<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Mid river, from the Staircase to the Ball Park, harbored most steelheads, said Ben from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. Fishing for them was good there, and the river’s steelheading was about the same as before. “Day to day,” Ben said. “Goes up and down.” The river flowed at 335 CFS, the same as recently. Most anglers fished for the steelies with egg sacks. Center-pin rod-and-reelers fished trout beads, sometimes single eggs, and few anglers fly fished. Few brown trout were banked, and any that were caught were small. A better population of browns was unlikely to swim into the river from Lake Ontario by this late in the season. The trout never made a substantial run up the Salmon this fall. Weather fluctuated between warm and cool this season. But forecasts are calling for cold weather the next couple of weeks that will probably form ice on lakes. Snow is supposed to fall next week. All ice-fishing gear – “and plenty of it,” Ben said – is stocked.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

The season was late, but Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale fished Greenwood Lake on Saturday, in clear skies, no wind, and flat-calm waters, he said. A beautiful day, and peaceful, he said. He trolled for muskies, wanting to try a technique he scored great success with this year. But no muskies showed up, and only a crappie was snagged in the side and released. Then he stopped to jig at tons of fish marked deep beside an underwater island, with a Binsky blade bait, and an ultralight rod and 4-pound line. He felt a bump, and something was hooked. Suddenly the rod bent over, and line burned off the reel. This was no panfish, and was a small musky or large walleye. It was a walleye, 6 ½ or 7 pounds, landed and released. Success. A perch was also hooked on the trip. If Dave had jigged the whole trip, he probably could’ve caught lots of fish, he thought. But he wanted to try other techniques. Crappies are usually turned on this time of year, and many fish were marked that were probably walleyes. Maybe a few were muskies. All fish marked were deep. One other boat fished the lake that day that Dave knew about, and the three anglers aboard jigged three walleyes, 15 crappies and a bunch of white and yellow perch. The lake was 43 degrees, not changing in some time. That’s a good temp for fishing, including for muskies. Dave in the past has talked about some of the best musky catches being made in waters in the low 40s and high 30s. Anglers including guides on trophy musky waters have loved those temps. Dave will keep fishing as long as possible this season. The boat ramp at Greenwood remained open. He might not hear from many customers this time of year, but fish are certainly feeding. Fish like walleyes can be slow to bite from slow metabolism from chilly waters. But they are feeding, especially to prepare for winter, and anglers have to “hit them at the right time,” Dave said.  One customer called to request a holiday gift certificate for a guided trip for a friend, so Dave’s wife made one up. The customer seemed happy about catching probably the biggest walleye in his life, about 8 pounds, on a trip with Live to Fish earlier this year. The customer had previously fished good walleye waters including in Canada. Dave was now fishing later in the year than last year, when he wrapped up his trips with a musky catch in the first week of December. Or maybe he was fishing later than ever. But fishing was possible, so he would keep going.  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.

Nobody mentioned trout fishing this past week, but trout streams had been running low, the last anything was heard, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. Customers mostly shopped for the holidays. But a friend axed a few smallmouth bass at Silver Lake on Power Bait.

Two buddies jigged walleyes at Greenwood Lake, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. They also hammered two muskies 25 and 30 pounds on jigs there, and good musky fishing was crushed on jigs at deep points at both Greenwood and Lake Hopatcong. Little was heard about trout. Another friend smoked crappies, a load, at Pompton Lake on small jigs with twister tails or something. The fish swarmed all over, the angler said. Another buddy landed a few smallmouth bass, none big, at Ramapo Lake. A few northern pike were pasted from Passaic River below the falls. Unusually, a customer showed a photo of two walleyes from the Passaic. Maybe the walleyes “washed down,” Nick said. The angler probably landed them while fishing for pike.

From <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook, Angelo stopped on the North Branch of the Raritan River to trout fish on Tuesday, he said. But the river ran high and muddy, not fishable. The South Branch was probably also like that. When trout streams flowed better, salmon eggs caught. “Definitely,” Angelo said. Plus, many preferred Pumpkin Heads for trout. The last reports about trout caught were heard from Pequest River a week ago. But the fishing was good. Burt from the shop also said the Pequest was the most talked about when anglers last mentioned trout. Customers, Angelo said, sometimes bought bait to fish for trout from shore at Round Valley Reservoir. But fewer did than before, and no results were known.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Chain pickerel could always be snatched from the Toms River at Trilco, the Winding River and probably Lake Riviera, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in the town of Toms River. Trilco is a closed building supply, and no sign identifies it, but it’s located near Garden State Parkway. Locals call the stretch by the name. Picks will bite all year, no matter cold or warmth. Spinners like a Mepps should catch them, and smaller ones might work best because of low water temperature. Killies should also catch, if killies could be bought. They weren’t potting in the cool waters, and none was stocked at the shop. But worms including meals and nightcrawlers are carried. No shiners are on hand this time of year. Customers bought bait for trout, though none gave a report. Locals fish for trout at waters including the Toms and Metedeconk rivers. One couple of customers bought Power Bait and salmon eggs for trout. Jeff didn’t really recommend the eggs.  

An angler and grandson talked about good fishing for trout on the Toms River, said Tom P. from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. They pounded sizeable fish to 16 or 17 inches from the fall stocking someplace around River Wood Park or the Trout Conservation Area or something. Tom was unsure about the location, but they fished with worms. No bait is allowed at the conservation area. But the anglers caught well, talking about the Toms, though they also fished places like Pequest River or Big Flatbrook. Anglers fish the Toms for like a week after the fall stocking in October. Afterward, hardly any anglers work the river, one of the best parts about the current fishing. Good fishing for crappies was sacked from Delaware and Raritan Canal. Some fished for the crappies to 14 and 17 inches at Titusville on fathead minnows. The picks were on shiners. Someone who called the shop talked about very good crappie fishing at Farrington Lake and Carnegie Lake on Mister Twisters and hair jigs. Another angler latched into a flurry of northern pike and largemouth bass on Millstone River between Griggstown and Manville. Walleyes were jigged at Lake Hopatcong off Chestnut Point, anglers including phone callers said.

Parvin Lake turned out decent largemouth bass fishing during the weekend, Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> guessed, he said. Jerk baits were probably a lure to throw for largemouths, based on the number sold. Trout fishing seemed to taper off somewhat at usual stocked waters like Giampietro Park Pond and South Vineland Park Pond. One customer fished for trout at Iona Lake with no luck. Chain pickerel could always be fought at the lakes, no matter the cold. In saltwater, a few fished for striped bass this late in the season, catching them on Delaware Bay and in the surf.

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