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New Jersey Freshwater Fishing Report 10-19-11


<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Awesome catches were banked on the river, said Ben from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. Tons of fish – mostly king salmon but also Coho salmon, steelheads and brown trout – filled the river. They swam the entire length of the river, swiping nearly any of the usual bait and flies. But egg flies, Wooly Buggers, blood-sucking leaches, Comets and various stoneflies worked best. The river ran at 335 CFS, but probably at 460 at Pineville, though Ben hadn’t checked. After a season of hardly any rains, rains somewhat fell recently, creating a bit of runoff, but not much. Ben thought the river had flowed as much as 466 CFS, so he guessed the river was currently near the high 450’s at Pineville.

Salmon fishing was okay on the river, and more and more steelheads showed up in the waters, said Capt. Shane Thomas from <b>Salmon River Guide</b> from Pulaski. Steelheads will winter in the river, giving up a world-class fishery then, before they spawn in spring, then drop back into Lake Ontario. Currently mostly king salmon held in the river, and some Coho salmon were around. Big kings sometimes bit, and a 35-pounder was crushed with Salmon River Guide. Many of the fish swiped plugs on Shane’s drift-boat trips. The lower river was full of lots of salmon, many of them spawning in the gravel. A bunch of rains fell, but the river only raised a couple of inches. The flow had been 335 CFS, and now was 450, and rains, not a lot, but some, kept falling, so Shane expected that to keep the flow up a little. The river ran low, like throughout this season, but held enough waters to keep a flow going.  Lots of leaves filled the river, and strong winds blew, keeping the leaves falling.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Strong winds blew throughout the weekend, and Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale stayed off the waters in 20- to 30-knot winds Saturday, he said. Winds had been forecast to diminish Sunday, but kept blowing instead. But a trip aboard with Dave with a grandfather, son and grandson fished Greenwood Lake that day. The anglers, who wanted fish to eat, nailed crappies down 20 to 27 feet along a steep, irregular slope off the shoreline, on drop shots, mostly with fathead minnows. Dave filleted up the fish for them. The anglers also fished with a few worms on the drop shots, and one of the worms whacked a 3-1/2-pound walleye. Dave had thought a walleye might snatch a worm. So the anglers enjoyed the trip, a good one, Dave said, and the fishing probably would’ve been even better without the winds. Winds made drifting over the fish-holding structure challenging. Autumn can bring rougher weather, but can also offer some of the best fishing of the year. Few boats fished the lake, and Dave liked that about autumn, too. Greenwood was 61 degrees, relatively warm, and when the temps dip to the 50s, fishing could become especially good, as the fish fatten up for winter. The lake was yet to turn over. Cold weather and winds sustained a long time, like a week, are needed to turn over a lake. Then the top of the lake mixes with the bottom, until all the depths become about the same temperature. That’s turn over. Then the fish tend to swim all over the water column, not just along the thermocline like now. When the lake holds different temps or a thermocline, anglers say the lake is stratified. Fishing is usually slow a moment when turn over happens, and some say the waters smell like sulfur, because of the bottom waters reaching the top. The trip was the grandson’s first-ever fishing outing. The anglers also landed a smallmouth bass, a small one, when the trip dipped into North Creek a moment. Then the group ate lunch, sailing back onto the lake for more crappie fishing afterward. On Saturday, when Dave stayed off the waters because of winds, a couple of friends fished Monksville Reservoir, scoring three follows from muskies. Live to Fish is also musky fishing. Crappies, walleyes and muskies are some of the main fish on tap at the moment. Dave will fish as long as possible into the year, until the weather closes in. Last year he fished into December, and hopes to do so again.  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.

Trouters reeled in big breeders like should come from the streams from the fall stocking, said Burt from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Ledgewood. The fall stocking that began last week is supposed to release larger trout. Customers mostly fished for them on the Pequest River, but some hit the Rockaway River. One customer reported seeing landlocked salmon stocked at Lake Aeroflex and Lake Waywayanda. Nothing was heard about Lake Hopatcong. Many customers geared up for trips for salmon on upstate New York’s Salmon River.

After last week’s stocking, customers bailed trout, loads, on the Ramapo River, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. Most were hooked on butter worms, baby nightcrawlers and pink salmon eggs. Fatheads minnows worked so-so on the fish. The fall stocking is known for big trout, and the fish seemed especially large on the Ramapo. Customers also talked about trout catches on the Paulinskill River and the Big Flatbrook. Those three seemed mostly “the ticket,” Nick said. Not much was heard about largemouth bass, and most bass anglers seemed to be winding down for the season. Nick’s final bass tournament of the season will take place this weekend on Monksville Reservoir. But Nick caught largemouths on Dahnert’s Lake on 3-inch Senkos, and the fish seemed to move deeper, a few feet farther from shore, than before. He’s been angling largemouths, small ones, but lots, there in the last weeks, talked about in previous reports. Not many customers fished for northern pike on the Passaic River, but a few, not nearly as many as before, bought large shiners, the go-to bait, for the fishing. Three inches of rains are supposed to fall this week, so anglers will see how that affects the river’s flow.

Shoreline fishing for trout went well at Round Valley Reservoir, said Jodie from <b>Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop</b>. Mostly browns and rainbows were crunched, mostly on Power Bait and/or meal worms. Fishing was slow on Spruce Run Reservoir.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Some bigger trout were socked on the North Branch of the Raritan River, said Braden from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Customers showed off photos of the fish, and one customer showed a shot of an 18-inch smallmouth bass he livelined on a shiner on the Raritan. Some of the trout streams ran a bit high, but all were likely fishable. The Delaware River ran a little high. Boaters on Round Valley Reservoir decked sizeable rainbow trout on freelined shiners. Rumors talked about hybrid striped bass honked on Spruce Run Reservoir, even from the shoreline.  

A few customers fished for trout stocked last week in the Manasquan River, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. Just a few trout were copped, and the angling wasn’t great. Powerbait nabbed most, and storms and rains this year created deep holes in the river. Trouting on the Metedeconk River in Lakewood was off to a slow start, all customers who fished there said. They netted one or two per trip, and Power Bait caught more than spinners and worms did, though some anglers fished spinners and worms. An angler and his son were fishing at the lake at Pineland Park in Manchester, tackling largemouth bass on shiners. Chain pickerel remained active in the Toms River at Trilco, the building supply that closed down near the Parkway. Fishing for the water wolves just kept getting better with the cooler weather. A few yellow perch were picked at Trilco on nightcrawlers on the bottom. Shiners, killies, nightcrawlers and garden worms are stocked.

Fishing on the lakes was definitely perking up for catches of all species like largemouth bass and chain pickerel, as waters cooled, said Chris from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. The waters at Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area served up very good catches. Smallmouth bass fishing became excellent on the Delaware River from Frenchtown to downstream. The river’s flow was getting back to normal after flooding this season, and catfishing was also improving there.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Lake fishing was good for largemouth bass, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b> in Brooklawn. The fish attacked anything from top-water lures to soft plastics. The largemouthing was tremendous on Haddon Lake, and was solid on Newton Lake, and a few of bucketmouths came from Blackwood Lake. Crappies, quality catches, were creamed on the Cooper River and Wilson Lake. Plenty of catfish milled around the Delaware River, and a few striped bass, including a few keepers, were licked on the river from River Winds to the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. Saltwater fishing was slow, but anglers waited for the migration of striped bass that should be impending along the coast. Stripers were knocked around in the northern state, but they might’ve been resident, young, non-migrating fish getting active in the cooler season. The migration might’ve been yet to reach the state. Rick joined a trip on the ocean with two other experienced anglers, and only two blackfish and two blues were landed. No bait, no birds, no fish, and the waters were dirty from rough weather. But surf anglers found kingfish swarming all over, no matter the weather. They just had to determine the right time for the bite, and fished with bloodworms or clams. Big Timber stocks tackle and bait for fishing on all waters from lakes to bays to offshore.

Trout were stocked Tuesday at Grenloch Lake, and customers caught them, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. A meal worm with Power Bait on the same hook lined up bites. Other waters that were probably stocked included Oak Pond and Hammonton Lake. They’re usually stocked around the same time.

Customers started to fish more frequently, and catches of chain pickerel and largemouth bass were reported, said Jim from <b>Sportsman’s Outpost</b> in Williamstown. Wilson and Franklinville lakes gave them up on minnows or nightcrawlers. Anglers seemed to choose live bait more often than before. Local waters were being stocked with trout Tuesday and today. Iona Lake was slated to receive the fish today.

Good fishing for smallmouth bass was tied into at Union Lake, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Anglers piled them up on a mix of offerings including top-water lures, jerk baits, drop shots and tubes. Trout were scheduled to be stocked at local waters like the Maurice River and Giampetro Park Pond on Tuesday. Nothing had been heard about catches so far, but anglers stopped in to gear up for trout fishing. Resident striped bass punched Rat-L-Traps on the tidal Maurice. In open saltwater, a few blues were beaten on  Delaware Bay and the ocean. The season was probably slightly early for the migration of stripers to the bay and ocean. But catches of them will probably begin to be heard about in the coming week. The time of year was right, and cooler weather forecast for the coming days won’t hurt.

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