<b>North Jersey</b>

Not much was heard about smallmouth bass fishing on the Delaware River, and high waters blew out the river last week, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Ledgewood. But if the river is down, surely the smallmouths are snapping, and the ripples, fast waters, will hold them. Try working a ¼-ounce Gamakatsu grub jig in the fast wasters, and Kevin scores well on watermelon with red flake. One angler from the shop banked five rainbow trout on the Pequest River upstream from the spillway on yellow Trout Magnets. A buddy pounded good fishing for largemouth bass at Lake Hopatcong on purple crawls while power-drop-shotting. At night on the lake, hybrid striped bass swiped livelined herring, and walleyes smacked Jitterbugs.

 Lots of hybrid striped bass attacked livelined herring off the lake’s points, said Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong in an e-mail. Tony Farina nailed his biggest-ever, a 9-pound 4-ouncer, off Elba Point. Robert Muraszewski and Mike Kotara scored hybrids 5 to 9 pounds. Jim Welsh weighed in 7- and 8-pound hybrids. “Still some nighttime action with top-water lures catching hybrids and walleyes,” Laurie said. Bomber lures, Knuckleheads and Zara Spooks gained most action. For largemouth bass and pickerel, fish the docks and weed beds. Look for panfish in shallower waters this time of year. Smallmouth bass and crappies were copped on small herring or jigs. “Larger herring also available for fluke fishing,” Laurie said.

A buddy drop-shotted eight largemouth bass totaling 22 pounds at Lake Hopatcong around Bed Bug Island, winning a tournament, a good day, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. Another friend competed in a largemouth tournament at Swartswood Lake, and the fishing was tough. All the entrants caught, but the winning five-bass total weighed only 8 pounds. So the fish were small. Most were hung in the early morning on top-waters. Senko worms hooked the fish in the middle of the day for the anglers. Nick, a largemouth tournament angler, and partner fished for the bass on a private lake in Vernon that Nick frequents, totaling 25 largemouths. Nick cracked his mostly on Senko worms on a 4/0 Gamakatsu Finesse wide-gap hook, mostly fished wacky style. But he landed a few on Senkos that were Texas-rigged with no weight, and a few on Wacky Jacks, a Senko-style worm. Nick’s been loving the Wacky Jacks, because the worms are tapered at both ends, instead of being a single diameter for the whole worm, giving the Wacky Jacks great action. But the Wacky Jacks sink slowly, and he wanted to sink the worms better on the trip. Nick’s partner caught nearly all his bass on 4-inch Keitech Swing Impacts. Trout were tackled on the Wanaque River on butterworms, like Nick reported they were last week. The river ran ridiculously high and unfishable during spring, but now was very fishable. Plus hardly anyone trout fished this time of year. So the fishing was going off. Northern pike were banked on the Passaic River on livelined shiners. No specific area seemed best, and anglers just walked along the shore, kept moving.   

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Somewhat good reports were heard about smallmouth bass fishing on the Lamington River, said Amy from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Waters sounded low and warm. Nobody mentioned smallie fishing on the Raritan River. Streams were warm for trout fishing, and some anglers might target trout during cool times like early mornings. But trouters would be concerned about stressing the fish in the warmth that can kill them quickly.

Customers mostly bought nightcrawlers to take the kids fishing for bluegills that remained plenty active in the heat, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. They smoked the fish at place like the Ocean County College pond and Lake Riviera. Carp gave up super action at the O.C. pond and the Toms River at Trilco, the building supply that closed down near the Parkway Bridge. A few anglers fished at Manasquan Reservoir. Good catches of hybrid striped bass were trolled or baited with chicken livers there. Largemouth bass there were hooked in 15- to 18-foot depths on rubber worms bounced along the bottom. The fish mostly pushed off from the shoreline because of heat and sun. Largemouth fishing in general was a little tough on the different waters because of that. Early mornings, evenings and at night were times to go for them. Nightcrawlers and killies are stocked, and shiners are no longer carried for the moment, because of demand in the weather. The shop might try carrying them again starting toward the end of the month.

<b>South Jersey</b>

The Delaware River calmed down to normal, after running high, said Chris from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. So its smallmouth bass fishing took off again, serving up solid angling from Trenton to farther upstream. Largemouth bass were honked in low-light hours on buzz baits and Jitterbugs at all the lakes, like the lakes at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area. During mid day, largemouth anglers worked rubber worms, like the popular Power Team Finicky Tickler or Powerbait Finesse Worms in black and chartreuse on a Slider Head. Trout fishing was reportedly great on the Raritan and Pequest rivers, and hardly anyone fished them. In saltwater, fluke fishing was dynamite.

Anglers stopping by picked up nightcrawlers, deciding to catch panfish like bluegills and sunnies that stayed active in the heat, said Dom from <b>Barracuda’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Riverside. Waters like Olympia Lakes, Lake Lonnie and Lake Sooy always hold the fish. Temps were high for the best largemouth bass fishing, but to catch the bucketmouths, anglers fished Senkos or rubber worms in deep holes. The bass won’t chase much in the heat, like shiners or spinner baits. Catfish bit well, no matter the weather, in the Delaware River. None less than 5 pounds was heard about, and full-sized shrimp with heads on were a top bait. Carp could be found in the river, larger lakes like Sooy, or Sylvan Lake. Some consider carp a junk fish, and others consider them something huge to catch. Carp can weigh 30 pounds, and can be difficult to fool and land. Some anglers spend a trip chumming for them one day, without fishing, returning the next day to catch. Anglers say that sometimes chum will work the fish into a frenzy, so the carp will even hit a bare hook. But even when they’re hooked, the carp can be wise enough to run the line into a stump to break off. At the shore, customers fished for summer flounder, mostly at places like the bay near Manahawkin or along the islands. Reports sounded like keepers might’ve become scarcer. Lots were caught, but a large majority were throwbacks.

Customers fished early and late in the day for largemouth bass, because of the heat and sun, said Jim from <b>Sportsman’s Outpost</b> in Williamstown. They cast rubber frogs, in black during evenings or night, and in light colors in the early mornings. The colors show up best along the surface during those times of day. In other words, when a fish looks up in low light in evenings or at night, the surface looks light, so a dark frog stands out. During the light in mornings, when a fish looks up, the surface looks dark, so a light-colored frog stands out. But nightcrawlers also caught. Kids put a beating on loads of crappies at Wilson and Franklinville lakes on red worms.

Early and late were the times to fish during these summer days, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Anglers fished those times for largemouth bass with top-water lures, poppers or buzz baits. At mid day, they hunted the bass mostly with rubber worms or frogs. No lake seemed better than another in the weather, and location seemed hit or miss. Summer flounder fishing in saltwater was the most popular. Steady catches could be socked on Delaware Bay and the back bays along the coast. The large majority of the fish were throwbacks, but anglers seemed to dial in on better-sized flounder to keep more often than before.

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