Syracuse.com - CNY ice fishing season kicks off -- sort of

[HuntingNY-News]

Many popular Central New York ice fishing spots — such as the northern end of Otisco Lake and Big Bay on Oneida Lake — were still uncertain or unsafe bets at week’s end.

Friday morning, six ice fishing shanties and another angler pulling an open, plastic sled could be seen off the eastern shore of Tuscarora Lake in Nelson.

“Today, it’s about 4 to 6 inches thick, depending on where you are on the lake,” said Scott Baker of Cazenovia, who was jigging with a Rapala lure over 28 feet of water.

“Safe for me is at least 2 ½ inches of clear or black ice. I haven’t heard or felt anything move underneath me, so it seems OK,” he said.

With a string of recent cold days and nights, the ice fishing season has arrived – kind of. Reports from areas in the Adirondacks and the St. Lawrence River area note safe ice.

“It got down to nine below zero one night, “ said Todd Cerow, owner of the Thousand Island Bait Store in Alexandria Bay,. He said many bays on the river had ice of 5 inches or more and that anglers were catching perch and northern pike.

However, many popular Central New York ice fishing spots — such as the northern end of Otisco Lake and Big Bay on Oneida Lake — were still uncertain or unsafe bets at week’s end.

“One called at about 9 a.m. Thursday and told us to tell people to stay away from Big Bay,” said James Daher, co-owner of Mickey’s Bait and Tackle in North Syracuse. “He said it was slushy and cakey and that he walked out and his leg went right through (the ice). I’ve heard that others have gone through this week as well.”

The Tuscarora Lake anglers interviewed Friday morning all said they felt safe.

“I normally fish Oneida Lake, but we heard the stories about the guys on Big Bay. That’s why we’re here,” said Jim Perkins, of Kirkville. Perkins had more than a half dozen nice perch in his bucket. He caught them using a Sonar lure tipped with a perch eye.

“The biggest one was the first one. It just hit my lure – bam,” he said.

David Lemon, fisheries manager for the state Department of Conservation’s Region 7, said many of the Madison County (lakes and) reservoirs tend to ice over first because of the higher elevation and generally smaller size. They include Tuscarora and Cazenovia lakes, the DeRuyter Reservoir and Stony Pond.

“Safety is in the eye of the beholder and the decision about whether the ice is safe is the responsibility of every angler who chooses to go out, “ Lemon said.

Perkins’ fishing buddy, Lawrence Wilcox, also of Kirkville, was also out on Tuscarora jigging a small, green and silver Kastmaster lure tipped with a perch eye. He had nearly a dozen perch in his bucket.

He credited his good luck to his Vexilar fish finder.

“I won’t fish without one,” he said. “Why? You wouldn’t know if there’s fish down there. “

Wilcox was dressed in what he described as a “super warm,” Ice Armour ice fishing suit. He also wore white, “Mickey Mouse” boots.

“That’s what the government calls them. The military wears them in places like Siberia and Russia,” he said. “I got them online for $100.”

Wilcox said there’s something to be said about getting out early in the season, that the fish seem to get more shy as the winter progresses. Tuscarora Lake offers anglers bass, perch, pickerel, bluegills and the occasional walleye, he said.

Lemon said although there are some who believe that the first ice fishermen out are the most successful, “we cannot confirm that to be true.” He again stressed safety and that being sure the ice is secure needs to be the first, and most important consideration of any angler.

Many rely on word of mouth from fellow ice fisherman and reports from iceshanty.com and other online sources in making decisions of where to try their luck.

“The state parking lot at the northern end of Cazenovia Lake was full Thursday evening,” Parker said. “Apparently, there’s a good crappie bite going on over there.”

WHAT’S SAFE ICE?

- 2 inches – one person on foot

- 3 inches – group in single file

- 7.5 inches – one car (two tons)

* This guide is based on clear, blue, hard ice on non-running waters. Slush ice is about 50 percent weaker. Clear, blue ice over running water is about 20 percent weaker. Many ice anglers do not like to fish on less than five inches of ice, and do not like to drive a pick-up truck on less than 15 inches of ice. Be especially alert in areas near shore, over moving bodies of water and on lakes and ponds where streams enter or exit. It’s always a good idea to fish with at least one other person.

Source: DEC. For more, see the DEC website.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog