<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

The river’s steelhead fishing started to improve, said Eric from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. The season was warmer, though snow was forecast on Tuesday night, and the fish became somewhat more active. The river flowed at 500 CFS, but if weather keeps warming, waters will rise. No stretch of river fished better than another, that Eric heard, and mostly egg sacks and pink worms caught. Daytimes reached the high 30 degrees and 40s, and ice fishing was mostly finished for the season.

A guide ran a trip on the river, the season’s first steelhead trip from the lodge, for Capt. Jim Weiser from <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b> in West Leyden, Jim said. Fishing was good, and four steelheads were banked around the Schoolhouse Pool and Ellis Cove on sizes 10 and 12 pheasant-tail nymphs. Catches were also heard about from the Trestle Pool. Jim’s trips, wading on the river, like to fish with nymphs for steelheads in springtime. He also ties a peach-colored egg pattern that’s a favorite then. Spin-rodders typically fish egg sacks. The nymphs are often fished with roll casts upstream to keep correcting the drift to be drag-free. Or many anglers prefer to fish the nymphs with a strike indicator. The guide told Jim that steelheads began to drop back to Lake Ontario, after spawning in the river, but fresh fish were also around. Steelheads winter in the river, spawn there in spring, then drop back to Lake Ontaro to spend summer. The fish feed and become more active after they refuse to eat during the spawn, and Jim likes to fish for them then. The fishing should be very good in the next couple of weeks. The river’s flow had dropped to 500 CFS during the trip, pretty low, after it was 900 CFS. When the flow is 900, that “brings fish in,” Jim said. Anglers fish the river from Jim’s <a href="http://www.sjlodge.net/" target="_blank">S.J. Lodge</a> in West Leyden. When he’s at the lodge, they can fish with him. Or he can put them together with a guide, or they can fish on their own. When Jim’s at the lodge, he can also show guests how to catch, then they can fish on their own, if they’d like, and the technique isn’t so difficult, Jim has said before. Fins and Feathers offers a variety of outdoor adventures, and Jim guided snow-goose hunting on Delaware Bay near Dividing Creek, N.J., this weekend. Nine geese were bagged, and Jim would return to the bay today, planning possibly to begin striped bass fishing. He’ll charter for the stripers now, fishing clams for bait. He might also hunt the geese today. No stripers were seen in the shallows of the bay during the goose hunting, like Jim saw last year. Last year, stripers flooded depths like 10 feet or shallower, tight to shore, off places like Reed’s Beach in March. The fish were schooling toward Delaware River to spawn, and they swim shallows like that in the early season. But that was early, probably because of last year’s warm winter. Jim will charter for drum on the bay later this spring, and trips are booking for both stripers and drum. In summer, Jim charters from Avalon, N.J., on the ocean, for everything from summer flounder to tuna. He also guides trout fishing in Pennsylvania near Harrisburg at streams like the Yellow Breeches, and did recently. 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>

Little was reported about striped bass fishing on Delaware River since Sunday on the Facebook page from Bill Brinkman from Philadelphia’s <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Maybe that was because of Monday’s storm. One person posted on his page, asking whether the storm affected the river, but there was no reply at press time. Bill’s most recent post about the fishing, on Sunday, said the best report was that four small stripers were bloodwormed from the river off Rancocas Creek on Friday. “Yesterday (Saturday) a bunch of nothings,” he said. Two 28- and 29-inch stripers were yanked from the river at Tacony-Palmyra Bridge on Thursday. More stripers, including 26- to 40-inchers, were socked farther downstream, from Philadelphia airport to Chester, last week. All the catches were bloodwormed from the river so far this season. That’s the usual early-season bait, easy for the fish to digest in cold waters that slow metabolism. Farther upstream, one angler at New Hope whacked two 25-inch walleyes from the river on shallow-running crank baits.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

A few customers hit Delaware River for walleyes, slow fishing, maybe a pick, said Joe from <b>Stokes Forest Sport Shop</b> in Sandyston. Most of the fish were throwbacks, but sometimes one was sizeable. Most anglers fished for them with a 7-1/2-inch rubber worm on probably a ¼-ounce lead jighead or medium shiners. If the jigs didn’t snag bottom, no fish were nailed. Shad usually swim the local river by mid-April or when dogwoods start to bloom. Striped bass usually show up there when shad fishing peters out. “It’s pretty much switch-over,” Joe said. Not a lot happened with fishing, because of weather like snow on Monday, and because trout streams were closed to angling for stocking. They’ll be reopened on Saturday, April 6.

Some fished for perch on lakes, but weather was cold and nasty, keeping most anglers off waters, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. That will probably change in the next days in warmer weather. Perch move to shallows in lakes like Hopatcong this time of year and become aggressive. Trout season will open on Saturday, April 6, and fishing will especially take off then. Some waters were open, and a bit was heard about trouters catching at Pequest River on midges. Check regulations, including about catch-and-release requirements. More news should be heard after this weekend, because of weather.

Passaic River turned out northern pike and even walleyes, believe it or not, on shiners, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. A few small striped bass were also slung from the river. Crappies and perch were nabbed from Pompton Lake. Lots of perch were grabbed from Lake Hopatcong at the bridges. Largemouth bass fishing was tough in cold waters. Nick fished a private lake in Vernon that was 39 to 40 degrees. Not even crappies bit, and he saw Oak Ridge Reservoir covered with a thin layer of ice. One angler fished for largemouths at Pompton Lake, marking the fish in 18 or 20 feet, but only landing one, a couple-of-pounder. A couple of anglers pre-fished Cranbury Lake for a largemouth tournament, saying fishing was slow. One or two bass were hung on Rapala X-Raps. Weather in the 50s to 60s should help largemouthing, and maybe that’ll happen next week, if forecasts for that pan out. One of the crew from the shop fished a feeder creek at Greenwood Lake, managing a dozen sunnies, none big, on Gulps. Nobody mentioned trout fishing, and many trout waters are closed for stocking, but some are open.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Both wild and stocked trout were landed from Ken Lockwood Gorge on a trip that a customer took, said Braden from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. He fished with Hot Spot nymphs and midges. Hendricksons hatched at the Gorge for the first time this season that was heard about. Another angler released a couple of walleyes, including one bigger one, 24 inches, at Delaware River on medium shiners on a plain jighead. Yellow and white perch were snatched from Lake Hopatcong at Brady’s Bridge on Panfish Magnets and twister tails popped under bobbers. 

Riverwood Park, the Trout Conservation Area on the Toms River, was fished a little more than before, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in the town of Toms River. About five trucks were parked there Sunday from trout anglers, so participation was picking up. Otherwise nearly everything stayed the same with fishing. Chain pickerel and crappies bit. White perch were zipped from the brackish Toms River. Dennis’s nephew talked about a good catch there. All the trout bait, including the different worms, like meal and garden worms, and tackle is stocked for the opening of trout season on Saturday, April 6.  Killies, shiners, bloodworms and more are on hand. The store is fully open and stocked for the season.

Most customers homed in on crappie fishing at Carnegie Lake that was good on shiners, said Tom P. from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Assunpink Lake also shoveled up crappies. A few largemouth bass might’ve been scraped from Carnegie, and largemouths at Assunpink reportedly jumped on Dirty Jigs. One customer talked about Rat-L-Trapping largemouths at Parvin Lake. Some customers headed to Delaware River to look for shad, but the river was probably “smoked,” Tom said, from the storm Monday. Snow fell, but not as much as elsewhere, and it didn’t stick long. Nothing was heard about striped bass from the river except far downstream, like toward Pennsville. When days warm another 8 to 10 degrees, Tom will start channel catfishing everywhere. Millstone River is one of his favorites. In brackish water, anglers fished for white perch at places like Mullica River. One angler kept fishing for the perch at lagoons in Bayville or Beachwood or someplace he wouldn’t name specifically. In saltwater, anglers still fished for striped bass at Oyster Creek, the warm-water discharge at Forked River power plant. When winter flounder season opened this weekend, someone who tried for them at Shark River said the fishing was terrible. But flounder were reported swung in from northern Barnegat Bay at Bay Avenue near Point Pleasant Canal in Bay Head. Supposedly, bloodworms caught best there, but sandworms worked best on the bay proper.

<b>South Jersey</b>

No customers said they fished, in cold, rough weather, said Ed from <b>Creek Keepers Bait & Tackle</b> in Blackwood. The store wasn’t even opened on Monday, because of the snowstorm. A few customers stopped in on Tuesday, but only to buy fishing licenses for the year, and they were yet to fish this season. But trout season will open on Saturday, April 6. Customers will fish for trout at places including Grenloch Lake, next door to the shop, Rowan’s Pond in Clementon, Oak Pond in Winslow and Hammonton Lake. All trout baits including garden worms and wax worms will be on hand. Creek Keepers is open daily for the season.  

Quite a few customers headed to fish Delaware River for striped bass on Tuesday, said Matt from <b>Shag’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Pennsville. Results were yet to be heard, and hardly any fished the river previously, because of weather, including snow on Monday. But the river will be fished now, including because of the shop’s Striper Tournament that began Monday, and will last to Saturday, awarding prizes for the first through third heaviest. Stripers should be reeled from the river by this time of season, and catches should take off as soon as weather warms. Bloodworms are fished for them in the early season, because the fish can digest them in the cold. Chunks of bait like bunker are fished as waters warm, and bunker was possibly going to be stocked on Tuesday, when Matt gave this report in a phone call.

Waters dropped to the low 40 degrees, because of weather, and largemouth bass fishing became slow, said Vince from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Waters had been in the high 40s. Bait is the thing to fish for largemouths while temps remain low. Lure fishing becomes slow in the cold. Vince fished a largemouth tournament on Mirror Lake at Pemberton or Browns Mills on Sunday, and only three of the bass were caught among 10 boats. But calico bass or crappies, chain pickerel and yellow perch chomped.  Pickerel, thriving in cold, could be fought on nearly any lake. He competed in a largemouth tournament on Saturday on the Potomac River in Maryland, and the fishing was also slow. He managed one 3.8-pound bucketmouth, coming in thirteenth place. Trout season will open in two Saturdays, April, 6, and local trout lakes, like Iona, are closed for stocking. Trout baits like baby nightcrawlers just arrived.

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