Friday night's rising air termerature and  warm  winds created a two inch layer of slush on the mantle of ice at Silver Lake in Wyoming County. Considering its early February, the conditions may have played a role in the number of ice-fishermen who turnout Saturday morning. Nonetheless, there were a few hardy individuals refused to be denied a day on the ice.

 Shortly after daybreak Saturday hard-water anglers were set up on the south end of the lake adjacent Macks Bait and Tackle. Maybe a dozen or more ice fishermen – and women – were scattered across the frozen expanse amid pop-up ice huts.   

As we were walking out onto the ice, we met a pair of ice-fishermen who had decided to call it a day. Tony and Tom Loor, of Niagara Falls, have been fishing Silver Lake for decades, both through the ice and in the open-water season. On this day the brothers were rewarded with a catch of 30 panfish, mostly bluegills and sunfish taken on mousie grubs. The Loors also fish the lake in warm weather as well. “We’ll be back in the spring,” said Tom, noting the warming trend. “Come spring we’ll be working this area by boat.” As they do in open water season, the Loors concentrated their ice-fishing along the east shoreline.     

 Despite the thawing conditions there was still a thick mantle of ice and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Some were jigging for panfish – bluegills, sunfish and perch. Others were intently watching tip-ups, hoping for northern pike, or maybe a walleye. Some, like Ron Skelly, employed both methods.

 A Perry resident Skelly, kept his children Abigail 10 and Ryan, 8, busy jigging mousies and wax worms while he rigged tip-ups with shiners. Their strategy paid off as evidenced by a bucket of hand-sized bluegills and a few plump sunfish. The shiner-baited tip-ups resulted in pair of decent northern pike, as evidenced by the photo.

When I asked if he had seen anyone take any really big northerns, the elder Skelly replied, “No, but when I took a peek through my Aqua-view I saw a fish under the ice about this big,” he said, stretching out his arms. He said the big pike never eyed his bait, but kept swimming.   

 For updates on ice conditions contact Mack’s Boat Livery at 585-237-5983 or email at fmalone@macksboatlivery.com