<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

The river began to hold ice and slush, but a few steelheads were landed from the waters, said Dave from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. The fish came from throughout the river, and no particular stretch – upper, middle or lower – seemed better. Steelheads made up the brunt of catches, and trout made up no significant percentage. Snow 6 to 8 inches covered the ground, but angling was completely possible from the banks. Mostly egg sacks or size-14 black stoneflies connected.

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

A few catfish were angled from the lower Delaware River around Philadelphia, said Bill from <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philly. The mostly 1- to 3-pounder pounced on nightcrawlers and shrimp best. Anglers on the lower river seemed to give up fishing for striped bass, white perch and crappies for the season. The upper river ran high and off-color last week, but a few walleyes were picked at Point Pleasant. Anglers on the Susquehanna River had been drilling lots of sizeable smallmouth bass. But cold weather and high waters shut that action right down. A customer fished Pennypack Creek, managing two trout and a bluegill at Welsh Road. At Lake Luxembourg in Core Creek Park, fair fishing for yellow perch and crappies was had at the dam. South Jersey anglers found plenty of white perch and chain pickerel and a few small stripers at the Great Egg Harbor and Mullica rivers and other brackish rivers and creeks. A customer who fished Lake Lenape, the lake feeding into the Great Egg at Mays Landing, rounded up pickerel and yellow perch while fishing with minnows, shiners, Rapala lures, spinners and rubber twister tails. He also fished the river, scoring well on the picks and white perch, landing 15- to 24-inch stripers here and there. In the river he nailed the pickerel on minnows and rubber grubs, the perch on small minnows and grass shrimp, and the stripers on strips or chunks of the white perch.     

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Loads of trout supposedly jumped on hooks at the Pequest River, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. Baby nightcrawlers were the favorite bait. Nothing was heard about fishing for trout from winter stockings this season at the lakes, and that was surprising. Customers usually talk about the trout from waters like nearby Barbour Pond. A friend said he actually saw a couple of people venturing onto the ice at Budd Lake to try ice fishing. But that sounded dangerous, and the ice probably couldn’t have been more than a couple of inches thick. Nick wouldn’t attempt to walk on ice thinner than 5 inches at least. A couple of weeks of cold, not a couple of days like this week, would be needed to form fishable ice like that. Some time probably remains before ice fishing is feasible. But the shop is ready and stocked with ice-fishing gear.

Okay catches, not great, but okay, were banked from the shoreline at Round Valley Reservoir, said Jodie from <b>Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop</b>. A 4-3/4-pounder was weighed in that was caught on Power Bait. Boaters occasionally fished the reservoir, landing lake trout, but infrequently had the opportunity, because winds usually kept boating prohibited. A 25-pound laker was checked in that was jigged from a boat at the valley on Saturday in calm winds. No news rolled in about anywhere else in the weather.

If the trend of cold weather continues, anglers could be in for an ice-fishing season, said Burt from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. All the ice-fishing gear is stocked. No customers really fished in the weather this week. But trout should be able to be pulled from the rivers. In last week’s report Burt talked about trout catches from the Pequest River and Big Flatbrook. Bead-headed nymphs, scuds and streamers are usual flies customers buy for trouting in winter. They also purchase Ausable Wulffs, Little Dees and lime trudes.

Ice on the lakes had broken up because of winds, but likely began forming again as soon as the cold hit, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. Trout should be able to be creeled from the South Branch of the Metedeconk River and the Toms River. Worms or Power Bait will probably work better than lures like spinners because of cold. Chain pickerel, frisky in cold, will be able to be fought at Trilco on the Toms. Trilco was the name of a building supply that no longer exists. But locals know the stretch by the name Trilco that’s around the Garden State Parkway. Shiners or killies will coax the chainsiders to swipe a line. Shiners, killies and nightcrawlers are stocked.

<b>South Jersey</b>

An occasional walleye was tugged from the Delaware River at the Trenton power plant, said Eric at <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. The river’s walleye fishing was yet to take off like the angling probably will. Small striped bass are typically caught at the warm waters at the power plant in January and February. But the river was warm enough for stripers to be yet to stack up at the power plant. The fish were still spread throughout the river. Catfish were sometimes dragged from the river farther downstream, like at Florence and Burlington. Many lakes held skim ice. But if anglers could find open waters, they could net crappies or chain pickerel that bite in cold. Lakes like those at the Assunpink or Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Areas or Prospertown Lake could be worth a shot.

The lakes began to freeze, and that and the cold mostly brought fishing to a standstill, said Jeff from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Maybe anglers could try for chain pickerel, fish that keep biting in cold, at open waters at lake spillways.

Back to Top