Photo by Gary Clancy

You don’t have to be crazy to be an ice-fisherman -- but it helps! Those who love ice-fishing know that some of the best fishing of the year awaits if you know where to go.

This year, ice-fishermen should be especially anxious to put their augers to work. Last year’s unusually mild winter didn’t provide enough opportunities on most waters. Let’s hope for plenty of good ice this winter!

If the weather cooperates, eastern New York offers bountiful ice-fishing resources. Lakes big and small offer a wide variety of species that are fair game to ice-fishermen.

Here is a look at some of the better lakes in the region:

REGION 4
Norm McBride, a fisheries biologist with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, said that the region’s smaller lakes provide some good ice-fishing, but might not stand up to heavy ice-fishing pressure. On some waters, ice-fishing is allowed by permit only. Two larger lakes offer contrasting and very tempting winter fisheries.

“Canadarago Lake has always been good,” McBride said. “There have been a couple of poor winters, but the fishing has been improving. There should be plenty of action through the ice this month.”

A good year-class of yellow perch provided a lot of action last winter, but those fish were only 5 to 6 inches in length. This year, McBride expects they will be 7 inches to 10 inches in length.

“Canadarago is also good for walleyes,” he noted.

Experienced ice-fishermen know that walleye fishing can be largely a matter of timing: Get on the ice early and stay late. Though there might be some action during midday, the better ice-fishing is more often in the early mornings or late in the evenings, and at night. Local walleye specialists ice-fish for a couple of hours around sunrise or sunset.

Most walleyes taken by ice-fishermen are in the 15- to 19-inch range, but McBride said there are bigger walleyes available, including fish up to 25 inches.

Perch can be fished year ‘round, with a daily limit of 25 and no size limit.

Canadarago Lake has a surface area of 1,945 acres and a mean depth of 35 feet. It lies in northern Otsego County south of Richfield Springs and can be reached from the New York State Thruway, via state Route 5 west to state Route 28 south.

OTSEGO LAKE
Otsego Lake is the destination in the capital area for trout through the ice. It is in Otsego County east of Canadarago Lake and immediately north from Cooperstown. From Interstate Route 88, take state Route 28 north to Cooperstown.

Brown trout and Atlantic salmon also inhabit Otsego Lake, but the lake trout are the mainstay of the trout fishery.

“The bread-and-butter fish in the lake are lake trout,” McBride said. “Anglers catch them 25 to 30 inches.”

McBride noted that an upcoming regulations change would increase the size limit on lake trout in Otsego Lake from 21 inches to 23 inches and change the two-fish creel limit for a combination of brown trout, lake trout and landlocked salmon to one fish of each species. Anglers are advised to check the current regulations booklet for confirmation.