<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

The river’s steelhead fishing was okay, was good, said Capt. Shane Thomas from <b>Salmon River Guide</b> from Pulaski. The Salmon ran low at 335 CFS, and was very crowded with anglers on weekends. Getting a spot to fish was tough on weekends. But that was easier on weekdays, and the fishing was decent on weekdays, serving up 12 or 15 steelheads landed per trip for Salmon River Guide. Shane’s trips drift-boated the fish on the upper river, because of the low waters. His anglers cast beads for the catches, but other anglers fished egg sacks, and fly-rodders threw egg flies. Steelheading was good on other tributaries like the Black, Oswego and Oak Orchard rivers. Steelheads, lots, were bailed on the Salmon when waters were high for five days last week. Then the river was lowered Monday. A few salmon remained in the river, and most were “rotten,” but a few were yet to spawn out.

Mostly steelheads swam the river, and fishing for them was “on and off,” said Ben from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. Most filled the upper river, but steelheads held throughout the Salmon, and fresh ones continued to come up from Lake Ontario. A few salmon remained in the river, but not many. The steelheads were hooked mostly on beads, egg sacks or flies. The river ran at 335 CFS, and skies were often overcast, but no rains really fell, and the weather was warm for the time of year.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

 <b>North Jersey</b>

A trip Saturday slammed beautiful crappies on Greenwood Lake with <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale, Capt. Dave Vollenweider said. Plus a large musky grabbed one of the crappies that was being reeled up, letting go and swimming away when reaching the boat. Actually, a musky apparently hit one crappie and let go before the musky was seen. Then another crappie got hit by a musky, and that time the musky held on until it was seen. That musky and crappie were fought for 10 minutes on light tackle with 6-pound line meant for crappies. The trip’s crappies were waxed on fathead minnows drop-shotted 23 to 27 feet down. The lake was 53 degrees, getting cool. Anglers on three or four other boats were seen jigging, probably for walleyes. An angler at the lake on Sunday told Dave he jigged a 15-pound musky on Greenwood. Another angler on Saturday told Dave he also landed a musky. Though Dave prefers to fish with lures, cool waters seemed to make bait and jigs more effective now, and he’ll fish with what works. He did try trolling the lake Sunday, with no luck. Fish were definitely starting to move deeper because of the temps. Dave hopes to fish through the month and maybe into December before the weather becomes too harsh. Currently fishing was excellent. As waters cool, fish will swim closer to the bottom. Eventually, when fish swim a little off the bottom, seen on the fish finder, they’ll still bite, but anglers will have to put the hook right near them. When the fish finder reads fish right on the bottom, they won’t bite. Dave will keep fishing for crappies, muskies and walleyes. Muskies can tend to bite during small windows of time in fall, and anglers have to be there when they do.  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.

Trout were banked on the streams, but waters ran high, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Ledgewood. Many of the streams just weren’t dropping, but maybe they’d begin to come down toward the end of the week in mostly clearer weather that’s forecast. Levels were reportedly alright on the Pequest and South Branch of the Raritan rivers, but the Musconetcong River was supposedly blown out. But customers caught trout on worms and flies including egg patterns, small, bead-headed nymphs, and Wooly Buggers. Trout were also taken from shore on lakes like Aeroflex on small spoons and spinners. Nothing was heard about the Delaware River, but the flow surely was “out of hand,” Kevin said, from snow runoff last week and rains. Nobody talked about largemouth bass, northern pike or chain pickerel. But fishing for crappies and panfish was likely good at the lakes on tackle like small Mister Twisters.  

The Ramapo River put up trout for  customers, and a few hit the Big Flatbrook, catching trout, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. Butterworms were the popular bait, but a bunch of salmon eggs were sold for the fishing. Pink seemed the best color, and leaves on the waters kept anglers from tossing lures and spinners for trouting. Lakes and ponds will be stocked with trout for the winter stocking set to begin Monday, November 21. Passaic County’s Barbour’s Pond is slated for stocking on that Tuesday. Bergen County’s Dahnert’s Pond is usually stocked, but isn’t listed this year in the <a href=" http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/news/2011/wntrtrt11.htm" target="_blank">winter trout stocking schedule</a>. Nick planned to fish for largemouth bass today on Dahnert’s. He’ll probably fish Senko’s from the shoreline at first. If nothing bites, the bass probably moved deeper and farther from shore, so he’ll probably switch to a heavier Keitech. One lady kept buying shiners to fish the Passaic River. She was landing a few northern pike and smallmouth bass here and there. The river had been quite high from snow runoff but was starting to drop. Small striped bass were jigged farther downstream on the Passaic like around Lyndhurst and Nutley on Spros, maybe with a tail like a Mister Twister for action. Striper fishing is usually good on the Hackensack River this time of year, but nothing was heard about the river.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Customers landed trout on waters like the South Branch of the Raritan River, Ken Lockwood Gorge and the Musconetcong River, said Josh from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Water levels started to improve from high waters from snow and rains. Shore anglers at Round Valley Reservoir tugged up trout, and evenings were better. Boaters at Round Valley scored well on trout. A few customers socked smallmouth bass on the Raritan River.

One angler fished for trout, casting along the Toms River this week, rustling up two of the fish on small Rapala lures, saying the fish were fairly aggressive, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. Another fished Lake Shenandoah from the dock in the back, tying into crappies and a few yellow perch. A customer who lives at Holiday City was punching chain pickerel at the lake. The shop’s last supply of shiners for the season is in the tank, and will probably last another two weeks. Killies and nightcrawlers will be stocked the rest of the year.

Largemouth bass and chain pickerel bit at the lakes and ponds, said Eric from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. Stone Tavern and Rising Sun lakes turned out good catches at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area. Crappie fishing was very good at different lakes. Turn Mill Pond at the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area was a solid place to fish for different species, because the fish from Prospertown Lake were relocated there when Prospertown’s dam failed earlier this year. Muskies were sometimes knuckled in from Lake Mercer. Lots of smallmouth bass chewed on the Delaware River north of Trenton, including at Yardley, Bull’s Island and Frenchtown. The smallmouthing was mostly a shiner bite. Plenty of trout were plucked from the rivers in the northern state including the Musconetcong, South Branch of the Raritan and Pequest.

Largemouth bass, good catches, were crushed at Stone Tavern and Rising Sun lakes in the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, on ¼-ounce Rat-L-Traps in silver with blue or black backs, said Carl from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Crappie fishing should be starting to pick up on the different lakes. Small, 1- or 2-inch Mister Twisters or fathead minnows should hook up. The Delaware River’s flow was in good shape, and nobody talked about fishing there, but the river’s smallmouth bass fishing should be great.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Striped bass, including keepers, were licked on the Delaware River, including at Gloucester City, on bloodworms and clams, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b> in Brooklawn. Lots of big catfish milled around the river. Largemouth bass, some big ones, were smoked on Haddon Lake on shiners, and the bigger the shiners, the better. Quality catches of largemouths came from Newton Lake, Stewart Lake and the Cooper River. All waters really gave up good fishing this time of year. Crappies were copped at Haddon Lake, Wilson Lake and Bell’s Lake. Sizeable trout to 15 inches were heard about from Haddon Lake. In saltwater, striped bass  began to be boated on Delaware Bay in the 8- to 10-foot shallows, including inshore of the number 1 buoy, on bunker chunks, and at the Cape May Rips on live eels and spots. Big Timber stocks bait and tackle for fishing on all waters from lakes to bays to offshore.

Nothing was heard about trout from the fall stocking, but large, 2-year-old trout are stocked then, said Jim from <b>Sportsman’s Outpost</b>. Chain pickerel should be very active in the lakes in the cooling waters. Crappies should be on the feed for sure at Wilson Lake and other lakes. A second-hand report, unconfirmed, said yellow perch turned out good catches at Wilson.

Fishing with Rat-L-Traps and jerk baits began to come on for largemouth bass catches at the lakes, picking away at a few of the fish, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Fishing for them was fair at Union Lake, and decent reports sometimes rolled in from Rainbow Lake about the angling. Chain pickerel fishing was picking up, because the fish like cooler waters. Minnows and spinners caught them. One customer was drumming up trout from Hammonton Lake. Some hung a few trout at Iona Lake. Saltwater fishing was definitely becoming better for striped bass catches. The fish began to be bunker-chunked on Delaware Bay, and better catches than before came from places including the ocean off Ocean  City and Brigantine. The back bays shoveled up stripers. Steve boated for stripers on the ocean farther north at Barnegat Inlet on Sunday, and a tremendous population of the linesiders schooled.

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