<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Adirondacks</b>

Extreme cold kept most anglers from ice fishing in the past days, said Jeff from <b>FISH307.com</b> in Lake George. The weather was 3 to 4 degrees when he gave this report over the phone on Tuesday afternoon, and had been below zero lately. But warmer weather was coming in the next days, and had already arrived farther west in New York that day. When anglers last fished, they found ice 5 to 7 inches thick on the bays on Lake George. The ice was still a bit dicey then, but the recent cold must’ve improved conditions, and probably would make the main lake fishable by this weekend. Yellow perch fishing served up very strong catches on the bays, and when anglers could fish deeper, they tugged up lake trout. A few big northern pike were pummeled. All the other local lakes and pounds pretty much held 10 inches or more of ice. Snow made conditions sloppy on them, but much of the ice was solid. All the baits are fully loaded at the shop. The store is open at 5 a.m. on weekends and 6 a.m. on weekdays and will be open at 5 a.m. on weekdays when the ice becomes fishable all the way across Lake George, probably within a week or 1 ½ weeks, picking up business.

<b>Salmon River</b>

Temps rose to 34 degrees by Tuesday, after much colder weather, and the days this season were fluctuating between cold and milder weather, said Ben from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. The river ran at 285 CFS, quite low, and the fish, and the anglers, gathered at the pools. They bought egg sacks and trout beads for bait, and also purchased egg flies and stoneflies. Ice fishing was good at Sandy Pond, and the ice conditions kept changing, turning slushy or hard, because of fluctuating temps. But lots of yellow perch and some northern pike were tackled. Walleyes could also be found in the pond, and a friend saw a huge school. Many ice derbies are coming up, especially in February. The shop carries all the ice-fishing gear along with the full supplies for steelheading.

A cold snap kept trips from fishing the river since the weekend, said Capt. Shane Thomas from <b>Salmon River Guide</b> from Pulaski. But the weather was forecasted to warm to the 30s this week, and a trip on Friday waxed a really good catch of steelheads. The angling had been slow a couple of days last week for no apparent reason. But the fish began biting again Friday, maybe because of a coming storm. Trout beads and sometimes egg sacks under floats were used to land them on Friday’s trip. The river flowed low at 285 CFS. Ice fishing was good for yellow perch and northern pike at Sandy Pond, and walleyes were sometimes wrestled through the ice at Lake Oneida. Shane also guides ice trips.

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

Ice fishing was the only practical option, for the most part, said Bill from <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia. Ice angling was best for customers at Lake Luxembourg at Core Creek Park and Levittown Lake, and both held 5 to 8 inches of ice. At Luxembourg plenty of yellow perch, bluegills, crappies and largemouth bass hit around the dam. The fish also attacked in the dam. Jigs tipped with wax worms or meal worms were popular for the perch and bluegills, and, for a few anglers, minnows punched the crappies and largemouths. Luxemourg’s trout fishing was best along the upper end, on wax worms, earthworms, Power Baits and jigs. Anglers nabbed as many as 11 trout per outing. At Levittown Lake, trout fishing was best, and either wax worms or jigs including Kastmasters or Swedish Pimples were tops. But a few bluegills and crappies also jumped on hooks. The lakes at the Penn Warner Club were next best for ice fishing. Members of the club crushed crappies, 20 to 50 per trip, on small minnows, small shiners, meal worms, wax worms or jigs. Good numbers of yellow perch and a few largemouth bass, chain pickerel and northern pike were also swiped at Penn Warner. Bill saw a photo of a 19-pound 39-inch pike plowed there on a live yellow perch. Lake Nockamixon dished up ice catches: yellow perch, crappies, bluegills and walleyes. One angler who fished there failed to locate walleyes, only landed the other fish, during a month of fishing, but finally scored. He grabbed four walleyes on one day and two the next on minnows when he found walleyes schooling 12 feet down in 25-foot depths. A couple of anglers took a trip to Minsi Lake in the Poconos, looking for panfish one day with little luck, but fighting 15 pickerel that day. So they headed straight to the pickerel spot the next day, bailing 35, mostly smaller ones, but a few that were larger than 20 inches. Hidden Lake along the Delaware River was a super spot to drill yellow perch and bluegills, 10 to 20 per trip.  In South Jersey, many anglers fished the open waters at the spillways below frozen lakes. Most of the rivers also held ice. Lots of small, 12- to 14-inch pickerel were racked up from the waters at the saw mill below Batsto Lake, usually on minnows, rubber twister tails or spinners. In the Great Egg Harbor River below Lake Lenape in Mays landing, anglers tangled with pickerel, white perch, yellow perch and a few crappies on minnows, shiners, meal worms, wax worms, grass shrimp or spoons. On the Maurice River below Union Lake in Millville, yellow perch and crappies put up action on minnows. One customer fished on the ice at Union, only managing a few crappies, yellow perch and bluegills. Farther north, ice fishing at Stove Tavern Lake in the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area was hopping for one customer who did a job on several pickerel 2 to 4 pounds on shiners and for others who put a beating on lots of crappies and bluegills on small jigs.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

When anglers were willing to withstand the cold through the weekend, they ice fished mostly at Budd Lake and Lake Hopatcong, mostly wrangling up panfish, said Don from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Ledgewood. The weather was now warming. Many tips ups were sold, but most customers said they fished with jigs like Swedish Pimples tipped with meal worms or mousies. One customer and a buddy trout fished on the Rockaway River around Dover and the town or Rockaway, and the customer was happy with results. He showed photos of a healthy stringer of mostly rainbows and a couple of browns to 18 inches. The rainbows were mugged on red salmon eggs, and the browns were beaten on small spinners. Another customer trout fished along the Pequest River near the hatchery, but scored a donut. He might’ve fly fished, but Don was unsure.

Plenty of ice covered the lake, and lots of cold weather was in the forecast, said Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong. The weekend was frigid, but for anglers who could stand the temps, ice fishing was a little better than before. Good catches of yellow perch to 1 and 1 ½ pounds were weighed in. Chain pickerel that were checked in included Mike Dargel’s 4-plus-pounder, Mike Peligrino’s 3-pound 7-ouncer and John Fernandez’s 3-pound 6-ouncer. Pete Cusick stopped in to weigh his 4-pound 7-ounce largemouth bass. Walter Lesiak jigged a 13-pound channel catfish from deeper waters. Shiners, fatheads, wax worms, meal worms and spikes are stocked. So is a large selection of ice-fishing gear, from tip ups to jigging poles, all kinds of jigs, hand augers, replacement blades, Jet sleds and creepers. The shop is open 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day.

Ice fishing was at a premium, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. Plenty of ice was fishable, so the angling will probably last a month. Customers hit the hard waters at Budd Lake, nabbing mostly yellow perch, but a bunch of northern pike, too, saying they mostly fished with jigs. They also scooped the holes at Lake Hopatcong, mainly coming up with yellow perch and crappies, saying they fished with both tip ups and jigs, often straight off the state park. Kastmaster jigs, 1/8 ounce, tipped with mousies or worms, were affective. Many also fished at Pompton Lakes, close to the shop, and at private lakes. Not much was heard about Greenwood Lake, surprisingly to Nick. Nobody talked about trout fishing on the streams in at least a month. A few had fished at the Big Flatbrook back then, banking a few trout on nightcrawlers and meal worms weighted to bounce along the bottom, drifted slowly. Wax worms, meal worms, other worms like nightcrawlers, and artificial baits like Gulp maggots and minnows are stocked for ice fishing. So is ice-fishing tackle. Catch the deals at the shop’s exhibits at the World Fishing and Outdoor Exposition in Suffern, N.Y., on March 3 to 6 and the Saltwater Fishing Expo in Somerset, N.J., on March 18 to 20, the shows the store will attend this season.

Lots of customers picked up ice-fishing gear, mostly heading to Lake Hopatcong, said Burt from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. But plenty of other lakes held fishable ice, including Budd Lake, Farrington Lake and Watchung Lake. Anglers also talked about fishing for cod at the ocean wrecks 20 to 50 miles offshore of New Jersey. Spikes, meal worms, wax worms, nightcrawlers and medium and large shiners are stocked for ice fishing. Mousies are out of stock and are scarce around the state. Tackle for ice including tip ups, jigging rods, lures, jigs and hand augers, but no power augers, is carried. The store’s annual fly tying sale continues through the month, featuring a 20-percent discount on all tying supplies from materials to vices, and a 30-percent discount for Trout Unlimited members. An annual pre-season sale on fishing tackle will probably be featured in March.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Anglers ice fished at all three lakes at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, the lakes at the Colliers Mill WMA, Prospertown Lake and Gropp’s Lake, said Capt. Eric Kerber from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. Chain pickerel, largemouth bass, yellow perch, crappies and sunnies shoveled up bites. Shiners were often fished for the picks and bass, and meal worms, wax worms and spikes, often fished on jigs, were frequently fished for the other fish, the smaller species. The Trenton power plant was turned on, dumping warm waters into the Delaware River, attracting smallmouth bass and occasional walleyes. Anglers also reeled in catfish there when fishing along the bottom. One of the staff from the shop clocked a 4-pound smallie at the plant on a shiner. Here’s a chance to increase fishing success: Eric, a charter captain and guide with his company On a Mission Fishing Adventures, will host a fishing seminar from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at the Garden State Diner in Wrightstown, limited to 25 attendees. Presentations will cover: inshore trolling tactics by Capt. Sean Loy from Miss Trial Sport Fishing; general rod repairs from Rick Sikorski from Rick’s Custom Rods; surf fishing for giant stripers with Capt. Bill Veldof; kayak fishing for trophy stripers with Chris Shoplock from Osprey Outdoor Adventures; and livelining bunker for trophy stripers with Eric himself. With a paid ticket attendees will receive a free buffet lunch from the diner, with a cash bar available, a goodie bag with items from Field and Stream magazine, Aqua Skinz, Tica rods, Atlas reels, Eagle Claw, Tomorrow’s Tackle, Mega Strike lures and many more. Attendees will also get a raffle ticket for grand prizes such as a Tica rod, an Atlas reel, an Aqua Skinz plug bag, a Wright and McGill reel, a custom rod from Rick’s Custom Rods, an open-boat spot on a trip with On a Mission, and more.

Reports were heard about a dozen anglers trying for white perch through the ice at Collins Cove on the Mullica River last week on Monday, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Mystic Island, in a report on the shore’s Web site.  But he heard about the fishing late, and then only heard about them catching one of the fish. So he hadn’t mentioned the angling till recently. However, a report was posted on the site afterward from an angler who fished the cove through the ice all day that Monday, landing 14 of the perch, keeping five, and one striped bass, while the tide was incoming. Striper season is closed in the bays and rivers until March 1, so stripers there must be released for now. The angler hooked all the fish on grass shrimp, the favorite bait for the whities. None of the shrimp is stocked at the shop, but the crew is glad to let anglers know when another store is carrying the bait. The walk to the cove was difficult through a few hundred yards of reeds, “but when you wet a line, it feels great,” the angler said. No further reports were posted on the site about the cove. See the map and directions to Collins Cove on the shop’s Web site. The perch gather at the cove, just upstream from the Parkway Bridge,  in winter to escape colder waters in the river’s currents. Warmer weather this week might melt the ice, but when the cove can be boated, anglers also fish for the slabs on the vessels.

All the lakes were frozen, virtually shutting down fishing, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. No customers reported angling, not even ice fishing, not even trying to fish at the open waters at the spillways. Anglers were known to ice fish in Central and North Jersey. A outdoor writer, calling the shop for reports, said he heard about a few people ice fishing for white perch at the frozen brackish waters on Collins Cove on the Mullica River, the popular spot for the fishing. That was during the recent cold, and temps that rose this week might begin to thaw that ice. Now was a good time to bring in rod and reel repairs, preparing for spring. Steve was working on repairs when he gave this report in a telephone call.

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