<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Salmon staged in Lake Ontario in 90 feet, closer to the river than before, said Scott from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. Those fish will migrate up the river before long, but salmon were already banked along the river, starting three weeks ago. Fishing for the kings or Chinooks was a little slow during the weekend, but was usually steady, though not as steady as during the peak of the migration that is yet to kick in. The river ran at 335 CFS. It was supposed to be raised to 750 on Tuesday night through this coming Friday, Scott thought. Salmon migrate up the river from the lake to spawn in fall, and anglers fish for them then on the river, until the fish die in the river after spawning that season. Steelheads migrate up the river next, in late fall, spend winter there, spawn in the river in spring, and return to the lake afterward. Steelheads don’t die after spawning, and fishing for them, like for salmon, is world class in the river.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Delaware River’s smallmouth bass fishing picked up in past days and was decent, said Joe from <b>Stokes Forest Sport Shop</b> in Sandyston. Livelined herring and shiners, both stocked, caught most, but some anglers worked small soft-plastic lures or rubber grubs to land them. A few schoolie striped bass 18 to 25 inches swam the river. But not a lot did, and no big stripers were around, really, and the local river’s striper fishing was mostly slow this year. Anglers had expected better fishing for them, after encouraging signs like shad arriving early in the river this spring. The shad fishing was decent but hit or miss. On a good day, an angler could pummel them, and on another day, could find none. Trout fishing was slow on streams lately. A few anglers grabbed some, but not like fishing should. Rains this summer had flooded streams, pushing most trout downstream, some of them into Delaware River. The angling never really recovered. But fall trout stocking is coming in October. Customers who trout fish usually work Big Flatbrook and sometimes Paulinskill River. Fishing was steady on lakes like Swartswood and Little Swartswood. Fish including largemouth bass bit, and the angling should remain the same until lakes flip in fall. Some of the smaller, private lakes were treated for weeds, typical this time of year, and that slows angling for some weeks. 

A 43-inch tiger musky was caught and released Friday on a lake with <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale, Capt. Dave Vollenweider said. He reported the catch to someone from the state’s stocking program, and the official hadn’t seen many that large. The fish smacked a trolled, scalloped yellow and orange spoon plug. Watch a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=orlczJ8OfGM" target="_blank">video of the musky</a>.  Later that day, Dave hosted a couple of anglers who wanted to learn about fishing Greenwood Lake, so they could catch better on the lake themselves. Dave showed them some techniques, and they reeled in a few fish. On Saturday aboard, Ed Wallendjack and son Mike pulled in a few crappies and, at night, a walleye from a lake. The walleye jumped on a cast Rapala Original Floating Lure in size F18, a 7-incher. Dave has usually caught walleyes on cast lures earlier in summer in lakes in shallows at night. But his trips have been grabbing them lately, and the fish are up in the shallows early in night, after sundown. Fishing for them is an option aboard, and walleyes are large, great-eating fish, a member of the perch family. Catching them on cast lures is fun. A couple of days before the tiger musky catch, two anglers joined Dave to troll for muskies on a lake, but none bit. That’s musky fishing, and a catch is never a guarantee. But anglers fish for them, because a catch can be the biggest in a lifetime. 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.

Greg from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna and wife fished Split Rock Reservoir, rounding up smallmouth bass and panfish like sunnies, he said. Four of his wife’s smallmouths topped 18 inches, including one that was larger than 22. They hooked the smallmouths on Gary Yamamoto soft plastics in color 196, if Greg remembered the number. It was light-brown with gold flake that’s popular locally in clear reservoirs. Greg also caught a largemouth bass on the trip. One of the shop’s sales reps at Split Rock tugged in smallmouths, probably on Keitechs, like he usually fishes. A customer socked smallmouths on Delaware River fairly well, before rains earlier this week probably affected the waters. Before the trip, the angler visited the shop to gear up. Greg showed him how to fish for them with Keitechs and wacky-rigged Yamamoto soft-plastic baits. After the trip, the angler said he never before landed so many, mostly on Yamamotos, a few on Keitechs. If anglers want smallmouths this time of year, the wacky-rigged baits work well. At Lake Hopatcong, a few hybrid striped bass and walleyes seemed to pounce early in the night or in mornings on livelined herring or top-water lures like a Pop-r or a Zara Spook Jr., sometimes the larger Spook. A large musky was heard about from Hopatcong that was caught on 6-pound test while the angler tried for smaller fish like bass or something. Waters cooled, and that seemed to turn on largemouth bass fishing that became good at smaller lakes like Horseshoe or Randolph and ponds. The only trout reports were heard from Pequest River at the hatchery, when waters were clear or not affected by rains. Nymphs and scuds caught the fish, and sometimes a small hatch came off in evenings. One customer said boaters trolled stringers of trout on Round Valley Reservoir down deep on downriggers. At night? Greg was asked, because catches were heard about at night, earlier this season. Sounded like the customer meant during daytime, he said.

Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield competed in a largemouth bass tournament on Whaley Lake in New York, and what a lake, he said.  The bass weren’t large, but were keepers, and six of the nine entrants limited out. One chanced into a 3-pounder, the event’s largest. The lake was weedy but fished excellent for largemouths, and tremendous for panfish. Nick also nabbed a bunch of panfish. He fished a private lake in Vernon, but that was terrible, because the lake was treated with weed killer. He hooked 12 largemouths all day. A friend kept rubber-frogging largemouths at Pompton Lake in the heavy slop that was abundant. Lake Hopatcong fished great for largemouths at deep weed edges and docks. Lake temperatures were in the 70s, so largemouthing picked up. The only problem is that lakes will turn over in fall, shutting down fishing about a week. But angling should be super afterward. Friends whacked walleyes, good catches, at Hopatcong and Swartswood Lake in early night on livelined, drifted herring in 18 feet. Hybrid striped bass also smacked the herring at Hopatcong. At Greenwood Lake, smallmouth bass fishing was super along deep shoreline on drop-shots. Greenwood’s largemouths suffered from a virus all season, slowing fishing for them. But some good catches of largemouths were made there, and the virus was supposedly becoming better. A couple of customers hit solid fishing for smallmouths and some northern pike on Passaic River at Elmwood Park from boats. They axed the smallies on top-water lures along the shore.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Lots of blue-winged olives seemed to hatch on trout streams on cloudy days, said Angelo from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. For unknown reasons, they mostly hatch on cloudy or rainy days. That’s the opposite of sulfurs that mostly hatch on sunny days in spring. Angelo fished a stream this week, seeing no action during sunshine. But as soon as rains began to fall, blue-wingeds came off.  Currently, lots of midges were around, and tan caddis were “still a factor,” Angelo said. Trout should become in pre-spawn in the next weeks, and then big, obnoxious eggs, he said, will hook them. So will larger, bright flies like Frenchies, Hot Spots and San Juan Worms. But tiny, sizes 16 to 20 midges, blue-wingeds and pheasant-tails should keep producing. Stream levels this week were all right, after rains early in the week. But the levels this time of season will be good after rains but drop to low afterward. Burt from the shop fished South Branch of Raritan River on Friday, banking a 15- or 16-inch rainbow trout on a zebra midge, Burt said. Waters were 68 degrees at 10:30 a.m., and he didn’t see many rises that day, only occasional ones. Then he met Darrel from the store at Ken Lockwood Gorge, seeing Darrel hooked up with another sizeable rainbow that jumped off at the net. He fished a zebra midge and a small, flash-back pheasant-tail nymph.  Fishing was good for smallmouth bass and largemouth bass at rivers, including the main Raritan and the lower ends of both the south and north branches, Angelo said. He and a buddy fished the Raritan, and Angelo hooked a largemouth and a smallmouth in the first 15 minutes.

At Ocean County College Pond, Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River saw an angler beat a largemouth bass on a popper and a couple of kids sack a few bluegills, Dennis said. A few hybrid striped bass were slugged at Manasquan Reservoir on chicken livers drifted in deep waters. The fishing could use rains to clean out or stir up the reservoir, triggering the hybrids to bite better. Though rains fell in surrounding areas, more could be used at the impoundment. At the Lacey Township ponds, catfish were wormed at the first pond along the road at dark. Chain pickerel were canoed at Bamber Lake on spinners. Shiners will be stocked Friday, and killies and nightcrawlers are on hand.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Crappies, large or 14 and 15 inches, good catches, were bombed at Vincentown Lake on 2- and 4-inch Fin-S Fish, said Tom P. from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Catfish and largemouth bass were cranked from Rosedale Lake. Chicken livers or dead shiners caught the cats, and the bass were rubber-wormed. Largemouths and chain pickerel were served up at Crystal Lake. Farther south, largemouthing was excellent at Salem Canal. Panfishing was great on most local ponds on poppers or dry flies. Tom at a park pond worked them over, and something large jumped on a bluegill he was reeling in, spitting it out. He’ll go back after that fish. On Delaware River, anglers began to poke around for good walleye fishing at night at Reigelsville, Rosemont and Stockton. Plenty of catfish milled around the river closer to the shop. Late-summer trout fishing doled out 15-inch holdovers on Musconetcong River, including at Stephens State Park and along Musconetcong River Road.

A 6-pound 11-ounce largemouth bass was weighed in from Lake Renee, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. Shiners tied into largemouths at Puppyland Lake very well for one angler. Customers bought minnows to fish for chain pickerel at New Brooklyn Lake. Sunfish, small largemouths, and snakeheads swam the spillway across the road from Blackwood Lake.

In a tournament at Union Lake, quite a few largemouth bass and smallmouth bass were smoked, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Good reports about largemouthing rolled in from South Vineland Park Pond and Lake Lenape. Largemouths this time of year were clapped on rubber frogs and Senko worms, like previously. Buzz baits really did a job on them. Many fished for white perch on brackish waters like Maurice River, Cohansey River and all the tidal ditches along Delaware Bay, catching very well. In saltwater, summer flounder were boated at ocean wrecks on bucktails with Gulps.

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