<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Adirondacks</b>

Lake George finally locked up with ice last week, said Tony from <b>FISH307.com</b> in the village of Lake George. Ice-anglers fished all over the lake, and the bays held 3 to 7 inches, anglers generally said. Fishing was pretty good on the lake, and catches included yellow perch and lake trout, and a few landlocked salmon started to be hooked. All other lakes were buttoned up in the Adirondacks, “(and) we’re on par for another great season,” he said. Air temperatures varied, but usually reached the 20 degrees during daytime. The temperature was 5 degrees at 6 a.m. today, when he gave this report in a phone call. Rain fell on one day, glassing up the ice. All ice-fishing baits are stocked, including hunts, icicles, shiners, fathead minnows and suckers.

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

Capt. Rick Miick from <b>Dreamcatcher Guide Service</b> was guiding ice-fishing, sometimes steelhead fishing, and was attending some of the winter outdoor shows, he said. A steelhead trip is booked to fish Salmon River next week, and the river’s steelheading will get especially busy again starting in late February. The fish swim the river all winter, into spring, but the river currently was low, running at 400 cubic feet per second, and crystal clear. That was because the cold prevented rain and snow runoff. Two feet of snow covered the ground, and steelheads could be caught, but he’ll do more of the angling once the flow increases. If anglers fished for the steelheads now, he’d recommend fishing blue trout beads that work well in the clear water. Pink artificial worms also started to catch. Light leaders, or 4-pound fluorocarbon, should be fished. Bottom could be seen, and the fish could be seen, through the water. The river will probably flow at that level until weather becomes warmer, melting snow, or until rain falls. An ice-fishing trip with Rick on Tuesday filled two pails with big yellow perch on Oneida Lake. The ice was probably a foot thick, and the whole lake was fishable on the ice. But anglers avoided the east and west ends, near the rivers, for safety.

It was balmy now, instead of 4 degrees below zero, said Jay Peck from <b>Jay Peck Guide Service</b>! Sunday reached a high of 41 or 42, and Monday, when he gave this report in a phone call, was 31. That was after a low of minus 10 last week on Monday or Tuesday or sometime. The cold froze the creeks and rivers he’s fishing for large brown trout in western New York around Rochester. He’s also fishing Salmon River, to the east in New York, for steelheads. The warmer weather opened up the bigger rivers in western New York, like the Genesee and Oak Orchard River, now. The water at Burt Dam, on 18-Mile Creek, was probably also open. The rivers were low, because the cold prevents rain and snow runoff. But the lower rivers, called the estuary, held relatively more water, and gave up the trout again. The trout grow large, because they summer in Lake Ontario. From about fall to spring, they swim the rivers and creeks, because forage is more abundant there. Jay specializes in fly-fishing and catch-and-release, but his other guides fish with conventional tackle. He’s fishing for the browns with streamer flies and egg patterns. Any color of streamer worked, as long as it was white, he said! Jay headed to Salmon River on Thursday for steelheading. But that was when weather was frigid, and he decided not to fish.  The Salmon dropped to 285 CFS, as low as it gets, on Friday. That was also because the cold prevented rain and snow runoff. The Salmon never freezes entirely, but the low flow will cause shelf ice and discourage fresh steelheads from entering the river from Lake Ontario. Steelheads will be caught during the extreme cold, but won’t be overly “grabby.” Anglers just need to adjust. The angling recently was fair, and some days will fish better than others. By this time in winter, fishing can become fairly consistent, because the conditions can stay about the same. That’s unlike earlier in winter, when the seasons, and therefore conditions, are changing. During this time of year, slush ice can fill the Salmon as far upstream as mid-river, until later in the day. During this time of season, when the water is low, breaks in the weather, like when snow melts or rain falls, flush out the river, rejuvenating it, so to speak. That’s what anglers looked forward to recently. Jay posted a photo of a steelhead released Tuesday on his Facebook page, so he was back at the fishing, apparently. Check out a video of steelhead fishing on Salmon River in fall that Jay recently posted. “With all the cold weather … I think it's time for a flash back …,” he wrote.  Also see a video in winter of the fishing that he posted earlier this season.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Ice was fished, said Brian from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. The coves were fished from the ice at Lake Hopatcong, and he didn’t hear about the main lake. Lake Musconetcong and Lake Aeroflex held ice that was fished. Fishable ice should remain three weeks, and nothing exceptional was reported about the angling, but anglers caught. Seems sometimes the fishing’s slower at first during the ice season. Usual tackle like mousies or spikes on tip-ups, or jigged Kastmasters and Phoebes, caught. Ice baits and tackle, like ice-fishing line and augurs, are stocked. Lots of tip-ups were sold. In open water, trout that were fly-rodded were known about from Pequest River. Trout anglers needed to be careful about ice that could form along edges of streams, sometimes out to 5 feet from the bank, for instance. Catch the deals at Ramsey Outdoor’s exhibit at this weekend’s The Fly Fishing Show in Somerset.

Some open holes remained on the main lake, but 5 to 10 inches of ice covered most of the lake, Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong wrote in an email. The usual pickerel and perch were yanked in. Occasional walleyes, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass were tugged up. The Knee Deep Club’s ice-fishing tournament is set for Sunday, as of now. The contest was postponed from last Sunday. For info, telephone the shop at 973-663-3826, or visit the club’s website.

Excellent ice-fishing was crushed at Lake Hopatcong, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. Lots of yellow perch and some crappies were beaten off the state park. The “basic” places for ice-fishing gave up good angling, and lots of the perch were around at different lakes. The perch were schooled up, and if anglers found the schools, they hammered the catches, like at Hopatcong. Pretty good perch fishing was reported from Greenwood Lake’s south end. But a couple of people said anglers fell through the ice in the middle of Greenwood. That was unconfirmed, and anglers said lots of perch bit at Monksville Reservoir through the ice. Perch and crappies were hooked at Pompton Lake from the ice. Ice anglers smoked catches at Highlands Lakes in Vernon, but that’s private property. A couple of customers fished nearby Waywayanda Lake on the ice, talking about great fishing for crappies and also some chain pickerel. Passaic River locally had been iced over, but began to open up currently, after warmer weather. Ice bait and tackle is stocked, and the bait includes mousies, wax worms, meal worms, trout worms, nightcrawlers and shiners.

Pike were fought through the ice on private lakes, said Cheryl from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. The local Passaic River wasn’t frozen solid across, but the sides were frozen enough to prevent fishing, like from kayaks. News from saltwater was a little quiet, and customers who saltwater fish mostly waited for a change in the weather.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Some customers bought shiners to ice-fish, said Scott from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Places known about that were fished from the ice included Lake Hopatcong at the coves. Ice was formed at Round Valley Reservoir at the swimming area. Spruce Run Reservoir was very low, and quite a distance needed to be walked just to reach water. Trout streams were blown out recently, after rain. Ken Lockwood Gorge had been running at 300 CFS, and usually runs at 110. Millstone River had completely blown out. Water levels improved in past days. Saltwater anglers mentioned decent blackfishing trips. Ice-fishing baits stocked include mousies, spikes, wax worms, meal worms and shiners. Ice tackle, from tip-ups to assorted jigs, is on hand.

Assunpink, Stone Tavern and Rising Sun lakes were ice-fished, said Karl from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Those are in the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, and catches included crappies, yellow perch and bluegills on small marabou jigs. Sometimes largemouth bass to 2 pounds were hit on shiners on tip-ups. Delaware River became full of ice flow and dirty. Before then, a few smallmouth bass were taken on the river at the warm water from the Trenton power plant on shiners. Ice-fishing tackle, from tip-ups, rods and jigs to augurs, and bait, including mousies, meal worms, baby nightcrawlers and shiners, is stocked.

Lakes were frozen over, and nobody really fished, said Jeff from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Waters like streams were open. Still, no news rolled in about fishing, and angling seemed at a standstill.

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