridge to the islands, coming up with 10 to 25 smallmouths per trip. Tubers and rafters floating the river farther upstream from Frenchtown to Point Pleasant scored some of the best numbers of the bronzebacks. A couple of anglers per vessel there could land 50 to 100 per trip. One customer who fished the river farther upstream at the Delaware Water Gap picked up lots of smallies. He talked with an angler who drilled monster muskies, five of the fish 40 to 50 inches, at the Gap at night on suckers. On the streams, low waters and algae plagued lots of smallmouth fishing. One angler found the conditions made Neshaminy Creek nearly impossible to fish for smallmouths at Playwicki Park. But anglers scored well on small smallmouths at Perkiomen Creek, the best creek for the angling. A smallmouth angler who fished the Schuylkill River tangled with good catches, despite waters so warm, in the mid 80s to 90 degrees, that the river was uncomfortable to wade. On the lower Delaware River great catches of catfish 2 to 5 pounds were mopped up, and bank anglers and boaters caught them equally well. Clams, shrimp, chicken livers, nightcrawlers and bagels were best baits. The river toward Northeast Philly at Station Avenue, Linden Avenue and the Frankford Arsenal served them up. Small striped bass also came from the river at Station and the arsenal, but not at Linden. Good catches of white perch were plucked from the river at Linden and the arsenal. Bigger stripers, like 20-inchers one angler hooked, were found below the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge from shore. “Way down the river,” Bill said, lots of small stripers were played, and otherwise fishing was slow there. But anglers nabbed the stripers, fish to 18 inches, on small spots and peanut bunker they snagged for bait. Several customers said largemouth bass fishing was slow on the lower river. One on a trip reeled up four largemouths he found where baitfish schooled, but said catching them was tough. Rubber stick baits on a drop-shot rig worked for him, and crank baits and Rat-L-Traps that previously worked well for him failed to produce. Small largemouths were rounded up at Dredge Harbor at the rocks in the back on small plastic worms fished on the bottom. However, one angler farther upstream, fishing from Tullytown to the Trenton power plant, totaled nine largemouths to 3 pounds on popper lures, Spook lures and jerk shads. In still waters, a couple of anglers drilled solid fishing for largemouth bass 1 to 2 pounds, catching four to six per trip, at Lake Luxembourg at Core Creek Park. Mixed reports about largemouth fishing came from Lake Nockamixon, and some anglers there had difficulty scaring up a largemouth. But another banged out six in the dark before sunrise on small spinner baits on a trip. He had a tough time with the fishing after sunrise, catching no largemouths, though previously he caught plenty during daylight on trips. Customers who regularly fish South Jersey’s Union Lake found slow fishing the last few weeks. But others who fished North Jersey’s Spruce Run Reservoir pounded great fishing for crappies, yellow perch, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass on a couple of trips, though waters were exceptionally low.

NEW JERSEY

North Jersey

The nor’easter this week had little effect on the Delaware River near the shop, said Bill from Bill’s Bait & Tackle in Phillipsburg. The river becomes raised when rains fall in parts of New York. So the river ran low, but quite a few channel catfish were hauled out. Pat Rutledge, Phillipsburg, checked in two of the cats 5 and 7 pounds from the river. The usual smallmouth bass, small ones, could be angled from the river, and the low waters concentrate them in the pockets, making them easier to locate. Small striped bass, plenty of them, could be picked up like usual from the river, mostly on chicken livers. Nobody brought in one of the big stripers that haunt the river. But big ones are mostly caught in high waters in stormy weather. Anglers at Spruce Run Reservoir clocked crappies, after the angling had been slow a while this summer.

The rains turned waters chocolate on the lakes, and previously they were low, said Don from Ramsey Outdoor in Ledgewood. The storm should be great for fishing, should help fill up lakes and streams. He fished for largemouth bass on a small lake in Boonton Township before the storm, and the angling was difficult in low waters. Only one small bass was managed. No customers talked about fishing in the weather. One headed to the Pequest River, but Don wondered what he expected to catch. Angling after the storm should amp up.

Wasn’t much to report from the lake, except a few catches of smallmouth bass and hybrid striped bass, said Laurie from Dow’s Boat Rentals in Lake Hopatcong. Few had fished previously in the summer weather. Then the rains began this week, holding off anglers. Jim Welsh weighed in a 7-pound 3-ounce walleye.

Okay lake trout catches were made at Round Valley Reservoir in waters 75 feet down on live herring, said Steve from Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop. Fishing was okay in general, not great, still the summer doldrums. But maybe the storm this week will cool waters and help, and anglers will see after the weather in the next days. Hybrid striped bass fishing was slow at Spruce Run Reservoir except in the middle of the night. The trout streams were so low that any fish in them bunched up in the deep pockets.

Largemouth bass fishing sounded slow, because of summer conditions like warm, low waters, said Nick from Meltzer’s Sporting Goods in Garfield. Customers pre-fished for a largemouth tournament at Greenwood Lake, saying the angling was difficult. But this week’s storm, the season’s first nor’easter, held potential to improve catches. The Passaic River ran harder because of the rains, after low waters this season. The river failed to run too high, but at least the waters were moving more than before. Nick waited for anglers to test the river for fishing for smallmouth bass and northern pike, especially at night. When rains raise the river a whole lot, striped bass even swim up the waters. Before the storm, carp were the fish anglers paid attention to on the river. Low waters caused carp to gather in the deep pockets where they could be more easily targeted. The Passaic was seriously cleaned up over the years, becoming an excellent fishery when waters run higher like in spring and fall.

Central Jersey

A few smallmouth bass were claimed on trips that Burt from Efinger Sporting Goods in Bound Brook took on the South Branch of the Raritan River and the Lamington River, he said. But he mostly scoped out the waters, not fishing too hard, and more of the bronzebacks probably would’ve been caught with more effort. He fly-rodded the fish, mostly on olive Wooly Buggers. Anglers fishing with conventional tackle usually did the job with bait, mostly minnows, and sometimes popper lures. The North Branch of the Raritan River ran considerably lower than the South Branch. Chris Woodridge checked in a 4.4-pound 20-1/2-inch largemouth bass from the Raritan River. Customers saw trout feeding in the streams on blue winged olives early in the day. Burt tries to discourage anglers from fishing for the trout in the warmth, because the fish can easily die from the fight then. The storm this week could raise and cool trout waters. Customers fished for trout on the Pequest River. Looking for new pair of waders? Catch the sale on waders through the whole month of September.

Warm waters made lots of fishing challenging, but the storm should cool waters, and begin to make angling improve, said Dennis from Murphy’s Hook House in Toms River. Anglers during the heat fished at Lake Riviera from the dirt road, seeking shade, racking up a few chain pickerel and crappies, and not many largemouth bass, on shiners and killies. Pickerel were punched at the Presidential Lakes on Route 70 on shiners or killies dropped in the holes between weeds. Small pickerel 12 to 18 inches were the catch in the especially acidic waters at Lakehurst’s Lake Horicon. The cool, flowing waters in the Trilco section of the Toms River just north of the Parkway offered some of the better pickerel fishing. However, no word was heard about the angling since the storm began Monday, and rains can dirty the waters and make the river flow fast. Trilco was the name of a building supply store in South Toms River that’s no longer in business, and there’s no sign that identifies the building anymore, but locals call the stretch of river Trilco. Anglers who fished for crappies under the bridge at Forge Pond were surprised to pick up a few white perch instead, fishing with killies under a bobber. Nothing was heard about hybrid striped bass at Manasquan Reservoir, but the fish should still bite like they did before, mostly on chicken livers fished on the bottom, but some anglers trolled for them

All the rains kept many anglers from fishing, said Sean from Harry’s Army and Navy in Robbinsville. But many customers lately kept buying shiners for largemouth bass fishing at waters like Gropp’s Lake or the lakes at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area. Little was heard about smallmouth bass fishing on the Delaware River because of low waters. But maybe the storm will raise the level. Plenty of catfish could be dredged up from the river.

South Jersey

Largemouth bass fishing began to improve at the creek mouths along the Delaware River, said Rick from Big Timber Bait & Tackle in Brooklawn. The river became somewhat cooler after the hottest days of summer. The week’s nor’easter will probably help cool waters everywhere locally, also making them more oxygenated, helping fishing. The largemouths at the creek mouths were tugged up from under the docks and along the pilings, especially on PowerTeam soft plastics. Rick previously said the PowerTeam Conviction Craw, a new crawfish pattern, worked particularly well, and the stop was one of two in South Jersey stocking them. Creature baits and Senko worms also hooked up. Good fishing for catfish and carp came from the river, and small striped bass swam all around the river. Some of the lakes served up quality largemouth fishing. Rick heard about a few big ones from Oak Pond. Newton Lake’s bigmouth angling started to pick up, and Stewart Lake produced some of the fish. Good crappie fishing was copped at the lakes. In saltwater summer flounder began to depart the bays for the ocean, and angling for them became better than before at the ocean reefs and rough bottom. Croakers moved into Delaware Bay a little. Yellowfin tuna were axed at the offshore canyons when the weather was calm enough for boaters to sail. The fish practically showed up at all canyons sometime or another, and no one place held them consistently for long. Big Timber carries bait and tackle for fishing in all waters from freshwater to the bays to offshore.

Sunnies caught at Puppyland Pond, the spillway across the road from Blackwood Lake, and Greenwood Lake, fishing popular with kids, was the main angling heard about at this time of year, said Ed from Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle in Blackwood. Trout worms or meal worms fished under a bobber grabbed the hits. But Ed heard about largemouth bass pilfered at the pond at the vocational school on Cross Keys Road on rubber worms. Panfish also swim the pond.

Anglers talked about largemouth bass catches made on Alloway Lake on horny toads early and late in the day, said Todd from Blackwater Sports Center in Vineland. Fishing was slow in the summer weather for the most part. White perch fishing doled out lots off the fish in the brackish waters of the Cohansey River. Bloodworms were best bait. In saltwater, Todd joined two trips for summer flounder that consecutively bagged 9 and 10 keepers, up to 8 pounds, at the Old Grounds and Reef 11 on the ocean off Delaware. His trips fish the Old Grounds first, dragging bait. But if no winds and currents drift the boat, the trips move to Reef 11, fishing with 4- or 6-ounce bucktails at the bottom structure. The structure can be fished with bucktails when the drift isn’t too fast.