<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Adirondacks</b>

This weekend will probably be last for most ice fishing, but catches were super, said Ron from <b>FISH307.com</b> at Lake George. Yellow perch were widely available in 18- to 20-foot depths off grass beds at spots like Harris Bay and Warners Bay and off Cotton Point and Long Island. Lake trout held suspended in 10 to 100 feet, hitting Swedish Pimple jigs in sizes 5 to 7. Landlocked salmon could be found around Phelp’s Island, willing to gobble up emerald shiners 3 feet under the ice. The seasons closed for northern pike and walleye fishing.

<b>Salmon River</b>

The river last week raged at 2,500 CFS but afterward subsided to 1,500 CFS, said Eric at <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. Even that flow was high, and the upper stretches near Altmar were the most fishable in the conditions. Blue and orange egg sacks and stoneflies attracted most steelheads to bite. Average days churned out three to five fish, 5- to 13-pounders, per angler, and a few brown trout turned up.

The Salmon on Monday ripped at 1,800 CFS, tough to fish, so a trip fished the creeks or tributaries that day, said Bill Ferman from <b>High Hook Guide Service</b> from Pulaski. Waters were actually low on the creeks, making steelheads spooky, but the fish were there. Bill angles on the creeks with the same baits used on the river, and egg sacks were tossed. Oodles of steelheads surely swam the Salmon too, but fishing in the high waters was the challenge. Waters can stay high as long as lots of snow keeps melting in the mountains. But high waters attract more steelheads to enter the river and should be good for spring fishing, the peak of steelheading. Daytime temps were in the 40s and 50s lately, warming up. High Hook both wades and drift-boats for salmon, steelheads and trophy brown and rainbow trout with both spinning gear and fly rods.

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>
Interesting changes were made to Pennsylvania’s striped bass regulations on the Delaware River, said Bill from <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia. From January 1 to March 31 and from June 1 to December 31 two 28-inch or larger stripers and hybrid stripers can be bagged. From April 1 to May 31 two 20- to 26-inch stripers and hybrids can be kept. These regulations are in effect from the Pennsylvania line upstream to the Calhoun Street Bridge. Stripers, a few 24- to 28-inchers, were already hooked near the airport on bloodworms. The river at Dredge Harbor produced yellow perch, crappies and scattered largemouth bass, mostly on fathead minnows under a bobber. Rumors said gizzard shad were found in the stretch near the Trenton power plant. Walleyes were creamed around the New Hope and Lambertville wing dams on fatheads and nightcrawlers on jigs or bucktails. Large smallmouth bass were mixed with the marble eyes. The Bruner’s Island section of the Susquehanna River was great for smallie, walleye and musky fishing. Shiners were best baits for the bass and walleyes, and large crank baits and spinner baits were key for the muskies.
<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Some fantastic walleye fishing went down on the Delaware River at Phillipsburg and Easton on nightcrawlers, said Bill from <b>Bill’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Phillipsburg. John Barto weighed in a 4-pounder, and Jeremy Moyer checked in a pair of 7.4- and 8.9-pounders. Ric Mutchler caught and released a 10.6-pound beast. The Big D also produced a 16.7-pound carp for Mike Kugler, a 15-pound carp for Paul Smith and a 4-pound brown trout for James Randall. The Musconetcong River served up trout, as Conrad Cerritas proved with a 3.4-pound rainbow taken out of the stream.

Ice completely disappeared at Lake Musconetcong, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Paramus. So shoreline anglers cast Mister Twister grubs and fathead minnows, cleaning up on yellow perch. If  anglers had leftover mousies or meal worms from the ice season, tip them on jigs for solid perch strikes. The Pequest River dished out trout, and stoneflies worked well and were hatching. Remember that trout season closes this Monday for stocking. Get out while you can.

Most ice was off the lake, but chunk ice remained in some areas, said Jim from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong. Perch anglers had luck around Brady Bridge on Husky Jerks or fathead minnows, catching a few crappies to boot. Look for the state park section to be fully open from ice by the weekend, and for perch and crappies to be on the feed there as well. Lake Musconetcong offered a shot at perch and crappies, too.

Fishing for a variety of species was heating up on the Passaic River, said Al from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. Two 24-inch striped bass and a 16-inch largemouth bass were caught and released there. Both species attacked Rapala crank baits. Northern pike fishing gained steam on the river, and try throwing a large shiner underneath a bobber.

Trout fishing on the South Branch of the Raritan River was the top billing, said Chris from <b>Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop</b>. The river’s rainbows could be hooked on sizes-14 to -16 bead-headed nymphs. Dan Kryszkowski was fishing Lake Musconetcong with success on crappies that chased down small grub-tailed jigs and fathead minnows in the shallows.

Fishing for trout was great over the weekend on the Musconetcong and Pequest rivers, said Bill Hoffman from <b>Skylands Angler</b> from Clinton. He found the waters warming, the fish getting more active and catches definitely happening. Bead-headed nymphs got most attention for him, and smaller flies got ignored. He recommended fishing sizes-12 or -14 hares ears, size-16 pheasant-tail nymphs or black stoneflies. 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.

Trouters put rainbows on the boards from the Pequest River, said Mike from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Three to six fish was an average catch, and a bit of everything worked, including San Juan worms, stoneflies and pheasant-tail nymphs. Larger trout, rainbows to 5 pounds, were yanked from the North Branch of the Raritan River by anglers who slung out crank baits.

Customers got active, fished all over the place, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. Spring Lake was a hotbed for holdover trout to 4 pounds that pounced on Roostertails. The Toms River at the Route 571 Bridge was another spot that shoveled out the fish. Pickerel hounds headed to the Trilco stretch of the Toms and the Ocean County College ponds. Both locales also held crappies, yellow perch and white perch. Carp were seen swimming the river but weren’t yet hungry enough to hit anything, Dennis said. Murphy’s has re-opened seven days a week for the season.

<b>South Jersey</b>

A smorgasbord of species swam around, said Frank from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. Crappies got active lately at places such as Rising Sun Lake, Stone Tavern Lake and Carnegie Lake. Anglers in pursuit of muskellunge targeted Lake Mercer with 2-ounce spinner baits, but no reports about catches came back so far. Walleye fishing turned fairly steady in Delaware River at Frenchtown on deep-running crank baits and leadhead jigs. Rumors were heard about shad filtering into the river near the Trenton power plant.

Crappies turned on big time, said Tony from the <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Pick your spot: Lake Assunpink, the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area lakes, Rising Sun Lake and Lake Mercer were all crappie havens. Small, twister-tail grubs and small shiners got most whacks. Rumors said shad were sometimes taken from the Delaware River at the Trenton power plant. Anglers hoped more followed.

Decent largemouth bass catches were walloped, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Water temps fluctuated between 46 and 54 degrees, and on the warmer days, the bigmouths seemed to feed at places such as Iona Lake and Cedarville Lake. Rat-L-Traps and shallow-running crank baits got smacked. But pickerel fishing was gangbusters all over, and larger ones hung around Cumberland Pond and Parvin Lake. Shiners and in-line spinners tackled 3-pounders and larger picks. Short, resident stripers began to chomp in the tidal portion of the Maurice River on bloodworms. The feed should only get better as waters warm and as herring make the move into the river.

Anglers started coming out of the house by the droves, said Ki from <b>Huck’s Place</b> in Millville. White perch fishing was spot on the Tuckahoe River, and Ki felt like he couldn’t keep enough bloodworms in stock. If no bloods can be found, fish frozen or live grass shrimp, if live ones can be located. Use a float rig, drifting the bloods or shrimp with the tide. Herring were yet to show in the Maurice, but when they do, striped bass should be on their tails.

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