<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Adirondacks</b>

A solid 6 to 12 inches of snow dumped on the area, and ice on the lakes seemed to be building by the day, said Ron at <b>FISH307.com</b> in Lake George. Brant Lake, parts of Eagle Lake and Colby Pond were all ice-fishable, with anywhere from 3 to 5 inches of hard water. Northern pike, chain pickerel and yellow perch made up most of the ice catches at those locales, and live shiners were the best baits. Winds were expected to settle down this week and allow ice to begin forming on Lake George.

<b>Salmon River</b>

High winds and snowfalls of 6 to 8 inches hampered anglers’ participation on the Salmon River, said Eric at <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. But bravehearts who didn’t mind were pulling in 6- to 12-pound steelheads from Altmar to Pineville. Most of the fish were eating up blue or pink egg sacks, stoneflies and small, less than 1/8-ounce marabou jigs in pink or white tipped with wax worms. Note that the law prohibits river anglers from fishing with jigs that weigh more than 1/8-ounce. Customers averaged 3 or 4 steelies on a day out.

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

Both Corr Creek and Levittown Lake offered up plenty of catches for trout-minded anglers, said Bill from <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia. Most of the fish were hatchery-stocker size and were taking Power Baits, nightcrawlers, wax worms and Kastmaster jigs. The Delaware River should begin to put out walleye with regularity, and New Hope and Lambertville are perennial hot spots. Largemouth bass should be on the hunt at Dredge Harbor and Tullytown Cove on the river, and so should yellow perch and even some crappie.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

An eighth-inch of ice supposedly covered Lake Hopatcong, said Adrian from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Montville, and ice anglers were getting geared up and hoping for a relatively early season. Pike anglers should hit the Passaic River with live shiners, and the water wolves will be available in the river through the holiday season.

Split Rock Reservoir held 2 inches of unsafe ice, said Dom at <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Paramus. Anglers hoped the ice would thicken and be safe within a week’s time. Skim ice also covered lots of local ponds, stoking the hopes of anglers. Meanwhile, trout anglers were scoring luck at the Flatbrook River, especially at Stokes State Forest, where small caddis flies were finding their mark.

Walleye were feeding off the points of the lake before snow, ice and winds rolled through, said Laurie at <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong. But the fishing should continue on the open parts of the lake until ice locks them up. Jim Welsh was working a Rapala ice-fishing jig for walleye when a 14-pound 10-ounce channel catfish slammed the hook. The store is all stocked for ice fishing, and Laurie hoped to be able to give a report on ice next week. Interested anglers can call the shop for info at 973-663-3826. 

Excited anglers were starting to give reports about ice conditions, said Tom at <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. Ramapo Lake formed skim ice, and the lower half of Greenwood Lake held a layer, and so did Monksville Reservoir. None of the ice was yet safe to fish, but by the middle of next week, upper Greenwood might be safe in the 6- to 10-foot shallows. That’s where he plans to be with live shiners for big, fat largemouth bass. Trout anglers were having fun with 2- to 4-pound rainbows at the Pequest River below the hatchery.

Like at many shops, the talk at <b>Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop</b> was about the impending ice-fishing season, Chris said. The northern lakes and ponds were covered with skim ice and some building ice, and customers were looking to Budd Lake, Monskville Reservoir, and the state park section of Lake Hopatcong to freeze up first. Time to tune up your ice auger, re-spool and re-leader your tip-ups and organize the ice sled, if you haven’t already, Chris said.

Jagged ice bordered the rivers, said Ron at <b>Ray’s Sport Shop</b> in North Plainfield, and a quarter-inch covered some of the edges, but that failed to slow down trout fishing. The Pequest and Flatbrook rivers were places for plenty of rainbows for fly rodders tossing sizes 16 to 18 bead-headed nymphs.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Trout anglers scored quality-caliber holdovers at the Paulinskill and Pequest rivers, said Jim from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. The Ken Lockwood Gorge section of the South Branch of the Raritan River produced the same, and small, sizes 18 to 20 caddis flies worked well.

Decent trout fishing was reportedly going on at the upper stretches of the Manasquan River, said Roy at <b>L&H Woods & Water</b> in Wall. The fish honed in on brightly colored Power Baits and salmon eggs. Skim ice formed on the pond at the shop over the weekend, but no safe ice was yet to be found anywhere in the area.

Pickerel anglers were chasing the chainsiders at the Trilco section of the Toms River, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in the town of Toms River. If anglers could obtain live shiners, they’d have better odds at hooking up, but they could also throw nightcrawlers and spinner baits for a strike. Lake Riviera also offered pickerel, and the conservation area along the Toms River was a good bet for trout. Power Baits and Roostertails were taking the stocker-sized fish.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Fairly solid walleye fishing was happening on the Delaware River at Lambertville, said A.J. at <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. The toothy predators were chasing down bright-orange crank baits and little shiners on small white jigs. Pickerel were rustling up local ponds and also the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area lakes, where they were hanging right at the weeds in the shallows, and in-line spinners were working best. Largemouth bass could still be caught at the Assunpink lakes, but anglers had to work deep and slow for them. Try using a Senko worm rigged wacky-style with BB split shots for weight. Crappie will hammer Trout Magnets at Gropp’s Lake.

Skim ice should form on the Assunpink lakes, because winds were dying down, said Carl at <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Chain pickerel were providing the bulk of the local action at the Collier’s Mills Wildlife Management Area lakes, especially near the spillway sections, where the waters will be yet to accumulate ice. A wild word came in of a sustained muskellunge frenzy going down on the Delaware River around the Water Gap. One customer caught muskies to 40 inches while casting 8- to 10-inch Pikie plugs along the riverbanks and under the overhangs. The key was to work the plug slowly to the boat.

Most local waters such as Malaga and Parvin lakes were covered with enough skim ice in the mornings to prevent casting plugs, said Jeff from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. But by mid-afternoon pluggers could usually freely cast in pursuit of largemouth bass and chain pickerel. For the largemouths, toss plugs that get down deep, such as Lucky Craft suspending crank baits, Rat-L-Traps and Rapala X-Raps.

Steady white perch fishing was on tap at the Maurice River, said Ki at <b>Huck’s Place</b> in Millville. The feisty scrappers were tearing up bloodworm bits on the higher tides. Dedicated striper hounds were finding short bass in the river as well, and bunker chunks seemed to get the nod over bloodworms. Ki expects to order more bloodworms for the perch in the coming weeks, but frozen grass shrimp will also work to get a hit.

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