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It's bitterly cold outside,  As temperatures plummet, these cold-inured sportsmen (and a few women) jump at the chance to leave their comfortably heated homes and sit on frozen bodies of water for hours on end.


As soon as the ice is thick enough, colourful little wooden shacks are dragged out onto lakes and rivers. The shacks, which are usually rented, provide varying degrees of comfort. Basically, they offer much-appreciated shelter from the wind and allow ice-fishers to extend their time outdoors. It's a sport. It's for people who want to go out Friday night and not come back until Monday morning. Off-season, the shacks are stored along the shoreline.


Make sure the ice is thick enough! This fact can not be stressed enough!  Usually you are a bizillion miles away from any thing and the last thing you need is a very long, very cold walk after you fell through the ice. You might even die. I guess that makes ice fishing an extreme sport. Ice is pretty strong, and usually three inches is good to walk on, five to six inches for sleds and snowmobiles, twelve for light cars, and sixteen inches is strong enough to support a full sized truck.


Chautauqua Lake in Western New York offers "hardwater" angling opportunities for walleye and panfish. Ice fishing can be an enjoyable outing for the whole family and only requires a minimum of equipment. Clothing is key to an enjoyable ice-fishing experience-dress in layers and use a good pair of insulated pack boots.

Anglers will also need an ice auger, or spud, to cut a hole through the ice and an ice skimmer to clean the ice chips out of the hole. Ice fishing tackle should be geared toward the size fish you want to catch. Generally, lighter is better to catch sensitive-biting fish like bluegill and crappie. Use a short, lightweight fishing pole outfitted with 4-6 pound test line and smaller bait. When fishing for panfish, small jigs work well. Many anglers bait the jigs with "mousies", "oak leaf" grubs, or mayfly larvae (Michigan wigglers). For best results, fish the bait just off the bottom. Some ice anglers use a small bobber placed on the line just below the eater surface, to prevent icing up and to detect the slightest nibble.


Popular areas on Chautauqua Lake in Western New York for yellow perch and other panfish include Mayville, Prendergast, Long Point, Dewittville, Ashville Bay and the Celoron area. For walleye, fish Chautauqua's north basin. Good areas include the Warner Bar, Bell Tower, Dewittville, Prendergast Point, Mission Meadows, Long Point State Park, Victoria and Magnolia. Since walleye in the 5-8 pound range are occasionally caught, anglers use heavier fishing tackle. Short, stout spinning rods with a reel that has a good drag system work the best. Minnow-imitating lures and "sonars" are a traditional favorite of Chautauqua Lake anglers. Lures are often baited with a minnow to make them more enticing. Tip-ups also work well, and anglers often set out their legal number of tip-ups and continue to use jigs with another rod.

Public access during the winter months is available at the Prendergast Point, Bemus Point, Long Point State Park, the City of Mayville Park and the Village of Lakewood Park.