Report

Laurie:

Saturday, June 9th is a free fishing day…No license is required to fish in the State of NJ,  a perfect time to grab a friend and head on out to fish . Fishing has been good here on Lake Hopatcong with a wide variety of fish hitting this past week. Sabrina Mackin had her limit of crappie, fishing with small jigs and fatheads, the largest hitting the scales at 1 lb 14 oz. Jim Macoluso had a pickerel weighing 3 lb 2 oz.  Several trout have been caught on live herring also, along with some hybrid stripers in the 5 and 6 pound range. Largemouth and smallmouth bass season will open again on June 15 th, and they have already started to hit pretty good. Knee Deep’s bass contest takes place on Sunday, June 24th with cash prizes for the 3 heaviest fish. Night time action is still going strong, usually lasting into July. Have a great week !!!

Expected Rising Rainbow Trout

Matt told me today or last night that twice recently he checked on the local river (North Branch Raritan) at Miller Lane, witnessing rising rainbow trout at sundown. Since he couldn't get off work by 3:30 as we assumed he would when we made plans, we didn't go to Tilcon Lake, but over here to Matt's spot instead, fly casting.

We got there almost two hours before sundown, any trout ignoring our dry flies, so I switched to a worm fly, then to a beadhead black stonefly size 12, because I wanted to get down near bottom fast and stay there. I'm pretty sure I had a trout on, because whatever I hooked moved, though it is possible that was a sunken stick. I never felt the pulsation of a fish. Whatever it was that got hooked moved aside, then came off.

We saw a couple of trout make splash rises, but they never came up in the great numbers Matt had seen. Nor did we see much of a hatch. Had we seen a definite hatch, we would have seen trout come up for the bugs.

Water remains very chilly. Trout fishing should be good--sometimes--for awhile yet.

http://littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/2017/04/peapack-brook-fast-action-with-rainbow.html

Round Valley Wind and Fish

My Sunday off, Matt had to work at noon. After we had breakfast in Chester as a family, I spent part of the afternoon getting a relay for my car's air conditioner. Not available in Somerville, me misled to Hillsborough and finally dealing with a couple of good people at Autozone Bound Brook, it took awhile, but my family got to Round Valley Reservoir after 6:00, feeling as if enjoying a late October day, chilly wind building water up in Ranger Cove.

I focused on two corners where whatever stuff carried by wave action would go no further. I used the same worm I recently caught my Mount Hope Pond bass on. Matt began with a 5/8th-ounce buzzbait, catching a little rock bass. I've never before seen such a little fish smack such a big lure and get caught. He switched to a spinnerbait, and in the meantime, I caught a rock bass almost 10 inches long on that worm, and then a little largemouth of about seven inches.

We walked further back to the next corner where I've caught bass before. When the reservoir was full. Matt cast from a point existing as an edge between wave action and quiet water of the cove-like corner, catching an 11-inch smallmouth bass. I stood and cast far downwind from him, catching another big rock bass, and then a largemouth of about nine inches. Matt walked down to face the wind with me and missed a hit.

I had the sense the fish were pretty active and vulnerable to a variety of lures, compared to when the typical blue skies and calm surface makes them scarce.

http://littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/2014/05/lunker-lunch-5-pound-round-valley.html

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Pending State Record Atlantic Salmon

Caught at Lake Aeroflex two days ago. Here's the FB link to Andover Bait & Hunt where it got weighted in. Looks about eight pounds.

https://www.facebook.com/129671147181936/photos/a.136741799808204.30548.129671147181936/1119842221498152/?type=3&theater