Small Pond Ice Fishing, Great Cod and Sea Bass
While ice fishermen aren’t thrilled about the recent warming trend open water fisherman are happy for this reprieve from the cold, particularly those headed out for cod or black sea bass.
Starting with the upstate report for a change, it seems the tributary fishing on Lake Ontario is pretty good. Steelhead are still biting on egg and stonefly patterns.
According to Fish 307 in Lake George of the smaller lakes upstate have 3 to 7 inches of ice, and anglers are catching a variety of species. Loon Lake is giving up perch, pike and walleye, while the South Bay of Champlain is producing crappies in addition to perch, pike and ‘eyes. Anglers looking for some coldwater species can check Schroon Lake where lake trout and landlock salmon are coming through the ice. Lake George, however, is still ice free.
On the coast, the black sea bass are biting well offshore. The word from Causeway in Wantaugh was that the party boats running long are hooking up big time with the sea bass. Inshore, there have only been a few cod taken recently off Western Long Island.
Joe at Bernies Tackle in Brooklyn said the fishing has been slow other than the offshore sea bass fishing. There have been some herring taken from shore, however.
The mild weather has allowed the headboats out of Montauk to get back after the codfish. The bite has been good lately. Miss Montauk has been averaging 7 to 10 codfish per angler with some fishermen catching more than 20 keepers. Cod topping 20 pounds have been caught, giving anglers a good shot at hauling a big fish out of the cold Atlantic. Mixing in have been sea bass, pollock and ling. The weekend looks beautiful and the Montauk headboats are going to fill up fast. If you want a spot, call and make a reservation.
The Viking Starship has been hitting the wrecks and putting its fares on drop and reel action. Sea bass, ling, whiting, cod and silver eels have been making up the catch.
Best Bets for the Weekend
This is the weekend you want to hop on a party boat. The cod fishing is good, the sea bass fishing is great, and the mixed bag of bottom dwellers ensures you’ll be headed home with some fillets for dinner.
If you are itching to get some ice under your boots, head upstate and target small waters. It’s going to be a little before big lakes like Lake George skim over, but in the meantime, the pike, walleye and panfish are biting well on smaller waters.