Scott McIlrath and the Barbado brothers, Adam and Andrew, show off their catch. Among them, they already caught 12 fish before noon.

Cindy Hare displays her catch, a "one pounder" perch, while nephew Jacob Moore looks with admiration. According to Cindy: "It's a nice sunny day, no wind, and it's fun to be out here with my nephews." All the ice fishing enthusiasts were on iced-over Salmon Creek, west of the bridge where the water then becomes Braddock Bay.

It's a bite. A small perch dangles from Roger Schurkamp's line, the fatal attraction being a Rosie Reds minnow. Schurkamp, a physical education teacher at Taylor Elementary School in Spencerport said: "My dad had the time to take me ice fishing when I was a child, so ice fishing became a habit."

A friend indeed. Phil Moore came to the rescue of the photographer who, having trudged over a half mile in soft snow with a heavy camera bag to get to the fishermen, was grateful for a ride back.

Adam Barbado, Scott McIlrath and Andrew Barbado show how teamwork makes it easy to use an ice auger to drill a hole.

Phil Moore clears the ice from around his fishing hole. Drilled by an auger, the hole is eight inches in diameter and it took some time to get through the foot-thick ice on Salmon Creek.

John McIlrath, a meat cutter, has been ice fishing for 15 to 20 years. For him, "It's just nice to be outdoors." He had caught 20-30 fish the day these photos were made, mostly small perch.