<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Plenty of steelheads filled the whole river, and customers scored well on the catches, said Dave from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. The river flowed at 1,800 CFS, after peaking at 4,300 CFS last week. Egg sacks and wax worms coaxed bites, and a few brown trout, not many, swiped them, too. Ice fishing was mostly finished for the year.

The river was raised very high last week but was dropped to 1,800 CFS by the beginning of this week, said Capt. Shane from <b>Salmon River Guide</b> from Pulaski. The flow was fine for steelhead fishing from the drift boat with him, and was even fine for bank anglers, though few fished from the bank, shying away from the high waters recently. The waters were somewhat murky now, because of last week’s high flow, and were quite cold because of snow melt. That seemed to slow steelhead catches somewhat in the past few days. Still, the fishing was okay, producing catches each day with Shane. His trips landed three steelheads Monday and three the previous day. The fishing was actually better when the river was higher. When the river flowed at 3,000 CFS, a trip landed five or six steelheads. Every day was different in the rising and falling river, and sometimes the anglers seemed to affect how many steelheads were decked. But the river should keep dropping, so long as no serious rains fall and the weather doesn’t drastically warm, creating a rush of snow melt. Steelheading should only keep improving, and this was the time to get after the fish, until the steelheads spawn and return to Lake Ontario for summer. Shane’s trips hooked the steelheads on egg sacks and beads. Some drift-boaters back-trolled plugs for the catches, effective when the river runs high. Ice on the lakes started to become sketchy, but ice fishing was still happening at places including Sandy Pond and Oneida Lake. Yellow perch were pulled in, and walleye season closed on Tuesday. Shane also guides ice-fishing trips, but steelhead trips are filling up his schedule now.

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

The Delaware River was muddy and full of debris through the past week, but several customers reported catching striped bass from the waters on Tuesday, and that seemed to be the start of fishing for the linesiders locally, said Bill from <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia on his Facebook page. A 31-incher and a few smaller stripers were landed on the river at Station Avenue that day on bloodworms. Anglers on a boat that day reeled up three stripers 22, 24 and 27 inches just upstream from the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. Previously mostly catfish were claimed along the river locally. One angler who posted on Bill’s page reported tackling 14 channel cats, one bullhead cat and a white perch on the river at Neshaminy Creek last week. The cats were 15 to 20 inches. Several customers bailed great numbers of 15- to 24-inch stripers at the Salem Canal on bloodworms last week. A few walleyes began to show up in the Schuylkill River at the art museum lately. Farther upstream on the Delaware at Yardley, a few gizzard shad were found at Tullytown Cove two weekends ago.   

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

The rivers flowed too high to fish, and the ponds were high, and only the big lakes seemed practical to fish, said Don from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Ledgewood. He checked out the Rockaway River, finding no place he could even get close to the main river. A customer stopped by the Musconetcong River, finding the waters roaring. All the rivers and trout streams seemed that way. But Greg from the shop totaled 18 sizeable yellow perch on a trip at Brady Bridge on Lake Hopatcong on Monday, and was headed back to fish again Tuesday. One customer banked good fishing for steelheads on the Salmon River in upstate New York. Catch the shop’s booth at the Saltwater Fishing Expo from Friday to Sunday at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset.

A big chunk of ice remained at the cove at the shop, and maybe that will finally melt by the weekend, because of rains forecast for this week, said Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong. Not a lot was happening with fishing during this period between ice-fishing season and the waters opening up. But a few anglers fished the shallows off Brady Bridge, coming up with yellow perch and crappies, usually on fathead minnows, Rufus Jr. jigs or Mighty Mite rubber baits. The lake level was probably normal. The crew at the shop were working on the docks, and the rental boats will probably be splashed by the beginning of April. Shiners, fatheads and worms are stocked. The shop usually begins to net and stock herring by mid April.

The trout streams ran high, weren’t fishable, said Ron from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. He was unsure whether the lakes were high, but anglers seemed to wait for the weather to settle. Nobody mentioned much about fishing, and many seemed poised for moments like the opening of trout season on Saturday, April 9. The store will hold a free trout contest during the stocking period, featuring gift certificates to the shop awarded to the anglers with the biggest rainbow, brook and brown trout. The shop’s pre-season sale launched Thursday and is under way through Sunday. Discounts include Gamma line from 2 to 20 pounds for 2 cents per yard, Power Pro braid at 20 percent off for 150-, 300- and 500-yard spools, fly lines at 30 percent off, some hard lures at 30 percent, Z-Man ChatterBaits at up to 50 percent, soft-plastic lures at 30 percent, Orvis fly rods at 30 percent, Orvis fly reels at 20 percent, Fin Strike saltwater fishing rigs at 25 percent, salmon eggs at 20 percent, Quantum Optic reels at 2-for-1, deck boots at 40 percent, and more.

<b>SOUTH JERSEY</b>

One customer showed photos of largemouth bass he tackled on spinners at a lake, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. One of the bass must’ve weighed 4 pounds, probably a bit more. Largemouths seemed not to feed yet, but reaction strikes on spinners or lures seemed to hang a few. Lake Riviera served up a few largemouths and some crappies and chain pickerel. So the fishing was beginning. Pickerel were punched at Trilco on the Toms River on shiners. That’s the stretch around the Parkway Bridge, an area that locals call Trilco, because of a building supply with that name that was located there but was closed down. A handful of trout were creeled at the North Branch of the Metedeconk River and the Toms River, on bait during this early season in the cold waters. Shiners, killies, nightcrawlers and garden worms are stocked.

The Delaware River was flooded, and lakes were high, but the lakes were clear, not muddy, definitely fishable, said Capt. Eric Kerber from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. Crappies could hardly not be caught on the lakes, and chain pickerel were active there, and largemouth bass began to cooperate in the still waters. Anglers nabbed all of them at places like the lakes at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area and the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area, Gropp’s Lake and Prospertown Lake. Hardcore muskie anglers beat the water wolves here and there at Lake Mercer. The shop will kick off the fishing season with a big sale from next week on Thursday, March 24, through two Sundays afterward, April 3, featuring discounts on rods, reels and all kinds of tackle. Check out the new <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Harrys-Army-Navy/205104827807" target="_blank">Harry’s Army and Navy Facebook page</a>. Like the page to keep up on updates about the sale, new tackle, and so on. Four tickets remain for the fishing seminar that Eric, a charter captain and guide with his company On a Mission Fishing Adventures, will host on April 2 at the Garden State Diner in Wrightstown. Check out the seminar on <a href="http://www.omfishing.com/seminar.htm" target="_blank">On a Mission’s Web site</a>.

Anglers fished, but the lakes were muddy because of rains, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Still, customers talked about solid fishing for largemouth bass at Union Lake. Many were tight lipped about details, because largemouth tournaments were coming up. But Steve guessed Rat-L-Traps or jigs were choices to work for the bucketmouths. Crappie fishing turned out good catches at Union on minnows. Customers mentioned a few largemouth catches at the other ponds and lakes here and there, mainly on Rat-L-Traps. Little was heard about smallmouth bass at Union or Lake Audrey, South Jersey’s two lakes that harbor the cold-water fish. Steve had thought smallie fishing would be strong by now. But he guesses fishing for them will amp up when the muddy waters clear. White perch fishing was productive at the streams and ditches around Fortescue and Port Norris. Short striped bass were beached from Delaware Bay along the shore at Fortescue, not strong fishing, but a start. Small stripers were bloodwormed in the Maurice River.

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