<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Adirondack Mountains</b>

<b>FISH307.com</b> was closed in a snowstorm yesterday, Mike from the shop said this morning in a phone call. The store was telephoned yesterday for a report, and again this morning when Mike answered. But he was only a tech, saw no customers, so couldn’t give a report. The rest of the store’s crew was going to be back tomorrow. Ice fishing had been ending because of warmth in the Adirondacks, except farther north and in higher elevations, like around Indian Lake. But maybe the angling was back on somewhat, because of recent cold.  <a href="http://www.fish307.com" target="_blank">FISH307.com</a> is both an online store and a brick-and-mortar shop. Take advantage of ice-fishing clearance sales.

Weather had warmed, and Great Sacandaga Lake near <b>Fuel-n-Food</b> in Mayfield had risen 10 feet from snow melt about two weeks ago, breaking up the lake’s ice, Lou from the store said. That ended ice-fishing for the season on Sacandaga, because the water level kept going up and down, breaking up ice. Indian Lake was similar. But weather was colder now, and plenty of smaller lakes were fished on the ice, including West Lake, Caroga Lake, Canada Lake, Piseco Lake, Louie Lake, Adirondack Lake and Mayfield Lake.  Not a lot of anglers fished on the ice anymore this year, and some fishing seasons will close beginning tomorrow, including walleye and northern pike seasons. The closures will stop many anglers from ice-fishing. But walleyes bit through the ice at Caroga. Lake trout were eased from the ice on Piseco. Crappies hit at West Lake for ice anglers. Twenty-six inches of snow was supposed to fall yesterday. Live bait for ice-fishing is still stocked. Fuel-n-Food includes a gas station, a café and a complete supply of bait and tackle. The crew at the store can point anglers in the right direction.

<b>Salmon River and Western N.Y. Creek and Rivers</b>

Was a cold week, and steelhead fishing was back in winter mode, after warmer weather previously, said Jay Peck from <b>Jay Peck Guide Service</b>. Wild changes in weather are typical for March, and April is much more stable. Unseasonable warmth previously seemed like steelheading ran ahead of schedule. Some of the fish had begun to spawn, and snow melt raised rivers and streams. Any seasonal activity like spawning never seems to fluctuate more than 10 or 14 days each year. A fluctuation like a month, like spawning beginning a month early, is very rare. If weather warms unexpectedly again, and it completely could, spawning will be seen again. Steelheads winter in rivers and streams, spawn there in spring, and spend summer in Lake Ontario. Salmon River ran high at 1,700 cubic feet per second, and high water is cold. But the water level was dropping and could drop to 1,000 or maybe even 750 by the end of the week. Seventeen-hundred is high for fishing, and 1,000 and 750 are fishable. If the water drops to 750, anglers could fish with stoneflies on the Salmon, taking advantage of stones that are hatching and steelheads that are feeding on them. Farther west in New York, around Rochester, creeks and rivers were lower, and egg flies hooked steelheads there. During the warmer weather, Jay fished there, while the Salmon ran high, and found steelheads. Twelve inches of snow was supposed to fall in the past day or two in the area. That’s not a big deal locally. “That’s (just): it’s snowing,” Jay said. Jay specializes in fly-fishing and catch-and-release, and books trips that fish with conventional tackle with his other guides. Steelhead fishing is about to peak for the year for his trips.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

Before the recent cold, all fishing began to turn on, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. Walleyes in Delaware River chomped suspending crank baits in deeper holes. Perch and crappies bit in lake coves on tackle like Trout or Crappie Magnets and Mister Twisters. Trout were nabbed on streams on San Juan worms and early black stoneflies that began to hatch. But as weather became cold, anglers stopped fishing. Then the big snowstorm was forecast for yesterday. If a fair amount of snow fell, snow pack might be good for spring fishing, the melt helping to make the waters a healthy level. Weather was forecast to remain cold, including temperatures no higher than the 30s frequently next week. That could help.

Three or four inches of snow fell Friday, though not much stuck on the ground, and a larger amount was expected in the big storm yesterday, said Keith from <b>Hi-Way Sports Shop</b> in Washington before the storm. Online reports said about 6 inches fell that day. Before the storm customers plucked trout from Pequest River. Many were fly-anglers, but conventional anglers fished Mike’s Shrimp Salmon Eggs and PowerBait for the trout. When weather was warmer, smaller lakes or ponds, not big lakes, lit up for largemouth bass fishing a few days in a row on swim baits or craw trailers on jigheads. Two anglers waxed a ton of big crappies at Lake Hopatcong near Henderson Cove last week on pink and white twister tails 3 feet under a bobber from a row boat. They gave Keith some, so he saw the size.  One customer bought a bunch of musky lures and then tackled a musky at Mountain Lake.

A few crappies began to be grabbed at Spruce Run Reservoir on shiners along bottom, said James from <b>Behre Bait & Tackle</b> in Lebanon. At Round Valley Reservoir, shore anglers and boaters reeled in rainbow trout. The shore anglers fished shiners or PowerBait under a slip-bobber or Carolina-rigged. The boaters trolled the fish on Warrior spoons and Rapala lures. Fishing should pick up once this cold snap ends.

Once the cold weather began, anglers no longer fished, said Joe from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. Previously, they played striped bass, mostly throwbacks 24 inches, on Hackensack and Passaic rivers. Nothing was heard about fishing farther upstream on the Passaic near the store. Joe in previous reports here recently said surely good fishing for northern pike, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass was available on the river near the store. The river there ran low lately. Nothing was reported from lakes, but a customer on Monday morning was headed to fish Lake Hopatcong, buying Rapala Jigging Raps and Johnson ThinFisher blade baits to try for whatever catches would bite.

Weather was too cold for customers to fish this past week, said Jeff from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Mostly rain and some ice fell when he gave this report in a phone call yesterday morning, during the big storm that dumped much snow elsewhere in the Northeast. Customers had been fishing for largemouth bass at lakes when weather was warmer, the store reported previously. Chain pickerel and crappies probably pounced on minnows at lakes then. A few customers began to try for striped bass on Delaware River then, catching only small. The migration of large stripers is impending on the river. Bloodworms were fished on the river, and the worms and minnows are stocked. A few customers fished for white perch on brackish rivers, before the cold.

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