<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

The river was lowered to 750 CFS this week, a better level for steelhead fishing, said Ben from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. Warmer weather forecasted to arrive soon should also help. Anglers on the river banked steelheads, plenty of them spawned out, but sometimes a fresh one. The fish seemed scattered throughout the river, and a few brown trout, not many, were picked up. Beads, egg sacks and a variety of flies worked on the steelies. Spring cleaning was under way at the shop, and the tackle was being prepared for lake fishing for later this spring and summer.

Steelheading was okay, said Capt. Shane Thomas from <b>Salmon River Guide</b> from Pulaski, and the river was crowded on weekends, making fishing tougher, but better catches were waxed on weekdays. The weather was cold, and warmer weather would probably help, and the fishing was better in afternoons, after the river’s temperature rose. A few fish were grabbed in the mornings. The Salmon was lowered to 750 CFS on Monday night. Drop-back steelheads, fish that spawned and were returning to Lake Ontario, were seen, but so were fresh ones. Shane’s trips connected on eggs and beads on the drift boat. Brown trout began to gather along the shallows in Lake Ontario, and Shane will begin transitioning to fishing for them in late April. The fishing improves as the weather warms. Walleye season will open on the first Saturday in May, and his trips will also fish for them on Lake Ontario and Oneida Lake.
 
<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

Bill Brinkman from <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia landed his season’s first striped bass, a 22-inch throwback, on the Delaware River on Tuesday, he wrote on his Facebook page. The fish hooked itself while Bill napped at the bottom of the boat, escaping winds. The weather was windy and rough, and the river was only 45 degrees. The fishing should break loose once the waters reach 50 degrees, he thinks, he said in the report posted on the shop’s Web site. Bill heard about a few small stripers, not many, hooked on the river around Philadelphia at places like Linden Avenue, Station Avenue and Princeton Avenue. A total of eight stripers were weighed in for a local striper tournament Saturday, and the top three weighed 9 to 11 pounds, measuring 30 to 31 inches. “Tough day!” Bill said. Stripers 20 to 28 inches were supposedly reeled in from the river near the UPS building in Philly, “but that is only word of mouth,” he said. A customer last week ordered a flat of bloodworms for striper fishing on the river near the Philadelphia Airport, so Bill assumed the angler was catching. Lots of stripers and white perch were bailed farther down the river at the warm waters discharged at the Salem nuclear plant. One customer fished for shad farther upstream at Trenton, scoring none. But a captain two Sundays ago ran a trip that whaled 40 shad, and three rods were hooked up most of the time. The location wasn’t mentioned in the shop’s report, but seemed to be around Trenton. Another angler on the river at Yardley met a guide who ran a trip that bagged five shad, releasing ten. Another angler spooned two large buck shad 3 pounds apiece at the New Hope wing dam. Another, fishing the river at Stockton, scored a couple of days on eight walleyes apiece to 25 inches. Another fished the Schuylkill River at the Philly art museum on a couple of days last week in cold, rainy weather, faring poorly, coming up with no walleyes, shad or stripers. Bill in past weeks sometimes reported walleyes taken there. Cold, rough weather kept many from fishing in the last week, apparently.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

At <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Ledgewood, Don had been away a couple of days, but he assumed crappies and yellow perch continued biting in the shallow, warm waters at places like Lake Hopatcong, he said. That become a focus for customers lately, and Hoptacong toward Landing was productive. The waters were too cold off the state park. One of crew from the shop kept tackling the perch. Customers waited for trout season to open in two Saturdays, April 9, and waters on the trout streams seemed to drop, after running high previously. He saw that the Rockaway River had dropped a lot. “That seemed a good sign,” he said.

A few anglers fished for crappies and yellow perch in the shallow waters in the lake, said Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong. But cold, windy weather cut down on participation. Snow is forecast for Friday locally, but better days are ahead, and the shop’s rental boats should be splashed for the season next week.

The cold put a damper on anglers fishing, but northern pike started to be caught at Spruce Run Reservoir from shore on large shiners, said Steve from <b>Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop</b>. The impoundment was too cold for crappies to bite. Boaters were the only anglers who really banged out catches on Round Valley Reservoir. They came up with half-decent lake trout fishing, just okay. The Round Valley Trout Association stocked more than 100 breeder trout to 11 pounds at the Valley. Medium, large and extra-large shiners are stocked, and herring will be stocked after herring season opens May 1.

Northern pike were boated at Spruce Run Reservoir, said Denny from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Trout fishing was closed for stocking but was open on Conservation Areas like at Ken Lockwood Gorge. One customer belted a 22-inch rainbow trout at the Gorge on a Black Ghost streamer. Another hung two large rainbows at the Gorge on stoneflies. The shop’s free trout tournament, awarding prizes for the biggest rainbow, brown and brookie, will run from opening day through May. The shop is all stocked up for the opening.

Water temps dived in the cold weather, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. The chill kept many from fishing, but a few shiners, killies and worms were sold. Crappies and chain pickerel made up the bulk of action. Lake Riviera doled out both.  Fishing for pickerel and a few largemouth bass was better on the waters at Pinelands Park in Manchester on shiners. Ninety-percent pickerel and a few crappies were kayaked and canoed on the Toms River at Trilco. Trilco is the stretch around the Parkway Bridge, known for the Trilco building supply that closed and no longer exists. Shiners, killies and Roostertails, or any kind of spinner like that, coaxed the picks to hit. Dennis heard about two yellow perch that an angler plucked from Trilco. Shiners, killies, nightcrawlers and garden worms are stocked.

<b>South Jersey</b>

The lakes turned out strong fishing for crappies and chain pickerel, said Chris from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. Catches were heard about from the lakes at the Assunpink and Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area, Prospertown Lake and even some from Farrington Lake. He also heard about lots of largemouth bass caught, especially on shiners. A bunch of shiners were recently stocked at the shop. The crew at the store saw a video from anglers who nailed shad at Lambertville on the Delaware River. The fish were around, and striped bass were sometimes bloodwormed on the river at the Turnpike Bridge. Harry’s kicked off the fishing season with a big sale that began Thursday and will run through this Sunday, featuring discounts like 20 percent off rods, 10 percent off reels and lots more, including plenty of supplies for the opening of trout season in two Saturdays. 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. Two tickets remain for the fishing seminar that shop crew member Eric Kerber, charter captain and guide with his company On a Mission Fishing Adventures, will host this Saturday 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>.

Striped bass began to be tugged consistently from the Delaware River from places like Elsinboro, the DOD, around West Deptford, the Riverwinds Golf Course and a little north, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b> in Brooklawn. He heard about catches to 34 inches so far, and bloodworms were the bait. Plenty of big catfish were heaved from the river. Lots of stripers were boated on Delaware Bay, including from the flats off the number 1 buoy and near the EP Tower. Catches boated from Fortescue were also heard about, but no specific locations. Salted clams, stocked at the shop, drew bites on the bay. Bloodworms, nightcrawlers, shiners, minnows and frozen baits, the full supply of baits, are carried. Largemouth bass were sometimes walloped, often on shiners, on lakes including Willow Grove Lake, Malaga Lake, some of the lakes around Vineland, and Newton Lake. Newton shoveled up a bunch of crappies. The Cooper River served up crappies and bass. Fishing was starting to pick up, though the cold kept many from getting out in the last week. 

Not much was doing in the cold weather, but chain pickerel were swiped from the different lakes when anglers did get out, said Jim at <b>Sportsman’s Outpost</b> in Williamstown. The water wolves will attack minnows and a wide variety of lures. The store’s minnow tank should be up and running by the end of the week, and new owners recently bought the shop. Stop by to check out the revamped digs. Many anglers bought nightcrawlers for angling for panfish like sunnies on the lakes. News will pick up as the weather improves.

Pretty decent catches of striped bass were mauled from the Delaware River for the time of year, said Wade from <b>Shag’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Pennsville. He predicts that the angling should bust open within two weeks. But the store held a striper tournament, and the top three fish weighed 35 pounds, 25 pounds and 22 pounds. Many anglers banked 15- to 17-pounders. The river from Elsinboro to Pennsville and Penns Grove gave up the bass, mostly on bloodworms. Once the waters warm, fresh herring and fresh bunker will become common baits to fish. Lots of smaller, short stripers seemed to be beached at Fortescue from the surf on Delaware Bay. Not much was heard about herring migrating up the river yet. Herring were caught in the bunker nets in the bay. But little was reported about anglers nabbing the baitfish. Bloodworms, fresh herring and fresh bunker are stocked.

The return of cold weather dropped water temperatures, tough on fishing, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Largemouth bass fishing went poorly in tournaments during the weekend.  Steve was asked whether he heard much about smallmouth bass, a cold-water fish, yet this season, but he heard very little, he said. Anglers picked away at the bronzebacks at Union Lake, one of two waters, along with Lake Audrey, that harbor smallies in South Jersey. But if anglers want to fish for largemouths or smallmouths, Rat-L-Traps, drop shots and the old, traditional Senko worms should be choices to throw. Mid-range crank baits are also popular. Saltwater fishing for striped bass and white perch that chomped from shore at Fortescue was probably the best bet lately. Strictly bloodworms were the bait, and bloods and shiners were yet to be stocked at the store, but minnows, nightcrawlers and meal worms were on hand. Whether any particular time of day was best at Fortescue seemed to vary according to the angler and how the angler fished. Some said incoming tide was the time, and others said outgoing was. Freshwater fishing had been good and kept picking up, until the cold spell.  

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