<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Steelheads, quite a few, swam the river, and many were big, like 18 pounds, said Ben from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. Plenty of steelies held from Douglaston through the fly-fishing zone, swiping blood-sucking leeches, stone flies, sucker spawns or egg imitations. A few salmon remained in the river, and a few fresh ones, not many, traveled into the river from Lake Ontario. A decent number of brown trout ran the river. The Salmon was lowered to 335 CFS this week, and reached as high as 1,000 CFS in the past week. The weather was fairly clear from precipitation, and a few snow flurries fell so far this season, and no snow covered the ground. But a few inches covered the ground a little south.

Drift-boat trips with <b>Salmon River Guide</b> from Pulaski landed steelheads, awesome catches, on the river, Capt. Shane Thomas said. The trips mostly fished mid river, sometimes the upper river, but a large population of steelheads held throughout the Salmon. Anglers aboard fished beads on floats, but other anglers used egg sacks, and fly-rodders connected. A few salmon still swam the river. “Lots of rats,” Shane said. The salmon migration was definitely ending, but trips aboard still landed a few salmon fresh from Lake Ontario.  The river was lowered to 335 CFS this week, and that would make steelheading a little tougher. But so many filled the river that the fishing should still be good. The weather was dry, not much rain or snow.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

A 34- or 36-inch musky, not big, but thick and stocky, was nailed and released on a trip Friday on Greenwood Lake with <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale, Capt. Dave Vollenweider said. The fish pounced on a Cabala’s banana lure with a wobble meant to entice. Then the trip piled up feisty crappies from the depths on 3-inch Gulp smelts on drop shots. Live to Fish has been waxing the crappies lately. Greenwood was 58.2 degrees, relatively warm, and Dave thought the lake was yet to turnover. He’s eager for temps to drop more, because fishing should get even better then, and was already good. Live to Fish should fish for catches like crappies, muskies and walleyes through November, maybe into December. The weather can be windy and cold at times in fall, but the season is one of the best for angling. The trip was prior to the snowstorm, and 19 inches of snow fell at West Milford along the lake on Saturday. 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.

<b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Ledgewood reopened Tuesday after the snowstorm pummeled the local area Saturday, Burt said. So nothing was available to report about fishing, and most of the roads remained closed. The shop was in a brown-out, but was now opened.

Northern pike started to be punched on the Passaic River again, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. The river must’ve cooled, he said, and shiners were the bait to cast. One customer talked about catching a couple of good-sized pike on shiners free-lined with no weight. Customers who targeted the fall trout stocking mostly fished the Ramapo River, and many other trout streams ran high. Seventeen or 18 inches of snow blanketed North Jersey during the weekend. A buddy who lives on Lake Hopatcong talked about snow like that covering the area. So fishing on the lakes and streams there didn’t happen. Dahnert’s Lake, near the shop, is slated to be stocked with trout in the coming week. A few customers trolled good catches of walleyes last week on waters like Greenwood Lake.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Customers mostly fished for the fall-stocked trout on waters like the South Branch of the Raritan River, the Big Flatbrook and the Pequest River, said Josh from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. They weighed in catches like a 4.8-pound brown from the Pequest. One of the staff from the shop saw the South Branch, reporting that the flow was a little high and fast, but getting back to normal. Customers fly-rodded for the trout with patterns including nymphs and stone flies or spin-rodded for the fish with bait like Power Bait or artificials like Mepps spinners. Some customers also fished the reservoirs like Round Valley and Spruce Run for catches including trout, hybrid striped bass, walleyes, northern pike, smallmouth bass and largemouth bass.

A few anglers fished for trout that were stocked this fall, catching a few everywhere they tried, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. One totaled six trout in the past weeks, usually fishing the Metedeconk River in Lakewood, sometimes the Toms River. But now he was finished trouting, turning attention to surf fishing in this peak month for the shore angling for striped bass and blues. All the local lakes like Lake Riviera turned out catches including chain pickerel, crappies and a few largemouth bass. One angler fishing Lake Shenandoah, at the dock toward the dam, plucked largemouths, crappies and pickerel. Some weeds remained there but were dying off for the season. Largemouths could be picked up at Manasquan Reservoir for those walking the shoreline, casting Senkos or spinners. Shiners, killies and nightcrawlers are stocked.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Catches were made before the weekend’s snow! said Carl from <b>Sportsman’s Center</b> in Bordentown. The snow kept anglers from fishing, but previously they axed very good chain pickerel catches in the Pine Barrens at the small lakes and cranberry bogs, usually fishing Rapala lures or shiners. The lakes at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area shoveled up decent largemouth bassing on Rat-L-Traps. Walleyes, great catches, had been burned on the Delaware River at Scudders Falls before the weather. Rapala Countdowns in perch cleaned up.

Mostly largemouth bass and the fall stocking of trout were targeted, said Dom from <b>Barracuda’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Riverside. Lake Lonnie put up good catches of the largemouths, and Olympia Lakes served up some, and the ponds around Mount Laurel gave them up. Shiners or top-water lures like Hula Poppers or Jitterbugs were popular choices. Trout in the local area are nabbed at Crystal Lake and Sylvan Lake. Not much good was heard about the Delaware River. A few customers fished the river, but didn’t look confident about catches when they returned. A few catfish sniffed around the river, and no fall run of striped bass developed on the river that can sometimes turn on in autumn.

Trout, fall stockers, were clocked at Grenloch Lake, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. Power Bait and meal worms burned them, and trouting was supposedly slow on Oak Pond. Nothing was heard about trout from Hammonton Lake, the other popular, stocked waters for trout. One angler reportedly banked a 5-pound largemouth bass at Grenloch while fishing alongside the trouters.

A little action was heard about, said Jim from <b>Sportsman’s Outpost</b> in Williamstown. Smallmouth bass fishing went fairly well at Union Lake on live bait or crank baits. Chain pickerel and crappies were clapped at Wilson Lake on worms. Nobody, not one customer, talked about trout fishing, despite the recent fall trout stocking. But the weather was often tough, keeping anglers from getting out.

The weather, including rains and wet snow on Saturday, put a damper on fishing, causing fish like largemouth bass to become sluggish in the lakes, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. But the bass would probably start becoming active again around today. Nobody talked about fishing the fall stocking of trout since last week on waters like the Maurice River or Giampietro Park Pond. Some of the best news came from saltwater. Striped bass seemed to start arriving in Delaware Bay, and some began to get beached in the ocean surf.

Back to Top