Pa. Ice Fishing

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

I thought I'd start a new thread on ice fishing now that the lakes are freezing over. I'm hoping that the hardwater anglers will post their reports here. I'm taking a ride today to check on ice thickness at a local lake. I usually go after Trout but sometimes fish for Largemouth and Panfish. Anyone interested in giving ice fishing a try let me know, I have plenty of gear. I got a power auger also so we don't have to bust our butt's drilling holes. ;)

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Hit the ice today. Went to Glade Run Lake in Butler County. Wow! What crazy weather, first it was raining, then freezing rain, then snow, then a blizzard, the wind was howling, then back to freezing rain, then back to snow, holy cow!!! I caught 3 Bluegill, 1 Crappie & 1 Perch. Here's the sign of a catfish hunter - I kept thinkin' "man, what awesome Flathead bait these would be"!

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Fished Glade Run Lake again today with long time ice fishin' partner Billy B. Got out at first light and stayed till 3PM. We had a field day on Crappies. We lost count of the total cause the action was so fast and furious but we pulled in at least 50 but probably more like 60 or 70 fish. Couldn't keep the lines all in the water at times. The Crappies were all around 9" - 10" and were just pounding fatheads. By far the best Crappie day I've ever experienced on the ice. Also caught 3 Largemouth Bass with the largest measuring 14 1/2" and the other two about 12" on fatheads and 2 Bluegills on maggots. All fish were caught and released. Took a few photos, I'll post when I get film developed. :0a18: Oh yeah, forgot to mention ice is 4" thick but was pretty sloppy on top from snow, rain, sleet, etc.

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Fished a local pond today. It was brutal out!!! 8 Degrees in the morning with the wind blowing hard. I caught 1 fish - a 10 inch Bluegill that was just a fat pig, the biggest gill I think I've ever caught at least weight wise. The porker took a fathead. I fished hard, drillin' and fishin' 18 different holes. Fish just were not bitin'.

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Hit the ice again today. Made a road trip to Cloe Lake, Jefferson County. Fished from 12 noon till 4:30PM. Caught 2 Rainbow Trout both about 12 inches on fatheads, hooked 2 others but lost them before I got 'em up through the hole. A guy fishing near me pulled in 8 Trout on a "secret jig", plus 1 real nice Saugeye about 17" on the same jig. Wind was whipping hard again making sure my fingers were numb most of the time. Ice on Cloe is 6 1/2" thick. I'm planning on getting up early and hitting this lake again tomorrow.

[delawareriver]

sounds like your having a good time! lol your saying the ice aint think enough proably and im saying its not thin enough! im warm weather guy but i would go ice fishing in you were closer to me! its hard for me to get out with wrestling season and theres not to many nice lakes without a drive, some day ill get out,

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Ice fishing report - Thursday Dec.22, 2005. Made the run up to Cloe Lake again. Fished with my buddy "world reknowned ice angler Billy B." We hit the ice at 7:45 AM and fished till 2PM. We done really well, catching a combined total of 22 Rainbow Trout ranging in size from 9" up to 14". Fatheads were the number one bait of choice, also caught several on waxworms and one on powerbait. Action was real good early on and then on and off throughout the remainder of the day. I have a few photo's I just got back and will post shortly. Once again the wind was howling and made for cold fingers. :0a18:

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Ice fishing report - Friday Dec. 23, 2005. Hit Cloe Lake once again with several ice fishing legends - Billy B., Ralph "Trout Man" P. and Springdale Billy M. Real nice day out on the hardwater, temp. eventually reached 40 degrees although the wind chill made it feel much cooler. Fished from 7:45 AM till 2 PM. We caught a group total of 25 Rainbow Trout. Waxworms was the best bait today, accounting for about eighteen of the fish, fatheads claimed maybe four and I pulled in three on a new ice jig I was trying for the first time. I'm off work till Jan. 3 that's why I've been able to get out a lot lately. Once I'm back to work fishing time will be hard to come by so I'm making the best of it now. :0a18: Won't be able to go over the weekend due to the holiday.

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Here's a few photo's from Thursday's ice angling adventure.

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

A couple more photo's from Thurs.

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

:0a18: Here's a few photo's from Dec. 16 at Glade Run Lake.

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

:0a23: Merry Christmas to all B.O.C. members!!! Hope Santa brings everyone the fishing equipment they were hoping for! :0a22:





:0a18:

[the_nis]

Hey Pennsylvaniacatchaser, do you ever fish up at Lake Arthur? Thats where I usually go...

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

the_nis - I havn't hit Lake Arthur for a couple years but would like to give it a try. When you get that leg healed up and are ready to go give me a holler and I'd be happy to join you at Moraine. I hear the boys are catchin' some real nice Largemouths and Northerns up there. I hope the ice doesn't become shaky from the warmer weather we have been having.

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

A few photo's of my youngest daughter showin' the boys how it's done! :0a18: :D

[the_nis]

Yeah I'm hoping this warm spell doesn't do too much damage to the ice. If you remember last year, at least at Moraine, the lake froze over then melted then froze again. I think it really threw everything off last year in doing so. Keep the pics rollin' in! Its good to see that you're getting your kids involved with fishing.

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

the_nis - yes I remember what happened last year with the ice. It was weird cause the second ice didn't become safe till the end of January but then set a new record by being good till like March 10. Very rare to be able to safely ice fish in March but it happened this past year.
My kids all enjoy fishing and do a pretty good job of makin' dad proud! I'll post a picture or two of each of them in action from this year (not from the ice but out on the boat & stocking trout, etc.).

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

more photos of my girls fishin' 2005 :)

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

a few more of the ladies in action!

[the_nis]

Great pics!

Yeah I didn't have all that much luck last year ice fishing. I talked to a bunch of people and it seemed pretty consistent that nobody had a great year. My guess it was because of the thawing and refreezing. So where is Glade Run Lake?

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

the_nis Glade Run Lake is about 10 miles south of Butler. If you travel north on rt.8 from Pittsburgh turn right on 228 heading east go about 1 mile then there is a small fish commission sign, make a right turn and your there. It's also known by locals as Glade Mills. It a nice little lake, smaller in size than North Park Lake. There are some nice Largemouths, Crappies, Bluegill, a few Perch and it gets stocked with Trout. Sadly, it's not getting stocked till the end of February this year. It used to be stocked at the beginning of January but some rocket scientist from the fish commission changed it the end of Feb. which doesn't do the ice anglers much good. :confused:

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

I was just watching the Weather Channel and I think the ice is in trouble. Temp's are going to be above freezing for the next 7 days. :sad:

[Wally]

Scott,
Just a question for you.... Have you ever heard of a farm resturant called Jardeen's??? I remember going ther many, many years ago! I know it was in Sarver Pa.., (right next to Lindora). but I have been gone soooo long, I just wondered if it was still there ??????

Wally

[the_nis]

Ok, I was going to ask you if it was the same as Glade Mills. Yeah I've fished there a bunch of times. Not recently, though.

Yeah I think the ice is in trouble! Oh well, can't control mother nature, although I wish she'd be a little more understanding towards the fishermen...

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Wally - Yes the restaurant is still there but it changed ownership years ago and now is called "the J-Barn". Really good place to eat, the best steaks around. They cook everything outside on a grill and use the black angus beef. The wife and I love the place and it's only 3 miles from our house.
You catching any fish down there in Texas? I know your not ice fishing, lol!

[Wally]

No Scott...with, work, family and the holidays, (I don't know why???) I haven't even gotten a chance to get out! :sad:

Be careful out on the ice !!!

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Ice Report - Took a ride out to Glade Run Lake Monday afternoon (1-2-06) to see what the ice looked like. Much to my surprise it was still completely iced over except along the edges of the shore where there was about a foot of open water. Obviously its not safe to go out on but if the weather should turn cold again it wouldn't take long to get back into ice fishing shape.

[the_nis]

Thats good to hear. I did hear the other day that just before the warmer weather hit, there was 8+ inches of ice at Moraine. So, I doubt that this warm spell will have any horrible effects on the ice conditions.

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Wow, it's like 60 degrees outside today! I might as well put away the ice fishing gear for now.

[the_nis]

Yeah I was just outside and this is ridiculous! Well, the warm weather isn't bad but I was planning on getting on the ice as soon as I was off these crutches in a couple of weeks but it doesn't look like I'll be doing that!

[the_nis]

I am SO mad that there is no ice anywhere right now! I just bought a new gas auger last year and its looking like I might not even get to use it this year!

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Jason, I hear you bro! Ice fishing gets me through the winter. Maybe Feb. will have some ice.

[the_nis]

Well, it looks like the high temperature for every day for the rest of the month is going to be right on the border of freezing so I don't think we're going to have any safe ice for awhile.

[Scott Daw]

I havent ice fished in over 10 yrs. I still have my old tip ups but I dont know anyone here in allentown pa that ice fishes. Id be willing to go again if I knew someone with an auger. I dont believe in ice fishing alone. especially if theres an accident.

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Hi Scott - Welcome to the B.O.C.:0a25: If we ever get any more ice this winter and you want to journey over to my part of the state I would be happy to go ice fishing with you.

[the_nis]

Count me in too. I'm dying to get some ice fishing in this year. Although, I don't mind the warm weather either!

[Rockjumper]

Don't worry guys, we will pay for this mild weather. Next month the lakes will have 2ft of ice on them and we will have a foot of snow.

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Rockjumper - You are right! We ain't gettin' off this easy with the mild winter! Sooner or later the cold stuff is gonna happen! I like the mild winter as far as not freezin' my buns off but I do enjoy ice fishin' and it's not happening this year!

[Rockjumper]

Fished the allegheny with some friends of mine saturday. They caught two walleye. The bite was off but it was enough to shake of the cabin fever. By the looks of the weather, I may go again this coming weekend. We keep having this mild weather, it will be cold clean into may!

[Rockjumper]

Hey Scott and Jason,

the groundhog must have heard that you wanted to go ice fishing and has turned the ice machine back on. Looks like winter is here again and might give you some more ice.

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Rockjumper - Yeah, if it stays cold like this we may get safe ice again. Let's see what happens!

[the_nis]

I'm hoping we get some safe ice. I'd like to use the d*mn gas auger I bought last year!!! Scott, I haven't forgotten about meeting up. I've been working my butt off since I went back to work. I'll let you know.

[Rockjumper]

Did you guys get alot of snow? Didn't get anything here. Sun was out for most of the day.

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Rockjumper - Just a dusting of snow today but were supposed to get an inch or two of snow overnight.

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

Jason - Good to hear from you! Yeah, I've been working a ton of hours myself, had 5 - 12 hour shifts this past week. Let me know when you get some free time, next Sunday would be good for me.

[Pennsylvaniacatchaser]

I took a ride today and checked on the local ponds and Glade Run Lake. Everything is thawed and nothing but open water. I am officially putting away the ice fishing gear.

[Rockjumper]

I took a ride today and checked on the local ponds and Glade Run Lake. Everything is thawed and nothing but open water. I am officially putting away the ice fishing gear.

I have 2* right now, I might wait if I was you!LOL

[jigerjim]

We still have some ice up here in N.E. Pa. I'll be on the ice tomorrow, if the wind slow's down a little. The tree's are still leaning toward's Jersey.