Temperatures in the high 50s and mid 60s around the state have had a lot of anglers thinking about spring. However, there’s still a few wintertime fisheries hanging onto the final few weeks of their season. The Block Island cod fishery continues to produce at the highest level it has all year. Upstate, you still might be able to find a few places with fishable ice, but the hardwater season is quickly wrapping up even in the most northern parts of the state and there’s no guarantee the ice will even hold through the weekend. The next thing to look forward to is the striped bass season in the Hudson River. The season opens March 16 north of the George Washington Bridge, and all signs are pointing toward a productive start to the season. There’s still plenty of angling opportunities to be found throughout the state, even as we begin the transition into the spring of 2012.
East End Fishing Report
With cod fishing hitting its stride on the grounds southeast of Block Island, you couldn’t ask for much of a better time to make an East End cod trip. Weather-wise this is going to be the best weekend for fishing we’ve had in almost a month, and fishing continues to be as good as it’s been all year. Even though the calendar looks like we’re near the end of the cod season, the late start this year should help extend the quality fishing at least to the end of this month, if not into the first weeks of April.
South Shore Fishing Report
The ling fishery has really been impressive all winter along the south shore, feeding a lot of families and taking pressure off other commercial and recreational fisheries. There’s even a few cod still showing up occasionally on some of the south shore ling drops, and some captains that are more focused of the codfish are finding decent numbers of keepers on some of the deeper-water pieces. As it has been pretty much all winter, the eastern south shore has been doing better with the cod, and even a few pollock have been showing up on some of the recent trips.
North Shore Fishing Report
After a few months of no reports to speak of, the Long Island Sound is finally starting to show signs of life. There have been a few reports over the winter of persistent schoolies in some of the north shore back bays, so it shouldn’t be long before they begin to stack-up in some of the estuaries. Hopefully they’ll start getting active well before the season begins in mid-April.
Metro New York Fishing Report
Ling fisheries along the entire south shore of Long Island have been great all winter, and the headboats sailing out of metro New York are still cashing in on big numbers of tasty ling. The occasional cod is still showing up from time-to-time in anglers’ buckets, but you’re better off heading out east if you’re specifically after cod. However, the ling fishing that has been fantastic all season continues motoring along without any real slowdown in sight. Even the occasional market-size cod continues making its way into the buckets of the anglers aboard the Marilyn Jean.
Upstate Fishing Report
We’re definitely beginning the transition into spring in some places, but nighttime lows in the mid-teens are keeping the hardwater season alive in some places. One place where the locals are already thinking about springtime is up on Lake Ontario. The ice-free winter was far from a bad thing, however, for many of the anglers in the area. Sharon from Narby’s Superette and Tackle up in Kent has been talking to steelhead and brown trout fishermen who’ve been fishing the creeks in the area all winter long in relative comfort. The wind winter has also had some other benefits for the local angling crews. “There’s already some boats out fishing near the mouth of the river,” Shannon tells me, “and they’ve been catching some fish.” Sharon also talked to a group of fishermen from Pennsylvania who were heading out to the fish the local creeks for the day.
In the southern foothills of the Adirondacks, there’s still some fishable ice to be found in the area. I talked to Jim at Jim’s Bait in Mayfield to get the latest ice conditions in the area. “It’s pretty much near the end,” he told me. “There’s still a few guys fishing out there on the big lake, but we’re starting to get a lot of open water.” After the warm weather today, it’s likely that most of the bigger lakes in the area will be done for the season. Jim told me the some ice fishermen had already gotten themselves in sticky situations out on the ice. So, if you’re really hungry for that last hardwater trip of the season you better act quick and head further north than you planned. Jim mentioned the ice was still holding up to the north, but it looks like we’re in the bonus time for the hardwater season throughout the state. Many people are already starting to think ahead to the upcoming spring trout and striper season. Both seasons should begin a little early this year, hopefully sometime in early April.
If you’re looking to find some good ice that survived today’s 60-degree temperatures, you’re going to need to travel pretty far north — and you might not find anything at all after today. Up at Northern Harness Bait & Tackle on the St. Lawrence River, the ice is still hanging in there, but barely. It’s definitely the last leg of the season even in for the most northern latitudes of the state. “Another day or two and it’ll be all done,” Steve told me. Most area on the river have already broken up, and Steve mentioned that some guys were already out fishing for walleye in their boats. “It’s the fastest I can remember it breaking up,” Steve told me.
New York Fishing’s Best Bets
East End cod fishing remains the best bet throughout the state. The fish are chewing as well as they have been all season, and the weather can’t be better for a “wintertime” codfish trip. This is going to be the first weekend we’ve had in a while that will be good enough for most, if not all, of the headboats to get out to the grounds. If you’re an upstater, and can’t make it down to Montauk for this groundfish bite, there’s still some areas upstate holding fishable ice. How long it last, with temperatures creeping into the 60s, is anyone’s guess. If you are looking to sneak out for one last hardwater trip of the season, do it carefully, and make sure to have your safety equipment with you in case you take a plunge. The other thing to think about is that the striper season north of the George Washington Bridge begins on the 16th, and early reports are suggesting the fish are already there waiting in the lower Hudson. Remember that the limit is one fish per day over 18 inches. Even though we had a really mild winter, and the fish are in place much earlier than last year, they’re still going to be sluggish from the cold water. Don’t expect to see keeper-size fish busting topwater plugs on opening day. That’s not to say there won’t be keepers caught on opening day, but the ones that are will almost certainly be caught with bloodworms.