Lehigh Valley Outdoors
  • Home
  • Hunting
  • Fishing
  • Boating
  • Archery
  • Sports Vehicles
  • Golf
  • Shooting Sports
  • Other
  • Home
  • Hunting
  • Fishing
  • Boating
  • Archery
  • Sports Vehicles
  • Golf
  • Shooting Sports
  • Other

Lehigh valley outdoors

By Nick Hromiak

Ice fishing has finally kicked-off, but mainly on Pocono Mountain lakes and ponds

1/16/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture

With the recent cold nights we’ve had, ice fishing has finally kicked off, but mainly on the Pocono Mountain area lakes and ponds. 

According to Willie from Willie’s Bait & Tackle in Cementon, most of his customers are hitting Promised Land Lake where there’s about five inches of ice, especially at Pickerel Point where some crappies and bluegills are being pulled up. On Promised Land Lower Lake, ice anglers are nailing trout that were stocked there. 

Elsewhere, Willie said Mud Pond, off Route 402, did have five inches of ice as did Lake Minisink. Both were producing panfish mostly on waxworms and fathead minnows. As for Leaser Lake, it held skim ice mainly in the coves. 

Mike, at Mike’s Bait & Tackle in Nazareth, also reports Promised Land Upper Lake was fishing good for nice bluegills, crappie and perch, mostly all on waxworms. The lake had 6-7 inches of ice depending on what part of the lake you were on.  The Lower Lake there was good, but you have to be right on them according to Mikes’ customers who fished there last week. 

Minisink Lake was iffy with five inches of ice at one section that diminishes to three inches elsewhere. Certainly not safe to fish. Gouldsboro Lake was producing some trout and pickerel and Tobyhanna Lake predominately gave up panfish. Brady’s Lake was yielding mostly little dinks but the action seemed better by the island. 

For veteran and even novice ice anglers, the folks at Frabill, who specialize in ice fishing equipment, offers these tips for more productive days on the ice. 

Playing the odds they say, is a tip all the pro ice anglers speak about in one way or another. This also coincides with the mobility tip.

Typically, anglers will start in shallow water in the morning and move deeper throughout the day. This is a reliable method but can have its disadvantages as well. When every ice angler in the area is drilling holes up shallow where the fish have already staged, the odds of spooking them to deeper water increases. And vice versa, as the day extends and anglers are chasing the fish to deeper water they may also be moving them back to shallow water where there is less pressure.

A key to this thought is to stay stealthy, don't move when they move. Stay a step ahead of them and be patient as they will come to you, say the Frabill pros. Be strategic when picking your locations and plan for the entire day of fishing. You may start the day in 10'-15' foot of water in the morning, but slip over to deeper water (30') close by. Staying mobile is the key, suggests Frabill, as it will only take a few minutes to get back to other spots for when the conditions are right. 

Frabill believes ice fishing is rapidly growing due to the relatively low cost of entry and the ability to involve the entire family for a great day spent outdoors during the winter. 
​

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Nick Hromiak has been an outdoors and automotive  writer for over 30 years. He's been published in numerous national and state-wide outdoor magazines and newspapers. 

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016

    RSS Feed

      Subscribe!

    Subscribe to Newsletter
Proudly powered by Weebly