<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

A few steelheads landed on the river, but waters ran low at 285 CFS, said Eric from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. Boaters had been trolling brown trout on Lake Ontario in the shallows close to shore on stick baits. But winds kept them from sailing in the last days. The steelhead fishing will probably last a few weeks longer. Then the lake’s brown trout fishing will be the focus.

The river ran low at 285 CFS, but steelhead fishing was decent on the waters for <b>Salmon River Guide</b> from Pulaski, Capt. Shane Thomas said in a report on Salmon River Guide’s Web site. The water level “makes for a bumpy ride,” he said, on the drift boat. But rains are forecast for the next days, “and with a little help from mother nature,” he said, water levels will rise. Trout beads or egg sacks fished under floats socked the steelheads aboard. Brown trout fishing was very good on Lake Ontario close to shore, and Salmon River Guide will hone in on them next. Strong winds kept boaters from sailing, but when they got out, trolling for the browns was “easy picking,” Shane said. Walleye season will open in a few weeks. “Get your monster walleye trip booked now,” he said.

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

Reports were great about Delaware River’s striped bass fishing during the weekend, Bill Brinkman from <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia said on his Facebook page. Catches included some monsters. Photos of 35- to 40-pounders, or 40- to 49-inchers, were seen. The 49-incher might’ve weighed nearly 50 pounds. Stripers to 40 inches were heaved from shore at Station Avenue. Several anglers talked about banking 28- to 38-inchers around the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. One boater reported landing a 40-incher and some 25- to 33-inchers. Bill himself on Tuesday boated stripers 41, 36 and 33 inches and a smaller one on clams. Bloodworms were a hot bait. But clams and Atlantic herring worked well. Fresh bunker were possibly going to be stocked at the shop this week.  

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Trout streams ran extremely low, lower than Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale ever saw, he said. But he landed a limit and more, releasing all but two, on his first trip of the year for the fish Wednesday on the Pequest and Paulinskill rivers. For trout, Dave specializes in fishing with lures, and caught the fish on Rapala Countowns in size CD3, Rapala Ultralight Minnows and Rapala Slashbaits. He often fishes with Countdowns, but brought the Ultralight Minnows and Slashbaits to fish shallow if necessary. He had been concerned about whether this season’s low waters would prevent him from lure fishing, because low waters can cause lures to become hung up on rocks and debris. On the Pequest, Dave landed a limit of six trout and dropped about four. The river ran incredibly low, so that trout rolled along the surface. Then he fished the Paulinskill, about 10 miles away, landing another two trout. The Paulinskill ran a little deeper than the Pequest, and all the fish were hooked in deep spots. All the fish were brook trout, none big. Dave saw another angler reel in a 19- or 20-inch brook. The state stocks brook trout, mostly smaller fish, first, but mixes in a few, larger breeder trout. The larger fish are the ones Dave goes after. Later the state stocks a larger number of big trout like rainbows and browns. All in all, the fishing was good. Take advantage of the trouting now, the best time of year, before waters become warmer, and probably lower. Dave trout fishes mostly a moment in spring, while the rivers and streams are high enough for lure fishing. Dave took his boat on a lake for the first time this season a couple of weeks ago, fishing Lake Hopatcong. A few crappies and yellow perch were tugged in. Hopatcong was low in the season’s drought, but could be boated. A boat was impossible to launch at Greenwood Lake, because the lake was lowered 5 or 6 feet for dock repairs this winter, and rains never lifted the level back up. Other lakes were boatable. Monksville Reservoir, Mountain Lake and Furnace Lake were full. Crappies and yellow perch are on tap at different lakes for trips with Dave. Muskies can be caught on Echo Lake currently, and Dave specializes in muskies. Good largemouth bass fishing happened at some lakes, and the bass are an option on trips. A friend competed in a largemouth tournament a couple of weeks ago. A five-fish weight of 20 pounds, a heavy total, won. Trips already booked with Dave in the near future included a nighttime walleye trip that he also specializes in. He fishes for walleyes on lakes in the middle of the night, when big ones move to the shallows, able to be nailed on top-water lures. 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 anglers did a job on catches on the Rockaway River on opening day of trout season Saturday, said Ben from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Ledgewood. The fishing seemed to slow down Sunday because of angling pressure on the opener. But the fishing seemed to fare well on all stocked trout waters. They’re loaded, Greg from the shop said. Largemouth bass had seemed to be getting ready to spawn. Ben this weekend wanted to scope out fishing for the bucketmouths, but windy weather kept him from trying. Previously he found the fishing slow, or the bass reluctant to perk up since winter. But he landed a largemouth on a lunch break this week in a deep pool beside a waterfall. Yellow perch kept spawning at some spots. Walleyes – limited to catch and release fishing since March 1, until the season opens for them on May 1 – were released at the north end of Lake Hopatcong on Rapala lures at night.  

“Can (someone) please make the wind stop?” Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong said in an e-mail. Winds made fishing for trout difficult on the lake on opening day of trout season Saturday. But some were caught during the weekend, and so were yellow perch and chain pickerel from the lake. Shallower waters were best, because of warmth. Trolled Phoebes or small Rapala lures will nab the trout. Rapalas and spinners will slug the picks. Trout checked in included Artie and Natthavipa Huttemeyer’s 1-pound 11-ounce brown and 1-pound 5-ounce rainbow. Ed Mackin and Mike Cammacho trolled trout to 1 ½ pounds. Harvey Banks beat pickerel to 3 pounds on a Rapala Husky Jerk. The state was going to stock more trout in the lake this week. The Knee Deep Club’s trout tournament is set for Sunday, April 22. Anglers can register at Dow’s until 8 a.m. that day. Anglers can call the shop for info about the event: 973-663-3826. 

Tons of trout swam Dahnert’s Lake and the Ramapo River, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. A buddy, Anthony Gomez, bombed two large brown trout 5 or 6 pounds apiece at Barbour’s Pond. A cousin whacked good trouting on the Big Flatbrook on meal worms. Trouting was good on all the different waters since trout season opened Saturday. Nick jigged a bunch of small largemouth bass at Dahnert’s Lake on 3-inch Keitechs. Another friend bailed yellow perch and crappies at Lake Hopatcong on Rapala ice-fishing jigs in sizes W5 or 7. Greenwood Lake was too low to boat, was lowered for dock repairs this winter, and rains never raised the waters back up in the drought. On the Passaic River smallmouth bass and northern pike were sometimes rustled up. No striped bass moved up the river, and the waters ran extremely low. But hickory shad, big ones 5 or 8 pounds, were fought on the Passaic.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Lots of random reports rolled in about plenty of trout creeled on different waters since opening day of trout season, said Josh from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. The waters included the north and south branches of the Raritan River and Ken Lockwood Gorge. But the Raritan at Duke Island sounded especially productive for large trout to 24 inches on spinners like Mepps, metal like Phoebes and Power Baits. Many customers fly fished for trout on the rivers, using nymphs, but they also saw caddis and blue winged olive hatches, and stoneflies. Customers sometimes angled shad on Delaware River from Delaware Water Gap to Dingman’s Ferry. The fish swam the deep channels in the low river. But cooler weather and dropping water temps slowed shad fishing.

Trout fishing might’ve been a little slower than it will be on the South Branch of the Metedeconk River and the Toms River, since trout season opened, but plenty of the fish filled the waters, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. The fish seem to take a moment to become acclimated each year. The rivers ran somewhat low but not badly, and water temps were good, and waters were clear. Nobody complained. On the South Branch of the Metedeconk, bait seemed to work best. Nightcrawlers and Power Baits caught. A customer who likes to fish artificials said bait anglers creamed lots of trout there. A couple of customers fished the Toms, banking one or two trout apiece, and artificials worked best there. At Lake Shenandoah, bait and artificials seemed to work equally well on trout. Other than trout, the usual chain pickerel and largemouth bass were pulled in from lakes. Fishing was decent for the time of year. Lots of killies and other baits were sold for fishing lakes. Killies, shiners, nightcrawlers, baby nightcrawlers, meal worms and garden or trout worms are stocked.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, walleyes – everything was biting in the Delaware River, said Chris at <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. Walleye season is open year-round on the river, though is currently closed in lakes. But certainly striped bass were drilled on the local river. Anglers connected with them on plugs. But you have to visit the shop to find out how, Chris said. The river’s shad fishing slowed down, but herring swam all over the river. Largemouth bass were on the spawning beds at lakes. Chain pickerel were going crazy at lakes. A 47-inch musky was tackled from shore at Lake Mercer near the boat ramps. Trout season was off to a great start.

Trout were on the bite everywhere, including Assunpink Creek, the Delaware and Raritan Canal and Sylvan Lake, said Tom Pagliaroli at <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. A few 3-pound breeders were among trout stocked at the canal. Striped bass anglers started to pick away at the fish on the Delaware River at Trenton and all around the area. The river flowed very low, so the fish held in deeper holes. Now that the river’s herring became prohibited to possess, customers bought lots of frozen Atlantic herring, legal to use, for the striper fishing. Or they bought Tsunami shad bodies, using them with Gulp or Smelly Jelly herring scents. The Delaware’s shad fishing slowed because the waters cooled probably 8 or 9 degrees in the cooler weather. The angling began to pick up, but just a little. A couple of customers who fished Delaware Gap said the catches improved slightly. Northern pike were on the hunt on Millstone River from Millstone to Manville. Throw bigger spinner baits. Largemouth bass might’ve been spawning, but whether the cooler weather eased them off from that was unknown. Tom had seen the bass begin to bed 1 or 1 ½ weeks ago. But temps then dropped. A customer who fished small, private ponds to the north said the fish were spawning. But those were 8-foot, shallow waters. Sylvan Lake, Crystal Lake and Carnegie Lake are some of the local waters for largemouthing. Crappies put up solid catches on some of the ponds. Chain pickerel fishing was good at the D&R Canal. Tom saw someone swipe a 4-pound largemouth at the canal on a Trout Magnet.

Fishing was all about trout, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. The fish were grabbed at Rowan’s Pond on wax worms and minnows. They were toggled in from Oak Pond on all kinds of worms, including nightcrawlers, wax worms and meal worms. Not much was heard about lure-caught trout. Catching seemed about bait. Chain pickerel were clocked at New Brooklyn Lake on minnows. Sunnies were yanked from Puppyland Pond, near Gloucester Township Police, on meal worms. Nothing was really heard about largemouth bass. Creek Keepers is open full time for the season, and all the trout baits are stocked.

Largemouth bass were clubbed nearly everywhere, including at Parvin’s Lake, South Vineland Park Pond and Wilson Lake, said Vince from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Sudden colder weather seemed to delay largemouths from spawning, though the fish seemed about to spawn when the weather was warmer. Some of the bigmouths currently were probably ready to spawn, and others probably “weren’t even thinking about it,” Vince said. So anglers probably needed to mix and match tactics according to whether a given bass was spawning. Warmer weather approaching 80 degrees forecast for this weekend might trigger more spawning. Vince caught largemouths last weekend on lizards. Jerk baits still worked lately, like they do in the early season. Plenty of chain pickerel and crappies snapped at the lakes. Lots of trout were stringered at South Vineland Park Pond and Iona Lake since trout season opened. Nothing was heard about trout on Maurice River. No striped bass were reported to migrate up the tidal Maurice yet this season. Lots of stripers, mostly small, but occasional large ones, were landed on Delaware River.

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