<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Steelhead fishing on the river was “eh,” said Eric from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. “So-so.” Most were banked from the upper river on egg sacks and stoneflies. He explained in a previous report that when the river warms, larger things like Wooly Buggers and leech flies will catch. Air temperatures reached the 30s, and not a lot of snow covered the ground, but 10 inches was supposed to fall starting today. The river flowed at 900 CFS, the same as during the previous week. Steelheads winter in the river, spawn there in spring, and return to Lake Ontario afterward through summer and part of fall, then repeat the cycle. Once they return to the lake this spring, boating for brown trout on the lake will become popular. Nobody really ice fished anymore this season. All Seasons stocks supplies for all this fishing.

Capt. Jim Weiser from <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b> in West Leyden just finished trout fishing in Pennsylvania and will begin steelhead fishing on Salmon River soon, he said. He’s also wrapping up guiding snow goose hunting on Delaware Bay from New Jersey, and will sail for striped bass on the bay soon. On the Salmon, he likes to fish for steelheads after they spawn, in early spring. Then the fish eat, as they swim downstream to return to Lake Ontario for summer. He fly-rods the steelheads on patterns like size-18 nymphs. Last year, blue, green and copper nymphs caught well. But when he fishes during the spawn, he uses flies like Muddler Minnows that steelheads will hit to remove them from the spawning bed. The fish usually refuse to feed while spawning.  Jim fishes usual holes on the river that hold the fish every year, well-known places like the Schoolhouse Pool. River flow can affect his fishing in obvious ways, like when the Salmon runs high, drift-boating is more affective, because high, strong flow makes fishing from the banks difficult or impossible. When the flow is no stronger than 1,200 or 1,500 CFS, finding places to fish from shore is no problem. He fishes from shore, hosting anglers from his <a href="http://www.sjlodge.net/" target="_blank">S.J. Lodge</a> in West Leyden. Or anglers can stay at the lodge and fish on their own. Sometimes anglers prefer Jim to show them how to catch, then fish on their own, and it isn’t complicated, Jim said. Or sometimes the river flows low, like last spring. Then Jim fishes fast-water, because the fish are spooky in the low, clear water. The lodge’s guests were still snowmobiling, popular there in winter, and plenty of snow remained in the woods, though trails were packed down. In the trout fishing that Jim just finished in Pennsylvania, he guided on the famous Yellow Breeches and nearby Clark’s Creek that holds a really nice fly-fishing section, he said, 20 minutes north of Harrisburg. Of interest to New Jersey saltwater anglers, Jim saw no stripers in the bay’s shallows while snow-goose hunting, like he did last year at this time. Last year the bass, migrating to spawn up Delaware River, bumped his boat in depths 10 feet or less off places like Reed’s Beach, because so many of the fish schooled. But that was early, apparently because last winter was mild. Jim will charter for the stripers on the bay again this year, and afterward will charter for drum on the bay this spring. Visit the <a href="http://www.finsandfeather.com/index.php/fishing-trips" target="_blank">Fins and Feathers Outfitters Web site</a>. Call:  612-802-8619.

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

Lots of anglers fished Delaware River during the weekend, and plenty of catfish were hooked at Burlington Island, “but the striper guys just drowned bloodworms,” Bill Brinkman from Philadelphia’s <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> said on his Facebook page. Still, a 31-inch striper was bloodwormed Monday at Linden Avenue. “Even with the cold weather, it’s starting,” Bill said then. Anglers waited for the river’s migration of stripers. Before Monday, the last stripers heard about were a 41-incher tackled at Fort Mifflin and a 33-incher taken near the Art Museum last week. 

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

A few anglers lifted a few walleyes and smallmouth bass from Delaware River, said Joe from <b>Stokes Forest Sport Shop</b> in Sandyston. The walleyes, not many, were mostly caught on shiners on jigs, but sometimes anglers used soft-plastic lures for them. The smallmouths were mostly a by-catch when anglers walleye fished. The river’s shad fishing usually begins locally in the first or second week of April, depending on water temperature. The current temp was unknown. Striped bass arrive in the stretch of river at the end of the shad run, usually in middle to late May. Fishing for them lasts until about August. A handful of anglers began to wing crappies from lakes, but many lakes were still covered with thin ice.

Weather was rough much of the past week, but before that, lots of yellow perch were swiped from Lake Hopatcong’s shallows, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. Perch definitely moved to shallows and were nipped on small, floating or suspending Yozuri Pins Minnows and Trout Magnets. Trout waters were closed for stocking on Monday and will be reopened on Saturday, April 6. But some lakes and Trout Conservation Areas remain open, with restrictions, and check regulations. Early black stoneflies, though none was reported, could hatch, and so could blue-winged olives. Bead-headed nymphs could also connect.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

From <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook, Darrel and a friend whaled trout from Pennsylvania’s Little Lehigh Creek and Saucon Creek on midges this weekend, he said. Both are limestone creeks, tributaries of Lehigh River, and the friend, quite an angler, smoked 35 of the fish. Darrel banked 10 or 12, not shabby either. This was during a snowstorm, and blue-winged olives hatched nonetheless. Lots of small trout were seen coming up on them. Saucon held native browns that were really aggressive, compared with stocked fish. Even 7- or 8-inchers nailed flies hard, jumped and fought. In New Jersey, trout fishing was closed Monday for stocking, though some waters remain open, and check regulations. Hatches should include stoneflies and blue-winged olives. Striped bass were reported landed from rivers like the Raritan, all on bait. Last spring Darrel had a blast releasing small, 5-, 6- or 7-inch stripers on poppers on the Raritan upstream from New Brunswick. “There’ good water there,” he said, and anglers say the fish show up in spring until June or so.

A couple of customers pulled a few trout, holdovers, from Toms River on nightcrawlers, before trout waters were closed for stocking on Monday, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. But the Trout Conservation Area could still be fished with artificials. Almost all supplies are already stocked for opening day of trout season, including the different worms, Power Bait and tackle. New ultra-light reels will arrive soon. Chain pickerel were played on the Toms at Trilco, the closed building supply, on shiners, killies and spinners. No sign identifies the building, but locals know the stretch by the name, located near Garden State Parkway. Pickerel bit at Pine Lake Park in Manchester, mostly on bait in cold waters. But a slowly worked Rapala lure, retrieved, stopped, then retrieved, could catch. Farther downstream on the Toms, striped bass, throwbacks mostly 12 to 18 inches, were bloodwormed or fresh-clammed in early mornings and at night in the dark. A few were grabbed at Island Heights at the yacht club, but most were found farther up, like at Beachwood or near the golf course. Though this is saltwater, Oyster Creek, the warm-water discharge from Forked River power plant, still produced stripers, on bloodworms or clams, but also on artificials like Fin-S Fish and rubber shads. Murphy’s is now open seven days a week for the season, and hours will be extended to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. starting Friday. Nearly all baits are stocked including fresh clams, bloodworms, shiners, killies, eels and the different freshwater worms.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Crappies were smacked from Farrington, Carnegie and Gropp’s lakes on fathead minnows, Mister Twisters and hair jigs, said Tom P. from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Most customers honed in on that fishing. But two anglers stopped in to gear up for shad fishing on Delaware River at the Trenton power plant, buying darts and flutter spoons. Apparently the warm-water discharge was turned on, and the year’s first shad are always caught there, usually around St. Patrick’s Day. Whether any was caught yet was unknown. No striped bass were heard about from the river yet, except a few “way, way (downstream),” Tom said. No stripers were even heard to migrate in Delaware Bay yet, like the fish that are plugged in 3- to 5-foot shallows off places including Reed’s Beach in the early season. Throwback stripers to 23 or 24 inches were plugged on the western side of Barnegat Bay, like at Lanoka Harbor, in saltwater. A fierce white perch bite took off in the brackish lagoons around Bayville, nearby.

<b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> is open for the season, with new owners, Ed said. The owners are his son and daughter-in-law, Edward and Joanie Krucinski. Customers bought new fishing licenses for the year, but didn’t give a lot of feedback on fishing yet, in rough weather. But chain pickerel should be able to be wrestled from lakes this time of year, and minnows, a bait for them, arrived Tuesday at the shop. Anglers had been asking about minnows for pickerel fishing. Trout fishing was closed on Monday for stocking and will reopen on Saturday, April 6. Nearby lakes stocked with trout each year include Grenloch Lake, next door to the store, Rowans Pond in Clementon,  Oak Pond in Winslow and Hammonton Lake. The store is open daily unless weather is severe like a snowstorm or strong rainstorm this time of season.

Plenty of anglers began trying for striped bass from the banks of Delaware River when weather reached the high 50s or low 60s last, said Matt from <b>Shag’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Pennsville. But hardly any fished in tougher weather this past week. Tuesday was the first day with fair weather in some time, and sleet fell on Monday. But when more anglers fished the river, a few stripers were dragged in. One reeled in a 30-incher, and another supposedly cranked in a 36-incher. Bloodworms were the bait to fish and are stocked. Fresh bunker was carried a moment when weather was better. Customers fish for the bass from places including Pennsville, Elsinboro and Carney’s Point. The angling last year had already begun to produce, but that was two or three weeks earlier than usual, after a milder winter. A few usually begin to be hung by the end of March.

Note: Speaking of Delaware River’s striped bass fishing, see the above report from <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b>, under Salmon River, for news about striped bass in Delaware Bay. Before stripers push up the Delaware River to spawn, they’ll need to swim the bay to reach the river, and the captain from Fins and Feathers saw no stripers on his snow-goose hunting trips on the bay. When stripers arrive in the bay, by the way, he’ll charter for them.

Largemouth bass fishing improved a lot, “aside from rain and mud,” said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. The fish were socked from Parvin’s Lake, and Steve “heard a few things,” he said, about Daretown Lake. Many of the bass were jerk-baited, but Rat-L-Traps and crank baits worked, and a few were jigged. Chain pickerel fishing was very good on almost all lakes. What would you catch them on? Steve was asked. “Anything with a hook,” he laughed. It’s been that good, but jerk baits, spinner baits and minnows worked. Pickerel catches were heard about from Iona Lake, until Iona was closed for trout stocking. Crappies and large pickerel were snatched from Union Lake. But actually a mix of fish including crappies, picks, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass came from Union. Not much was heard about smallmouths from Audrey Lake. Those are South Jersey’s only two lakes that carry smallmouths. From saltwater, little was reported about striped bass from Delaware Bay, except about small ones beached from shore. Large ones were yet to migrate in, apparently.

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