May 11, 2026 - 10:32:54
From Joe over at Fairfield Fishing Tackle comes word of some good fishing being seen in the upper Passaic River. Joe told me water levels are up and this has allowed kayak fishermen to get at more productive areas. Most of the fishing is northerns, smallies, catfish and occasional largemouth. He also mentioned walleye and smallies being taken in Beltzville and good crappie, walleyed, hybrids and catfishing in Lake Hopatcong.
May 11, 2026 - 10:32:45
Over at Fairfield Fishing Tackle Joe echoed most reports on the striped bass fishing that we got, when he said the fishing was still going strong all over Raritan Bay and surrounding waters. Swimming plugs, shads and topwater baits were the answer when it comes to artificials, while bloods and bunker were the ticket for bait fishermen. Because of the heavy boat traffic that that the striped bass fishing was drawing, a lot of anglers have started to fish areas that were little fished with good success. He also agreed with other people we spoke with that we are not going to see some good fluke fishing until the water temps come up which hopefully will coincide with the coming new moon on May 17.
May 04, 2026 - 10:28:49
Joe over at Fairfield Fishing Tackle told us of better fishing in the upper Passaic River thanks to Wednesday evening’s rains. He told us northerns, smallies and catfish remain the top catches with some perch, crappies and panfish mixed in. The shop also got better trout fishing reports due to some better water levels in the northern streams. Joe said the only problems we are having now are the fluctuating water temps which are putting the bass on the beds and off the beds and this could create problems with the spawn in some waters this spring.
May 04, 2026 - 10:28:42
Over at Fairfield Fishing Tackle Joe said he too got good reports on the striped bass fishing in the bay and backwater areas, along with the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers. The mid-week rains on Wednesday didn’t affect the fishing and he too said plenty of bunker are still around for the bass to feed on. Lastly he told us that more and more boats are being put in the water and a lot of anglers have been stopping by the store to pick up some last minute tackle for the coming fluke and sea bass fishing.
