<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

At <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski, Ben heard no results for Wednesday’s salmon fishing on the river, he said in a phone call that evening, but the angling was very good the previous couple of days. Lots of king salmon filled Salmon River’s whole estuary, and many were migrating up the river. Still, charter captains said they never saw so many of the kings still in Lake Ontario this time of year. There they schooled mostly where the lake was 150 feet deep, holding 90 feet down. Even where the lake was 90 feet deep, the fish swam right along bottom. Any stretch of the river fish better than another? Ben was asked. Fishing at the ball park, he said, was on fire, for unknown reasons. A few Coho salmon were landed from the river so far this season. One run, not many fish, migrated up. A few steelheads and brown trout showed up in the river. The river ran at 335 CFS, and that wasn’t expected to change, unless something like lots of rains affected it.  The usual egg sacks, artificial eggs and flies caught the salmon.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

A few smallmouth bass, including two bigger ones 2 or 2 ½ pounds, and a few crappies, including one big slab, were drop-shotted from Greenwood Lake, 25 feet down, on Gulp minnows with Mike Estrella and Brenda Gero aboard, said Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale. After dark, they took a shot at walleye fishing, catching none. Dave’s trips lately made brief efforts at the walleyes, usually landing one or two on lures soon after dark in shallows. The fish weren’t as abundant as in spring, when they swim the shallows to forage on spawning herring at night. But the walleyes were around currently, and could be targeted more seriously, if anglers wanted. The day was chilly, and the lake was choppy. Waters were 73 degrees, warmer than the air.  Dave expects good fishing this fall. When lakes turnover, that should be the only slow moment that he could foresee. He’ll also musky fish, like he’s been doing, on lakes. Live to Fish Guide Service guides trips for muskies, walleyes, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, panfish, trout, carp and more. Lakes fished include Greenwood, Lake Hopatcong, Monksville Reservoir, Echo, Mountain and Furnace. Rivers fished include the Flatbrook, Pequest, Paulinskill and Ramapo.

Trout streams ran low but were cooling down, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. Fall trout stocking will begin the second week of October, and anglers hoped rains will raise the streams by then. Currently, a few trout were banked from faster waters on small flies like bead heads. Musconetcong and Pequest rivers were probably some of the better ones to fish. The Musky’s deep holes near Point Mountain were reportedly good places. Not much was heard about largemouth bass fishing on lakes, but anglers talked about largemouth tournaments held at Lake Hopatcong. Bass there seemed to come from deeper waters on tackle like blue artificial crawfish and drop-shots. Hybrid striped bass and walleyes were winged from Hopatcong in evenings and mornings or during low light.  

A mix of fish were checked in from the lake, Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong wrote in an e-mail. They included Tim Huttemeyer’s 7-pound 2-ounce hybrid striped bass trolled on a homemade fly. Lots of hybrids 5 to 8 pounds were smashed off Chestnut Point, Sharp’s Rock and Pine Tree Point. Bryan Collins weighed-in his 6-pound 15-ounce walleye, and his grandpop, Lyle Collins, brought in a 10-pound 15-ounce channel catfish. Martin Dolgowiecz stopped in with a 5-pound 8-ounce largemouth bass he socked on a livelined herring off Elba Point. The Knee Deep Club will hold a walleye tournament on the lake on Saturday and Sunday. The shop can be telephoned for info: 973-663-3826. Dow’s will be open, including for bait sales and boat rentals, until November sometime.

Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield competed in a largemouth bass tournament on Greenwood Lake, and the fishing was brutal, and half the anglers “zeroed out,” he said. Before the tournament, he said he didn’t look forward to the fishing, because he heard the lake’s largemouthing was slow. Largemouths have had a virus at Greenwood in recent years, and though Nick some weeks ago said the virus was reportedly getting better, that might’ve still affected the fishing. He said, sometime ago, that the virus didn’t affect the lakes smallmouth bass, though. In the tournament, those who caught fished deep with drop shots or weighted Senkos. Many of the largemouths hooked were throwbacks, and some smallmouths were reeled in. One entrant beat a 5-pound 14-ounce largemouth. A friend fished for largemouths at Pompton Lake, prepping for a tournament, scoring well on jigs along the shoreline. He copped a few on a rubber frog at heavy weeds. At Passaic River, a few good-sized northern pike were punched downstream from the falls at Garfield in pools on shiners. A few smallmouths were lifted from the river there and at Elmwood Park on small shiners and Yamamotos.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Trout fishing was relatively slow, but some were caught, said Angelo from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Trout streams were cooling down, and the key to catching this time of year was to figure out what the fish fed on. Sometimes midges might’ve worked well. Other times streamers might’ve. But once an angler figured that out, trout could be hooked the whole trip. Musconetcong River fished well for trout, probably better than South Branch of Raritan River, though Angelo also recommended the South Branch. Fishing a day or two after rain is recommended, because streams are low and clear, but are higher and somewhat murky a day or two after rain. Waters then “push things around,” and make bugs active. No signs of trout being in pre-spawn were seen yet. The fish should become the beautiful spawning colors and should pair up in a few weeks. Then flies like eggs or other bright, large patterns will catch. For now, trout were creeled on sizes 16 to 24 midges, and blue-winged olives netted them well. Fall caddis in sizes 16 to 18, sometimes 20, in chartreuse green began to be seen. October caddis, big orange flies, like size 8, should appear soon, probably in a couple of weeks, especially on the South Branch. Nick plans to fish Ken Lockwood Gorge for brown trout at night during this week’s full moon. The fish become nocturnal feeders in summer, coming out in night from places like undercuts where they hide during day. Fishing during the moon can help anglers see. At night, the fish depend a lot on their lateral lines to feed, using feeling to find forage. So Angelo fishes flies like streamers, twitching them, making sound. On some nights, a short strip of the streamer catches best, and on others, a long strip does. One never knows, but the concept is to make noise. Nick will look for places like a long, slow bend in a stream, maybe with a gravel bed, swinging casts through depth changes. Depth changes are important.  In other news, smallmouth bass fishing was alright on waters like Raritan River. Angelo fly-rodded one on Rockaway Creek while fishing for trout in the morning before work. Smallmouths are feeding-up to prepare for winter, striking crawfish, minnows and flies.

Fall trout stocking is coming in October, and customers then will fish for them on the Toms, Metedeconk and Manasquan rivers, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in the town of Toms River. The river levels were good, and the waters were clean, and if weather stays the same, the stocking should go well. In recent years, waters were warm, because of warm weather, and trout stocking was delayed a week. Waters are cooler this year, so that probably won’t happen. Currently, chain pickerel could always be played on the Toms at Trilco, the closed building supply. No sign identifies the building, but locals know the stretch by the name, located near Garden State Parkway. Plenty of bluegills should bite at Ocean County College Pond. Nobody mentioned Manasquan Reservoir, but hybrid striped bass should be going “nuts” there this time of year. Chicken livers or shiners fished in deeper waters usually catch them. But hybrids should be able to be top-water plugged in evenings. Shiners, killies and nightcrawlers are stocked. For the trout stocking, garden worms, salmon eggs and trout lures will be on hand.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Customers rushed the store to gear up for salmon fishing on upstate New York’s Salmon River, said Tom P. from <b>Sportsmen’s Center<b/> in Bordentown. Reportedly, catches blew open this weekend, and previously the reservoir had turned over, and waters released from there had made the upper river 70 degrees. But that cleared up, and Karl from the shop’s son hooked 60 salmon, landing four. Karl’s dad, in 1 ½ days, landed six, probably among 40 hooked. Closer to the shop, largemouth bass, chain pickerel, crappies and carp chomped in Delaware and Raritan Canal. Channel catfish were clutched from the canal at Manville and Zarepath on live and dead shiners and chicken livers. Largemouths were dragged from Rosedale Lake and South Jersey lakes including Pen Bryn. Rubber worms and shiners were popular on the bass. Good reports were heard about northern pike fishing on Millstone River from Griggstown to Wilhousky Street in Manville, now that waters cooled. News was announced about a virus in trout at Pequest trout hatchery that was going to cause the state to euthanize some of the fish to prevent the virus from spreading. This was interesting, because fall trout stocking will begin in October. An e-mail from the state said the killing of the trout will minimally impact the stocking, because of a sufficient surplus that the hatchery keeps. But 25,000 of the fish were set to be euthanized. Still, that’s a small portion of the more than 600,000 trout the hatchery raises each year, the state said. Approximately 20,000 will be stocked this fall, it said. Tom said about 19,000 were supposed to be stocked, and now 16,000 or 17,000 will. The virus, furunculosis, is fatal to trout and other cold-water fish, and is believed to have been spread to fish in the hatchery by ospreys and herons that fed on infected fish in the wild.

Snakeheads roamed shallow waters at the ponds and the creeks that are part of the Delaware River estuary, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b> in Westville. Fishing for catfish to 10 pounds was good on the river. Newton Lake was a place to tackle largemouth bass, good catches. Quality largemouths came from the DOD Ponds. Largemouths and lots of crappies were swung from Stewart Lake. For the largemouths on lakes, mostly Senkos and creature baits were cast. But the bass began to hit stick baits, and always jump on shiners. Big Timber stocks bait and tackle for fishing on all waters from fresh to offshore. 

Shiners grabbed largemouth bass at Puppyland Lake, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. Chain pickerel were minnowed at New Brooklyn Lake. The spillway across the road from Blackwood Lake held sunnies that were meal-wormed. Fall trout stocking is slated for local waters including Grenloch Lake and Oak Pond in October and Rowan’s Pond and Haddon Lake in November.

In the changing of seasons, fishing became a little tough on lakes and rivers, said Andrew from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. But largemouth bass were sometimes caught. The fishing was okay on Lenape Lake, he heard. Largemouthing somewhat picked up in Maurice River. When anglers fished rivers or creeks, they found most of the bass upstream or “in the back.” Soft-plastic worms or lures were commonly worked for largemouths. But Rat-L-Traps, chatter baits and spinner baits started to come into play, or lures that moved more, or gave up more action, like those, started to draw bites. At Union Lake, the bass started to move shallow, like in the grass. Nothing was really heard about Lake Audrey. But largemouths should be a predominant catch there. Though Union and Audrey are South Jersey’s only lakes where smallmouth bass were stocked, Andrew, who lives near Audrey at Dividing Creek, knew about no real smallmouth bass fishing at Audrey in about two years. The fish were caught when they were first stocked there, but news about them dried up.   

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