Well it's a little late, but what did santa bring you for Christmas.   We got a new bed so our gift giving was short this year.
I got alot of real lead split, a helmet cam, a jet sled for the ice and a minnow trap from the inlaws.  
From the wife I got some clothes, new ice auger blades  and a nice LED light for the Odark thirty sessions.

Sounds good Clint!  You'll put everything to good use.  I need to check my Strikemaster 8" Mora blades on my hand auger. Did not use use last year as there was no ice worth trying in NJ.  I used their exchange service on my last set about 5 years ago.  They still cut pretty good.  Ice averages 6-10 inches in NJ when it's solid.    Got a free set from them too when I last one blade by not checking the  set screws tightness!
Hopefully some ice here soon.  Have to renew Nj license on NY Day. 

Clint thats a pretty good haul man.. A jet sled was my first wise investments back into ice fishing.. 15 years old and still strong.. 
Tip: Put a long rope on it and it will make pulling easier...If there is no snow then just hook the clam on top of the jet sled..  Don't give up on the smitty sled though, if snow is deep then put the clam on smitty and jet sled on top :)..
The only gear I got was a new spud bar.. Mighty happy to have a good one :) :) Really I have more then I need gear wise so I gave the gift of setting my son up for ice fishing ..
We are in transformation from the main house to the addition apartment ( I never finished) since my son bought a house up by Charlie.. So all our chips will be going into that.. I'm happy as it will be a great relief to have a fresh new single level open floor plan place ..
 
I'm in the grave yard shift now .. The energizer bunny finally ran out of juice so fishing has been non existent so far since last sat.. I stopped at two local lakes yesterday on way home only to find 2" minus ice..
2 more nights to go then I'm heading back north to ice country where there is 6-8" ice plus.. Hopefully I will have a good report to start a worthy Ice Thread..
Be well Folks..

Jet sled replaced my box on skis about the same  time as yours, HT. No splits or cracks , yet. Floats over snow pretty well, better than the skis did for me. I also got a head cam, Clint. Egad,  we're getting high- tech.  I also got gift cards to a fly shop and a mountaineering shop. Best gift was a phone conversation with an older brother in NJ who I hadn't spoken with in ages. My taking on the burden of our elderly parents strained our relationship. Guilt sucks...  Made arrangements to go down and ice fish in NJ like we did when  our hair wasn't the color of our brains leaching out. My brother helped me get my first fish at 3, my first bass, my first trout, my first bluefish etc......My sister's passing brought home how important family is, even if they don't live nearby.   I'm hoping to get some nice panorama shots with that new  cam when I'm down inside the Big Ditch. Maybe some aerial shots  of smallies, too. Nancy has caught 2 in the air, but I'm looking for the perfect one. Yeah, and some film of my big  brother pulling up a pickerel or big perch through the ice...A happy memory to bury the bitter ones.   It was a good Christmas- hope everyone's was.
 

Fichy, Where in NJ you gonna fish.  There is no ice around after the Heat Wave last week,   55 here in East Hanover today?  If we get a cold front maybe thing will happen by Super bowl!    I did see some guys got out on the coves of Hopatcong a couple weeks ago before the heat wave?
 
 
 
 

hot tuna
Clint thats a pretty good haul man.. A jet sled was my first wise investments back into ice fishing.. 15 years old and still strong.. 
Tip: Put a long rope on it and it will make pulling easier...If there is no snow then just hook the clam on top of the jet sled..  Don't give up on the smitty sled though, if snow is deep then put the clam on smitty and jet sled on top :)..
The only gear I got was a new spud bar.. Mighty happy to have a good one :) :) Really I have more then I need gear wise so I gave the gift of setting my son up for ice fishing ..
We are in transformation from the main house to the addition apartment ( I never finished) since my son bought a house up by Charlie.. So all our chips will be going into that.. I'm happy as it will be a great relief to have a fresh new single level open floor plan place ..
 
I'm in the grave yard shift now .. The energizer bunny finally ran out of juice so fishing has been non existent so far since last sat.. I stopped at two local lakes yesterday on way home only to find 2" minus ice..
2 more nights to go then I'm heading back north to ice country where there is 6-8" ice plus.. Hopefully I will have a good report to start a worthy Ice Thread..
Be well Folks..

Still trying to figure out the best way to build the smitty.   Not having a truck puts me at the mercy of what I can fit in the back of the Outlander with the seats up.  About 5 feet.   I may look into getting the roof racks for it, but then I got to lug the stuff up an down

RichW, I'll probably try in Feb. , so not right away. Probably Lake Lackawanna or  one of the other small ponds in Byram Twp., like Wolf or Panther . My brother has access to them.  I grew up  fishing Hopatcong and caught my first fish  there. We can also fish a deep spring fed lake that probably won't freeze at all  and just fish live bait from shore. If there's good ice, we'll go to Spruce Run in Clinton and try for some big Pike, we caught some great one's there, and it's still good.
  If not there, we know of a few places where you can fish open water where rivers run into a lake or pond.  I grew up in NJ, fishing all the time  and  know the waters in the northern part of the state pretty well. I think the only water I ever fished near where you live, though,  is Lake Parsippany, and that was just after the civil war... Might've been filled in for a Corporate headquarters or mall by now.

Okay Fichy,  all the ponds you mentioned are not far at all from me at all.  Lake Parsippany is still there, only excitement  has was a Meteor striking it about 4 years ago which was never recovered.  We Fish a local  private Lake  in Montville  which is loaded with Perch and Big Largemouth.   You do have Big Swartswood which has Walleye.  Lake Aeroflex has  Pike and landlocked Salmon which should be at size by now.   Hopatcong is always good as long as there is solid ice.  Coves are mostly fishable.  You can get some giant Muskie/Catfish  out of there as well as Hybrid Stripers.  Lake Musconetcong had some plate sized Calico/Crappie in it last time we fished.    Split rock reservoir has some good fishing, just never did good there jigging. There is also some good holdover  stream trout fishing on the Paulinskill and Pequest, if you want to fly or spin fish before they shut the streams down for stocking.    Drop me a PM when you are coming in area would love to join you guys.   

Jersey surprisingly has some good fishing. Bergen county, the most densely populated county in the most densely populated state even has a small wild Brook trout population. Ponds and lakes with great bass, pickerel, hybrid stripers, carp, and even muskie and walleye in the larger ones. I leaned towards trout for the most part... but usually paid more attention to NY state fisheries moreso. Youd be surprised some of the bass that come out of some of the smaller jersey ponds and lakes inthe middle of suburban towns. And I remember quite a few years through my childhood walking on iced over ponds and lakes. Ice fishing was never a thought though.

Nothing too special for Christmas. Just the joy of being for the most part. I'm in the process of gathering all of my goods through the years...fly tying materials, reels, rods, blanks, tackle...tools...everything!!! I was Also graced with a 7-8 pound bullet hen this afternoon that I lost at my feet once it swam through my legs and nearly broke my old Cortland rod. A stellar battle that entailed a wrap around a rock and a deep hairy cross to untangle... after about a 10 minute 100+ yard battle...I lost it just after I touched it... life is still good though...maybe an hour or two tomorrow morning for one more try before the new year