<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Adirondacks</b>

The first real ice should lock up Lake George in the upcoming week, said Ron at <b>FISH307.com</b> in the town of Lake George, and historically the 15th to the 22nd of January is when the big lake gets iced. In the meantime, Brant Lake was iced over and was a place to be for catches of yellow perch, as three anglers pulled up 60 of the fish on Caty Jigs and Swedish Pimples. Incredibly large crappie were sometimes taken in local ponds, and one weighed more than 3 ½ pounds, reportedly breaking the state record. Lake Eaton and the north end of Schroon Lake were waters to look for landlocked salmon through the ice, and emerald shiners fished just under the surface got the strikes. With recent rains falling, all the ice was super slick, so creepers were a must when walking on any of the hard water in the area.

<b>Salmon River</b>

With rains and higher temperatures, snowmelt brought the river up to a roaring 2,400 CFS, said Eric at <b>All Seasons Sports</b> in Pulaski, enabling only drift boaters to fish effectively. Some anglers were still trying from the banks but were better suited to wait it out until the weekend, when the waters should subside. The river was loaded with steelheads, and 4- to 6-fish days were average. Small stonefly imitations, egg patterns and pink worms and jigs should work best when the waters begin to chill down with the upcoming cold blast expected.

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

The Delaware River gave up hot yellow perch fishing, said Bruce from <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Philadelphia. John from the shop hit Dredge Harbor with minnows and grub tails to jig up limits almost every day. Other bank fishers were dunking stink baits near the Trenton Power Plant to land catfish. Walleye anglers should concentrate their efforts around the Washington’s Crossing area, and minnows and jigs will take the walleyes through the entire winter. Trout stocking takes place at Levittown Lake this week, and that should give opportunity to fill stringers.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

<b>North Jersey</b>

The Passaic River was running high from recent rains, said Adrian at <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Montville. But anglers could still try for northern pike as long as they could find large, live shiners for bait. Most stream fishers were heading to the Rockaway River or South Branch of the Raritan River to hook trout on small nymphs.

Trout anglers were mainly fishing small nymphs in the Flatbrook and the Pequest River, said Marina from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Paramus. Sizes 18 to 20 bead-headed Pheasantails, Copper Johns and midge patterns were all fishing well. When the waters begin to get high, try throwing out wooly bugger patterns, as Marina did at the Pequest to wallop a 21-inch rainbow.

All the ice on the lake was now melted, said Laurie from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong, but some diehard boaters were out over the weekend and jigged walleye off the points. Jim Archambault also tangled with a 9-pound channel cat, and Mike Barnish boated a 14-pound channel while jigging off Chestnut Point. His crew also landed a 37-inch muskie along with perch and crappie. Ice anglers were hoping upcoming frigid temperatures that were expected would make fishable ice by next week.

One angler reported casting nightcrawlers out from the bank at Lake Pequannock to pull on a few buckets worth of bluegills, perch and crappie, said Tom from <b>Meltzer’s Sporting Goods</b> in Garfield. Fishing for the panfish was on at the lake, and anglers could definitely load up to have a big old fish fry if they wanted, he said.

Stream anglers pounded the local waters of the South Branch during the warm spell, said Chris at <b>Lebanon Bait & Sport Shop</b>. Trout were to be had on small, bead-headed nymphs, but even more interesting, crappie and largemouth bass chased small hair jigs in the river. Before the chillier weather that was forecast for coming days, anglers can focus on these crappie and bass around the bridges and near the stick piles alongshore.

Both the Pequest River and the Ken Lockwood Gorge offered the finest angling for trout, said Ron from <b>Ray’s Sport Shop</b> in North Plainfield. Sizes 14 to 16 early black stoneflies and sizes 16 to 18 Pheasantails scored well. Don’t forget: The shop will hold its annual Fly Tying Demo from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 16.

<b>Central Jersey</b>

Streams were running high but not muddy, said Doug from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Trout anglers were finding action in the South Branch of the Raritan on nightcrawlers and small nymph patterns. Trout could also be fooled from the shores of Round Valley, and marshmallow and meal worm combos worked better there.

Bank fishers were reeling in trout from the shores of Spring Lake, said Andrew at <b>L&H Woods & Water</b> in Wall. Quality, 2 to 3-pound stockers were sucking down nightcrawlers, and anglers casting live killies into the lake were creeling a wide array of yellow perch, crappie and even a few largemouth bass. The Manasquan River continued to hold a good number of trout, as Andrew himself picked a few medium-sizers while fishing a white crystal bugger fly.

Pickerel were the mainstay at the Trilco section of the Toms River, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> in the town of Toms River, and live shiners were the primary baits. The Ocean County Mall ponds also held pickerel willing to chase shiners. Trout fishers were pulling a few of the fish out of the Manasquan River, and pink Power Bait and Roostertails were doing the deed upriver.

<b>South Jersey</b>

A wild yellow perch bite went down at Gropp’s Lake, said A.J. from <b>Harry’s Army and Navy</b> in Robbinsville. Jigs tipped with Trout Magnets were the way to connect. The Assunpink Wildlife Management Lakes put out fantastic crappie action, again on jigs tipped with Trout Magnets. The key to bagging a bunch was to work the jigs painstakingly slow, because the crappie were hitting light, and sometimes you could only tell if you had a hit by watching the line tap ever so slightly. Other anglers fished from the banks of the outflow at Dam Site 19 on Lake Assunpink for fights with catfish.

Crystal Lake was a go-to location, said Carl at the <b>Sportsmen’s Center</b> in Bordentown. Both crappie and largemouth bass were on tap on live shiners, and the warm weather inspired the largemouths to unlock their jaws and go on a mild feed.

The warm front that rolled through did elevate the largemouth bass activity as expected, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Parvin Lake, Daretown Lake and the Salem Canal were all top-notch for anglers tossing out Rat-L-Traps and small crank baits for the bucketmouths, and most of the fish ranged 2 to 3 pounds. Big chain pickerel to 3 pounds were on a tear in Arbor Lake, Malaga Lake and Parvin Lake, and the toothy predators were drilling live shiners. Trout fishing was strong at the Almond Road section of the Maurice River, and Power Bait and nightcrawlers were hooking limits for the frying pan.

White perch kept up on a feeding frenzy on the Maurice River, said Ki from <b>Huck’s Place</b> in Millville. Buckets of the fish could be bagged on FishBites and on frozen grass shrimp on the higher tides. More anglers were heading out to catch the whiteys during the week, and it would be good to get out and load up on the tasty fish before the cold puts the chill on for anglers.

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