<b>North Jersey</b>

Phil DelZotto from Mahway fished Saturday to Sunday on one of the overnight trips for walleyes with <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale, Capt. Dave Vollenweider said. Three walleyes, including a 7-pounder, were crushed on the classic Rapala Original Floater lure in size F18, a 7-incher, and one got off. The fish were axed along a deep drop-off among tons of herring that schooled. Three smallmouth bass and a couple of rock bass were also hooked. Top-water lures were also fished a moment, but with the walleyes blowing up on incredible numbers of herring, the top-waters were unlikely to be noticed. The baitfish began flipping along the water surface, and the walleyes started crashing them, only around 12 midnight to 2 a.m., when waters finally calmed from the day’s boat traffic. The trip arrived at the lake at 8:30 p.m., and rolling waves pounded the shoreline from the traffic. The seas took hours to calm, and that’s why Live to Fish hunts walleyes at night on the lakes. Multi-use lakes like Greenwood get drilled by pleasure boaters and water skiers during the daytime. But the lake changes in the middle of the night, and the fish come out in the calm dark. Plankton first rise to the shallows. Then herring follow, feeding on the plankton. Then walleyes swim to the skinny waters from the deep, slamming the herring along the surface. Then the big, heavy fish, most of them probably 5 pounds or larger, can be hammered on cast lures, great sport. In the morning, when the sun begins to rise, the cycle reverses, and the plankton, herring and walleyes slip back into the deep. Another, smaller baitfish flips along the surface toward morning, but walleyes already disappear by then. The trip the next morning tried trolling to reach the fish in the depths, but nothing bit. Walleye fishing was probably peaking, and the waters were perfect for the angling. Greenwood was 75 to 76 degrees, and Dave has caught walleyes along the surface at night in 80-degree waters. When the lakes become warmer in summer, the fish are trolled, so the lures reach down to the edge of the thermocline, where the baitfish and walleyes gather. The fishing is all about the bait. The shallower, New Jersey end of Greenwood Lake was already dirty and foul from the warm weather, and broken up mats of weeds from boating filled the waters there. The deeper, New York end of the lake was fine. Live to Fish is also currently muskie fishing, and this was also probably prime time for that angling, before waters warm too much. A big musky was slammed on a trip aboard the previous weekend, and one was lost, covered in the last report. When the trip trolled on this weekend’s trip in the morning, a lure was swum in the prop wash for a chance at a musky, though none bit. Other lures were trolled on planers to search deeper for walleyes. Dave soon will take a vacation to the Ottawa River, trophy musky waters, one of the top five in the world. Muskies on the Ottawa must be 56 inches to keep them. Muskies are wild on the Ottawa, in contrast with New Jersey, where few reproduce. A catch is never guaranteed in fishing for muskies, the fish of 10,000 casts. Dave, who loves musky fishing more than any angling, surely might not land a musky on the trip. But the chance to latch into the biggest fish in a lifetime is the reason anglers chase them.  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.

One of the crew from the shop hit the Delaware River to try for smallmouth bass, said Don from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Ledgewood. Smallies should be getting active, and the angler, fishing from a kayak, did land a few, but shad that gathered by the hundreds in pools were most notable. The river was becoming low for the season, so the shad were stuck in the pools, Burt guessed. The angler tried for the shad, and none bit. A few were snagged. For trout anglers, the Big Flatbrook reportedly produced very good catches on usual summertime patterns like nymphs. Sometimes sulfur dry flies hatched along the trout streams in the evenings. Many customers became interested in fishing for largemouth bass, since the catch and release season ended last Thursday, or the bucketmouths could be kept starting then. The customers bought lots of top-water lures, frogs, Hula Poppers and Jitterbugs, usual choices during this warm time of year. But they also bought standard choices like Senko worms and Yamamoto creature baits. Not much was heard about results of the angling, only that people headed out for the fish.

A mixed bag of fish came from the lake through the week, said Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong. Anglers worked top-water lures at night, hooking walleyes and hybrid striped bass. Kris Kupiec beat both fish on Bombers. His walleyes weighed up to 7 pounds, and most of the lake’s stripers weighed 5 to 7 pounds. Clint Myers checked in a 3-pound 4-ounce smallmouth bass from the lake. The Knee Deep Club’s annual Stu Lant Contest will take place this weekend on Hopatcong. For info, anglers can call the shop at 973-663-3826 or visit the club’s Web site.

Forty largemouth bass were landed on a private lake when Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield fished for them there Sunday, he said. A Wacky Jack, from Case Plastics, newly stocked at the shop, walloped the fish for him. Phenomenal, Nick said. The rubber worm, fished wacky style, looks like a Senko, but tapers off skinnier at both ends, creating lots of action. A customer used Wacky Jacks to bail 15 largemouths apiece at the two ponds at Stokes State Forest on a trip this week. Nick scoped out Barbour Pond for a huge largemouth bass, potentially record-breaking, like 12 pounds, that anglers lately said they saw, but couldn’t catch, on the pond, mentioned here in the last report. He actually searched with binoculars from a 15- or 20-foot ledge, but the day was overcast, creating a reflection on the waters that was difficult to penetrate. But Nick intends to fish for the lunker a couple of mornings soon. Nick, a tournament largemouth angler, carries binoculars on trips. When another angler catches, he tries subtly to binocular the angler, seeing what the angler is fishing with. Nick will motor up to the spot when the angler leaves, marking the area on GPS. It all helps, Nick said, though too much information can also hinder, making an angler’s head spin, he added. Customers still pulled trout from Barbour on fathead minnows. A couple of customers fished for largemouths at Lake Hopatcong, saying the fishing was good along the docks on jigs. On the Passaic River, northern pike fishing seemed “eh,” Nick said. Anglers religiously bought shiners to fish for the pike, and they caught. Just that the fishing no lounger sounded spectacular like earlier this season.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Customers banked trout on the Musconetcong River on small nymphs, said Burt from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Others hung trout from the South Branch of the Raritan River on zebra midges, Copper Johns and brassies. They fished south of Ken Lockwood Gorge, or between there and Clinton, he believed. Sulfur and Light Cahill dry-fly hatches were sometimes heard about from trout streams. Water levels flowed up and down, rising from thunderstorms, dropping back down, on the streams. One angler reported good smallmouth bass fishing on the South Branch at Neshanic. Another was headed to the Delaware River for smallmouths. This was the time of year when smallie fishing kicks off in the rivers. Good catches of largemouth bass were reported from the ponds. A big largemouth whacked a fly that one of the shop’s staff fished on a pond near Clinton. Largemouths seemed active. The angler was able to stick his whole hand in the fish’s mouth to remove the fly.

Largemouth bass and chain pickerel reeled from Lake Riviera on shiners was most of the talk from freshwater anglers at the shop, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. Jeff this time of year usually fishes on Winding River, tugging in largemouths, pickerels and sunnies on shiners, or, for the largemouths, he fishes rubber worms, wacky style. Pickerel should be able to wrestled from the Toms River at Trilco. Trilco was a building supply that closed down, but locals know the stretch of river by that name, and the stretch is located around the Parkway Bridge. Big carp to 15 and 20 pounds swam the stretch. They had been spawning, not biting. But the spawn could be finished, and anglers fish for them with baits like corn, dough balls or store-bought carp baits. Bluegills, largemouths, sunnies, pickerel and catfish, a good variety, could be landed at the Ocean County College pond. Lake Shenandoah is another place giving up a variety like that. Nothing was heard about largemouth bass fishing on Manasquan River that previously sounded fairly busy.

<b>South Jersey</b>

The Delaware River’s smallmouth bass fishing was going off, said Chris from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. Unbelievable, he said. The fish jumped on chartreuse buzz baits and Zara Spook Puppy lures. Largemouth bass were clobbered all around, including at Carnegie, Farrington, Etra and Prospertown lakes, and the lakes at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area. Big largemouths were heard about from the farm ponds. Largemouths pounced in the Delaware River, for sure. Shiners were sold like wild for largemouth fishing, and extra-large shiners are stocked. Fishing for bowfins was good at the lakes that hold them. Muskie fishing got very active at Mercer Lake. For saltwater anglers, fluke fishing was prime time, and a few big, migrating striped bass remained.

Mostly largemouth bass were targeted, said Don from <b>Barracuda’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Riverside. The fishing started becoming a little slow in warm weather that made the fish sluggish. But the bass were still caught, usually on something like rubber worms rigged wacky style, fished along the bottom. Carolina-rigged worms were popular earlier in the season. The bass currently seemed to move toward the bottom in the heat, and anglers seemed to need to work the depths for the bites with something like a wacky rig to tease the fish. Olympia Lakes seemed to give up some of the better bassing. The fishing seemed mostly slow on Lake Sooy. Lake Lonnie produced, but dusk was key. Catfishing on the Delaware River was also popular, typical in summer. Cats will bite almost no matter the summery weather. Saltwater-types of baits like salted clams, shrimp or even bunker can draw in a bite. Smelly baits will attract them. Commercial catfish baits like dough baits, stink baits or tube baits, like from Uncle Josh or Magic Baits, will catch.

Largemouth bass were sometimes caught from Grenloch Lake and Blackwood Lake, said Tim from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. Minnows, shiners and top-water lures knocked down the rods. A big snakehead, an invasive species, that was checked in last week from Blackwood Lake, covered in the last report, was the only snakehead Tim heard about so far, so that was good. The government encourages anglers to kill snakeheads if caught, because the species can take over waters from native fish. Some big chain pickerel were talked about that were taken from the local ponds. No details were heard, but pickerel seemed aggressive. Big catfish were clocked along the Delaware River and Big Timber Creek. Customers kept buying mackerel for the fishing. But they also picked up large shiners for cats.

Wilson Lake churned up chain pickerel and small largemouth bass, said Jim from <b>Sportsman’s Outpost</b> in Williamstown. Yellow perch were also socked there. Plus all three fish were hung from all the local lakes, none doling them out better than another, really. Mostly live bait or minnows and nightcrawlers were fished for the picks and perch. But some of the largemouth anglers threw lures at the lily pads, and the bass exploded on the plugs.

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