New Jersey Fishing Reports

Striped bass season closed on the Delaware River, but anglers still caught and released fish, said Bill from Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle in Philadelphia. The last couple of keeper-sized bass he heard about were a 33-incher taken Friday and a 35-incher caught Sunday near the Commodore Barry Bridge. Short bass were thick at the bridge, and some anglers landed more than 20 on a day out on bloodworms. One customer fished around the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, soaking bloodworms, herring, shad strips and chicken livers, picking up 17 stripers, 14 white perch, and a bunch of eels and catfish. The river at Dredge Harbor was dishing out lots of yellow perch on live minnows on chartreuse bucktails. A few customers fished Neshaminy Creek and scored largemouth bass on nightcrawlers fished along the rocks of the jetty. In the Trenton area at the power plant on the Big D, bank anglers were fighting plenty of shad inside the cove. Shad were also starting to show up along the islands at Yardley, and shad spoons and darts worked well. A bit farther upstream at Bull's Island and above, anglers were scoring good numbers of walleyes, like one customer who boated five up to 5 pounds. Most of the walleyes were hooked on minnows, nightcrawlers, bucktails, twister tails and crank baits.

NEW JERSEY

North Jersey

The trout opener was great! said Adrian from Fairfield Fishing Tackle in Montville. Everybody seemed to bag limits and go home happy, and not one customer complained about lack of fish, he said. Most hit the Rockaway, Paulinskill and Pequest rivers, throwing pink Power Baits and baby nightcrawlers.

Trout anglers loaded up, said Dom from Ramsey Outdoor in Paramus. High water flowed on the Rockaway River, but trouters still found action on small, gold Phoebes and garden worms on size-B split shots. Heavier weights held the bottom better, and anglers who used more weight got more strikes. Trout were also caught regularly at the stocked ponds in Morris County.

The lake was hot! Even though the weather was rough, impressive catches came up, said Laurie from Dow’s Boat Rentals in Lake Hopatcong. Yellow perch and crappie fishing held strong at the Brady Bridge area on fathead minnows and small jigs. Trout and pickerel swam the area as well, biting spinners, Phoebes and small Rapalas. Notable trout catches included: Jason Cummins’ 3-pound 3-ounce rainbow and 3-pound 15-ounce brown that he trolled; Gerard DelVescovo’s 2-pound 10-ounce brook trout that smacked a Rapala; and Rich Giesuibel’s 3-pound 8-ounce brown that attacked a spinner. Trout fishers should stick to trolling in the shallow areas for best results or should cast along the docks. Small- and bigmouth bass were also on tap. Tyler Lambert put the brakes on a 3-pound 12-ounce smallie, and John Swenty chalked up a 3-pound 14-ounce largemouth. What’s more, big pickerel came in. Pete Rathjens took a 4-pound 1-ouncer, and Ken Jastrzebski beat a 3-pound 13 ouncer. Vincent McIninch drilled a 3-pound 8-ounce pick, and Pete Peligrino fought a 3-pound 4-ouncer. Last but not least, Tommy Fernandez, 14, reeled in a 3-pound-even chainsider.

Trout fishing on the Ramapo River produced fantastic catches, said Mark at Meltzer’s Sporting Goods in Garfield. Limits were common, and garden worms fished on the bottom were most productive. Hot spots also included Verona Park and Dahnart’s Lake in Garfield, where a 3-pound breeder was bagged. The waters were clear, because rains held off for the opener.

It was mayhem on the South Branch of the Raritan River, said Chris from Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop in Lebanon. Trout anglers lined the shores at the Clinton Falls stretch to limit out most of opening day. Worms, salmon eggs and nymphs all hooked up, and if you had a line in the water, you had a fish, Chris said. A caddis fly hatch made matching the hatch easy for fly casters. Plenty of trout could still be found at all spots on the river, Chris said. Lots of suckers also bit there.

Water levels ranged above normal for opening day, but the rivers and streams flowed clear and clean, said Denny at Ray’s Sport Shop in North Plainfield. Trout casters were delighted with the conditions and took advantage, catching stringers of hatchery fish on the Pequest and the Big Flatbrook.

Central Jersey

A cavalcade of trout weigh-ins hit the scales at Efinger Sporting Goods, Ron said. Several big rainbows came from the South Branch: Tony Cimino’s 4-pounder, John Marklin’s 4.2-pounder and Dave Bant’s 3.2-pounder. Sea Wagner pinned down a 1.8-pound rainbow on the North Branch. At the Passaic River Mark Schwederman tackled a 4-pound brookie, and at Echo Lake Mark Southern netted a 2.5-pound brownie. At unknown locations Rick Sharkey earned a 2.2-pound brookie, and Paul Kuzio reeled up a 3-pound rainbow. Needless to say, the state did put some breeders in this year!

Opening day of trout season was stunning, said Andrew at L&H Woods & Water in Wall. During the store’s annual Kids Fishing Day on the opener, a total of 196 kids had a blast catching trout at the shop’s backyard pond. Marisa Masi also beached a 3.5-pound carp. At other locations trout anglers fished the Manasquan River with egg fly patterns and baby nightcrawlers to load up. The conservation stretch of the Toms River also produced plenty, and Spring Lake gave up an absolute monster brown trout: an 11 pounder on a spinner bait. Wow! Word had it that a 13 pounder was still in the lake, too. On the Big Flatbrook a customer tossed out River to Sea tungsten gold spoons and tallied 30 trout on opening day. In other action, a few 1- to 4-pound largemouth bass were grabbed from Spring Lake on spinner baits.

Trout fishers slammed the fish in the Trilco stretch of the Toms River, said Jim from Murphy’s Hook House in the town of Toms River. The Manasquan River also produced super catches, including for 3-1/2-year-old Eva Chamberlain, who landed her first-ever trout. Congratulations Eva!

Opening day was good all around, said Frank from Harry’s Army and Navy in Robbinsville, and a 9-pound brown trout came out of Spring Lake. The Delaware River’s conditions improved a bit and were more fishable. Herring started pushing up the river, and striped bass fishing was picking up as a direct result. Try Sabiki rigs to jig a few herring to liveline them back for bass.

Lake Assunpink kept trout anglers happy, said Tony from the Sportsmen’s Center in Bordentown. Roostertails and nymphs fooled hatchery stockers from the banksides of the big lake. The rest of the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area lakes were home to largemouth bass that began to chase live shiners and spinner baits. Customers also flocked to the Fort Dix ponds for trout success, including on big stockers that pounced on nightcrawlers. Carnegie Lake was a place for quality largemouth bass and crappie action on small grub tails and live fathead minnows.

South Jersey

Big, breeder trout were sometimes on the bite at Oak Pond, said Ed from Creek Keepers in Blackwood. A 4-pound 12-ounce rainbow was caught, and so was a 3-pound 8-ouncer. The state stocked 50 breeders at the pond, so there were more to be found. Rocco Pasquale fished Greenwich Lake to haul up a 3.8-pound rainbow, and Grenloch Lake dished out a 3-pound-even ‘bow. Doug Taylor tried Rowan’s Pond and banked a 2-pound brook trout. Trout fishers were pleased, and the big trout should continue to be caught in the coming weeks.

Large trout were rolling in at the Sportsman’s Outpost in Williamstown, Lou said. Oak Pond, Shaw’s Mill Pond and Iona Lake all held breeders to 3 1/2 pounds that hunted down Power Baits and in-line spinners. News was noticeably quiet from Grenloch Lake, though there should be plenty of trout there, too. Herring began to move into the Maurice and Great Egg Harbor rivers, and short striped bass were played every day at those locales.

This was one of the best opening days of trout season, said Steve from Blackwater Sports Center in Vineland. Giampetro Park doled out a few 4-pound trout, and the Maurice River reportedly gave up plenty of limit catches. Not only were trout cooperative, but crappie and even smallmouth bass aggressively fed at Union Lake and Lenape Lake. Spinner baits, jerk baits and Senkos caught both species. The herring run was moving along in a big way on the Maurice River, and a few stripers were starting to be landed from the banks. The Mays Landing section of the Great Egg Harbor River was also a spot for a few linesiders that grabbed live herring. Largemouth bass fishing was a bit sluggish, but with warmer temps expected this week, Daretown Lake, Parvin Lake and Rainbow Lake should all provide decent action on Rat-L-Traps and chatter baits in the shallows.

The herring run was under way on the Maurice River, said Ki from Huck’s Place in Millville. Stripers to 27 inches were reportedly caught on herring chunks and bloodworms in the river. Try fishing high tides in the mornings for the best shot at a linesider.