New Jersey Fishing Reports

An 11-pound 31-1/2-inch walleye and a 46-inch northern pike were heaved through the ice this weekend at Great Sacandaga Lake, said Hank from Fuel-n-Food in Mayfield. The lake’s walleye fishing was mediocre but getting better, was better than before. Most anglers swam medium to large shiners on tip ups, and the ice became as thick as 12 to 13 inches, and all the lakes were mostly clear from snow. Splake fishing was great on Caroga Lake, and many anglers there jigged up smelts from the ice for bait. But some used medium shiners. Mayfield Lake probably held 16 inches of ice, putting out yellow perch, pickerel and a few northern pike. Mayfield is a top place for plenty of bites, a good locale for taking the kids. Again, shiners were productive. Daytimes lately were 20 degrees, and wind chills dipped below zero. Milder weather in the 30s was forecast for later this week. Combine a trip to the area with a chance to win prizes in many of the local fishing contests, including: the Great Sacandaga Lake Fisheries Foundation Ice Fishing Contest on January 23 with $1,500 in prizes; the Walleye Challenge on January 30 with $1,000 an hour in prizes from augers to quad runners; and Fuel-n-Food’s 11th Annual Weekend Long Ice Fishing Tournament on Great Sacandaga Lake, with loads of cash prizes. Tournaments also include the Caroga Lake contest this weekend, the Fish House contest on January 23 and 24 and Hank’s dad’s shop Ross’s Bait and Tackle’s contest on February 20. Baits stocked at Fuel-n-Food include shiners, suckers, fatheads and icicles, and the store carries a full supply of ice-fishing tackle and gear, probably the largest selection in stock in the area. Plus the shop is a convenience store, serves breakfast and lunch and sells all types of fuel, and is located near plenty of accommodations, not to mention fishing.

Salmon River

Steelheads seemed to hang in the upriver areas at the Schoolhouse, Wire Hole and Trestle, and three to five fish, averaging 6 to 9 pounds, was the average catch, said Bob from All Seasons Sports in Pulaski. The river ran at 285 CFS, and small, sizes 10 to 12 stoneflies and crack beads in white with chartreuse dots got the most attention for customers.

PENNSYLVANIA

Ice fishing options blew wide open, said Bill from Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle in Philadelphia. Lake Luxembourg at Core Creek Park produced crappies, yellow perch, bluegills and a few trout, mostly on various jigs tipped with wax worms, meal worms or minnows. Trout seemed the main fare through the ice at Levittown Lake on wax worms and fatheads. On the Delaware River, Tullytown Cove gave up a real fine share of crappies and yellow perch, and waiting until mid to high tides for open waters was key. On low tides the cove became full of 2 to 4 inches of ice. But about 35 feet of open waters appeared as the tides came in. Both species ate up wax worms and meal worms on small jigs. A few anglers fished the river off the docks at Dredge Harbor, catching crappies and yellow perch on minnows and jigs.

NEW JERSEY

North Jersey

Ice fishing was all the rage, said Don from Ramsey Outdoor in Succasunna. Budd Lake harbored a thick enough pickerel population to warrant steel leaders on tip ups, and shiners were best baits. Split Rock Reservoir turned out a pick of crappies for jiggers working grubs and mousies. Lake Hopatcong became completely frozen over, and pickerel and yellow perch chewed in the coves, while walleye were jigged deep off the points.

Lake Hopatcong was full on going off for ice fishing, said Joe from Dow’s Boat Rentals in Lake Hopatcong. Most of the lake averaged 8 to 10 inches of ice, including at the deeper parts of the lake. Great Cove gave up nearly 100 yellow perch for three anglers jigging from noon until dark. A couple of anglers dropping down ice-fishing Rapala jigs off Chestnut Point battled two channel catfish that weighed 14.9 and 14.4 pounds. The state park section was awesome for angling for pickerel in the 20- to 30-inch class and crappies from 12 to 14 inches. Both inhaled shiners on tip ups. The Woodport area offered a mix of pickerel, crappies and some walleyes, and Kings Cove held beastly yellow perch from 12 to 14 inches. Ice fishing was on!

Ice angling on Lake Hopatcong was hot for picks, perch and panfish, said Al from Meltzer’s Sporting Goods in Garfield. A solid 6 to 8 inches covered the entire waters. Greenwood Lake dished up perch and picks through the hard waters as well. Green Turtle Pond shoveled up a pull of yellow perch and trout coming through the holes.

Trouting along the Round Valley Reservoir shoreline elevated to a new level, with lake trout from 15 to 17 inches now being caught on shiners cast out with a split shot, said Steve from Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop. But don’t worry, because brown and rainbow trout continued to be nabbed, especially near the boat launch. Spruce Run Reservoir’s ice was unsafe but might become ice-fishable by the weekend. The Division of Fish and Wildlife will hold the annual Pequest Hatchery open house on Saturday and Sunday, March 27 and 28. More info will be available on the division's Web site in February.

The brutal cold put stream fishing for trout on hold for the moment, said Bill Hoffman from Skylands Angler from Clinton. But somewhat warmer weather was forecast to move in soon. So he took a trip to upstate New York for snowboarding and hiking, and he also scoped out the Ausable River. He can’t wait to return to fish the beautiful, famous trout stream in summer. Back at home, when the weather breaks, trouting will be about midge fishing. Midges live in the streams the entire year, but they become nearly the only insects to hatch in the cold months. In warmer weather trout will hone in on larger flies, like a size-8 drake, that become more abundant, simply because the fish will expend less energy to gulp a big meal instead of smaller ones. When midge fishing, Bill casts the small, sizes 18 to 24 flies in various colors in different stages from nymphs to emergers to dries, experimenting to see which works on a given day. The spring creeks with more consistent temperatures carry the larger populations of midges and insects, and are always a favorite for Bill, because they’re richer. Midge fishing with the tiny flies offers unique, interesting challenges, and is a great way to cure cabin fever in winter. With forecasts calling for daytime temps to reach the 40s in the coming days, anglers could begin to see midge hatches, and the trout fishing will get back underway. Bill noted that the winter outdoor shows are about to begin, with the Garden State Outdoor Sportsmen’s Show in Edison this weekend and The Fly Fishing Show in Somerset the following weekend. The Fly Fishing Show is packed with tackle, rods, reels, fly-tying materials and a large slate of seminars. Head there to try new rods or stock up on fly-tying material or learn from the seminars and so on. 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 also offers fly trips for other freshwater fish, like pike, hybrid striped bass, carp and largemouth bass. Plus he guides trips in the ocean and bay surf during the spring and fall migrations at Sandy Hook and Island Beach State Park with both conventional and fly tackle.

Lake Hopatcong’s ice fishing was on fire, said Nick from Efinger Sporting Goods in Bound Brook. Yellow perch and chain pickerel pounced on hair jigs tipped with mousies in the coves. Budd Lake’s ice banged out a solid show of northern pike and chain pickerel, and large shiners were the trick to a hook up from either.

South Jersey

Most customers headed up to Lake Hopatcong or Budd Lake to hit the ice, said Eric from Harry’s Army and Navy in Robbinsville. Closer to the shop, Stone Tavern and Rising Sun lakes in the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area should become locked up this week. There was around 4 inches of ice on Stone Tavern right now, and some wary ice anglers stayed along the shore to jig up largemouth bass and yellow perch on Buckshot Rattlin’ spoons. Lake Assunpink in the WMA still held open waters, but a few of the coves might be thick enough to venture out on. But use extreme caution!

Around 3 to 4 inches of ice lay on Stone Tavern Lake, said Carl from the Sportsmen’s Center in Bordentown, and the lake might be ice-fishable by the weekend. The Lake Assunpink coves were frozen over, and some anglers fished them near the shore to land largemouth bass on shiners and bluegills and crappies on fatheads or small jigs tipped with mousies.

Thin ice covered all the lakes and ponds, said Steve from Blackwater Sports Center in Vineland. But anglers fished the open waters at the spillways and gate holes at Parvin Lake, Rainbow Lake and Sunset Lake. Pickerel, yellow perch and a few largemouth bass were taken on shiners. Adventurous anglers made the trip to Collins Cove on the Mullica River, fishing through the ice for white perch. Hair jigs tipped with grass shrimp or twister tails scored. But be sure the ice is safe before walking out. The cove is brackish waters, slower to freeze than freshwater.