Pennsylvania
Striped bass began to infiltrate the Delaware River. Eight different keepers were reported caught from the Trenton area, two near Station Avenue, three off Linden Avenue, one toward Princeton and one near the Arsenal. A 33-incher, about 14 pounds, was the biggest so far. Downstream, smaller bass were moving up. One customer fished the flats below the Commodore Barry Bridge, picking up two 28-inch fish, before landing a 36-inch, 23-pounder! He also released nine bass down to 15 inches and reeled in four catfish and a couple of white perch, and bloodworms worked best for all. Some shad in the 2- to 5-pound bracket were now holding in the river near the Trenton power plant, and shad spoons and darts worked well. Another customer loaded up on crappies, 19 slabs up to a pound, at the Neshaminy Marina docks on tubes on 1/32-ounce jigheads. White and chartreuse were the hot colors.


North Jersey
Ric Mutchler of Easton reeled up a whopper, 19-pound 9-ounce carp from the nearby Delaware River, said Bill from Bill’s Bait & Tackle in Phillipsburg. Lots of smaller carp swam the area, but the ox gave anglers hope that where there’s one, there’s bound to be more.
The flow of the Passaic River settled down to fishable levels, said Adrian from Fairfield Fishing Tackle in Montville. Pike fishers were heavily hitting the river with live shiners for the water wolves. Some 8-pounders were caught and released in the last week, and more of the lunkers should be taken as spring rolls on. Trout anglers will be heading to the Big Flatbrook or Musconetcong rivers to find their limits on opening day of the season Saturday. Remember to pick up your 2008 fishing license and trout stamp!

Lake Hopatcong put out quality catches, said Kevin from Ramsey Outdoor in Paramus, and the back canals and shallow flats were home to lots of yellow perch and crappie, and pickerel haunted the state park area. Small Rapalas took most of the fish, and largemouth bass fishing was warming up at the lake, with a few of the bucketmouths smacking the Rapalas. Trout anglers were looking to target the Rockaway River when the season opens Saturday, and salted minnows are good baits to score bigger trout. On the Delaware River the Poxono boat launch area was a spot for healthy catches of walleyes on rainbow-colored Husky Jerks, an all-day chew.

Yellow perch and crappie made up most catches on the lake, said Laurie from Dow’s Boat Rentals in Lake Hopatcong. Waters near Brady Bridge were the go-to locale, and fathead minnows were the prime bait to attract both species. Trout anglers will slow-troll Rapalas off the docks, over the shallows and near bridge pilings on opening day. The shop’s boat-rental operation is at full steam now, so you don’t need to own a boat to test the lake. Just rent one!

The Woodport section of Lake Hopatcong gave up a mess of yellow perch for John Panicci and his son, who cast out small spinners and worms to land scores, said Al from Meltzer’s Sporting Goods in Garfield. The New York end of Greenwood Lake, in the arm section, was a top spot for crappie, and a customer caught more than 20 to 12 inches on small jigs twitched under floats. Trout anglers will look to the Ramapo River for the first catches of the new season.

Most trout fishers were ready to rumble and will focus on the South Branch of the Raritan River, especially at Clinton, said Chris at Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop. Power Baits and worms take down plenty, but fly casters can send out small, size-14 bead-headed nymphs. Largemouth bass should start to feed again in Spruce Run Reservoir, and live shiners will fill the bill. Try looking around the coves and the shallows.

Trouters wanting to bend a rod will be on the Big Flatbrook or Farrington Lake, said Ron from Ray’s Sport Shop in North Plainfield. Fly rodders should throw sizes 12 to 16 bead-headed nymphs, sizes 8 to 10 streamers and sizes 14 to 16 caddis patterns in tan. Spin-fishers should cast Mepps single-hooked Wooly Worms or yellow, No. 1 Roostertails.



Central Jersey
Ken Lockwood Gorge, a special regulation section for trout that allows fishing despite the closed season, was a major producer of the fish, said Bob from Efinger Sporting Goods in Bound Brook. Check the regs before fishing there. He and two other anglers combined for 32 released brook trout, all upwards of 12 inches. Blue-winged olive flies and gold-ribbed hare’s ears were producers. Anglers this weekend will fish the Pequest and the Musconetcong to pull on trout as the season opens.
Everybody was looking forward to opening day of trout season, said Andrew from L&H Woods & Water in Wall. The Manasquan and Toms rivers will be the main waters, bustling with anglers. Fly casters can try egg patterns and nymphs, while spin-fishers can launch Power Baits, nightcrawlers and meal worms. Spring Lake will be ripe for picking away at breeders, because it was stocked heavily. The shop’s annual Kids Fishing Day will be held at its pond on the grounds from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on opening day, Saturday. Kids ages 5 to 11, accompanied by an adult, can take part and are allowed to keep two trout each.

Trout anglers were chomping at the bit to hit the Toms River, said Jim from Murphy’s Hook House in the town of Toms River. Power Baits and Roostertails will be the perfect choice to land a limit. Largemouth bass anglers listen up: The store is holding an insane sale on spinner baits at $1 apiece and bags of favorite plastics, including Fin-S Fish, Senkos and Culprits, also $1. Hurry and load up for the bass season!

Shad sometimes gave up action on the Delaware River, said Frank from Harry’s Army and Navy of Robbinsville. Occasional gizzard shad and herring were in the mix to boot, and Sabiki rigs and shad darts took most fish. Striped bass were also trickling up, and linesiders to 28 inches sometimes inhaled live herring. Trout casters will get on the Lambertville stretch of the Delaware and Raritan Canal to pull on opening-day fish. Be sure to stop in and take advantage of the shop’s sale, featuring 10 to 20 percent discounts until Saturday.

The crappie bite was on fire at Carnegie Lake, said Tony at the Sportsmen’s Center in Bordentown, and small, curly grubs were attracting the fish. Lake Assunpink offered its share of crappies along the shoreline, and chain pickerel and crappies were both biting at the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Lakes. On the Delaware River the season’s first shad started to be fought toward the Trenton power plant, and red and white shad darts got hit.

Pickerel were the main fare at the ponds off Route 9, said Dale at L&H Woods & Water in Waretown. The Wells Mills Ponds on Route 532 also drew attention from pickerel anglers, and try using live shiners or small crank baits for the feisty fish.



South Jersey
Opening-day trout-season anglers will pay attention to Grenloch Lake, Oak Pond and Rowan’s Pond, said Ed from Creek Keepers of Blackwood. Blackwood Lake offered largemouth bass, and so did Lake Rene, and they ate live shiners. One angler wrestled in a big, 30-inch muskie at Medford Lakes.
Trouters will concentrate on the stocked waters at Iona Lake, Grenloch Lake and Oak Pond, said Lou from the Sportsman’s Outpost in Williamstown, and Power Baits will be the No. 1 choice. A largemouth bass tournament on Wilson Lake last week resulted in 15 bucketmouths taken, showing that the bass were beginning to wake up from the winter slumber.

Largemouth bass fishing was picking up every week, said Steve from Blackwater Sports Center in Vineland. The fish, warming up day by day on the flats, were starting to grab spinner baits in the shallows at Daretown Lake, Elmer Lake and Cedarville Lake. The Salem Canal was the place for a solid crappie feed on twister tails, mini tubes and Road Runners, and yellow and white scored best. Herring began to move up the Maurice River, and stripers were on their tails, because shorts were hooked and released.

Herring began to push up the Maurice River, said Ki from Huck’s Place in Millville. Sabiki rigs were hanging some, and savvy anglers were livelining the baitfish back in hopes for a striped bass. Word did come around that a keeper striper was bagged from the river. Both herring and bloodworms will be best baits for the upcoming striper run there.



Last Week's Report
NEW YORK
Note: This will be the last report from New York State for the year, because all focus will be on waters in Jersey and the surrounding area starting in April. Look for New York coverage to start back up toward winter, when ice fishing is impending, and salmon are once again migrating up the rivers.

Adirondacks

This should be the last week of fishable ice, said Jeff from FISH307.com in Lake George. The edges were becoming “iffy” at best, with ice still holding once anglers got out onto it. Plenty of yellow perch and pike action went down in the coves on the South Basin in the past week, and so did catches of landlocked salmon and lake trout from 30- to 40-foot depths. Although this is the last report of the season from FISH307.com, the area’s fishing should continue to be strong all through the summer.

Salmon River

The river was running at 1,150 CFS yesterday but was slated to be dropped to 750 CFS by today, said Eric at All Seasons Sports in Pulaski. Lots of snowmelt kept water temps low or in the 33- to 34-degree range, but steelheads were smacking pink bubble gum worms. Customers averaged 2 to 4 steelies per trip, fish that weighed about 10 pounds. The river will give up “drop-back” steelheads through spring as the fish migrate back into the lake. Although this is the final report from the shop until winter, feel free to call the store to see how the drop-back fishing is going.

PENNSYLVANIA

Striped bass officially began to push up the Delaware River, said Bill from Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle in Philadelphia, and most action took place around the Commodore Barry Bridge. Catches included five keepers to 31 inches taken off Station Avenue, two fish over 28 inches off Linden Avenue and one 29-incher off Princeton Avenue. All were caught on bloodworms, and smaller bass and catfish were sometimes mixed in. More stripers were holding farther down the river, but they were generally smaller. The Salem area was putting out lots of 15- to 25-inch stripers and some big white perch. One customer fished off the Chester Ramp and picked up nine stripers and 16 catfish, all on bloods. Trout anglers were geared up for Pennsylvania’s season opener this Saturday, and best bets for success on the first day include Pennypack Creek, Wissahickon Creek, Levittown Lake, Core Creek and Neshaminy.

NEW JERSEY

North Jersey

The Passaic River cleaned up enough for pike anglers to have at it, after the waters were previously muddied from rains, said Adrian at Fairfield Fishing Tackle in Montville. The Hawthorne section was pretty productive for those fishing large, live shiners. Humongous carp were also taken in the river lately. Try sending out cornmeal baits to the homely-looking creatures.

The Delaware River flowed high and muddy, said Dom at Ramsey Outdoor in Paramus. That sent a lot of people to Lake Hopatcong to fish, and they were scoring well on yellow perch, monsters up to 1 pound, and occasional smallmouth bass. The key was to work Senko worms in black or blue in the shallow back coves.

Yellow perch and crappie were the mainstay on the big lake, said Laurie from Dow’s Boat Rentals in Lake Hopatcong. The Brady Bridge area was the spot to be, because the shallows held perch in the warm sunlight, and the fish were hitting live fathead minnows or jigs tipped with small, curly tailed grubs.

Most streams in the area were still flooded, said Mark from Meltzer’s Sporting Goods in Garfield. But anglers hoped they’d all be clear by opening day of trout season in two Saturdays. Meanwhile, bass anglers were starting to haunt the lakes such as Hopatcong and Split Rock Reservoir to tangle with largemouths and smallmouths. Cast shallow-water crank baits or Senko worms around brush piles and flats for a taker.

Spruce Run Reservoir’s pike fishing was slow, said Chris at Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop. The Division of Fish and Wildlife even picked up their nets and barely found pike. Largemouth bass anglers were starting to see activity along the banks, where Winston and Knightlius Peck found a few on live shiners. Trout fishers kept looking to Round Valley Reservoir to pull on lakers along the dam areas and rainbows from the shoreline.

Trouters were heading to the special regulation areas where fishing was allowed, such as the Ken Lockwood Gorge, while the season was closed on other waters, and were hooking brownies and rainbows, said Ron from Ray’s Sport Shop in North Plainfield. Size-12, pink Glo-Bugs were the finest flies, and one angler released 17 trout on a day out with that specific pattern. Other special reg streams include a number of wild trout waters in Morris County, where one customer caught and released six native rainbows on a size-14, black stonefly nymph.

Central Jersey

Spring Lake was getting stocked for the first-day trout rush, said Andrew at L&H Woods & Water in Wall. But until then, largemouth bass anglers were starting to try out Manasquan Reservoir again for the spring bite, though no confirmed reports of success came back. Make sure that if you plan on renting a boat at the reservoir, you’ve passed the mandatory boaters course required in New Jersey. Get the certificate, and don’t get turned away from a day on the water.

Pickerel were on a tear at the Dumps in Toms River off Church Road, said Dennis from Murphy’s Hook House in Toms River. Live shiners, top-water poppers and floating plugs were scoring picks to 3 pounds. Lake Riviera was also a chainsider producer and doled out a few largemouth bass. The Trilco stretch of the Toms River was a place for a mix of pickerel and yellow perch on live shiners, and mid-daytime hours were best for a hook-up.

Ryan at Harry’s Army and Navy in Robbinsville said he reeled in a quality pair of 3-pound crappie that inhaled live shiners at Carnegie Lake. The big slabs were chewing all over, and a trophy could be found, if anglers put in the time. Yellow perch were also feeding at Carnegie, taking meal worms on small jigheads. Loads of pickerel were hanging out at Gropp’s Lake and Mercer Lake, and Luke Lucas checked in a behemoth, 7-pound 8-ouncer. A decent largemouth bass fishery was also gaining momentum at Gropp’s.

Carnegie Lake seemed the top spot for customers at the Sportsmen’s Center in Bordentown, Bob said. Crappie there were chasing down grub-tailed jigs tipped with fatheads. Trout casters were traveling to Ken Lockwood Gorge to pull on fish that were eating well. A few largemouth bass were fooled on live shiners at Mercer Lake, and a few herring and shad were showing up in the Delaware River around the Trenton power plant area, but not in any real numbers yet.

Most customers were focusing on Wildlife Management Area waters such as at Collier Mills and the campground ponds for fights with pickerel, said [censored] from L&H Woods & Water in Waretown. Try casting live shiners or working small crank baits.

South Jersey

Anglers looking for pickerel were cleaning up at New Brooklyn Lake and Clementon Lake, said Ed from Creek Keepers in Blackwood. The best bet was to fish a live shiner under a float along the shallows. Kids and adults alike were having tons of fun pulling on sunfish at Blackwood Lake, especially near the spillway.

Customers were buying up killies to target pickerel at places such as Malaga Lake and Wilson Lake, said Lou from the Sportsman’s Outpost in Williamstown. Both crappie and yellow perch should also be active at those impoundments, and to find them, scale down to fathead minnows or small jigs for the smaller fish.

After the cold front toward the end of last week, largemouth bass were a bit sluggish, said Steve from Blackwater Sports Center in Vineland. But that action should change for the better this week with temps in the mid 50s. Dunk small fathead minnows in Malaga, Franklinville or Sunset lakes to trick a big-chested yellow perch. White perch were showing in the Maurice River, and so was the first real shot of herring, and that should spark striped bass fishing any day now. To tussle with a pickerel, swim a live minnow at any given sandwash or pond, the most guaranteed gig going now.

Source
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Nunzio Prato : Bassin' USA Staff - Moderator