<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Salmon River</b>

Anglers worked for steelheads on the river, flowing at 500 CFS, the past few days, said Eric from <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski. They picked at the fish up and down the river, no particular stretch fishing better than another, mostly on stoneflies and egg sacks. Not much snow fell in the past week, and access to the river was no problem. Steelhead fishing, world-class on the river, lasts until about May. The fish winter in the river, after migrating from Lake Ontario. In spring, steelheads spawn in the river, and then return to the lake for summer. They don’t die after spawning, like salmon do. Days averaged 30 degrees, and ice anglers mostly fished farther north at Henderson Harbor and Chaumont Bay. Ice fishing was slow at Sandy Pond near the shop. One of the crew from the store explained in a previous report that low water kept Sandy Pond’s angling slow this season. Steelhead and ice-fishing supplies are fully stocked.

<b>Adirondack Mountains</b>

Ice was “holding” on Lake George, said Jeff from <b>FISH307.com</b> in the village of Lake George. Edges started to become a little dicey, and anglers needed to be careful about a few cracks. But with caution, they found plenty of fishable ice on Lake George and other lakes. Mostly yellow perch, northern pike, lake trout and a few landlocked salmon were pulled from Lake George, and most customers each winter fish there once the ice sets up. The annual Ice Fishing Derby will be held on Schroon Lake on Saturday. Two feet of ice covered Schroon, and the fishing should be good. Lake trout, salmon, perch, pike and smelt could be tugged from Schroon. The Northern Lake George Ice Fishing Tournament was held in Hague last weekend, and Jeff was yet to receive results, but anglers said they had a good time. FISH307 stocks a large supply of ice-fishing bait and gear and features an annual sale on the tackle starting late in the ice season around now.

About 24 inches of ice covered Great Sacandaga Lake, said Lou from <b>Fuel-n-Food</b> in Mayfield. Lakes to the north and west held 16 to 20 inches, and were covered with more snow than on Great Sacandaga. At Sacandaga, walleyes bit but were small, but larger northern pike than before began to snap well, and trout fishing for browns and rainbows was picking up. Yellow perch fishing was slower than before on the lake. Fishing for rainbows was good at Green Lake in 15-foot depths. Big lake trout were angled from Candle Lake, and splake fishing picked back up at West Caroga Lake, after slowing previously. Lou fished on West Lake, and catches were good. Chain pickerel and big crappies chomped there. <a href=" http://www.emerydesigns.net/fuelnfood/contestforms/weekend_long.pdf

" target="_blank"> Fuel-n-Food’s Ice Fishing Contest</a>, an annual event, will be held from Friday to Sunday on Great Sacandaga. There was ice for fishing, and snow for snowmobiling, and things were in good shape, Lou said. Live baits stocked include shiners, fathead chubs, hunts, spikes and more. Tackle and gear includes a variety of jigs, all the terminal tackle, tip-ups, augurs and more. The shop includes a convenience store, fuel, beer, breakfast and lunch. Great Sacandaga Lake and plenty of other nearby waters can be fished, and the shop can point anglers in the right direction.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> from Montvale trout fished on Sunday, starting at Pequest River, he said in an e-mail. Immediately, he latched into a decent-sized rainbow trout that jumped twice then threw the hook. Fishing afterward was slow for him on the Pequest, so Dave moved to Paulinskill River at Hainesburg. He nailed a 16- or 17-inch brook trout. “Gorgeous,” he said. Then a large rainbow took a shot at his lure and missed. Dave cast to the same spot, twitched his lure a couple of times, and hooked and landed a rainbow. Light snow fell as he left. Dave hasn’t usually trout fished streams in winter, but on a trip the previous week, he caught, and found stream conditions perfect, covered in the last report. Dave didn’t mention the lure he fished on this week’s trip, but usually works Rapala CountDowns in size CD3. Lure fishing for trout on streams is one of his specialties, and requires a good water level to avoid snagging on bottom or debris. Trout fishing is open until being closed for stocking starting on March 18. The season will be reopened on April 7, and Dave’s new fishing season will begin with just this: trouting on streams with lures. Stream conditions are usually right for that in spring. Live to Fish Guide Service guides trips for trout, muskies, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleyes, crappies, chain pickerel, panfish, yellow perch, white perch, carp and more. Lakes fished include Greenwood Lake, Lake Hopatcong, Monksville Reservoir, Echo Lake, Mountain Lake and Furnace Lake. Rivers fished include the Flatbrook, Pequest, Paulinskill and Ramapo.

A few ice-fished the coves at Lake Hopatcong, said Burt from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. They probably caught mostly yellow perch. Little will be heard about fishing open waters on lakes until ice clears out. Nothing was reported about trout fishing on streams, but water levels seemed fine. The level was healthy at Rockaway River, and Burt lives near there. Customers kept traveling to upstate New York’s Salmon River for steelhead fishing.

Ice cover was good or 5 to 7 inches on most of the lake, said Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong. Warmer weather and rains were expected this week, but cold was supposed to return afterward. “Time will tell,” Laurie said, whether ice holds for another week. Great Cove, Henderson Cove off the post office, off the state park and off the Windlass were all ice-fished, producing on jigged grubs or shiners on tip-ups. Antonio, Vinny and Hunter Brito from Dunellen, and their dad, reeled in a 3-1/2-pound largemouth bass, several sizeable chain pickerel and some perch, “to make for a fun day,” Laurie said. Anthony Acetta, his girlfriend, his brother Mike and his dad beat two pickerel 3 pounds 14 ounces and 3 pounds 12 ounces, several good-sized crappies to 1 pound 3 ounces, and some hefty yellow perch to 1 pound. Call the shop for updates on ice conditions: 973-663-3826.

Passaic River was cold or 39 degrees, but customers banked northern pike, none big, but a few catches, from the waters, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. So that was good, he said, and ice thinned on lakes but was fished. Three or four inches probably covered Lake Hopatcong off the state park, and perch and crappies were copped there on shiners on tip-ups. Some of the lake was open, reportedly. Perch and crappies were ice-angled from Cranbury Lake and Ramapo Lake on shiners on tip-ups. One customer on Monday was headed back to Monksville Reservoir, where he’d been bailing lots of perch all the way back in the shallow end near the trees. Ice was okay there, he said. Catch deals at the shop’s exhibit at the <a href="http://sportshows.com/suffern/" target="_blank">World Fishing & Outdoor Expo</a> this weekend in Suffern, N.Y. Stop by and say hello to Nick!

Trout streams fished well, said Angelo from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Black stoneflies, pheasant-tail nymphs and midges caught. Stoneflies in the rivers were either black or light-brown, and the pheasant-tails imitated the brown. Angelo saw a few blue-winged olives, not many, hatch. A handful were probably around, but nobody reported substantial numbers. Light Henderson mayflies will be the next hatch, starting about mid-March, if weather warms. If weather stays cold, they’ll come off later. Pequest River fished especially well for trout. Musconetcong River and the South Branch of the Raritan River also gave up good trouting. The North Branch of the Raritan River probably did, too, but Angelo hadn’t fished the North Branch. River levels were great for the fishing, and usually would be very low this time of year. No floating ice was currently a problem either. Rivers looked to be setting up well for trout fishing this spring. Nobody really reported lake fishing. Angelo saw anglers fishing from shore at Round Valley Reservoir on Tuesday morning, but they didn’t seem to catch. Trout fishing probably slowed at the reservoir, Angelo thought.

<b>South Jersey</b>

A few chain pickerel were axed from the Toms River at Trilco, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in the town of Toms River. Trilco is a closed building supply, and no sign identifies the building, but locals know the stretch of river by the name, located near Garden State Parkway. Anglers began to poke around for white perch in brackish waters like the lower Toms River, but waters were cold. The river and Barnegat Bay were 32 or 34 degrees. More will fish for the perch when bloodworms begin to be stocked for the season, probably by Thursday. Shiners will begin to be carried that day, and bait already on hand includes killies and nightcrawlers. A few customers traveled for picks at the lakes at Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area. Closer to the shop, striped bass were caught and released at Oyster Creek, the warm-water discharge at Forked River power plant, on 4- and 5-inch rubber shads. The fish were required to be released, because striper season was closed in rivers and bays. But the season will be opened on Friday. Murphy’s will be open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The store will be open at 8 a.m. daily starting next Wednesday. Let the season begin.

The big thing was chain pickerel to 27 or 28 inches fought at Turn Mill Pond on shiners, said Tom P. from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. That’s in Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area, and a pretty good bunch of customers started fishing again. Forecasts for 60 degrees today would help. Picks to 20 or 25 inches were wrestled at Sylvan Lake. A couple of customers whacked them on large, size 3 and 4 Vibrax spinners and No. 5 Mepps spinners. Crappies to 14 inches were clobbered at Lake Assunpink and Gropp’s Lake on small hair jigs under floats. The warm-water discharge was turned off in past days at Trenton power plant on Delaware River. But when the discharge was turned on, the waters were loaded with hybrid striped bass. One angler smashed a 9-pounder on a Mister Twister. Trout fishing might’ve been good on northern streams in solid water levels. That will change because of heavy rains forecast now. But a couple of customers bought fly-tying material to hit Pequest River that trout-fishes well on rising waters. Musconetcong River also trouts well on rising waters. The shop, by the way, carries the largest selection of fly-fishing supplies in the tri-state region, Tom said. A following has built up with Bob Atticks, the fly department’s manager, at the helm over the years. Ice started to become dicey for ice-fishing on lakes in the northern state. But Lake Hopatcong was still ice-fished, Tom heard from Dow’s Boat Rentals, and yellow perch were supposedly whaled from the lake.

Anglers started to fish more often, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. They began to land the season’s first largemouth bass, on jerk baits and jigs, including at Rainbow Lake and Parvin’s Lake. They began to pull in crappies, and nobody mentioned fishing for them at Union Lake, because of winds, but they plucked the fish from some of the local ponds. Crappies and yellow perch will probably spawn in a couple of weeks, and fishing for them is usually great then. Chain pickerel fishing was “kicking in,” Steve said, nearly everywhere, on spinners and jerk baits. The shop expected to re-stock minnows for the season on Tuesday, Steve said when he gave this report that day on the telephone.

Back to Top