Ice-fishing conditions in the northern Adirondacks were okay, said Jeff from FISH307.com in Lake George. Rains failed to affect the ice much in the north, but not so much ice was left on Lake George. Harris Bay on Lake George had frozen over enough for considerable ice fishing, but now offered less ice. A few, not many, fished from the hard waters there. But plenty of ice fishing happened in the northern mountains, including at Raquette Lake, Loon Lake, Piseco Lake, the northern end of Schroon Lake and South Bay on Lake Champlain. Panfishing was good for yellow perch and crappies, and a few lake trout caught were heard about. A few landlocked salmon came from Schroon Lake. Sizeable northern pike were sometimes pulled from the northern lakes. Ice baits, currently including mousies that are scarce this year, are fully stocked. That includes grubs, all sizes of shiners, hunts, suckers and icicles. The shop is open 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays and 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Salmon River

Steelheads, very good catches, were drift-boated from the river with Salmon River Guide from Pulaski, Capt. Shane Thomas said. The river ran high at 1,200 CFS, but lots of steelheads flooded the waters. A bunch of fresh ones from Lake Ontario swam the lower river, and plenty of dark ones getting ready to spawn held throughout the waters. Shane’s trips fished the upper river, because of the high waters, along an 8-mile stretch from Altmar to Pulaski, “just being selective about where,” Shane said. The fishing was best in the deeper holes, because waters were cold. Anglers aboard cast trout beads and egg sacks. Sometimes trips back-trolled plugs. Lots of anglers lined the banks on weekends, but fewer did on weekdays. A foot of snow fell on Monday, but rains were supposed to fall the following days. A couple of feet of snow had covered the ground previously but melted.

Few customers fished the river the past couple of days, making it difficult to say how the steelheading was, said Ben from All Seasons Sports in Pulaski. But the angling hooked decent catches previously. Plenty of steelheads filled the river, and plenty of fresh ones entered from Lake Ontario. The weather now turned warm, and that should help the fishing, after colder, snowier weather. The river’s flow fluctuated a lot. The flow was at 1,200 CFS on Tuesday, and nothing then was yet posted about whether the flow would be changed. Previously the flow was at 1,500. Customers mostly caught the steelheads on trout beads and egg sacks. A few fished flies. Ice fishing was difficult so far this year. Ice would form, then would melt. Currently the ice was questionable, and anglers fell through North Pond’s ice in the past week. Ben ice fished during the weekend, and had to work through 6 to 8 feet of waters on the edges to get to the ice.