New Jersey Fishing Reports

Adirondacks
The lake became completely locked up with ice, and every hole drilled produced fish, said Ron from FISH307.com in Lake George. Yellow perch anglers had luck in 15 to 35 feet, and 30 feet was most productive, and Harris Bay, Dunham’s Bay, Saw Mill Bay and Huddle Bay gave up bites. Haley jigs in green, yellow, glow-green and glow-yellow were hot. Landlocked salmon to 6 pounds were hooked near Plum Point and Dome Island on emerald shiners on tip-ups. Fish the emeralds only 1 to 3 feet below the ice. Lake trout swam all over the lake, gathering in depths 60 feet or more. Sucker strips and sizes-7 to -9 Swedish Pimple jigs hung the fish.

Salmon River
Steelhead fishing turned on big time, said Suzanne at All Seasons Sports in Pulaski. The stretch from the Two-Way Bridge to Altmar put out steelies that hit blue or pink egg sacks and sizes-10 or -12 stoneflies. Most of the fish ranged 6 to 12 pounds, and anglers averaged five to twenty apiece per day. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., when the sun was highest, was prime time. Brown trout and, according to rumors, straggler cohos were in the mix. Ice anglers fished Sandy Pond to play with panfish, medium-sized pike and yellow perch.

Paul Auguscinski from SAS Guide Service from Pulaski pummeled steelheads and brown trout on the river Friday in air temps in the 40s, unbelievable fishing, he said. Tony Gugino, friend and also a guide, joined him on the trip. The angling started slowly, when they found the waters crowded at Altmar but managed to fish at the Schoolhouse Pool, Unemployment Pool and the Barrel. But then they moved to mid river, shellacking about two dozen steelheads and browns. Blue, white and peach egg sacks were best baits, but trout beads and stoneflies under a float caught some, and one fish was banked on a spey rod. Most of the steelheads were “fresh and feisty,” Paul said, and the browns weighed up to 7 pounds. “It was a great day,” he said. Temps dropped to the low teens on Saturday and Sunday, and the river started to slush up, substantially slowing down catches, but a few steelies and browns bit. Days in the high 20s and low 30s looked promising this coming weekend. *** Heads up: *** Two trips for the price of one, at the single-angler rate, are available until March 15, so bring a buddy for trophy steelhead fishing. What a deal! Ice fishing at Sandy Pond also turned out perch, panfish and pike. SAS Guide Service spin fishes for salmon, steelheads and trophy trout on wade and drift-boat trips, and enjoys teaching anglers the techniques that will help them learn how to hook up themselves, so they can even return to catch on their own.

PENNSYLVANIA

Walleyes were wrestled from the upper Delaware River, said Bill from Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle in Philadelphia. The New Hope area gave up a few for anglers drifting minnows in the deeper pools below the wing dam. One customer said the Byram section offered decent walleye action on minnows and that the area near Tohickon Creek also produced the marble-eyes that attacked shiners on bucktails. In the lower section of the Big D, waters at Linden Avenue shoveled up quality catfishing for anglers patient enough to stand in the cold while dunking chicken livers. Ice anglers targeted Lake Nockamixon, pulling in crappies that sucked in meal worms and minnows. One angler creamed 25 crappies in only four hours. Plenty of trout skittered around Core Creek, inhaling Power Bait and punching Kastmasters. Trouting also ran rampant through the ice at Levittown Lake, eating wax worms, meal worms and Power Bait.

NEW JERSEY

North Jersey

Most ice hounds looked to Lake Hopatcong, said Dom from Ramsey Outdoor in Paramus. The state park and Bertram’s Island sections were shallow this season, but yellow perch held in the skinny waters. The Woodport section held a bit more depth, and chain pickerel could be angled there. At Budd Lake northern pike and pickerel pounced on shiners, and at Split Rock Reservoir yellow perch schooled.

The lake buzzed with ice augers, and the fishing was solid, said Laurie from Dow’s Boat Rentals in Lake Hopatcong. One-hundred-fourteen anglers hit the ice in the Knee Deep Fishing Club’s ice-fishing tournament on Sunday. In the pickerel division Greg Birrer won first place with a 5.3-pounder, and in the perch category Shane Hasler claimed first with a 1-pound 4-ouncer. Fantastic catches were scored all week, such as Victor Bador’s 3.8-pound largemouth bass, Jeff Guillano’s 3.5-pound bucketmouth and Greg Birrer’s 2-pound 15-ounce largemouth. Jim Welsh hammered walleyes to 4 pounds on Rapala ice-fishing jigs in deep waters. Stanley Smith waxed a 6-pound walleye and a 10-pound channel catfish. Pickerel were also pounded, like Doug Higgins’ 3-pound 11-ouncer, Pete Cusick’s 3-pound 9-ouncer and Gary Nelson’s 3-pound 12-ouncer. Kenneth Hubert slammed an 8-pound 5-ounce northern pike. Perch and crappies were also caught. The Knee Deep Club will hold another ice-fishing tournament 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, February 15. The entry fee for club members is $20 and for non-members is $25. Eighty percent of entry fees will be awarded to anglers with the three heaviest pickerel, perch and any other species except muskies. Entry forms are available online at kneedeepclub.org or at Dow's. Call the shop at 973-663-3826 with any questions.

Ice fishing was the main attraction, and a variety of lakes were on the hit list, said Mark from Meltzer’s Sporting Goods in Garfield. Waters off Lee’s Marina at Lake Hopatcong were a place to fight pickerel and largemouth bass, and the pickerel, up to 4-pounders, smacked shiners. Lake Wawayanda was a terrific spot to tangle with trout and huge pickerel to 24 inches, and shiners attracted both. Lindy Lake was an unsung hotbed for largemouths and perch. But stream anglers still stuck trout at the Pequest River, and small, size-20 nymphs and midges were key.

Fishable ice could now be found on Spruce Run Reservoir, said Chris from Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop. Anglers plied the coves to reel in yellow perch and northern pike to 26 inches. But most hard-water anglers headed to Lake Hopatcong for chain pickerel and yellow perch, especially at the Windlass area. Mountain Lake served up a few muskies to 12 pounds, and the perch fishing there was on, with the barred brawlers Hoovering up small shiners and Rat Finkie jigs.

An angler took advantage of the season by visiting for a fly-casting lesson this weekend with Bill Hoffman from Skylands Angler from Clinton. Winter is a great time to hone casting or learn fly tying with Bill. Warmer temperatures forecast for this week could help make trouting on the streams a bit more of a frequent activity, he said. Sometimes the cold has made ice difficult for fishing, but winter is actually a prime season for catching the cold-water fish. The haunts are also less pressured, making the fish less wary. Bill often throws black or dark-purple wooly buggers at this time of year. The flies work, and allow more waters to be covered, compared with nymph fishing, when anglers usually concentrate on each run, carefully working the riffles. But wooly buggers can be dead drifted, swung or twitched, casting throughout lots more of the rivers. Fishing the wooly buggers can also help anglers keep active and warmer in the cold. Bill enjoyed The Fly Fishing Show at Somerset during the weekend. Skylands Angler guides fly-fishing trips for trout on the Musconetcong and Pequest rivers and Ken Lockwood Gorge. Bill aims to teach anglers, whether beginners or advanced, how to fish the rivers, even so they can come back and catch on their own. That includes fly selection, how to fish the flies, casting lessons and all aspects. He’s also available for trips for other fish like largemouth bass, if anglers want to fly rod for them. Skylands Angler fishes all year long, including for trout in winter.

Ice anglers scored heavy at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area lakes, said Ron at Efinger Sporting Goods in Bound Brook. Frank Sencher lambasted a 9-pound, 22-inch largemouth bass, an absolute whopper, through the ice at Lake Assunpink itself on a shiner. The big lake gave up a load of bass, and a concentration hung around the island.

South Jersey

All three Assunpink Wildlife Management Area lakes got busy with ice activity, said Eric from Harry’s Army and Navy in Robbinsville. Lake Assunpink was the place for 3- to 5-pound largemouth bass, and yellow perch and crappies were more abundant at Stone Tavern and Rising Sun lakes. Meal worms on Buckshot Rattlin’ Jigs attracted most of the perch and crappies. At Gropp’s Lake plenty of crappies nipped on mealies on marabou jigs, and chain pickerel also fed.

Lake Assunpink’s anglers got into super largemouth bass fishing, said Carl at the Sportsmen’s Center in Bordentown. Shiners fished on tip-ups near the back side of the island tallied largemouths to 5 pounds. Livelined shiners or jigged, small grubs or mousies drew strikes from yellow perch and crappies at Stone Tavern and Rising Sun lakes. Other ice anglers traveled to Levittown Lake to jig Kastmasters or fish Power Bait for trout.

Probably 20 anglers gave ice fishing a shot Monday for white perch at Collins Cove on the Mullica River, and some said the hard waters were fairly firm, said the report on Scott’s Bait & Tackle in Mystic Island’s web site. The cove dished out a bunch of the slabs last week, until temps pushing 50 by Friday made the ice unsafe. But with colder weather returning the next day, the angling kicked back in after the weekend. However, rains forecast for today won’t help. Live grass shrimp, the best bait, is stocked, and so are minnows and bloodworms that could also do the trick.

Lakes were locked up, said Lou from the Sportsman’s Outpost in Williamstown, but he was unsure whether the ice was safe to fish. If the ice is thick enough at Iona or Malaga lakes, anglers can send down shiners to hang pickerel.

Most stillwaters were iced up, and ice skaters were seen at Iona, Malaga and Mary Elmer lakes, said Steve from Blackwater Sports Center in Vineland. But he was yet to see anybody fish them. Drill some holes and set out tip ups with shiners to lift chain pickerel and perch through the holes. Fishing them just above the weeds can work best. A few striped bass, yellow perch and white perch hovered around the Union Lake dam, and the upper Maurice River was home to trout, yellow perch and pickerel willing to whack Roostertails.

Catfishing on the Maurice River was about the only game customers tried, said Ki from Huck’s Place in Millville. The whiskerfaces patrolled the bottom of the river, and dead shiners, cut baits or stink baits could draw a few to the hook.