Despite predictions from a certain woodchuck in Central Pennsylvania, it seems the 2012 winter may never really take hold in much of the state. Temperatures got as high as 60 degrees in some places on Wednesday, confusing both the fish and anglers alike. Fishable ice was disappearing at an alarming rate in the southern third of the state; some places I was fishing comfortably last week would now require a kayak and some serious dedication to panfishing. For a less “problematic” fishery, I suggest heading either significantly south or north. The wintertime ground fishing off Long Island continues to be good and should improve in some places as we move through the month, especially toward the east end. In the northern regions upstate, the ice fishing continues to be good for walleye, pike and panfish in the Adirondacks and up on the St. Lawrence River.
East End
Water temperatures in the mid-40s have made for slower-than-normal start to the wintertime cod bite south of Block, but with more bait arriving in the area by the day, it’s getting hard for the cod to resist. There actually seems to be a decent number of market-size cod on the holding on the grounds this week, as well as an increasing amount of squid and mackerel. The main problem for the time being is the continued presence of dogfish, still hanging around significant numbers in the unseasonable warm water. However, they are thinning out and should be less of a problem as we move into February.
For the time being, there’s definitely plenty of cod on the ground to make a trip worthwhile, I’d just recommend adjusting tactics a little. The overall trend is moving pretty significantly in the right direction. After getting back from his most recent trip, Captain Carl of the Viking Fleet reported, “We caught cod everywhere we went, as well as a mess of ling, but again, we were chased away by the dogs. Every drop saw a shot of cod, then the dogs showed up.” If you’re heading out east with eyes on a full 10-fish limit of cod and some nice ling to round out the catch, this is the system I’d recommend going with. Because it’s been taking the dogfish a little while to sniff out each spot, I’d show up with both a rod rigged for bait and one rigged for jigging. At each drop of the day, start with the bait setup until a dogfish comes up somewhere along the rail, then switch to the jig until the captain makes a move. If you stick to this plan throughout the day, you should be able to put together a nice catch. If the dogs are real heavy on the day you go out, I’d consider ditching the teaser above the jig, or just come prepared to retie a few chewed-up leaders.
South Shore
The unseasonably warm temperatures haven’t had any negative effects on the south shore ling fishery. In fact, the ling bite this winter has been as good as I can remember, especially considering the large average size of the fish and the amount of locations they’re abundant. The headboats from Hampton Bays all the way to the City have been consistently putting anglers on good numbers of large ling with a few market-size cod usually in the mix.
North Shore
There’s still no reports coming from the Sound to speak of, and, despite frequent considerations, I’ve yet to make the walk from Crab Meadow to the warm-water outflows at Huntington Station (though I’ve convinced myself there’s a larger-than-average amount of bass and blues holding-over this year). But for the most part, without a winter blackfish season, the year-round north shore anglers are turning their attention south and east to the wintertime cod and ling fisheries. However, it won’t be long now until the schoolies are once again in the back-harbors and estuaries of the north shore harassing rainbait and spearing — especially if we don’t see a late-February cold snap.
Metro New York
The angling community of the Five Boroughs has been enjoying a great 2012 winter season on two fronts: 1) The fishing has been awesome; and 2) It was 60 degrees yesterday. You can’t expect those conditions on the first day of February, but that’s exactly how it was for the Marilyn Jean IV on their first trip of the month yesterday. Ling have been getting measured by the bucket full recently, and each trip is returning to the dock with a few market-size cod. Conditions for the weekend look good, and there’s no reason to expect this bite to let up for at least the next month or so.
Upstate
Depending on which region you’re from, you’re either ice fishing with nice, comfortable daytime temperatures, or you’re not ice fishing. It certainly has been one of the stranger winters I can remember, though I will say I haven’t missed the hours of extra cardiovascular exercise via shoveling. But Upstate is a large place, and the regions in the far north have been experiencing winter more-or-less as usual.
Up on the St. Lawrence Region, the ice has remained unfazed by the mild temperatures downstate, and a lot of anglers are traveling north this year to take advantage of the conditions. I made a call to Steve from Northern Harness Bait & Tackle, who gave me good overall report from the area in between filling buckets with minnows. The only fishery that has been hasn’t been great this week is the panfishing, especially in the more traditional spots. Steve did mention some of his regulars were doing good in some of the shallower, “stump filled” ponds in the area. The bait of choice has been small fathead minnows. When I asked about the walleye fishing on the St. Lawrence, Steve told me a bunch of his regulars were already back at the shop their day’s limit of keepers. A highly-effective stocking program run by the St. Lawrence Valley Sportsman’s Club has helped turn the St. Lawrence Region into the premier walleye fishery of the state, that’s now commonly producing fishing into the low double-digit class.
I’d say the geographical line for fishable ice is somewhere around the Mayfield area. I talked to Jim at Jim’s Bait on Lake Sacandaga, and he told me that although guys are still out fishing on the lake he wasn’t sure how much more of this weather it could take. “I’d definitely stay away from the creek channels,” Jim told me it looks like the edges of the ice make start to break up. The hardwater yahoos that I know will sometimes lay down a step ladder to get into fishable ice. I have yet to get this desperate, and definitely do not suggest it myself. A good backup right now is the smaller and shaded farm ponds in the area that hold good numbers of crappie, bass, perch and several species of sunfish. These still-water ponds hold the ice much better than the lakes in the area. Just be cautious, and I wouldn’t recommend going out on any ice right now unless it’s significantly over half-a-foot thick.
Best Bets
It’s another “regional” best bet this week. If you’re a Downstater or live on Long Island, I’d recommend getting out on a headboat for ling and cod this weekend. Sea conditions are going to be calm for this time of year, and fishing’s been pretty good overall for the entire fishery. Whether you’re sailing out of the Brooklyn or Montauk Harbor, it should be a fun weekend for all the headboats in the state. For those Upstate who can’t make it down for the wintertime groundfishing, the hardwater is still an option for some, but it’s definitely a case-by-case scenario that warrants a lot of caution. Some of the spots I was fishing comfortable last week were suddenly open water on Tuesday, to my genuine surprise when I pulled-up with shiners, tip-ups and sled in the back of my truck. It was definitely the quickest I’ve seen fishable ice disappear at this time of year, so unless you’re up in the far north, proceed with extreme caution. I even decided against fishing on another pond that was still holding “technically” fishable amount of ice, because the general trend was moving quickly in the wrong direction. Twenty dollars worth of shiners is never worth taking a chance on the ice. It’s also important to remember we’re gaining 2 to 3 minutes of daylight each day now, and the sun’s radiation on the ice is getting stronger as we move toward spring. There’s no doubt these warm days have got me thinking about springtime bass fishing. Seventy-three more days until the season opens – I think I can make it.