ultimate NJ multi-species angler quest

[Chrisper4694]

I'm getting a head start on my quest (land a NJ skillful angler C&R sized fish for every species in 2015) I'll be hitting RVR this saturday to try to knock out a trout species early. I came a few inches off of knocking a salmon out early with the help of njfishing.com.

I'm trying to plan ahead as far as seasonal fishing is concerned: for example i know i need to get a 24" shad in the spring during the run or the quest is over early! I've also heard carp can be caught in much greater numbers in the spring. I'm trying to get some opinions on what species to target early in the season to give myself the best shot at this quest.

Any species i can knock out before spring i'd consider a bonus and a good start! I've heard pike readily bite through the ice but i've never had much luck with them outside of spring and summer and i've only caught them up to 33" (need a 34" for the skillful angler mark).

Any seasonal species targeting advice would be greatly appreciated. I know this is going to be a tough thing to accomplish and flat out impossible without help! Keep in mind I'm only interested in lengths of the fish for c&r not the weights, so full bellies or not don't matter to me.

I know a lot of guys probably think i'm nuts for even attempting this but i really think it's doable...even if just slightly...with a lot of luck haha. Maybe i can knock off a few species early in the season and get some confidence from the naysayers and for myself!