Ice is nice for fishing

By FRITZ MAYER

RIVER VALLEY — If you’re looking for a way to keep busy and get a bit of a workout in the dead of winter, ice fishing fits the bill for a lot of people in the area.

Who would be crazy enough to spend a day on a frozen lake when the temperature is locked below freezing for weeks at a time? Plenty. Take a look at the forum boards on sites like iceshanty.com and icefishing247.com and you’ll find photos of a host of happy ice fishing enthusiasts holding their catches of walleye, carp, perch, trout and panfish, pulled up from the watery depths through a small hole in the frozen water.

So, who are these people? In Sullivan County and the Upper Delaware Valley, the answer seems to include a lot of families. Don Viele, owner of Mountain Bait and Tackle in Liberty, NY said increasing numbers of couples are taking their kids out on the ice and making a day of it. He also said the majority of ice fishing enthusiasts in the area are local residents and not necessarily from the city, though the city dwellers will come up in larger numbers for such contests as the annual King of the Ice competition on White Lake every year.

Cliff Scheurich of Tom’s Bait and Tackle in Narrowsburg, NY concurred that the majority of ice fishers are local. He said that people go out on the ice because it’s a good way to keep the sport going through the winter, and a good way to get some fresh air.

According to Viele, people in Sullivan County have been going out on the ice since shortly after Thanksgiving. That would be small private ponds and other small bodies of water. The larger lakes are just now getting to the point where the ice will be safe enough to walk on. Many Internet sources say that four inches of ice will support the weight of a human, but Shuerich indicated he thought that four inches was cutting it a bit close.

Most sources say that five inches is safe for walking, and that 12 to 15 inches is enough to support a vehicle.

The NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is less conservative and says that three inches of clear, strong ice is enough to support a single person.

For those who aren’t sure of the thickness, the advice is wait until others go out; don’t be the first one on the ice if you’re new to the activity.

So once you get out on the ice, how do you know where to fish? Sheurich said the fish hang out in the same places in the winter as they do in the summer. So, if you’re familiar with a particular body of water, you might have a good idea of where to cut your hole in the ice. If not, you can make use of a flasher or fish-finder, which uses sonar to detect fish beneath the surface. Or you can just guess.

Once you’ve decided on a spot, you have to make a hole if you’re going to catch any fish. The old-fashioned way to do this is with an ice chisel also known as a spud. This is a metal pole about six feet high with a sharp blade on the bottom. With this instrument, you simply chip away at the ice until you get a hole about six inches in diameter. This is reportedly not too tough to do if the ice is only five or six inches thick. But if it’s much thicker, the task can be a bit tiring.

Another, easier method is to use a hand ice auger, which looks like a large hand brace or drill with a five- or six-foot bit. These are easier to use than the ice chisel. But easiest still is a gas-powered auger, though these get kind of expensive, and can cost from $250 and up.

As with many sports, a person can spend just a little money in pursuit of the fish, or part with a great deal of cash.

Viele said a lot of families cart along grills and hot dogs to add to the outdoor experience, and, of course, they take something to sit on, and they bundle up in warm clothing. Not many, however, take along an ice shanty, which can provide cover for the very committed ice fisher.

In fact, some ice shanties, or shelters, which are offered on the Internet, cost hundreds of dollars and feature such amenities as “bench seating with separate backrests, clear view windows on all sides for great visibility, interior flaps for darkening interior and roof skylights for adjustable interior lighting.”

With that environment, a few ice enthusiasts take television sets onto the ice with them, presumably so as not to be bored while waiting for the fish to strike.

For more information about ice fishing basics from the NY Department of Environmental Conservation, go to dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7733.html . Go to dec.ny.gov/outdoor/31157.html for information about places to ice fish in Sullivan County.

Go to fish.state.pa.us/ice.htm for basic ice fishing information for the PA Department of Environmental Conservation, and to fish.state.pa.us/county.html for places to fish in Wayne and Pike counties.