<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Steelheads, good catches, not “crazy,” but steady, were drift-boated on the river with <b>Salmon River Guide</b> from Pulaski, Capt. Shane Thomas said. The river’s flow was being raised to 1,800 CFS, because of runoff, on Monday night, from 1,200 during about the previous week. The angling was best on the upper river, and Shane’s customers caught on trout beads and egg sacks. Other drift-boaters sometimes scored well on back-trolled plugs. Many of the steelheads were spawning, and will drop back to Lake Ontario for the summer afterward. Trips usually fish for steelheads on the river until late April. This year was warm, and daytimes currently reached 75 degrees, and that could end the fishing early. Time remains for the catches, but act quickly. Brown trout fishing was good on Lake Ontario, somewhat early for that. The fish are trolled close to shore each spring, and that will be Shane’s next fishing this season.

The river was raised to 1,800 CFS on Monday night, from 1,200 during about the previous week, said Ben from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. Its steelhead fishing was slow but “up and down, day to day,” Ben said. Catches were best on the upper river, and stoneflies worked especially well. But trout beads, egg sacks, natural worms and pink worms caught. Many of the fish were spawning, and many already spawned and returned to Lake Ontario. Good catches of brown trout were landed on Lake Ontario, and that was early. Usually anglers would still be ice fishing, but not during this warm year. The browns were trolled close to shore, and some began to push somewhat farther from the coast. But shore anglers also banked them.

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

The Delaware River’s shad fishing was on fire, according to angler posts on the Facebook page from <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia. An angler in a post talked about landing 50 shad in two days. Thirty of the fish were larger than 5 pounds, and 12 weighed about 7 pounds.  The fish early this week schooled from Scudder’s Falls to Easton, he said. But the fish were moving quickly, showing up at Scudder’s “first day, then up past Washington’s Crossing,” he said in a post Monday. “Probably a load at Lambertville right now.” He also posted a report from a Philadelphia and Bucks County guide that said the fishing was on. A trip with the guide landed 23 shad. A post from another angler said shad fishing was off the hook at New Hope. Roe shad outnumbered smaller ones 3 to 1, and the river there was warmer than 52 degrees, he said. The river’s striped bass fishing was getting better each day, posts from anglers said on the page. One talked about a couple of stripers larger than 30 inches that other anglers reported pulling from the river during the weekend. But another post reported a catch of two shorts in a trip to the river at Rancocas Creek. Others reported catches like all shorts on eight rods at the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, and no stripers in an effort to land them at Linden Avenue in Philly.  Bloodworms seemed the bait of choice.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

Trout-stocked waters were closed for stocking this week, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Ledgewood. Fishing will be allowed on them again when trout season is opened on April 7. Shad catches were heard about from the Delaware River farther south at Lambertville, weeks earlier than usual. No shad were heard about from the river closer to the shop, like at Worthington State Forest, and Kevin guessed the angling would start there within weeks. Lots of yellow perch and crappies were plucked from Lake Hopatcong at Brady’s Bridge. Trout Magnets and small hair jigs could catch them. Largemouth bass fishing at the ponds and small lakes seemed best in the warm shallows, on small soft-plastic lures on jigs.

Anglers during the weekend boated crappies, yellow perch, largemouth bass and chain pickerel in the lake’s shallows, said Joe from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong. Lots more anglers crowded the waters than before. The crappies and perch were mostly tackled on small jigheads with fathead minnows or worms. The largemouths and picks were punched mostly on shiners or Husky Jerks. Hybrid striped bass catches now usually slow up for two or three weeks then suddenly turn on around the third week of April or so. The hybrids were caught some weeks ago, covered in a previous report. Walleye season is closed. The shop’s rental boats are available for the season, and baits stocked include shiners and fatheads. Joe will start searching for herring to stock as soon as his license allows him on April 1, but the baitfish usually can be caught to stock starting around mid April.

Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield bailed 120 crappies last week on a private lake he fishes in Vernon, he said. Crappie fishing was happening, and he landed 10 largemouth bass at a small lake near the shop he fishes. He fished the lake all winter, covered in previous reports, and the fish were reluctant to bite before, but now they chewed. Fishing for largemouths was coming on. On this trip he fished with 3-inch Keitech Swing Impacts – “they’re deadly,” he said – in green pumpkin on a 1/32-ounce jighead. The lake was 60 degrees, warm for the time of year. Largemouths will spawn by the end of the month because of the warmth, he said, and that’s early. Nick’s club will hold its first largemouth tournament of the year in the coming week at Cranberry Lake. No customers talked about fishing for trout, now that waters were closed for trout stocking. Nothing was heard about yellow perch fishing, like at the shallows at Lake Hopatcong, like was heard before. Nick thinks anglers now were gearing up to hit largemouth bass fishing. One customer socked a bunch of smallmouth bass to a 3-pounder on the Passaic River at Little Falls on shiners.

Alfredo Sa Jr. checked in a 6-3/4-pound 27-inch brown trout he banked from shore at Round Valley Reservoir on a nightcrawler, Jody from <b>Lebanon Bait & Sport</b> said in an e-mail. Chuck LaMasters boated two lake trout 20 and 22 inches at the reservoir in 50 feet on flies. Another angler at the reservoir trolled two lakers 23 inches and 16 inches, one off the north tower on a fly fished deep, another off the south shore on a Geneva Spoon down deep. Ron DeGraff at the valley trolled a 20-inch laker, a 16-inch brown trout and an 18-inch rainbow trout on spoons and stick baits on leadcore line and downriggers along the north and south shores. At Spruce Run Reservoir Joe Sadukas live-baited five or six northern pike to 9 pounds. On Lake Musconetcong Dan Krzyzkowski and John Fleck piled up 35 crappies. They also got skunked at Oxford Furnace Lake. Scott Kane caught crappies, yellow perch, largemouth bass and chain pickerel at Lake Hopatcong on spinners. Jack Lally pounded two “monster,” Jody said, muskies at Mountain Lake on Herky Jerky Bomber lures.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Shad began to show up somewhat in the rivers, said Josh from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. A few customers talked about landing a few on the Delaware River and fewer on the Raritan River. Trout streams were closed for trout stocking, so no customers mentioned trouting. Some fished on reservoirs that remained open for trout, northern pike and chain pickerel, with spotty success. In saltwater, striped bass were just starting to bite in the bays, and kept chomping in the surf around Long Branch and Deal, like they did through the warm winter.

Fishing started to take off in the lakes and ponds, because waters reached 55 to 60 degrees, or warmer on smaller ponds, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in Toms River. Crappies and chain pickerel were going crazy. Occasional largemouth bass were hooked, but a few weeks will pass before better action. Fishing for crappies and pickerel was productive on the Toms River at Trilco, the building supply that closed down, located at the Garden State Parkway. Crappies swam thick behind the bridge and also at Lake Carasaljo. A customer checked in a big trout from the Toms that jumped on a Rapala last week. Lots of anglers stopped at the shop to buy bait, and Sunday was probably the busiest day of the season so far. Shiners, killies and worms are stocked.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Striped bass began to be angled from the local Delaware River here and there, said Eric from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. Plugs were used to fish for them, and nothing was heard about whether herring yet migrated the river, because fishing for herring became prohibited this year. Catfishing was great on the river on stink baits or worms. Shad began to be fought on the Delaware from Trenton to Lambertville. On the lakes, fishing was heating up. Crappies, chain pickerel and largemouth bass were mugged. Big largemouths began to be heard about from tournaments at places like the lakes at the Assunpink and Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Areas. Rubber worms like Senkos were popular for the bass. Spinner baits are a good early-season lure for largemouths.

On the Delaware River a few striped bass began to be lifted around the Burlington-Bristol Bridge on bloodworms, said Carl from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Shad began to be axed from the river at Lambertville on shad darts and flutter spoons. A few anglers mentioned good largemouth bass fishing at Lake Assunpink during the weekend on black and chrome Rat-L-Traps and 4-inch black and blue Yum Dingers.

A few keeper striped bass caught, the first of the season, were heard about from the Delaware River at places including Elsinboro, Penns Grove, River Winds and even the docks at Camden, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b> in Brooklawn. Previously only shorts were caught. All the bass were bloodwormed, and other baits like clams were yet to draw strikes from shore. Other baits will work as the fish become more active in warmer waters. Farther downstream on Delaware Bay, Fortescue anglers now scored well on stripers from shore. Nothing was heard about stripers from boats on the bay, but with warming weather, reports should roll in soon. Good-sized white perch were pummeled on waters like the rivers dumping into the lower Delaware River and Delaware Bay. Largemouth bass fishing became good on the lakes. A customer placed third in a largemouth tournament on the Salem Canal, and the canal seemed to turn out the fish. Newton Lake, Parvin’s Lake and Maskill’s Mill Pond gave up reports about good largemouthing. Lures like Husky Jerks and crank baits connected. Chatter baits claimed a few. In saltwater, lots of tilefish and cod were boated offshore. One customer boxed a solid catch of tiles to 35 pounds from a Wildwood party boat. Bloodworms, clams and the entire selection of baits is fully loaded at the shop. Big Timber stocks bait and tackle for fishing on all waters from freshwater to offshore.

Customers copped luck on chain pickerel, panfish and a few largemouth bass on the lakes, said Robin from <b>Sportsman’s Outpost</b> in Williamstown. They used lures like Roostertails or Dare Devils for the picks, worms for the panfish and Tsunami Switch Blades for the bass.

Chain pickerel, crappies and largemouth bass, good catches, were slugged, said Vince from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. The fish were heard about from Giampietro Park Pond, South Vineland Park Pond and Arbor Lake. A few small largemouths began to be reported caught at Union Lake. Rat-L-Traps mainly beat the bass. But rubber worms, pigs and jigs and flip’n baits worked. Saltwater anglers began to bank striped bass, none big, from shore on Delaware Bay and the Delaware River. The bass were yet to ease up rivers like the Maurice.   

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