<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Salmon fishing changed some on the river, said Jay Peck from <b>Jay Peck Guide Service</b>. The trickles of the Chinook or king salmon migrating into the river became stronger and really consistent, some days more so, some days less, and the water level, previously 385 cubic feet per second, dropped to 185. That’s low, the same as the summer minimum low, but not a disaster. Once the fish became acclimated, anglers just needed to “step back” from the fish, he said, or avoid spooking them, and needed to fish more delicately than before, including with lighter leaders. The water was in the upper 50 degrees and lower 60s. That made the fish “hot” or aggressive. “Dangerous,” he said, and an angler might break the line off a half-dozen of the salmon, shaking their heads and tearing off downstream, before landing one. The fish mostly bit in mornings, and Jay experimented with flies and presentations day-to-day, until finding what caught. Bright-colored Crystal Bugger flies could be “hotter than a fart,” he said (!), at first light. When the sun shone brightly on the river in mornings, Olive Buggers could work. A few of the fish were seen spawning, and many will probably spawn by the end of the week. A few steelheads were rumored to migrate into the river. They arrive later in fall than salmon, nd Jay’s trips will fish for steelheads once the salmon fishing slows. Salmon die in the river after spawning, but steelheads do not, and instead return to Lake Ontario. Steelheads migrate to the river in fall, spend winter there, where forage is most abundant, spawn in the river in spring, and return to the lake to spend summer. The steelheading is world-class throughout winter in the river. Jay also fishes for giant brown trout in fall and spring in rivers and creeks farther west in New York toward Rochester. The trout fishing ends in early winter once the rivers and creeks freeze, and happens again after the thaw. But steelheading lasts all winter on the Salmon, because the river is larger and never completely freezes. The trout spawn in the creeks and rivers in fall, spend winter there because that’s where forage is most abundant, and return to the lake for summer. Jay specializes in fly-fishing and catch-and-release, and books trips that fish with conventional tackle with his other guides.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> released a 42-1/2-inch musky that crushed his cast lure along a weed line Sunday, he wrote in an email. The lure was a Shumway Flasher, and the fish bent the lure, so that Dave had to bend it back to make it fishable again. He also scored a follow from another musky on the trip. Previously this season, he scored follows, but now the fish seemed to begin biting in cooler water. The lake was 64 degrees. He released another large musky at Oxford Furnace Lake on Tuesday that jumped on a Pro Select Bucktail with two blades colored black from Andy Meyers Lodge. The Shumway is also a bucktail with two blades. Oxford was 65 degrees, and on this trip, at first, he had five follows – “including a bonafide 30+lber … a real monster!” he wrote – before catching. Then he tied on the Andy Meyers bucktail, because weather was overcast, and the lake became a little choppy, he said, nailing the catch.

Not a lot of fishing happened, because of rough weather this past week, said Junior from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. Largemouth bass seemed not to bite much in lakes in the weather, though news was limited, because few fished. Before the weather, largemouth anglers often caught on soft-plastic lures, but top-water lures still nailed the fish. The water and weather were still warm enough for the fish to be aggressive for that, and Junior himself pasted the bass on top-waters like popper-plugs and frog lures before the weather.  <a href="http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/trtinfo_fall.htm" target="_blank">Fall trout stocking</a> will kick off Tuesday, and anglers wondered whether local trout streams would be high enough. The streams have run low, and when that happens, the trout are sometimes stocked at other locations.

Hybrid striped bass, lots, chomped in the lake, Laurie from <b>Dow Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong wrote in an email last Wednesday. The fish swiped chicken livers and livelined herring, and Jim Welsh and Robin and Dale Edwards pasted their share of the stripers to 7 pounds, many white perch and some crappies. Marcin Supinski tackled good-sized hybrids, some walleyes 3 to 4 pounds and sizeable crappies to one just under 2 pounds. Five anglers on the Quint’s Revenge II boated hybrids 5 to 8 ½ pounds, all good-sized, on chicken livers and a 5-pound channel catfish. The Knee Deep Club will hold a walleye tournament Saturday and Sunday on the lake, the club’s final tournament of the year. Saturday, October 15, will be a free fishing day, no license required. The store will be open until sometime in November. Afterward, it closes for a break, until reopening for ice-fishing.

Weather might’ve been tough much of the past week, but Joe from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook said northern pike, catfish, carp and a couple of smallmouth bass were cranked from Passaic River. Largemouth bass were eased from Lake Hopatcong. One customer reported taking them on swim baits on jigs. In saltwater, surf anglers had been fighting false albacore at Sandy Hook Point. They angled bluefish throughout the Hook’s surf.

Sad news: <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook, founded in 1909, is closing. The shop is holding a liquidation sale, and fishing gear is currently 20 percent off, and that will change, Braden said. More than half was already sold, and fishing gear is selling quickest among the sporting goods. Smallmouth bass fishing gave up great catches on the north and south branches and the main stem of Raritan River. Many anglers clocked them on chatter baits and Z-Man TRD rubber worms. Now that water was cooling, catches of northern pike to 30 inches were becoming good on Passaic River. Anglers were just beginning to buy gear for trout fishing on streams, and none reported results yet. Fall trout stocking will begin Tuesday. Lake Hopatcong’s hybrid striped bass fishing was becoming better and better, on livelined herring and especially chicken livers, where water was deep off points. In upstate New York, Salmon River ran low but was full of salmon. Customers were headed there this weekend.

A couple of customers fished Manasquan Reservoir, sliding in crappies on killies, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. Jeff from the shop picked up a few largemouth bass and chain pickerel from Lake Riviera. Customers geared up for fall trout stocking that will begin October 11. The Toms, Metedeconk and Manasquan rivers will be stocked that day. The shop is stocked with all trout supplies including PowerBait, salmon eggs and nightcrawlers. Killies and shiners are also carried. Murphy’s, located on Route 37, also owns <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River.

James from <b>Harry’s Army Navy</b> in Robbinsville axed good largemouth bass fishing from the lower Delaware River on jerk baits toward Philadelphia recently, he said. The river rose somewhat from rains, but not drastically. It had been extremely low in the drought. Nothing was heard about smallmouth bass fishing on the river. Crappie catches picked up on Mercer Lake on small, white soft-plastics. In saltwater, James began surf-fishing for the season, whacking lots of striped bass 25 to 32 inches on various surface lures and swimming plugs. He fought false albacore from the surf before last week’s storm.

Largemouth bass and even some crappies swung from South Vineland Park Pond was the best fishing heard about, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. For largemouths at lakes, jigs often caught. Crank baits began to be fished for them often, and swim baits started to come into play. More chain pickerel catches than before, nothing to get excited about, but more, began to be reported from lakes. Minnows were a top choice for bait. Abundant white perch bit in brackish creeks and rivers. In saltwater, weakfish schooled Delaware Bay, and blackfish hit along bridges. Nothing was heard about the fall striped bass migration yet.   

Back to Top