2021 marks my third season ice fishing, and I must say I wish I had started years ago. Over these three years, I’ve learned a lot, especially about all the cool new toys I get to buy, like a pop-out ice hut, propane heater, specialized ice fishing rods and reels, and clothes made exclusively for ice fishing that would keep a human warm in the Artic. Even my ice fishing accomplice, Jim Miller, aka the “Perch Punisher,” broke down and bought some decent gear. He had been using equipment that he bought from Calvin Coolidge’s last garage sale. We are talking rusty old metal minnow bucket and wooden ice fishing poles. Now he actually looks like he knows what he’s doing out there rather than someone out of a black and white photo of people ice fishing just to eat during the Depression.
I’ve found with ice fishing, the more I learn, the more there is to learn. Luckily in this day and age, information is easy to come by. YouTube has many videos on the best techniques. I use Facebook to get up-to-date ice fishing intel. Most dedicated pages post daily, and sometimes hourly, on the fishing conditions on a particular body of water. For example, there is a Facebook page labeled sodus bay open water and ice fishing (no caps). You will see new posts almost every day. If I’m going up to Chaumont Bay to ice fish, I look at Chaumont Hardware Facebook page. They post up to the hour weather and ice conditions. There are dozens of Facebook pages dedicated to New York ice fishing. It’s just a matter of finding one devoted to the body of water you want to fish.
Please don’t tell my fellow whiteheads I use Facebook. If found out, I will be drummed out of the grumpy old men club. They would rather find out I robbed a bank than hear I used Facebook to do anything. I was the same way for years but have slowly come over to the dark side. I have to admit the up-to-the-hour information Facebook supplies is a huge advantage. Fishermen can’t help but brag and post pictures on Facebook. This is great for us anglers looking for info. Even if they don’t post exactly where they caught the fish, you can usually look for landmarks in the background of their fish pictures and figure out their location.
The unique thing about ice fishing is you can see where the fish are biting. These days many anglers use portable ice fishing huts. You will see the villages out on the ice and have a good idea of where to start fishing. These portable shelters are easy to set-up, and with a heater added, can keep you as warm as if fishing in your living room.
Unlike open water fishermen, who can be secretive, I have yet to talk to an ice fisherman who wasn’t friendly and forthcoming with fishing intel. Even as you head out on the ice to fish, don’t be afraid to stop and ask the anglers out there; most are glad to fill you in on how the fishing has been.
Perch are the fish of choice for most ice anglers in our area of Western New York because they are plentiful, easy to catch, and the best eating fish that swims in freshwater. Perch hotspots close to home include Braddock Bay, Irondequoit Bay, and the ponds in Greece. A bit further are the Finger Lakes, which all hold good numbers of perch, along with Oneida Lake, considered by most hard water anglers to be the best perch lake in the state. I prefer to fish Sodus Bay as it has plenty of fish and good parking. Where to park can be an ice fishermen’s biggest problem, especially on the Finger Lakes.
For all of you out there who love to fish but are spooked by the ice, I promise if you follow a few simple guidelines, you will be as safe as if home on your couch. I was once that guy claiming, “You’ll never get me out there.” What an ignoramus! I can say that even after witnessing a guy go through the ice last year. I still feel completely comfortable out there. That person was doing everything wrong. He was driving a snow machine across a barren section of ice with no idea how thick the ice was. He was way off the beaten path. That’s where ice fishermen get in trouble. The math is simple – just go where you see a good number of fishermen on the ice already. They will be easy to spot. You will see the path where they have walked out, and as long as you stay on that, you will be fine. Don’t go wandering off in a direction where no one has traveled unless you have a lot of experience fishing that body of water.
This far into the winter, most bodies of water have safe ice. Any ice over four inches thick is safe to walk on, and eight inches will hold a snowmobile. Never venture out on ice over a river or stream that has moving water, for example, the Genesee River, where the ice is never safe. The current never allows the ice to be strong, no matter how cold the winter has been.
Why not make 2021 the year to make the quantum leap to ice fishing? There is plenty of social distancing, and you don’t have to wear a mask unless you want it for warmth.
