plugginpete
05-02-2008, 09:12 AM
By CHRIS LIDO - Asbury Press
Much-needed rain fell this past weekend, and this passing system brought water levels to where they should be at this time of year. A lot of rivers and streams were extremely skinny and were experiencing algae blooms that clouded the water and negatively affected the fishing.
Falling water after a good rain storm is a great time to fish for trout. In areas where the fish may be wary, the discolored water veils the approach of the bank fisherman. This type of "nature's own camouflage" brings new life into the water and shifts the fishing into high gear in the days that follow.
Most streams, rivers and lakes were stocked with brook trout in the preseason and during the first two weeks of in-season stocking. But that has changed and the hatchery trucks are rolling out, laden with feisty rainbow trout. As this hits the newsstands more brown trout will follow.
These rainbows are suckers for a well-presented salmon egg, with pink shrimp flavor getting the nod. A small hook hidden in the bait and a small split shot pinched a foot above the hook is the most effective way to fish salmon eggs.
Fly-flingers can also get in on the egg craze and drift round balls of yarn that resemble eggs as they would a nymph. In the stained water, pink and orange are highly visible. If you wish to fish a traditional nymph, think big, brown and ugly for spring trout in stained water. A large fly is more easily seen and readily taken.
Hatches of caddis and Hendrickson will bring wary trout to the surface and dry fly fishing is definitely on the upswing. Best patters for rainbows have been caddis nymphs and emergers, as well as flash-back hare's ear nymphs.
Catch-and-release walleye fishing is on fire at Swartswood Lake and Lake Hopatcong. Anglers who are flat-line trolling for trout in shallow water are catching and releasing walleye in the 5-pound range and better. Others are still jigging fish or drifting herring around rocky points.
As of May 1 you may keep three of these marble-eyed beauties if they reach 18 inches in length.
Speaking of Lake Hopatcong, trout are still biting like mad for those trolling or casting Rapalas, spinners and Phoebes. Adam Kasica landed two nice ones fishing from a dock — a 5-pound, 11-ounce brown was the biggest, with the other weighing in at 5 pounds, 9 ounces.
Jim Smith weighed in a 6-pound 6-ounce brown, rounding out the three largest trout of the week.
Anglers are also starting to catch hybrid stripers using herring, and catfish are on the prowl as the water warms. Bill Hand and his son, Liam, fished shiners off their dock at Hopatcong and caught a 15-pound, 13-ounce channel cat.
The largemouth bass are nearing the beds up north and on the spawn in the southern portion of the state. More bucks (smaller males) are being taken as they guard the nest. The bigger females eluded Marine Capt. Steve Schultze of Otis, Mass., as the cove we intended to fish was overrun with spawning carp, which slapped against the side of the Jon boat and turned the water into chocolate milk with their crazy antics.
Thanks to Mother Nature's work this past week, and a favorable forecast for this weekend, the fishing should be very good for a widening variety of freshwater denizens.
Much-needed rain fell this past weekend, and this passing system brought water levels to where they should be at this time of year. A lot of rivers and streams were extremely skinny and were experiencing algae blooms that clouded the water and negatively affected the fishing.
Falling water after a good rain storm is a great time to fish for trout. In areas where the fish may be wary, the discolored water veils the approach of the bank fisherman. This type of "nature's own camouflage" brings new life into the water and shifts the fishing into high gear in the days that follow.
Most streams, rivers and lakes were stocked with brook trout in the preseason and during the first two weeks of in-season stocking. But that has changed and the hatchery trucks are rolling out, laden with feisty rainbow trout. As this hits the newsstands more brown trout will follow.
These rainbows are suckers for a well-presented salmon egg, with pink shrimp flavor getting the nod. A small hook hidden in the bait and a small split shot pinched a foot above the hook is the most effective way to fish salmon eggs.
Fly-flingers can also get in on the egg craze and drift round balls of yarn that resemble eggs as they would a nymph. In the stained water, pink and orange are highly visible. If you wish to fish a traditional nymph, think big, brown and ugly for spring trout in stained water. A large fly is more easily seen and readily taken.
Hatches of caddis and Hendrickson will bring wary trout to the surface and dry fly fishing is definitely on the upswing. Best patters for rainbows have been caddis nymphs and emergers, as well as flash-back hare's ear nymphs.
Catch-and-release walleye fishing is on fire at Swartswood Lake and Lake Hopatcong. Anglers who are flat-line trolling for trout in shallow water are catching and releasing walleye in the 5-pound range and better. Others are still jigging fish or drifting herring around rocky points.
As of May 1 you may keep three of these marble-eyed beauties if they reach 18 inches in length.
Speaking of Lake Hopatcong, trout are still biting like mad for those trolling or casting Rapalas, spinners and Phoebes. Adam Kasica landed two nice ones fishing from a dock — a 5-pound, 11-ounce brown was the biggest, with the other weighing in at 5 pounds, 9 ounces.
Jim Smith weighed in a 6-pound 6-ounce brown, rounding out the three largest trout of the week.
Anglers are also starting to catch hybrid stripers using herring, and catfish are on the prowl as the water warms. Bill Hand and his son, Liam, fished shiners off their dock at Hopatcong and caught a 15-pound, 13-ounce channel cat.
The largemouth bass are nearing the beds up north and on the spawn in the southern portion of the state. More bucks (smaller males) are being taken as they guard the nest. The bigger females eluded Marine Capt. Steve Schultze of Otis, Mass., as the cove we intended to fish was overrun with spawning carp, which slapped against the side of the Jon boat and turned the water into chocolate milk with their crazy antics.
Thanks to Mother Nature's work this past week, and a favorable forecast for this weekend, the fishing should be very good for a widening variety of freshwater denizens.