There are trout, shad, bluefish and big stripers on the weeks fishing menu

This week’s fishing report runs from shad, trout, stripers to bluefish at the shore. 
If you want really big fish, stripers are being caught all along the Jersey shore and from inland rivers and bays. 

According to On the Water Magazine, you can find sizeable stripers in Raritan and Barnegat bays and in Shark and Manasquan rivers. Linesiders there are being enticed with small shads, plugs and bloodworms, while bass from the beaches are hitting plugs, clams and bloodworms. 
Capt. Phil Sciortino, at the Tackle Box in Hazlet, reports big stripers up to 50 pounds were caught all last week. And they’re also in the Sandy Hook surf where they’re falling for clams. He added that the bluefish bite in the bay is crazy with fish up to 20 pounds being hooked. 

Same story from Mike Pinto, at Giglio’s Bait & Tackle, who reports things blew up with blues and stripers moving into the Naversink River near Red Bank for anglers throwing Mag Darters, Hydro Minnows and SP Minnows. 

On the local scene, the Coplay Creek, parts of Jordan Creek and Little Lehigh Creek were stocked with trout by the state last week. This past Saturday and Sunday, the latter received supplemental trout thanks to Lehigh Fish & Game Association who stocked the Little Lehigh from the steel walk bridge at the entrance to the Allentown Police Academy, downstream to the Robin Hood Bridge in Lehigh Parkway. 

According to Willie from Willie’s Bait & Tackle in Cementon, the Lehigh River Stocking Association stocked the Lehigh River with trout this past week from the Treichlers area upriver to Jim Thorpe. 

Willie says local streams, like the Hokendauqua Creek, have a good number of leftover trout, perhaps because they’ve been caught-and-released or few fishermen are fishing for them. 
He has also received reports catch-and-release muskies and bass are hitting at Leaser Lake, but no trout.

Over in Northampton County, Minsi Lake is fishing tough from shore because of heavy weeds. 

The shad run in the Delaware River appears to be slowing down with a scattering of fish being caught from below Easton on up to New York State. Even Steve Meserve, commercial shad fisherman with the Lewis Fishery, reported netting only seven bucks and three roe, three smallmouth and 42 gizzard shad during a netting on 5-4-21. 

Up at Beltzville Lake in Carbon County, anglers are catching stripers and catch-release bass near the dam breast area while shore fishermen are picking up stripers near the Trachsville Bridge.

WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP KIDS FISHING DERBY

On May 29, Whitehall Township Parks & Recreation Bureau is  once again hosting their annual Fishing Derby for kids 15 years of age and under. The event is located at Hokendauqua Park located a block east of the Whitehall Police Department on Lehigh Street. 

According to Michelle Dragovits, of Whitehall Parks and Recreation Bureau, there will be 100-plus trout stocked for the event which will award First, Second and Third place prizes in four age groups of six and under; seven-nine; ten-twelve and thirteen-fifteen. There will also be a special prize for the biggest fish. 

Registration on derby day is from 8 a.m.- 8:45 a.m., with the contest running from 9 a.m. – 12 noon.

The event is co-sponsored by Willie Marx’s Bait & Tackle Shop and Coplay News Agency Bait & Tackle Shop. 

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For more information, call the recreation office at 610-437-5524 ext. 1160.