Syracuse.com - Feb. 5-9: Oneida Lake continues to be ice fishing hot spot, along with Owasco Lake

[HuntingNY-News]

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Owasco Lake is completely frozen over. Reports of nice lake trout being caught on shiners around Ensenore.

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<p><strong>CNY FISHING REPORT</strong></p>

<p><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100355764367821392533.00048c1449e56444f07e7&z=7">Bait stores (list and map).</a></p>

<p><strong>SALMON RIVER</strong><br />The river is low. The frigid temperatures and snow continue to make fishing difficult, with slush ice forming on the river and shelf ice along the shore. Anglers braving the cold are still getting a few steelhead in the deeper pools in the upper river between Pineville and Altmar.</p>

<p><strong>OSWEGO RIVER </strong><br />Cold and snow continues to make fishing the river difficult. Nothing new to report.</p>

<p><strong>ONEIDA LAKE</strong> <br />The entire lake continues to be frozen over, with thickness varying from a foot up to 18 inches. Anglers on snowmobiles or ATVs are catching nice perch north of Dunham's and Frenchman's islands. Big Bay continues to hot for bluegills, crappie and sunfish. Walleye fishing around Chapman Park has slowed down recently. Most of the good walleye action this past week has been northwest of the islands.</p>

<p><strong>CAYUGA LAKE </strong><br />Reports of anglers getting out on the north end, where ice thickness is a reported 8 to 10 inches. Be cautious, though, around pressure cracks. Lots of perch and sunfish are being caught, but many are on the small side. Use fathead minnows.<br /> <br /><strong>SENECA LAKE</strong><br />Some brown trout and Atlantic salmon are being taken trolling stickbaits or streamers near the surface. Still no word on the perch bite.</p>

<p><strong>OWASCO LAKE</strong><br />Entire lake is frozen. Reports of nice lake trout being caught on shiners around Ensenore. Anglers are also taking some nice perch on large buckeye minnows or fathead minnows all around the lake. Some nice northern pike have been caught recently at the southern end.</p>

<p><strong>OTISCO LAKE</strong><br />Entire lake is frozen over. Reports of some nice perch being taken. Northern end continues to be a hot spot for bluegills, but many are on the small side. Reports of a few small tiger muskies being taken on tipups and large minnows. No big ones reported yet.</p>

<p><strong>SKANEATELES LAKE</strong><br />Both ends have fishable ice. Reports of perch being caught. Be aware of pressure cracks in the ice. An angler went through earlier this week. </p>

<p><strong>SODUS BAY</strong><br />There's 13 to 14 inches or more of ice on the bay. Reports of some nice perch and bluegills being caught, along with a few northern pike.</p>

<p><strong>ST. LAWRENCE RIVER</strong><br />Lots of thick ice, with some bays having ice up 36 inches thick. Popular spots continue to be Eel Bay, Lake of the Isles, Round Island , Chippewa Bay and all the nearby inland lakes. Continued reports of especially good perch fishing on Chippewa and Chaumont bays. Anglers are also catching walleye in Mud Bay. Live bait (fathead minnows, shiners and spikes) continues to be the ticket.</p>

<p><strong>WHITNEY POINT RESERVOIR</strong> <br />There's 13 inches of good ice, with about 10 inches of snow on the reservoir. The New York State Crappie Derby is set to go Saturday.<br /></p>

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog