New Jersey Fishing Reports

Water temps were on the rise, so fishing for striped bass and herring mostly subsided on the Delaware River, said Bill from Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle in Philadelphia. Fishing for catfish, eels and smallmouth bass were mostly the deal now. But on the striper front, one customer fished the Arsenal area and clammed four bass to 34 inches. Another hit the Station Avenue stretch Monday and Tuesday and reeled up four stripers, all under 15 inches, that ate bloodworms and several catfish that took herring. Near the Turnpike Bridge another angler tackled a 21-pound, 37-inch linesider, a decent one, that swallowed herring. He also belted three other small bass and plenty of catfish to 8 pounds. Smallmouth bass fishing really picked up, especially in the Yardley area. The bronzebacks inhaled live minnows and grubs, and some customers grabbed more than 30 on a day out. One smallie angler waded at Washington's Crossing, cast minnows and hooked 15 of the fish to 14 inches and all the catfish he wanted. The river at Bulls Island and Byram were also smallmouth hot spots.

NEW JERSEY

North Jersey

Anglers focused on fishing the reservoirs and lakes instead of the trout streams, because of the heat wave, said Bill from Bill’s Bait & Tackle in Phillipsburg. Lake Hopatcong was a treasure chest for walleyes, like Dave Utzinger’s 4-pound 12-ouncer, Keith Kinney’s 4-pound 8-ouncer and Chris Bogoly’s 4-pound 4-ouncer. The Delaware River produced Clair Reynold’s 7-pound 6-ounce walleye and Mike Riffert’s 8-pound channel catfish. Kevin Fenlon fished at Hoffman Park and nailed a 4-pound 12-ounce bucketmouth and plied Merrill Creek Reservoir to drill a 5-pound even bucket. Ernie Stires took a trip to Lopatcong Creek and came up with a 5-pound 9-ounce brown trout.

Carp doled out the bite on the Passaic River, said Adrian from Fairfield Fishing Tackle in Montville. One customer got into constant action on the homely critters on corn meal and dough baits. Use a small, size-BB split shot on the line, so the bait drops down in the waters but not far enough to snag bottom. Fish to 10-pounds-plus were hooked, so at least 12-pound test was recommended to muscle the bruisers away from snags.

A sustained fishery for hybrid striped bass went down on Lake Hopatcong, and live herring fished at night attracted the bites, said Kevin from Ramsey Outdoor in Paramus. On many lakes in general, largemouth bass could be convinced to chase down top-water poppers at sunrise, and Hula Poppers worked especially well. On the Delaware River smallmouth bass got active, especially at Worthington State Park, and wacky-rigged Senkos and black, twisty tailed grubs were the ticket.

Warm waters made the fish bite on the lake, said Laurie from Dow’s Boat Rentals in Lake Hopatcong. Nighttime angling picked up, and walleyes and hybrid striped bass smacked top-water lures, including Bombers, Yozuri stick baits, Zara Spooks and Creek Chub Knuckleheads in the dark. Michael Fiorentino swam a live herring to beat a 7-pound 1-ounce brokensider. Lots of smaller, 2- to 4-pound hybrids and also walleyes hung around Chestnut Point and Byram Cove. Dariusz Klimowicz fished Chestnut Point and bagged a 7-pound 13-ounce walleye that attacked a live herring. Muskellunge also started to hit off the weed lines. Lou Marcucci pounced on a 46-incher that tried to steal a live herring.

Largemouth bass were definitely back on the chew, said Tom from Meltzer’s Sporting Goods in Garfield. He took a shot at them at Ramapo Lake with watermelon and green pumpkin Senkos, bailing 13 bass from 2 to 3 pounds. He also found crappies eager to chase 2-inch swim shads. All the action was at sunup and shut off by 8:30 a.m. The Passaic River was a solid spot to locate schooling smallmouth bass in the deep waters above the falls that charged 2-inch Senkos.

Hybrid stripers started to feed both at Lake Hopatcong and Spruce Run Reservoir, said Chris from Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop. Live herring fished in the evenings produced quality catches up to a half-dozen. At Round Valley Reservoir yellow perch and largemouth and smallmouth bass sucked down nightcrawlers at the coves.

Warm-water fish on the lakes and ponds were a better bet than cold-water trout on the streams during the hot weather, said Ron from Ray’s Sport Shop in North Plainfield. Try Farrington Lake and Nomahegon Lake to creel crappies, rock bass and largemouth bass on top-water poppers or wooly bugger flies.

Central Jersey

Hybrid striped bass, such as Mike Pitoscig’s 5.8-pounder that punched a live shiner, were on tap at Spruce Run Reservoir, said Ron from Efinger Sporting Goods. Don’t count out yellow perch at Round Valley Reservoir. Josie Vinacruz checked in a big ol’ 1.1-pounder that tried to make a meal of a J-9 Rapala.

Lake Riviera seemed to offer up impressive largemouth bass. The report last week from Murphy’s Hook House in Toms River said Dave Chambers caught and released a huge, 10-pound lunker at the lake. He hooked and let go the same exact 10-pounder this past week, Dennis from the shop said. Dave could tell from the markings, and the bass was now spawned out, thought it wasn’t during the previous catch. Crazy! Manasquan Reservoir was finally coming alive, and boaters on the impoundment worked the outside edges of the tree lines with jig-n-pig combos to put bucketmouths on deck. Anglers who could cast nightcrawlers or killies like a laser could pull out decent-sized crappies from between the stick piles. The Ocean County College ponds held bluegills and sunfish for a day of summer-like fun. The Trilco stretch of the Toms River was a carp haven, and the big bottom feeders ate up cornmeal-and-molasses-mixed dough, as well as raisins, both fished on the bottom.

The high temps sparked serious top-water action on largemouth bass, said Eric from Harry’s Army and Navy of Robbinsville. Buzz baits and Jitterbugs worked at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area lakes, especially in the early mornings and late in the day. On the Delaware River smallmouth bass fishing turned on, because the fish came off the spawning beds. Spinners and grub tails earned attention, and catfish in the river were glad to Hoover up stink baits from the bottom.

Fishing for crappies and chain pickerel really opened up, said Tony from the Sportsmen’s Center in Bordentown. Both the Assunpink and Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area lakes gave up both species on killies and nightcrawlers fished around the edges. Carnegie Lake was a top producer of bass and crappies, but live shiners worked better there.

South Jersey

A fishing tournament for kids took place at Tuckerton Lake during the weekend, said Scott from Scott’s Bait & Tackle in Mystic Island. A medley of species including trout, largemouth bass, yellow perch, pickerel and crappies were taken. So the lake continued to offer plenty of surprises on a daily basis. Bring nightcrawlers and live killies for a hook-up.

A tournament for kids was also held at Creek Keepers in Blackwood over the weekend, and Grenloch Lake was the place for steady angling for sunfish and pickerel during the event, Joe Rodano said. His own kids took second place in the girls’ and boys’ divisions: Tiffany caught nine sunnies, and Joey amassed 13. Nice job! Some quality largemouth bass began to be scored on Blackwood Lake. Joe fished there with Jay from the shop, and they cast Senkos to nail a 4.7-pounder and a 3.9-pounder, respectively. Big carp also prowled the lake, and up to 8-pounders sniffed out mulberry dough baits.

Bigmouth bass willingly struck on the surface because of the torrid weather, said Lou from the Sportsman’s Outpost in Williamstown. Hula Poppers caught bass at Malaga and Sunset Lakes in the early mornings and at dusk, when the sun was at its lowest, and Senkos also worked during those times. Pickerel hid in the shadows around the lake edges but whacked shiners cast on a bobber.

The key to hooking largemouths was to fish early morning hours until 8 a.m., said Zach from Blackwater Sports Center in Vineland. The bass stopped feeding during the heat of the afternoons. Union Lake, Sunset Lake and Parvin Lake all produced, and Senkos were best lures. Also at Union, crappies could be landed on live minnows cast off the banks and into the stick piles. The Maurice River held a good number of catfish for bottom anglers, and 3- to 5-pound channels honed in on dead baits and stink baits.

The Maurice River’s fishing moved into a summertime pattern, said Ki from Huck’s Place in Millville. The most common catches were a combo of white perch available during the day and catfish on the menu at night. For the perch, fish grass shrimp on high tides any time of day, and for the cats, drop stink baits or cut baits to the bottom.