Ice-fishing might be lasting later than during some winters on the lake, said Renee from FISH307.com in Lake George. The crew at the shop is telling anglers to be careful about pressure cracks, bubblers and stuff like that. Participation is slowing. But customers are still heading to the lake for ice-fishing. Walleye and northern pike seasons closed this past week. Renee fished Paradox Lake on the ice on Sunday. A buddy nailed an 8-1/2-pound 32-1/2-inch lake trout during the trip. Renee jigged a couple of smaller lakers. The ice was 2 feet thick on Paradox. The top 4 or 5 inches was “garbage” ice, but the rest was crystal clear. Renee has ice-fished as late as early May, but far north. A lot of ice-fishing bait ran out of stock. More will arrive Thursday, but not the variety like in the middle of winter. FISH307.com is both an online store and a brick-and-mortar one, located near the south entrance to the Adirondacks. Click on the link for great clearance sales on ice tackle.

Anglers still fished the ice on Great Sacandaga Lake, said Amanda from Fuel-n-Food in Mayfield. That was mostly for yellow perch, because some fishing seasons closed, including walleye season that closed beginning Saturday. Walleyes were reeled from the lake’s ice previously. Ice-fishing was winding down for now, because of the closed seasons, and because this was the time of year for the fishing to begin to end. Still, ice was fished. Some anglers headed north to fish ice at other lakes where weather was colder. Fuel-n-Food is a gas station and café and includes a good selection of fishing bait and tackle. The crew can point you in the right direction for fishing.

Salmon River and Western New York Streams

Creeks in western New York, around Rochester, iced-out, said Jay Peck from Jay Peck Guide Service. They became free of ice, in other words, and began to settle after high water from melting. Waters remained high but were manageable for fishing. He ran a trip Tuesday that angled brown trout on the creeks on chartreuse wooly buggers. Those flies worked because the water was a little dirty. Zonker streamers and egg flies in Oregon cheese color will also work. The browns are huge because they summer in Lake Ontario. He fishes for them in the creeks in fall before the creeks freeze and in late winter and early spring, once the ice melts, before the trout head back to the lake. All creeks and rivers were fishing now. Ice was no longer a hindrance, and water levels were manageable. Two hours to the east, Salmon River fished for steelheads. The Salmon ran at 750 cubic feet per second, a good level for fishing, up from 335 previously. Jay expected the Salmon not to rise anytime soon, because no substantial precipitation was forecast in the near future. If anything, he expected the level to drop a little. The river could be raised if authorities decide to lower the reservoir. But Jay suspected the river would drop a little if anything. If anglers get sunshine and bug activity on the river, the steelheads will bite. Stoneflies are catching them. If bugs are inactive, fish hard and right, and you’ll catch. Lots of steelheads held from mid-river to upper. Jay would imagine that if you wanted to swing streamers on the lower river, you could run into steelheads migrating into the Salmon from Lake Ontario. In other news, ice on lakes and bays began to be sketchy at some places for ice-fishing. Jay heard little about ice-fishing, except that there was ice that was still fished, and ice anglers caught lots of yellow perch. Jay specializes in fly-fishing and catch-and-release, and books trips that fish with conventional tackle with his other guides. Watch a video of spring fishing with Jay Peck Guide Service.