<b>NEW YORK</b>

<b>Adirondack Mountains</b>

Fishable ice had formed on lakes a few exits farther north, said John from <b>FISH307.com</b> in Lake George. But he didn’t know how fishable the ice was, and few customers traveled there to fish, and rain on Sunday probably affected the ice along the shorelines adversely. No customers ice-fished Sunday and Monday, because of Sunday’s rain. But a couple of customers stopped in for bait for the angling early Tuesday morning, when John gave this report in a phone call. Air temperature dropped dramatically Monday and Tuesday, and was supposed to be low today, too. Lakes like those must’ve been locked up with ice again. Forecasts said Saturday is supposed to reach 41 degrees but weather is supposed to be colder afterward. One to 3 inches of snow was supposed to fall last night. Boaters had been catching landlocked salmon and lake trout on Lake George, covered in previous reports here. But few if any boaters sailed the lake recently, because skim ice covered the lake’s bays. Lake George is the area’s largest lake and is the last to freeze each winter locally. All ice-fishing baits, except suckers, are stocked. The baits include icicles, golden shiners, medium shiners, medium-heavy shiners, hunts and more. FISH307.com is both a website and a brick-and-mortar store, stocking all tackle for local fishing, including the full array for ice-fishing.

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

Water level kept fluctuating on Salmon River, and loads of lake-effect snow fell on the area, said Jay Peck from <b>Jay Peck Guide Service</b>. The precipitation caused the water level to fluctuate, and the flow included 750 cubic feet per second and 500 recently, for instance. Those were levels fine for the river’s steelhead fishing, but the changes, every two or three days, seemed to affect the fish. Angling for them wasn’t off the charts or great, but a few would be caught. As winter goes on, the weather and therefore the flow can stabilize, and Jay hopes for that. His trips banked the steelheads on a mix of egg flies, nymphs and Intruder streamers. No one of those patterns “stood out,” he said, and he found the fish at changing places or not necessarily at the same places from trip to trip. That suggested the fish were unsettled because of the changing flow. Still, the fish were caught, and the angling lasts all winter, and can be world-class. Jay also fishes for the huge brown trout in Lake Ontario’s tributaries farther west in New York, around Rochester, this season. Those creeks and rivers had been in a drought, but were getting more water now, because of precipitation, so a few more of the trout migrated to the creeks and rivers from the lake. Like the steelheads, the trout winter in the tributaries because forage is more abundant there than in the lake during the season. Ice is going to begin to form on the trout tributaries, because weather’s becoming colder. Those tribs can lock up with ice in winter, but Salmon River is bigger and never completely freezes. The trout waters are south of Lake Ontario, and don’t get lake-effect snow and rain. Waters east of the lake, including Salmon River, get the lake-effect. Weather was expected to be cold, including in the 20 degrees during daytime, on some days this week.  Ice began to be fishable on some of the lakes and ponds. Some ponds held 4 to 6 inches. Jay specializes in fly-fishing and catch-and-release, and books trips that fish with conventional tackle with his other guides.  

<b>PENNSYLVANIA</b>

Walleye fishing slowed on the upper Delaware River, Bill Brinkman wrote in an emailed report from Philadelphia’s <b>Brinkman’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The angling had been phenomenal, one customer said, but the cold “shut it down completely,” Bill wrote. Walleyes were heard about that were hooked from Schuylkill River near the art museum at night. “Just don’t go down there by yourself,” he said. Plenty of trout filled Pennypack Creek. One angler yanked a few from the creek on each trip weekly, mostly on earthworms. Core Creek Reservoir gave up trout and panfish, great catches. Panfishers there often jigged lots of crappies and yellow perch along the docks. The lakes at the Penn Warner Club tossed up a variety of fish, including largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleyes, yellow perch and northern pike. “Literally everything,” Bill said. Minnows and artificials caught best, and one angler saw a 12-pound walleye heaved from there. Anglers can purchase a membership to fish at the club.

<b>NEW JERSEY</b>

Capt. Dave Vollenweider from <b>Live to Fish Guide Service</b> trolled a sizable rainbow trout on Round Valley Reservoir on Saturday, he wrote in an email. The 17-1/2-inch fish, “every bit of 3 lbs.,” he wrote, swiped a Rapala Tail Dancer lure fished deep on a planer. The fish had beautiful dark-orange flesh, like a salmon, because of carotenoids from freshwater shrimp the trout eat, he explained. Dave has a background in fisheries biology and is a biology teacher. He’s probably finished guiding for the season, but is still fishing on his own, yet to winterize the boat during this unusually warm season. He’s also waded for trout on streams recently, covered in previous reports here.

Trout were reeled from streams, including Pequest and Paulinskill rivers, said Kevin from <b>Ramsey Outdoor</b> in Pulaski. Anglers said the streams were a little lower than average, but completely fishable. Mostly small nymphs, sometimes small streamers, were used to hook the trout. Someone reported seeing a couple of ice-anglers on Lake Hopatcong. Whether that was wise might’ve been questionable. Kevin looked at the lake recently while walking the dog, and some places probably held 2 inches along shore. Then the ice melted, and skimmed back up by Tuesday. More ice would probably form today, and weather is supposed to be warmer beginning Thursday, and rain is forecast for Sunday. Next week is the third week of January, and by then, the sun is a little higher in the sky, and ice is a little more difficult to form on lakes. A better base of ice by the second week of January is ideal. This ice-fishing season might not last long, but anglers never know. All ice-fishing gear is stocked, and customers sometimes bought tip-ups,  but in anticipation, not because they were headed to fish. Nothing else was heard about lakes, because thin ice formed off and on along the waters, preventing open-water fishing, but not thick enough for ice-fishing. Trout fishing on streams was the news. This winter was warm, so far, including farther north. A friend with a house in New York’s Adirondack Mountains said the season’s first snow fell there in the past week. A couple of feet of snow would usually have fallen there already. Catch the deals at Ramsey’s exhibit at The Fly Fishing Show in Somerset from January 29 through 31.

A few anglers will probably ice-fish on the lake this weekend, at a couple of choice spots that held enough ice, said Joe from <b>Dow’s Boat Rentals</b> in Lake Hopatcong. But fishing was mostly “stuck in the middle.” Most places held no fishable ice, and most held thin ice preventing open-water angling. A couple of select spots held open water that could be fished. Windy weather prevented more ice from freezing. Joe drove around the lake this morning, and saw no ice-anglers on the water. But the store is open.  The shop is usually closed a moment between autumn and winter for a break, and reopened for ice-fishing.

Round Valley Reservoir’s trout fishing from shore was steady for the past three months, said James from <b>Behre Bait & Tackle</b> in Lebanon. The fishing still produced now, and experienced anglers usually banked at least one a trip. Some reeled in 10 or 11, and shiners and PowerBait were fished for the trout. Pink was a good color for the PowerBait lately, but anglers have favorite colors, like green or chartreuse. Pink seemed to work recently because the fish infrequently saw the color. Most of the trout were rainbows, and a few were browns. The state only stocked rainbows recently, and Round Valley Trout Association stocked no browns lately, because the club wanted to build up the baitfish population in the impoundment. Browns are known predators of baitfish, and the association stocked shiners recently, and is supposed to stock browns next year. Round Valley wasn’t frozen currently, but that could change. Few boaters fished the reservoir, because of windy, rough weather, so no reports were available from them.

Passaic River ran high, “very high,” said Joe from <b>Fairfield Fishing Tackle</b> in Pine Brook. Nobody fished for the big northern pike that haunt the river, because of that. All lakes held skim ice that Joe saw in past days. The waters couldn’t be fished, really. Waters with the ice included Lake Musconetcong, and coves held the ice at Lake Hopatcong.

Some anglers had ice-fished, until weather warmed and probably melted the ice, said Ron from <b>Efinger Sporting Goods</b> in Bound Brook. Weather was cold again now, but is supposed to become warmer this week. Rain had raised trout streams, and the flows were in good shape for fishing. They probably dropped some since, because not as much precipitation fell. Trout were heard about that were caught at Round Valley Reservoir from shore a couple of weeks ago. But none of the fishing was reported since. Walleyes had been reported tugged from Delaware River, but nothing was mentioned about the fishing lately.  Ice-fishing gear is stocked, and bait will be carried for the fishing, once fishable ice is solidly around. Mousies will probably be on hand beginning next week. Baits for ice usually also include wax worms and large and medium shiners.

Lakes were locked up with ice, said Steve from <b>Blackwater Sports Center</b> in Vineland. Skim ice? he was asked. “It’s building,” he said. Anglers could fish the open water at spillways for catches like panfish or crappies, about the only option. Sometimes anglers begin to fish for white perch on brackish rivers in winter, because the fish will bite throughout the season. Nobody reported the angling. “Not yet, anyway,” he said. From saltwater, striped bass were reported landed on the ocean through Thursday or Friday. Weather became windy and then cold afterward, and that might’ve been the final weather that made anglers stow away boats for the season.

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