Hunkering down against winter winds and wasting the day away staring through a hole in the ice wasn’t my idea of fishing.

I snickered when a friend talked about his ice-fishing trips.

Yet when he telephoned and asked me to go, I didn’t hesitate.

Yeah, I’ll go, I said. Definitely.

We hung up.

A little weird that I agreed so quickly. But turned out to to be a no-brainer.

Of course I’d go.

The Adirondacks in the dead of winter.

And it was a blast.

The Adirondacks, a 6-million-acre state park in New York, mountains littered with lakes and ponds, offers some of the winter’s first, and some of the last, ice fishing within a reasonable distance from New Jersey.

The mountains are a terrific place for Garden State anglers to ice fish.

“We get more business in ice-fishing season than any other time,” said
Jeff Goldberg, owner of Fish307.com,
a tackle store and web site in Lake
George in the park.

That’s saying something, because
the fishing is rich in the warm months,
too.

The Adirondacks’ ponds and smaller lakes usually start to form ice that’s thick enough for fishing at the beginning of December. The larger, deeper lakes, such as Lake George, usually harden enough by mid or late January. Then the ice usually lasts until the second week of March.

Almost every type of common freshwater fish can be caught throughout the lakes and ponds in the park. Lake trout, other trout, landlocked salmon, perch, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, pickerel, northern pike, sunfish and crappie are all abundant.

The different waters can hold different fish.

Lake George, the first
major body of water
reached when driving north to the park along the New York State Thruway, is a deep, cold lake with lots of underwater cliffs.

Anglers there target pike, pickerel, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, salmon, crappie, sunfish and almost all the species except walleye.

But walleye live in nearby lakes with shallower depths, 30 feet or less, and gravely or sandy open bottom.

Lake George is popular with Fish307.com’s customers, of course. So are other spots, from nearby waters, including Brant Lake, to ones farther away, such as Lake Champlain.

The staff at Fish307.com is happy to give advice about the area’s ice
fishing to customers from beginners to the experienced.

The experienced know enough to make the trip and start fishing to learn about the region.

Beginners could use a few tips. Jeff talked about equipment. Obviously warm clothes are a starting point. Waterproof pants for kneeling on the ice are typical. Pack boots are standard. So are creepers or some kind of cleats to avoid slipping on the frozen water.

An angler can take a trip with simply a jigging rod and reel, a tip-up, a hand auger for making the holes--or a chisel, but a chisel scares fish--a set of safety picks to stick into the ice and pull yourself out of the water if you fall through, a scoop to keep the fishing holes free of ice, a bucket for bait, the bait itself, a small sled to carry the equipment onto the ice, hooks, jigs and maybe other minor tackle.

One-hundred-twenty-five dollars will set you up, Jeff said. One-hundred-fifty dollars will set you up very well.

As you get experienced, you can get fancier, acquiring everything from more tip-ups and a power auger to a portable shelter, GPS unit and electronic fish finder.

But even Jeff fishes with simply a 5-gallon bucket, a jigging rod, an auger and no sled, catches 30 perch after work, and goes home.

For those who don’t know, baits for jigging include grubs, spikes, mousies and even worms. Or flashy lures can be used. Baits for tip-ups often include several sizes of minnows, different types of the baitfish, such as rosy reds, a fathead fed something that changes its color, and suckers.

Figuring out the areas to fish on lakes takes experience. But shallower waters in the bays can be productive early in the season. As winter progresses deeper water can give up catches from the bottom to other parts of the water column. Late in the season the fish can move back to shallow water where the first plant growth can spring up and attract them.

Ice-fishing guides are available, and a guide can shorten the learning curve. Jeff suggested Ed Lockhart’s Guide Service at 518-812-0203 or Jeff Johnson’s Rod Bender Charters at 518-668-5657.

Several hotels, including a new Comfort Suites next door to Fish307.com, are located in Lake George. Jeff stressed that the town becomes quiet in winter. Be sure to reserve a place.

So how was my trip?

Six-hour drive up the New York State Thruway after work. Finally get off and meander the back roads through the mountains. Check in to a country hotel.

A few hours sleep, then off to Lake Champlain early in the morning.

Now, we only caught a few perch. But that didn’t matter.

The gray mountains; the silence of the cold north with not even a bird chirping; the necessity of continually scooping the holes free of ice; watching a minnow disappear many feet below.

This was what it was about to me.

Don’t get me wrong. A catch of lake trout would’ve been nice. But half of ice fishing is certainly the experience.

Staring through a hole in the ice? Turned out to be great.

This angler was converted.