<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Salmon, mostly kings, swam throughout the river, and most held in the upper river, said Eric from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. Still, lots remained in Lake Ontario, so more should migrate up the river. The river ran low at 335 CFS for some time now, and rains were forecast for today, but that would unlikely affect the river level. Salmon eggs, salmon egg sacks and flies caught the fish.

The river became crowded, and many fished the waters during the weekend, said Capt. Shane Thomas from <b>Salmon River Guide</b> from Pulaski. That, along with low, very clear waters, running on the low end of 335 CFS, and warm, sunny weather, made salmon fishing tougher. Good catches were drift-boated with him up to the weekend. Then the angling became more challenging, and the fish – mostly kings, and a few Cohos, steelheads and brown trout – became spooked. Still, trips hooked 10, 12 or 15 per day, while back-trolling plugs in the mornings, then fly-rodding the rest of the day. The fishing was sporadic, was the best way to put it, Shane said, because it had been good, then was affected by the crowds, then was further affected by low waters and warm, clear weather, making the angling more challenging each day. But rains were forecast for today and maybe during the weekend, and cooler weather was coming, and Shane expects the fishing to pick up. His trips fished the upper river, and with the crowds, drift boaters had to pick a spot to fish, and stay there. That somewhat left the angling up to chance. Sometimes a boat trip would luck into a good spot and have a better day than others. The salmon migration up the river seemed to run somewhat late because of low waters, and therefore might last until early November. After the salmon run, Salmon River Guide begins to fish for steelheads on the river. The steelheading remains world-class through winter.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale trolled Greenwood Lake on a solo trip Saturday, after helping a friend set up tables for the friend’s end-of-the-year largemouth bass tournament there, Dave said. But the day was hot and sunny, not a cloud in the sky, so fishing was slow, nothing bit. But Dave guided a couple on the lake Sunday on a trip that was great, he said. The couple fished for crappies and walleyes, copping a super catch of crappies, including big slabs, the size of Frisbees, fish that a hand couldn’t be gotten around. The crappies were drop-shotted on fatheads 17 to 28 feet down. Then a 3-pound 11-ounce walleye was trolled on the trip. White perch and a smallmouth bass were also trolled. Action was fairly consistent throughout the outing, and the trip was very good, and Dave was pleased about that. He’ll keep fishing for crappies and walleyes, and is also fishing for muskies. He heard from a friend during the trip who landed a 46-inch musky at Monksville Reservoir during the weekend on a figure-eighted bucktail. Musky anglers at the end of a cast often swim a lure in a figure-eight near the boat that often triggers a following musky to attack. 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.

Fall trout stocking kicked off Tuesday, and most of the streams were in good shape, ran at a good level, and some ran a little high, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Ledgewood. Lots of trout were plucked from the Pequest River on eggs, and more news should roll in as anglers get out for the stockers. Nothing was heard about the Delaware River, and Kevin was unaware about the river’s level. A buddy was scoring well on muskies at Greenwood Lake. The fish weren’t big, and Kevin thought the friend landed four of them to 10 pounds so far, but they were active. Small crank baits in chartreuse worked well, and the friend also reeled in largemouth bass.

“A nice weekend,” said Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong in an e-mail, “with several nice catches weighed in.” Anglers and their catches included: Jack Dziduch, 7-pound 12-ounce walleye, some smaller walleyes and a 3-1/2-pound chain pickerel; father and son Walter and Mateusz Lesziak, hybrid striped bass to 8 pounds, taken on livelined herring in the evening; Jerry Freeman, several “decent” stripers, Laurie said, and a 3-pound smallmouth bass; and Artie Huttemeyer, 3-pound 13-ounce white catfish. Crappies were also caught on the lake. The Knee Deep Club’s King of the Lake Tournament, “a multi-species points contest,” Laurie said, will take place Saturday and Sunday, and is open to non-members this year. Anglers can call the shop for info: 973-663-3826.

Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield won a largemouth bass tournament at Swartswood Lake during the weekend, he said. The fishing was tough, but anglers told him the bite was best late in the day. Nick’s fishing in the tournament ended at 3 p.m. At first in the contest, only three qualifying bass were boated. Nick’s partner caught two, and another angler caught one. Nick and his partner fished weed edges, casting from 15- to 17-foot depths toward 10-foot depths. Nick only hooked short bass and some chain pickerel. Then he and his partner moved toward the swimming beach, a good spot, fishing along weeds. That’s when Nick nailed three qualifying bass, winning the tournament. He, his partner and the other angler grabbed the fish on 4-inch Keitech Swing Impacts on Keitech football-shaped jigheads, and black Swing Impacts were key. A couple of anglers were seen on the lake trolling walleyes on lures 25 feet down. Nick on Monday angled up five largemouth bass at Dahnerts Lake, on 3-inch Senkos in green pumpkin. Bait was tiny at the lake. A customer on a trip, fishing Pompton Lake and Potash Lake, waters that are connected by the river there, socked northern pike on Pompton and smallmouth bass on Potash. Very good pike fishing was clubbed on the Passaic River on shiners, and smallmouth bass were occasionally crunched on the river. Trout anglers cranked in the best catches on the Pequannock River, but more should begin to be heard about trouting, now that fall stocking began Tuesday.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

One customer hit smallmouth bass on the Delaware and Raritan Canal at night on shiners on a trip, said Braden from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. An employee at the shop, float tubing on Round Valley Reservoir on a trip, trolled smallmouth and largemouth bass at the shallow rip-rap on twister tails. Catfish catches were heard about from the Millstone River. Fall trout stocking began Tuesday, and the trout streams were a little off color, but the levels were fairly good for fishing. Anglers will see how this week’s rains affect them, and news about fishing the stocking should be in for next week’s report.

The trout streams were in good shape for fall trout stocking that started Tuesday, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. Water levels were up, and the streams were crystal clear, and customers will search for the trout on the north and south branches of the Metedeconk River and the Toms and Manasquan rivers. Dennis planned to fish the South Branch of the Metedeconk that day from Hope Chapel Road. There’s plenty of parking, and the stretch of the river is easy to walk and fish, without wading. Power Baits work great there, but Dennis prefers to throw spinners, though spinners sometimes will be lost in the trees on casts. A few customers fished the lake at Pinelands Park in Manchester, a good, underfished lake for angling. Not a lot of access is available to the lake, but the waters hold good largemouth bass fishing, and decent catfishing. Lake Riviera in Bricktown served up a variety of fish this time of year: crappies, largemouths and catfish. One customer was headed to the Trilco stretch of the Toms River, located at the Parkway, named for the Trilco building supply that closed down. The customer had been punching chain pickerel there from a canoe. White perch nibbled at Trilco on nightcrawlers or grass shrimp. The anglers caught their own shrimp, because few shrimp were available at shops this time of year, and are more commonly available in colder weather, when white perching becomes especially popular. Killies, shiners, nightcrawlers, baby nights and bloodworms are stocked.

<b>South Jersey</b>

The Delaware River was back to normal, said Chris from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. The water level dropped after a long time of high waters, and some anglers whaled good catches of smallmouth bass on the river. Cabin Creek Salty Spiders worked well. Catfishing was also good on the Big D. The local lakes shoveled up healthy catches of largemouth bass. Crawfish, either plastic imitations or other imitations like pig-and-jigs, were a top producer, because of the wet season. Anglers all started to fish again this past week, after a slow down.

Largemouth bass were mainly targeted, said Dom from <b>Barracuda’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Riverside. Fishing activity began to perk up at the shop. The largemouth angling went well, and Lake Lonnie was a good place to go, though customers also fished favorite spots like the ponds in Mount Laurel. Shiners and spinners were mostly fished for the bucketmouths. Dom saw few photos of crappies, and mostly saw photos of largemouths. But crappie fishing was also good. Minnows or small artificials like Trout Magnets clocked them, and Olympia Lakes are always a place to find quality crappie fishing. The Delaware River’s flow dropped down, and anglers began to fish the waters. Everyone asked about the striper run on the river, and the Delaware sometimes give up a run in fall. Nothing overwhelming was heard about catches, but Dom heard about stripers to 24 inches landed on the river. That was a good sign, at least. Anglers fishing for them will use nearly any of the baits they fish for stripers along the coast, like clams and herring. Customers who fished the coast reported okay catches of stripers if they could get through the bluefish. But the big story this week was that fall trout stocking began Tuesday. Customers fish for the trout at Crystal and Sylvan lakes and some of the other lakes farther away, like in Pemberton. Trout stocked in fall are bigger than stocked in spring. In fall, all the stockers are big breeders. Fewer trout are stocked than in spring, but the large size is nice.

Some customers on a trip fished New Brooklyn Lake, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. The lake is always one of the best for chain pickerel catches, but the fishing was slow on the trip, though the anglers squashed good fishing for the picks on a previous trip. The time of day or something like that was probably wrong on the latest trip. Fall trout stocking began Tuesday, and waters in the northern state will be stocked this week. Local waters will be stocked next week, and will include Grenloch Lake and Oak Pond that Tuesday. See the <a href="http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/flstk.htm" target="_blank">fall trout stocking schedule</a> online.

Chain pickerel fishing was really the angling that gained attention locally, said Jim from <b>Sportsman’s Outpost</b> in Williamstown. A few customers bought nightcrawlers and minnows and tugged in pickerel from Wilson Lake. Catches were good, though the fish were small. Largemouth bass seemed reluctant to bite. Trout will be stocked locally next week on waters like Iona Lake. Iona recently was lowered for dam repairs. But the state announced that repairs are expected to be completed and the lake refilled in time for the stocking slated for next week on Wednesday.

Fishing improved, and Union Lake turned out largemouth and smallmouth bass, pretty solid catches, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Mostly soft plastics and spinner baits were fished. Nothing was heard about fishing on Lake Audrey, South Jersey’s only other waters that harbor smallmouths. A couple of good reports were heard a bout largemouth fishing on Malaga Lake. Fall trout stocking began Tuesday, and will arrive locally next week. Local waters slated to be stocked next week include Giempetro Park Pond and the Maurice River that Tuesday. In saltwater, resident, non-migrating striped bass seemed to begin to bite in Delaware Bay. 

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