<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Adirondacks</b>

Lots of snow dumped on top of the ice on lakes this past week, said Jeff from <b>FISH307.com</b> in the village of Lake George. Sixteen inches fell, so there wasn’t a lot to report about ice-fishing. But only a couple of more inches are supposed to fall this week, and sun is supposed to shine, so the snow should “push down,” and conditions should be good for the angling this weekend. Ice-fishing was good previously on Lake George for yellow perch, lake trout and northern pike. Conditions were awesome then, and Jeff had just seen a video of a 7-1/2-pound lake trout through the ice off Pilot Knob on Lake George. A couple of customers were into good crappie fishing at smaller lakes. Baits stocked include fathead minnows, rosy reds, a couple of sizes of shiners, baby and medium suckers, small hunts and tons of grubs and mousies.

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

Salmon River’s steelhead fishing was very good on a trip last Wednesday with <b>Jay Peck Guide Service</b>, Jay Peck said. The fish were hooked on the upper river on dead-drifted stonefly nymphs. Anglers had to be “on their game.” The river ran low at 285 cubic feet per second, after running at 500 previously. Streamer flies swung across the river caught okay, a few fish, not bad, at the right places. Jay specializes in fly-fishing and catch-and-release, but his other guides fish the river with conventional tackle. Weather was in the low 30 degrees during the trip, but now was supposed to be in the single digits. Jay and his guides are fishing the river during breaks in the weather. On other days, Jay is tying flies and doing other projects. Watch a video showing the river’s steelheading with Jay in winter. The upper Salmon always remains free from ice. But the lower freezes or holds too much slush, preventing fishing. A good base of snow is built up along the Salmon’s head waters, and that should be good for a healthy water flow in the river this spring, as the snow melts, looking promising for the steelheading that season. Steelheads live in the river from fall to spring, spawning there in spring, then summering in Lake Ontario. They don’t die after spawning, like salmon do. Substantial snow this past week fell along Salmon River and the streams farther west, around Rochester, that Jay is also fishing for large brown trout. The trout grow large because they summer in Lake Ontario. They spawn in the streams in fall, remaining there in winter and part of spring, because of forage. They don’t die after spawning either. A foot to 1 ½ feet of snow fell along the western New York streams, and somewhat less fell along Salmon River. Probably 2 ½ feet of snow blanketed the ground along Salmon River, upstream around Altmar. Probably a foot or less covered the ground downstream around Pulaski. Genesee River was the only western New York stream that Jay was fishing for the trout now, because the other streams ran low and were frozen. The Genesee also ran low, but held open water that was fished, even if anglers needed to be very careful about shelf ice.

Capt. Rick Miick from <b>Dreamcatcher Guide Service</b> attended the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, Pa., this week, he said. That’s commonly called the Harrisburg show, and he knew nobody who fished Salmon River for steelheads in past days. Weather was turning cold along the river, and is supposed to reach only 6 degrees Friday to Monday, so the angling is shut down. But if anglers want to join him for guided ice fishing on lakes, “come on!” he said. This was his lull of the season on the river, but that’s about to change. He becomes busy guiding for the river’s steelheads later this month. Currently, the river ran low and frozen or slushy. If anglers currently wanted to fish the upper river, remaining free from ice each winter, they could fish blue egg sacks or flies colored root beer, black, green or olive, or a combo of the colors.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

Customers ice-fished like crazy, said Brian from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Succasunna. They tugged in mostly yellow perch, chain pickerel and occasional walleyes. The perch were often hooked on mousies or spikes on jigs. The pickerel, and similar fish like muskies, were beaten on live bait like shiners or Binsky blade baits. Rapala Jigging Raps worked well on the walleyes, and sold well. Ice-fishing tournaments are coming up on Swartswood Lake and Lake Hopatcong, he thought. Nothing was heard about trout fishing on streams, but diehards will still hit the streams, trudging through snow, dealing with ice along the waters. Pequest River and the lower Musconetcong River are probably places to try, because the spring-fed water keeps the rivers’ temperatures consistent. This was getting to the time of year when small black stoneflies and small blue-winged olives might hatch, on warmer days, during warmer parts of the days. For ice-fishing, mousies and spikes are stocked. The shop never carries shiners. Hand augurs are carried, and gas augurs sold out, but one or two more might be re-stocked. All the ice-fishing tackle is on hand.

Plenty of ice remained on the lake, up to 12 and 14 inches at some of the coves, and probably 8 inches on the main lake, Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> wrote in an email. And more cold weather was coming. “Seen some nice perch this past week,” she said. Crappies and pickerel were also seen from the ice. Al Moretti weighed-in a 4-pound 2-ounce pickerel, and Scott King checked-in two that weighed 3 pounds 5 ounces and 3 pounds. The Knee Deep Club will hold an ice-fishing tournament on the lake Sunday, and another on Sunday, March 1, if the ice is still fishable that day. For details, anglers can visit the club’s website or telephone Dow’s at 973-663-3826.

All the places reported to be ice-fished previously, were pretty much still fished, and Delaware River was the one new spot, said Nick from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. A couple of customers said they whaled walleyes on the Delaware at the Delaware Water Gap through the ice. They also caught perch, and not all the river was frozen, but some places help up to 12 inches, they said. Pockets of slow-moving water held ice, Nick guessed. This winter turned out to be a good ice-fishing season, for the second year in a row. The angling began in December last winter, but started in January this year. Other waters currently ice-fished, like before, included Lake Hopatcong. Plenty of perch were grabbed through Musconetcong’s ice. Abundant crappies were reported plucked from Greenwood Lake through the ice. Anglers had to trudge through snow. A couple of customers planned to ice-fish for lake trout at Waywayanda Lake this weekend, and tell Nick results afterward. Lots of bait was sold for ice-fishing, including 750 shiners per week. The supply of mousies, spikes and wax worms was just re-stocked. One augur remained in supply, and some tip-ups were on hand. Jigs, ice-fishing line and other ice tackle is well-stocked.

Ice-fishing made up all the reports, said Joe from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. The angling was supposedly pretty good at Lake Hopatcong. Some of the local ponds were ice-fished, and no specific names were heard. Passaic River was free from ice locally, with some ice along the edges. Eighteen or 20 inches of snow lay on the ground at the shop. Probably 30 inches fell this winter so far at the store, and more was coming.

<b>South Jersey</b>

Kind of mediocre ice-fishing was reported from all over, said Braden from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Tons of bait was sold for the fishing, and most customers who ice-fished headed to Lake Hopatcong. They picked at catches, not great, but sometimes decent angling for yellow perch, reportedly. Scattered largemouth bass were hooked, and, during the weekend, a 36-inch musky was released, at Hopatcong. One trip on Delaware River on the ice yanked in one channel catfish after another. The anglers were trying for walleyes. White perch bit well at Budd Lake through the ice. A few northern pike, not great, were taken at Budd. Nothing was heard about trout fishing on streams.

Assunpink, Stone Tavern and Rising Sun lakes were ice-fished, said Karl from <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Those are located in the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, and largemouth bass, chain pickerel and crappies were swiped on shiners on tip-ups. Bluegills, lots, were nipped on small, 1/16- or 1/32-ounce hair jigs, tipped with mousies or other grubs. A few customers traveled north to Lake Hopatcong, catching well through the ice. Back near the shop, ice filled Delaware River bank to bank, with a channel of open water in the middle. The Trenton power plant pumped no warm water into the river lately.

Just waiting for warmer weather, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Lakes were iced over, solid, and rivers were iced up, for the most part. So nothing was even reported about white perch fishing on brackish rivers that can be popular in winter. Ice fishing isn’t common this far south in the state. The lakes don’t freeze for longer periods of time that are fishable, like they do farther north. 

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