<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Adirondacks</b>

The lake was frozen all the way across, and the ice fishing conditions kept improving, said Jeff from <b>FISH307.com</b>. Probably 7 to 12 inches or more covered most areas. Ice fishing for yellow perch went strong at all the bays, and also at the grassy areas in the middle of the lake, now that anglers could reach the middle. Lake trout were heaved from 70- to 90-foot depths, mostly while anglers jigged, but sometimes on tip ups. Reports were heard about landlocked salmon socked off the tip of the Tongue Mountain Range. All other lakes were frozen and fishable, but customers focus on Lake George, once the lake freezes across. All baits are fully stocked.

<b>Salmon River</b>

Steelheads kept swimming the river, and not a lot of trips fished, because some anglers cancelled, said Capt. Shane Thomas from <b>Salmon River Guide</b> from Pulaski. But the fish were mostly landed on egg sacks and trout beads. The weather was up and down, sometimes colder, sometimes warmer, and a cold front was settling in during the next days. The river ran low at 285 CFS. Customers this week were on their way to join Shane for ice fishing, and he also guides those trips. Lots of yellow perch and sometimes northern pike and walleyes were yanked through the holes at Sandy Pond. Shane’s son drilled a 12-1/2-inch perch at the pond, and one of his trips plowed a 30-inch pike from the pond recently. A few walleyes were also smoked on his trips to the hard waters.

Snow fell like crazy on Wednesday, and the weather was windy and cold, said Ben from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. But anglers still banked steelheads on the river lately. The fish were pooled up in the low, 285 CFS flow. The reservoir was low, the reason for the flow. Pink worms were popular for the bites, and a few fished with egg sacks. Fly anglers began to throw Wooly Buggers instead of stoneflies. Ice fishing turned on and off, typical. Some big yellow perch were pancaked through the ice at Oneida Lake. Decent catches of them were lifted through the holes at Sandy Pond. Good ice fishing for walleyes was dialed up from Guffins Bay on Lake Ontario. Other spots also hold walleyes, but Guffins is popular for the fish from the ice.

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

Only about five weeks remain until striped bass begin to bite in the Delaware River, said Bill from <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia. “At least that’s what the ground hog said …” he remarked. “(We’ll) have to wait and see.” The fishing was now slow on the river, and catfish were claimed here or there on the lower Delaware, and a few walleyes were whacked on the upper, but anglers had to deal with floating ice at both places. Lots of ice flowed down the Susquehanna River, so Bill heard about nobody fishing for smallmouth bass there. Warm weather in the past week made some of the ice unfishable on the lakes in South Jersey, though a cold snap was currently forecast for a couple of days. Bill drove down Route 30 to Atlantic City last week on Tuesday, seeing that most of the lakes were frozen across, and anglers sometimes ice fished on them close to shore. On his return trip on Wednesday, big areas of open waters had formed on the lakes. But previously in South Jersey, customers ice-fished at Millville’s Union Lake along the islands, pulling in chain pickerel and crappies. Lake Lenape in Mays Landing had offered some days of ice catches: pickerel, yellow perch and bluegills. Collins Cove on the Mullica River had held ice but also open waters, and a few white perch were plucked from there.  Anglers hit the open waters at the spillway at Batsto Lake, racking up small pickerel. In Pennsylvania, all the local lakes were ice-fishable two weekends ago, before the warmth. Lake Luxembourg at Core Creek Park turned up the best catches. All the bluegills anyone could want were clapped, and lots of crappies were pounded, mostly toward the end of the day. A few trout, one or two per trip, were taken, and trouting was better at Levittown Lake. Most anglers there creeled one to three per trip and a few bluegills and crappies. At Lake Nockamixon ice anglers crushed bluegills and small crappies at structure along the shoreline. They grabbed bigger fish – walleyes, pickerel and largemouth bass – but fewer, farther out on the lake. The lakes at the Penn Warner Club shoveled up great ice fishing for crappies. Many anglers there became tired of crappies, started looking for largemouth bass and northern pike. A few of the pike, bass, yellow perch and sizeable chain pickerel were pumped in. The ice stayed fishable in the Poconos, but thinned to 6 to 10 inches instead of the previous 12. Minsi Lake was a top producer for pickerel, dishing up 10 to 25 per trip. Shohola Lake was another super place for pickerel, not as many as on Minsi, but yellow perch, bluegills and largemouth bass also chewed there.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

The lake’s ice was a little sloppy on top early this week, but plenty still covered the waters, said Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong. “That should change … with the cold temps (now),” she said. Yellow perch, crappies and chain pickerel were bonked through the ice around the state park, Woodport, Great Cove, the Windlass Restaurant and the River Styx. Walleyes and hybrid striped bass could be searched out at the deep waters off places like Chestnut Point and Nolans Point, though walleyes weren’t cooperative. “Even try fishing in the evening for these particular fish,” she said. Stanley Malinowski, Linden, weighed in an 8-pound 12-ounce hybrid he burned on a Rapala ice-fishing jig, and he and whoever he fished with caught six other small ones. The Knee Deep Club’s second ice-fishing tournament of the season on the lake is set for Sunday, February 20.

Anglers targeted trout to tug through the ice at Lake Aeroflex, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. One said the fish gathered in the shallowest waters 2 to 3 feet, surprising, because ice hounds might think the fish would swim deep waters for warmth. The angler rapped the trout on small tear-drop jigs tipped with mousies. He’d drop down the jigs, and the lures would quickly hit bottom, then he’d start jigging. Customers fished through the ice at Lake Hopatcong, faring the same as before: hit or miss catches of yellow perch and crappies on jigs and tip ups. Pompton Lake was the other popular ice locale. Yellow perch and sometimes crappies were copped from the lake, and perch were plucked through the river. A few headed to Greenwood Lake for ice action, but the angling was reportedly slow for the most part, the same as all season. A couple of customers tried for trout on the Pequest River, slugging one here and there on baby nightcrawlers, seeing not one other angler.

Fishable ice remained, and ice-fishing tackle was replenished at the shop, said Burt from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. The weather had warmed, but that failed to end the angling, and temps dropped drastically on Wednesday, in windy weather. Some anglers searched for open waters to fish without much luck this past week. Most customers who ice fished talked about angling from local ponds, and mostly bought shiners and wax worms. Nobody mentioned trout fishing on the steams, and one angler stopped at Ken Lockwood Gorge a couple of weeks ago, saying only the fast waters were open, and that the ice was treacherous on the stream. Many customers bought fly-tying materials and such, preparing for the coming season. Cabin fever set in. The shop will hold an annual pre-season sale, probably starting in mid March. Sale items will include Gamma line from 2 to 20 pounds for 2 cents per yard, some lures at 30 percent off, soft tackle packs at 30 percent, all fly lines at 30 percent, Orvis fly reels at 30 percent, chatter baits at up to 50 percent, Fin Strike saltwater fishing rigs at 25 percent, Quantum Optic reels at 2-for-1, and more.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Ice fishing had been on at the local lakes, but warmer weather might’ve put a damper on that, said Capt. Eric Kerber from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. In previous reports he talked about catches of chain pickerel, largemouth bass, yellow perch, crappies and sunnies through the ice at waters including the lakes at the Assunpink and Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Areas, Prospertown Lake and Gropp’s Lake. The Trenton power plant was turned off, no longer pumping warm waters into the Delaware River. When the plant is on, the warm waters attract smallmouth bass, walleyes and catfish. Shiners are a popular bait for the smallies. Anglers sometimes traveled to the northern state to tangle with trout on the open waters at the streams. In saltwater, cod fishing was on fire on party boats and charters from Montauk. A few tickets remain for a fishing seminar, planned to be an annual event, that Eric, a charter captain and guide with his company On a Mission Fishing Adventures, will host. Check out the info-packed slate for the day on <a href="http://www.omfishing.com/seminar.htm" target="_blank">On a Mission’s Web site</a>. The seminar is set for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at the Garden State Diner in Wrightstown.

Patches of open waters began to form on the lakes, previously all frozen across, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Nobody reported fishing, and anglers waited for winter to break, but the open waters were promising. Some of the largemouth bass clubs will begin competing in some weeks, and customers stopped by to stock up on tackle to prepare for angling. The shop was busy with reel and tackle repairs, as anglers dropped them off to be ready. Fishing remained in a holding pattern, “but signs were promising,” he said. The tide had changed.

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