<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

The river flowed low at 285 CFS, the same as last week, said Eric from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. Anglers had to work to catch steelheads in the river. Egg sacks and nightcrawlers were popular baits. Brown trout fishing was good on Lake Ontario close to shore. Boaters trolled them on stick baits and spoons, and found king salmon in the mix.

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

Delaware River’s striped bass fishing was “killer” during the weekend, Bill Brinkman from <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia said on his Facebook page. On Saturday nearly all anglers crushed the catches. A 52-inch striper, almost 45 pounds, was tackled at National Park that day. Lots of 22- to 30-inchers were bloodwormed and clammed there that day. Several 30- to 45-inchers were reported caught on the river that day. On Sunday several 30- to 38-inchers were reported landed near Burlington-Bristol Bridge before sunup, all on cut shad. On the river around Rancocas Creek later that day, fishing for the bass reportedly picked up, on bloodworms and chunks of Atlantic herring, after a slower start to the fishing. Atlantic herring are legal, but the river’s herring became prohibited this year. On Monday striper fishing seemed slower on the river. But a 33-incher and several smaller bass were reported caught. On Tuesday Bill boated the river on a trip that scored a 41-inch striper, around 30 pounds, and two 35- and 14-inchers, and three catfish, on clams.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

A trip fished Lake Hopatcong on Friday with <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale with two young anglers aboard, Capt. Dave Vollenweider said. The boys
pulverized crappies, mostly small, but one big, on a drop-shot rig with a fathead minnow on top and a jig on bottom. Dave on the trip caught them on a small Rapala X-Rap Lure. A big, 2-1/2-pound smallmouth bass, the largest fish one of the youngsters ever caught, a 1-1/2-pound largemouth bass and a large white perch were also reeled in. The lake was 53 degrees or cool, and low, during the drought. But the lake was boatable. Greenwood Lake, lowered in winter for dock repairs, remained too low to launch a boat, because rains never replenished the waters this season. A trip Saturday fished for trout on the Paulinskill River, landing 10 on the same Rapala X-Rap. Dave specializes in fishing with lures for trout in spring. All the trout were rainbows, except one was a brook trout. The state’s first stocking is brookies, and the second is rainbows. The river ran extremely low, so the trout swam deeper holes. Seven of the trout were hooked at one spot under a tree. Dave saw the Pequest and Ramapo rivers, and they also ran very low. He took a stab at musky fishing Sunday on Echo Lake, scoring one follow on a Custom X Lures Perch Twist Bait. A follow is half the battle in fishing for muskies, the fish of 10,000 casts. So that was something, and Echo was 57 to 59 degrees. Once waters reach the 60s and definitely the 70s, Dave expects to see more muskies on the fish finder, and the fish will “start moving around more,” he said. Muskies are also a specialty for him. Live to Fish will continue fishing the lakes and trout streams. Looking ahead, the season’s first walleye trip is set for June. It’s one of Dave’s trips in the middle of the night, when walleyes move to the lake shallows, foraging on bait, pounding 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.

Largemouth bass, a bunch, were landed and released at a pond on Yamamoto grubs on a trip that Ben from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna     took, he said. Largemouth fishing became catch and release from April 15 through June 15 for spawning, and the bass on the trip didn’t seem to be spawning yet. They were aggressive, crushing the baits. Ben bailed a mess of brook trout on Passaic River at Summit on Trout Magnets. He knew lots of trout swam Rockaway River. Not many fish the Rockaway after opening day of trout season, but the fish are there, especially after stockings. Ben caught and released a walleye or two per trip, not many, but catches, at Lake Hopatcong the past few nights in the dark on jerk baits. Walleye season will open May 1. On a trip on the Raritan River, he plugged one northern pike on a swim bait, but saw lots. They were there.

“Seeing some nice crappie,” said Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong. The slabs pounced on fathead minnows or small jigs in the lake. Rich Christiansen weighed in crappies to a 1-pound 6-ouncer. Trout to 2 pounds were trolled on the lake on small, floating Rapalas, Husky Jerks, shallow-running Shad Raps and Phoebes. Fish shallower, warmer waters for them. Reports rolled in about hybrid striped bass that hit herring during the weekend in the lake. Chain pickerel in the lake smacked Rapala lures and Mepps spinners along the weed lines. Walleye began to attack in shallower waters, and the season for them will open May 1. Largemouth bass fishing became catch and release through June 15. The Knee Deep Club’s pickerel tournament is set for Sunday. For info visit the club’s Web site or call the shop: (973) 663-3826.

A good catch of largemouth bass was caught and released at Dahnert’s Lake on 3-inch Keitechs on a trip that Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield took, he said. Largemouths seemed to spawn at some places, not everywhere. Nick saw frequent spawning beds at Dahnert’s, but with no bass on them. They seemed finished spawning there. Lots of trout could be bailed at Dahnert’s on Power Baits. They get caught as fast as they’re stocked, Nick said. Customers whaled trout on Ramapo River, and a friend walloped plenty on the Wallkill. The state might discontinue stocking rivers because of the drought, stocking the trout in lakes instead. A load of trout was baby-nightcrawlered at Barbour’s Pond. A buddy competed in a largemouth tournament at Lake Hopatcong, totaling 13 pounds for his five biggest. Another buddy clobbered yellow perch and crappies at Pompton Lakes on small jigs. Not much happened on the Passaic River, because the waters flowed very low.

Mark Boriek banked a 4-pound 9-1/2-ounce 20-1/2-inch rainbow trout at Round Valley Reservoir from shore on a No. 2 Mepps silver spinner, said Jody from <b>Lebanon Bait & Sport</b> in an e-mail. He’s the principal fisheries biologist, and the fish was tagged with number 766, Jody said. Apparently that meant the fish was from the Round Valley Trout Association’s stocking that included trout tagged for prizes, covered in a previous report here. Mike Romas on a trip to Round Valley two Fridays ago boated and released a 15-1/2-inch brown trout and went 0 for 1 on a 16- or 17-inch rainbow. He trolled Rapala lures and Sutton spoons in 15- to 80-foot depths. Waters were 45 to 46 degrees on the cold, windy day, and he saw another angler boat three lake trout, and another beach a tagged trout from shore. Kyle Kitchen on the second day of trout season released 18 brook trout and a rock bass on Musconetcong River. He caught a limit of the trout in 15 minutes, and the rest of the fish in 1 ½ hours of fishing.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

On the Musconetcong River at Point Mountain, Burt from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook landed two brook trout to 16 inches, broke off a bigger one and missed a couple, he said. He fished with blue winged olives, and saw trout sporadically feeding on a mix of underwater and surface bugs. They bit on the surface at times, and grabbed the blue-winged dries. The river ran low, and was 54 degrees around 12 noon to 3 p.m. during the trip. The area fished seemed to hold all brookies. Trout streams in general flowed very low. Trout that customers checked in included a 17-inch 1-3/4-pound rainbow and an 18-inch 2-pound 6-ounce brown, both from the North Branch of the Raritan River. Customers sometimes headed to Round Valley Reservoir, but no results were heard. Lots headed to the shore for striped bass.

Largemouth bass, chain pickerel, crappies and sunnies bit in Lake Riviera, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. The bass must be released through June 15. At Lester’s Lake, picks were hung on spinners, and catfish and sunnies were socked on worms. Picks and crappies swiped killies in Toms River at Trilco, the building supply that closed down, near the Parkway. A few, not many, white and yellow perch were bloodwormed there. Trout were reported caught at Metedeconk River and Spring Lake, on Power Bait, worms and spinners, at both spots.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Delaware River’s fishing for striped bass, catfish and shad was on fire, said Eric from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. The stripers and cats could be axed from Trenton to Burlington-Bristol Bridge. Plugging for the stripers at night was great. When anglers fished for the bass with bait, they soaked chunks of bunker, clams, bloodworms or whatever they could, since the river’s herring became prohibited to use and possess this year. The shad could be angled from Trenton to Upper Black Eddy and lots of places like Lambertville and Bull’s Island. Largemouth bass began to move onto the spawning beds, and must be released through June 15. But fishing for them was good. One of the crew from the shop landed 40 on broken-backed Rat-L-Traps on a trip. Plenty of chain pickerel and crappies chewed in the lakes. Trout fishing was good, including in Delaware and Raritan Canal and the streams to the north including Musconetcong and South Branch of the Raritan rivers.

Sylvan Lake went nuts with trout, largemouth bass, chain pickerel and channel catfish, said Tom Pagliaroli at <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. All kinds of shiners and fathead minnows were sold for the fishing. Tom pasted trout at Lower Echo Lake on Wednesday morning on Trout Magnets and marshmallows with Redneck’s Pride scent. The state stocked brook trout the first week of stocking, and was now stocking rainbows the second two. Fishing for largemouths, limited to catch and release in the state through June 15 for spawning, was good at spots including Lake Mercer, Delaware and Raritan Canal, Pemberton Lake, White City Lake and Turnmill Pond. Big largemouths swam Turnmill, at Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area. If the bass were on the beds, the fishing was like drop a rubber worm on the bed, so the fish picked up the bait to remove it. Tom waxed the bigmouths at Mercer the other day on lizards. Striped bass were punched in Delaware River on frozen Atlantic herring, legal to use and sold at the shop, bloodworms, or plastic shads with Gulp Alive herring scent. Pockets of the bass, probably up to 25 or 30 pounds, swam the river, and the Delaware flowed very low. Tom fought shad, all bucks, on the Delaware at Milford the other day. Not a lot was heard about shad fishing, but the shop just stocked lots of flutter spoons for the fishing.   

Fishing for striped bass on Delaware River, toward the end of last week, was the best that Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b> in Brooklawn ever saw, he said. Not many swam farther downstream, like at the DOD, anymore. But National Park was the spot, and around Tacony-Palmyra Bridge was good. A 54-inch striper was reportedly caught at National Park. Bank anglers fished with bloodworms, and boaters fished with clams. The shop sold so many bloods that one of the staff members spent days exclusively packing the worms. At the lakes, largemouth bass news became somewhat slow. They were spawning, so the fishing became catch and release by law through June 15, like every year, and no tournaments were held because of that. Lots of snakeheads and bowfins were angled along creek edges off Delaware River. Crappies and chain pickerel hit aggressively in lakes. Trout fishing sounded picky in the stocked waters.

Trout were plucked from Rowan’s Pond on meal and wax worms and minnows, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. Trout at Oak Pond were crunched on meals, waxes and Roostertails. Chain pickerel were swung in from New Brooklyn Lake on minnows. Sunnies were slugged at Puppyland Pond on meals.

Lots of trout were mauled at South Vineland Park, Iona Lake and Maurice River, said Vince from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. A customer checked in two trout 18 ½ and 19 ½ inches, lunkers, from the Maurice. Largemouth bass, restricted to catch and release through June 15, were on the spawning beds. Vince saw them on beds at Mirror Lake on Saturday. Plenty of chain pickerel and crappies were copped on the lakes. That fishing never stops, Vince said. Striped bass fishing began to pick up on the Maurice River. “Not setting the world on fire,” Vince said, but improving. Lot of white perch were banged on the river.

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