<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Mostly steelheads, good catches, and sometimes brown trout were eased from the river, said Mike from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. Most of the steelheads were hooked from the upper river. “Everything’s just moving up,” he said. Egg sacks in black or blue netting caught them well. The river flowed at 500 CFS, a perfect level for the steelheading. “Just easier to fish,” he said. Only couple of inches of snow covered the banks, and ice didn’t really cover the edges. Access to the waters was convenient, and weather became cold the past couple of days, but was relatively warm previously. But before the warmth, lakes had begun to freeze, and the shop then reported that a few anglers had begun to ice fish. But Mike heard about no ice fishing recently. The shop carries the full supply of ice-fishing gear, like for ice-angling on Sandy Pond, a mostly enclosed bay along Lake Ontario. All steelhead supplies are also stocked, of course. The river’s steelhead fishing lasts all winter, and is world-class. Steelheads migrate to the river from Lake Ontario in fall, winter in the river and spawn there in spring. Then they return to the lake, or don’t die in the river after spawning, like salmon do.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

A dozen fathead minnows were sold since Monday, said Joe from <b>Stokes Forest Sport Shop</b> in Sandyston. No customers really fished in the weather, though this week’s storm wasn’t as bad locally as at some places. An inch-and-a-half of snow covered the ground in the storm Tuesday, and was already starting to melt that afternoon. Walleyes are usually reeled from Delaware River in January to March, and the catches usually peak in late January through February. Anglers fish for them with shiners, nightcrawlers and plastic worms like 6 or 7 ½ inches. Those are all fished on jigheads to sink to about a foot off bottom. Sometimes split shots or other weights are used instead.

Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale did no fishing, he said. Weather became cold this week, but he’ll still try to fish this season. Reports were seen about walleyes and one musky boated at Greenwood Lake. News all came from there, and not from Lake Hopatcong, because Hopatcong was drawn down for dock repairs like annually. That prevented launching boats, unless boats were dragged across land to reach water. Dave will fish Greenwood as long as ice doesn’t prevent boat launching. He also hopes to trout fish on streams this winter, and caught well on them last winter. Live to Fish Guide Service guides trips for muskies, walleyes, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, panfish, trout, carp and more. Lakes fished include Greenwood, Lake Hopatcong, Monksville Reservoir, Echo, Mountain and Furnace. Rivers fished include the Flatbrook, Pequest, Paulinskill and Ramapo.

One customer banked trout on Big Flatbrook, mostly on midges, but also on egg flies, said Mike from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. Surface ice formed on lakes, but no fishable ice did. Fewer customers than before might’ve traveled to fish for steelheads and a few big brown trout on upstate New York’s rivers like the Salmon. But they still made the trip.

Days turned cold, and 3 inches of snow fell, said Joe from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. But northern pike should be able to be yanked from Passaic River, and Blue Fox Vibrax in-line spinners and Zoom fluke should clock them. Catfishing was good in the river on nightcrawlers. That was surprising, and Joe would’ve expected bait like chicken livers to be more popular. Nothing was heard about trout, including about fishing the winter trout stocking. Customers bought split shots from the shop’s Newark Sinker company to fish for steelheads in upstate New York’s rivers, because the weights were difficult to find in New York. Nothing was heard about how the fishing went, and no photos of the fish were seen. But the anglers bought lots of the weights.

<b>South Jersey</b>

The snow won’t really affect trout fishing on streams, said Angelo from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook.  Glare from the snow might affect vision for anglers. But that’s about it, and Angelo appreciates the scenery. He’s still catching trout, and midges and egg flies will hook them. Those patterns should work all winter, and this week’s cold might slow trouting a moment. Tuesday might’ve been the final day when the cold didn’t, until later this week. Nothing specific was heard about trout landed from lakes from the recent winter trout stocking. But Angelo did know that the trout were taken. Lakes are stocked in that stocking, and mostly streams are stocked in the fall stocking. Trout were currently banked from shore at Round Valley Reservoir on M&M combos – meal worms and marshmallows – and shiners under slip-bobbers.

Nobody fished, and the store wasn’t even opened the past couple of days, because of weather, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. Actually, anglers fished saltwater. Throwback striped bass, a token keeper, dragged from the surf were the only catches there, and nobody boated in the weather. But a good number of the throwbacks bit. Holiday gift certificates, at a discount, are available until Christmas.

A few customers fished the ponds in the Pine Barrens for chain pickerel, nailing a bunch, said Karl from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Streamer flies in white-and-red or white-and-chartreuse clobbered them. But so did red-and-white Daredevil spoons on spinning rods. A few anglers crappie fished at Lake Mercer at the dam and at Gropp’s Lake from the dock behind the school. They scored well on small marabou jigs or shiners. Fishing the recent winter trout stocking was good, though no specific locations were reported. Nobody mentioned fishing Delaware River, like for walleyes at the wing dams or largemouth bass and smallmouth bass at the Trenton power plant’s warm-water discharge. Those catches were reported here previously. The power plant isn’t always turned, so it doesn’t always produce warm water.

Fishing was at a standstill in the weather, said Jeff from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Anglers could probably try for a catch at waters free from skim ice at the spillways at lakes. A minnow for bait is probably a best bet.

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