Hi Folks, The ice fishing has been pretty steady. I have chasing northern pike mostly with my guests. I have made a few forays for trout. Ice conditions have varied from each body of water. It appears that it will be a short season on the hard water with our unusually mild winter. I was on the northern end of lake Champlain and there was 13” of ice. 9” of black ice with 4” snow pack/white ice on top that layer. Not many shanties on the ice. The fishing has been good on the Big Lake. We had 14 flags on Wednesday. Landed 9 Northern. We set up on a giant weed bed in 6’ to 10’ of water. Our baits under the tip ups were just off the bottom and above the thick weed cover. The fish can’t see the bait if it is buried in the weeds. We landed 1 nice Northern on a jig stick. A green/ silver Hali jig tipped with a minnow prompted the take from the pike. The lack of fishing pressure works in my favor. The ice does not look like Swiss cheese from a ton of holes being cut by anglers. Over the last weekend I fished Magog. Only 8” of black ice with decent snow pack on top. A lot more fishing pressure on Magog. Anglers were just beginning to put their fixed shanties on the ice. It has been a slow start this year with the ice conditions. No trout landed on Magog. We caught a lot of 8” to 10” yellow perch with our jig sticks and a few white perch. I was unable to locate and catch any smelt. We set up in 25’ to 40’ of water. Catching trout through the ice can be tricky. It helps to spread out your tip-ups and in an attempt to cover water. I will be ice fishing until it is no longer safe. Hopefully, with the current ice conditions I will be fishing and guiding for another month at least. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
