10-11 Ice-Fishing Reports

[Phil]

I am starting a new thread to keep up with last years 09-10 season thread. So duplicating my first few posts here.
Hope everyone enjoys ice-fishing as much as I do.

Got out for a few hours this morning and afternoon, on Milearm. Caught about 1000 "dink" perch. Not a good day, but fun for the first trip out and shaking out all the bugs from the gear.
Nearly 6" of good black ice in the bay.
Tomorrow will be better!
A few PICs anyway.

[Phil]

Got out today for a few hours - Had a lot of pike action - probably had 15 fish between the three of us. Two of them came home for dinner.
3.5 - 4" od ice. We were off the end of the Demont Rd. in front of the web cam.









That's it for this week. Off to my daughter's in Rochester for Christmas next week - probably won't be back on the ice for 10 days or so -

[Phil]

Here are a couple of decent Pike from yesterday. They were mighty tasty for dinner last night. We caught 10 pike (most returned to the lake) and 5 smallmouth. Fished the south end of Conger Island.
Ice was 8" with just a little snow and some slushy spots near the pressure ridges.
The "main channel" of the lake in that area had 6+ " of ice. Won't be long before the vehicles start roaming the lake.

[wildchild]

Nice pics Phil! I did well in that area this past July, also in the channel on the West side of Conger. Wouldn't have fished it at all, but someone posted it on here so I gave it a shot.

[Phil]

Here are a few pics from yesterday. It was a bit slow and we did a lot of exploring around the lake. 15 miles put on the ATVs.

[Steve Milarmby]

The boy just got back after a nice trip with his buds. Bluegill hit crappie not so much and a big grass carp lost at the hole. Be keeping an eye on the weather got spoiled on New Years with the warmth. Had sweet crappie tonight

[RochNY]

Hello, Mr. Milarmby,
You didn't say in your report, was it Black Lake that your son was fishing on? If so, his report of 'grass carp' may be in error. To be best of our knowledge, there are no grass carp in Black Lake. Could you please check with him and reconfirm that report? If possible, does he have a picture of the fish that got away? Thanks. Any further information you can provide is helpful.
Sincerely,
Rich Henderson, President, Black Lake Association

[Steve Milarmby]

Hey Rich, I remember catching one (what looked like one) a few years ago a few hundred yards up the river. Why wouldn't there be any in the lake?

[BaronofBlueberryHill]

Nice pictures. Would love some details such as bait, depth, etc.

Had Black Lake fish for dinner tonight. As usual, a treat during the winter and none better. We catch ours in May.

Wrote the check to mail for cabin deposit.

Going to bring my 22' Starcraft up again this May. I launched at camp last time but would appreciate tips on a better launch place if the water level happens to be down?

Again, great pictures!

[billbo]

Hey Rich, I remember catching one (what looked like one) a few years ago a few hundred yards up the river. Why wouldn't there be any in the lake?

If I may, Grass Carp are considered an invasive species in the states. Many states have a ban on them for introduction.
They are used for weed control in some states but can be quite prolific and commander waterways. Most states will use triploid fish (sterile) for this purpose.

Grass carp do not have the barbels as many carp do. So if you happen to get another one, check and see if it has or does not have barbels.

For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_Carp

[RochNY]

Billbo is correct. Grass Carp are invasive in this neck of the woods. I apologize for not giving physiological clues for identifying them as Billbo did, but I just thought a quick question about a picture would let us confirm. Sometimes the folks who ice fish snap a pic before the fish is even out on the ice. I know you said Mr. Milarmby that your son lost the fish, but I thought perhaps he either knew definitively it was a grass carp OR perhaps they'd snapped a quick pic because those carp get pretty BIG.

I would never presume to tell you fishermen which fish is which--in my book you're the experts. If we DO have grass carp by chance in Black Lake, I want to be sure to report it to DEC and the biologists who are studying Black Lake. It would amount to another invasive species affecting our lake.

Sincerely,
Rich Henderson, Black Lake Association

[Steve Milarmby]

I will definately photo up next time. Never considered these as invasive as they are considered more common than any other species according to Sports Afield and can handle warm or cool bodies of water.

[Phil]

14 January 2010 - Fished many areas of the south end. From Rasberry to Conger on through the Narrows. We found no less than 6" of ice anywhere. 8" in the main lake and more in the more remote bays.
Fishing was lousy. Times were good.

[billbo]

The Common Carp is pretty much everywhere and most likely what was referred to in Sports Afield. Native to Europe.
The Grass Carp are the ones considered invasive. Native to Eastern Asia.

Actually just about all carp are invasive. If they are not native too and have an environmental impact on the area the habitat, they are considered invasive. Same basic concept as the weed growth in the lake, milfoil, etc. etc.

[nitro205]

I've been on the lake for almost 50 yrs. I can remember seeing a dead carp washed in, it had to be 35 yrs ago. Every body commented, we didn't know there were carp in the lake. The last 10 yrs we see more live ones every year.