<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

Smaller striped bass and large catfish were reeled from up and down Delaware River, Bill Brinkman from Philadelphia’s <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> wrote on his Facebook page. Sometimes better-sized stripers were hooked, but not much was reported from the river because of winds through early in the week. Places where the river’s fishing for heftier stripers turned on at moments in past days included from Petty’s Island to Tacony-Palmyra Bridge and from Neshaminy Creek to Trenton.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Colder weather slowed trout fishing a little on streams, but the fishing should come back on, said Dean from <b>Stokes Forest Sport Shop</b> in Sandyston. Rains raised streams Saturday, but now the waters were probably somewhat low. Most customers fish Paulinskill River, and a few fish Big Flatbrook, for trout, Joe from the shop said in previous reports. Fathead minnows and salted minnows caught, Dean said. Flies that caught included caddis, hares ear nymphs and Wooly Buggers. Not much was heard about shad from Delaware River, though shad were wrestled previously on the local river. Nobody geared up for striped bass fishing on the river yet. That should be the next migration. At lakes, lots of crappies were clobbered. Hybrid striped bass were fought at Culver Lake.

A trip was slated to musky fish on a lake but was called off Saturday because of weather forecasts with <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale, Capt. Dave Vollenweider said. But he boated for panfish on Lake Hopatcong on Friday with a friend. Lots of rockfish were bailed, any place rocks were located. Small crappies, large bluegills and some sunfish were nabbed. The friend landed and let go a 2-1/2-pound largemouth bass, required to be released through June 15. Sometimes good-sized largemouths and lots of sunfish were seen on spawning beds. All the fish were hooked on crappie jigs and fathead minnows, and crappies seemed to swim deeper than before. They seemed no longer to school shallows, and were now mixed with the other panfish. The trip tried trolling a moment, in case walleyes or muskies might hit, but nothing did. It was basically a panfish day, and the friend was pleased with the action, Dave said. Dave had to admit the angling was fun, he said. On Sunday, Dave tried fishing Greenwood Lake for the first time this season, trolling for walleyes or muskies. No fish turned up, Dave suspected that was because of an approaching cold front. Barometric pressure can really affect fishing, he said. Weather could be felt becoming colder during the trip, and became substantially colder that night. On the trip, weather was a little breezy, and waters were 65 degrees. When lakes reach the 70s, fishing could be incredible, Dave thinks. His best musky fishing last year happened when lakes reached the 80s, though some anglers prefer not to musky fish when waters become too warm, concerned that the fish can become stressed if fought then. The marina owner at Greenwood said he heard that a 40-pound musky was landed on the lake. That was unconfirmed, but a musky that size would be big, and the state record is in the low 40s. Weeds began to grow on both lakes, Dave noticed. He might keep trout fishing on streams, and trout will be stocked through the month. He was possibly going to trout fish Tuesday or today. Waters like Paulinskill River might’ve risen because of rains around the weekend, but might’ve dropped afterward, during the week. Dave specializes in lure fishing for trout on streams in springtime. That’s a creative, active way to fish, and can clock large trout that forage on other fish.  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 streams likely ran somewhat high after rains around the weekend, said Don from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. Customers either said they banked like 17 trout or none. Most talked about fishing the streams with spinners, and kept buying gold Mepps. But most customers fished trout tournaments at municipal ponds this time of season. One reported catching a 6-pound trout there. At Lake Hopatcong, Don managed a few crappies, and Greg from the shop plucked bluegills and crappies. To Don, it’s not a fishing season, he said, until largemouth bass can be kept. Fishing for them is catch and release through June 15. He likes hot days like 100 degrees when nights are cooler and quiet. A few customers bought shad darts for shad fishing on Delaware River. When Don has visited the river, he’s seen a few boaters, not many, fishing for shad.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 5/16:***</b> Fishing was picking up on the lake, for a mixed bag, wrote Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong in an e-mail. Hybrid striped bass began to punch herring in early mornings and evenings. But Lou Marcucci trolled several of the bass to 7 pounds on Rapalas. Tom Facciola weighed in hybrids to a 9-pound 9-ouncer. Walleyes to 7 pounds started to knock around herring and stick baits. Crappies were still caught, on small herring, fathead minnows or small jigs. Chain pickerel whaled large Mepps spinners along weed lines. Largemouth and smallmouth bass, though limited to catch and release through June 15, were toggled in sometimes.

Fishing for northern pike and smallmouth bass was good on Passaic River below the falls, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. Mostly shiners caught the pike, but sometimes large, size-11 Rapala lures did. The smallmouths, limited to catch and release through June 15, munched Mister Twisters on small jigheads like 1/8 or 1/16 ounce. Plenty of trout were axed from Ramapo and Pequest rivers and Big Flatbrook, and brown trout were stocked now, Nick guessed. Lots of salted minnows and butter worms were sold for the fishing. Mostly streams were stocked by this time in the season, and most lakes were no longer stocked. So trouting seemed to slow somewhat on Dahnert’s Pond. Trout catches, nothing spectacular, came from Barbour’s Pond, often on fathead minnows under a bobber. Rainbows stocked previously were tugged in. Pompton Lake put up healthy catches of largemouth bass, required to be released through June 15, and pike on jerk baits and Rat-L-Traps. A friend’s son at Lake Hopatcong kept trolling plenty of walleyes from 4 p.m. until a bit after dark on Shad Raps, and he top-water plugged hybrid striped bass a little later at coves, like Lee’s and Great coves. Few customers fished Greenwood Lake, and fishing there seemed somewhat slow, “nothing drastic,” Nick said. Lots of shad were socked on Delaware River around Delaware Water Gap, even if the river ran low. Flutter spoons reportedly caught better than shad darts, and one angler talked about good angling for smallmouth bass on the river someplace in the area with “Mill” in the name, not Milford, Nick said. He thought walleyes were also wrangled from the river around that area on jerk baits and jigs with worms.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Trout streams lowered and cleared, becoming fishable, after rains around the weekend, said Darrel from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. They were low this season, so the high, dirtied waters didn’t last long, and the levels became good. Walter Izmir checked in a 7-pound 14-ounce rainbow trout he netted on Pequest River on a gold Phoebe. Anthony Ercolino weighed in a 7-pound 10-ounce brown trout he creeled at North Branch of Raritan River on a No. 2 gold Panther Martin. For fly anglers, size-14 hares ear nymphs and sizes 16 and 18 pheasant-tail flashbacks are typical patterns that catch on waters like South Branch of Raritan River and Ken Lockwood Gorge this season. Darrel heard nothing about dry flies, and hadn’t fished in past days. Burt from the shop fly-rodded his first shad on Delaware River, slightly upstream from Delaware Water Gap, on Sunday, seeing about 40 shad that others caught. The shad anglers scored well, and the fishing seemed to be better than previously. Maybe another wave of the fish was migrating up, and the fishing seemed pickier on the last wave. The river was 62 degrees now, maybe a reason. The river’s level wasn’t as affected by rains as local trout streams were.

Lake Riviera gave up largemouth bass and chain pickerel on shiners and sunnies on worms, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. Be sure to release largemouths by law through June 15. Jeff saw one catfish caught there, taken on hot dog. He winged a couple of pickerel and a large yellow perch at Winding River, and saw a sizeable largemouth bass that refused to bite the shiners he fished. He fought pickerel on Toms River at Trilco on tiny killies, and hooked no white perch there lately. White perch were lifted from Forge Pond on killies, grass shrimp and Mister Twisters. Pickerel pounced shiners at Forge. Anglers who fished Ocean County College Pond talked about banking pickerel and crappies on killies. They saw either sunnies or bluegills but couldn’t tell what the fish were. Trout anglers kept talking about fishing at the “tree farm,” but Jeff didn’t know where that was. Nothing was heard about trout fishing otherwise, like from Toms, Metedeconk or Manasquan rivers, but each was slated to be stocked this week.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Shad fishing was pretty good on Delaware River from Trenton north to Lambertville, but the river’s striped bass fishing dropped off noticeably, said Tom P. from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown.  The shad were mostly roes, and though the striper fishing tailed off, stripers were plugged at night at Calhoun Street and Trenton Makes bridges on black and purple Bombers or bone Daiwa SP Minnows. A good customer and buddies waffled crappies, 35 or 50 per trip, at Allentown Lake on small jigs and little shiners. Largemouth bass to 4 pounds, restricted to catch and release through June 15, were on a tear at the lake, smashing spinner baits and rubber worms. Largemouth and chain pickerel fishing were on at Crystal Lake on buzz and spinner baits. Tom’s friend smoked 18 of the bass, not big, up to 2 ¾ pounds, on Sunday. Tom landed three on the trip. Excellent crappie fishing was crushed at Rosedale and Gropp’s lakes on small hair jigs under a float.

A couple of anglers talked about good fishing for largemouth bass at Grenloch Lake on shiners, minnows and lures, said Ed Jr. from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. Largemouth fishing is catch and release through June 15, according to law. One said he noticed largemouths there chasing stocked trout, so he ordered a trout lure online, tackling two of the bass 6 and 8 pounds on the plug. Small largemouths were yanked from Blackwood Lake. Little was heard about striper fishing on Delaware River anymore. But one customer slid in stripers, mostly throwbacks, at the D.O.D. Ponds Wildlife Management Area.

Largemouth bass fishing was fairly consistent, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. The angling, catch and release by law through June 15, scored well at Parvin’s Lake. A few reports rolled in about largemouths caught from Daretown Lake. A few locals also landed them at Malaga Lake. Largemouths were in all three stages of the spawn: pre-spawn, spawning or post-spawn. A handful of customers still trout fished. Maurice River produced the fish, and was slated to be stocked with them last week. Striped bass fishing remained decent on Delaware River. Stripers were hung from Maurice River, and fishing for stripers slowed from Fortescue’s surf on Delaware Bay. Fewer were beached there than before. Plenty of stripers were banked from the ocean surf.

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