<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

The river’s flow was raised and lowered frequently, and now weather was cold and snowing, so steelhead fishing wasn’t good on the waters, said Johnnie from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. The angling became very good last week in warmer weather. But today was 25 degrees, and snow falling since Tuesday built up to 6 or 8 inches today, and is supposed to continue until 7 a.m. Thursday. That was on top of 8 or 12 inches already on the ground. But trails to the river were well-worn before the current snow, and steelheading should become good when weather is supposed to warm starting Friday, reaching the 30s daily. The river flowed at 1,200 CFS one day, 750 on another, 900 on another, and so on. Anglers who fished managed a couple of steelheads, but said the fishing was tough. Nobody seemed to fish in the storm today. Ice became solidly fishable on Sandy Pond, but the angling’s been slow all season. From the ice, a few crappies were copped at night, and a few yellow perch were plucked during day. But low water was the problem, preventing the fish from spawning. Ice fishing went well farther north. Steelhead and ice-fishing supplies are fully stocked.

<b>Adirondack Mountains</b>

Conditions were good for ice fishing, and fishable ice would probably last another two or three weeks, maybe more, said Jeff from <b>FISH307.com</b> in the village of Lake George. Most days were below freezing, and 5 to 10 inches of ice covered the south basin of Lake George itself, and anglers rode four-wheelers on top “and everything,” Jeff said. Most customers fished the south basin, and in the Chingachgook Classic Ice Fishing Derby on the lake last weekend, a 16-pound northern pike was the biggest fish. A 9-pounder was the tournament’s largest lake trout, and a 1.3-pounder was its biggest yellow perch. The Northern Lake George Ice Fishing Tournament will be held in Hague this weekend. Most ice-fishing baits, lots, are still stocked. The shop will begin the annual end-of-season tackle sale for ice fishing sometime in March.

Twenty inches of ice covered Great Sacandaga Lake, and fish definitely bit, said Nancy from <b>Fuel-n-Food</b> in Mayfield. Yellow perch were cranked in, and anglers had to put in time to tug in walleyes, but they caught them. Lots of northern pike were rustled up, and the lake’s trout fishing picked up, like expected this time of year. On one trip on Great Sacandaga, Nancy bagged a 22-inch walleye, and a friend smoked a 40-inch northern. Nancy fished on Mayfield Lake during the weekend, finding a foot of ice. Lots of yellow perch were winged from Canadarago Lake, and fishing was slow on Piseco Lake. Weather was a little warmer than usual, but on Tuesday was 26 degrees, for example. Fishing will begin to change with the rapid change in sunlight this time of year. Fishing is usually good, “because fish are on the move,” Nancy said, during <a href=" http://www.emerydesigns.net/fuelnfood/contestforms/weekend_long.pdf
" target="_blank"> Fuel-n-Food’s Ice Fishing Contest</a> from Friday to Sunday, March 1 to 3, on Great Sacandaga. Live baits stocked include shiners, fathead chubs, hunts, spikes and more. Tackle and gear includes a variety of jigs, all the terminal tackle, tip-ups, augurs and more. The shop includes a convenience store, fuel, beer, breakfast and lunch. Great Sacandaga Lake and plenty of other nearby waters can be fished, and the shop can point anglers in the right direction.

<b>New Jersey</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale clobbered four rainbow trout, including a large breeder, on Paulinskill River in Warren County on Tuesday in driving snow, he said. The fish – “gorgeous,” he said – were smacked on a black and silver Rapala CountDown lure in size CD3. The breeder was a buck with a large, hooked jaw and probably weighed 3 pounds. Dave hasn’t usually trout fished the state’s streams in winter, but conditions were perfect. Some of his guided trips specialize in trout fishing with lures on streams, because lures catch, and often bigger trout. A healthy water flow is needed to fish the plugs to avoid snagging on debris or bottom. Again, water level was great, “(and) there’s still plenty of fish left,” Dave said. Trout fishing is open until being closed for stocking starting on March 18. The season will be reopened on April 7. Dave’s new fishing season will be launched then with trout fishing on streams with lures. Live to Fish Guide Service guides trips for trout, muskies, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleyes, crappies, chain pickerel, panfish, yellow perch, white perch, carp and more. Lakes fished include Greenwood Lake, Lake Hopatcong, Monksville Reservoir, Echo Lake, Mountain Lake and Furnace Lake. Rivers fished include the Flatbrook, Pequest, Paulinskill and Ramapo.

Lake Hopatcong’s coves were ice-fished, and so were other usual waters including Lake Aeroflex and Cranbury Lake, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. At Hopatcong, yellow perch were jigged on 1/12-ounce Kastmasters. Mousies were difficult to obtain for bait, so anglers substituted Gulp maggots. Trout anglers fished Pequest River with midges and scuds during the warmest part of the day. Early black stoneflies should come off in trout streams at mid-day if two or three days become relatively warm. Sizes 14 or 16 elk hair caddis flies in black or dark dun are good imitations. A reader sent an e-mail to this site asking if anyone fished Delaware River upstream from Trenton. Any news heard is posted in the site’s reports, but Kevin was asked if anyone fished the Delaware above Trenton. He doubted anglers fished the river much, and they’d have to be hardy to try the river in the weather. But during a warmer spell about two weeks ago, anglers jigged a few walleyes from the river on Rapala Jigging Rap W9’s bounced along bottom. They also picked up a few smallmouth bass on the jigs, but catches of both were a slow pick.  Catch the shop’s fifth annual Cast and Blast Cabin Fever Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, including seminars by: Lou Marcucci on fishing Lake Hopatcong year-round; John Luchka on inshore fishing; Calvin Huntzinger on musky fishing; and more.

The lake’s ice was “hanging on,” said Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong in an e-mail. Four to 7 inches covered most of the lake, and mostly yellow perch and chain pickerel, sometimes crappies, were pulled in from shallow waters through the ice. From deeper waters, a few walleyes and hybrid striped bass were socked on Rapala ice-fishing jigs. Hiromu Imaeda from Cresskill whacked a 42-inch, 23-pound, 10-ounce muskie from the ice off the state park. The Knee Deep Club’s ice-fishing tournament was cancelled on Sunday, because of warmer weather last week, and the season was too late to schedule another. “Hopefully, next year …” Laurie said.

Probably 4 to 5 inches of ice capped lakes, Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield thought, he said. Whether ice was thinning was unknown, but next week’s predicted somewhat warmer days will probably affect it. Even temperatures in the 40s could start to dwindle ice. Ice fished included on Lake Hopatcong off the state park and Greenwood Lake, both for lots of perch. Plenty of perch and crappies came through the ice at Lake Musconetcong. A 24- or 25-pound muskellunge was hauled through the ice at Monksville Reservoir. A second hole had to be drilled adjacent to the first to fit the musky through. A buddy kept fishing the ice at Split Rock Reservoir, and his catch included a 5-pound largemouth bass jigged and a few other largemouths. Split Rock was crowded, but many crappies were nabbed there. Ice fishing was “no good,” Nick said, on Budd Lake and Pompton Lake. He wasn’t asked what that meant, but was probably talking about ice conditions, this writer guessed. Customers began to catch the bug to fish open waters when lakes melted, and Nick knows he’ll be able to bail crappies like crazy then. Afterward his largemouth bass tournaments will begin. No customers reported fishing for northern pike on Passaic River. Colder weather seemed to keep them from trying. Nobody mentioned trout fishing on streams.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Ice-fishing was heard about from Swartswood Lake during the weekend, said Braden from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Catches were slow, but chain pickerel, perch and crappies were definitely picked. The picks were tackled on shiners on tip-ups, and the perch and crappies were jigged on shiners.  A few trout, not many, but sometimes sizeable ones, were lifted from the trout streams, including Pequest River and South Branch of the Raritan River. Trout magnets, “of all things,” Braden said, caught on the South Branch. One customer fished pheasant-tail nymphs and stoneflies to bank trout on Musconetcong River. Nothing was heard about fishing on Round Valley Reservoir for trout that were reported caught earlier this season. But a few customers bought shiners, and Braden suspected they were headed to Round Valley. The impoundment’s conditions, like whether ice covered edges, were unknown.

Chain pickerel were fought at Lake Riviera on killies and spinners, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. He wrestled pickerel from the Toms River at Trilco, the closed building supply. No sign identifies the building, but locals know the stretch by the name, located near Garden State Parkway. Jeff fished farther downstream at Island Heights in saltwater, trying for anything that would hit, like white perch, striped bass or winter flounder, with Fisbites artificial worms, plugs and spoons. But nothing bit. Striped bass, out-of-season in bays and rivers, and winter flounder, out-of-season anyplace in the state, must be released. Killies and nightcrawlers are stocked, and shiners and bloodworms will begin to be carried on March 1. Murphy’s is open during limited hours, and will be open daily starting March 1.

Windy, cold weather that began Sunday kept many from fishing, said Tom P. from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. But customers talked about nailing channel and bullhead catfish from Crosswicks Creek from Anchor Park or something – Tom couldn’t remember the name, but knew the location – to Groveville. The fish get active in late February, the customers said, and they bought Gulp Catfish Chunks, saying that was the bait to use in the cold waters. Nobody reported fishing Delaware River at the Trenton power plant in the weather. Previously, smallmouth bass, small or up to 1 to 1 ½ pounds, but lots, were nipped at the plant on shiners, because the warm-water discharge was turned on, Tom said in last week’s report. But just no customers seemed to fish the place this week, because of cold and wind. Nothing was heard about trout fishing anywhere. In the northern state, Tom saw anglers fishing ice at Lake Hopatcong near Dow’s Boat Rentals. They loaded up on yellow perch. Ice wasn’t building, because of relatively warm weather during daytime. But ice wasn’t lost, because of cold nights, maintaining up to 4 or 4 ½ inches.

Lakes froze again, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. But it was too thin to fish from, and kept boats from being launched, so fishing was hardly possible, and nobody reported going. On a positive note, in the next week, some days might reach the 50s, and fishing might be heard about then.

Back to Top