Streams; The banks on Maxwell are slippery; however there is a decent flow of water in the stream. Steelhead fishing has been hot and cold. Some days they are hitting, while other days are busts.
Throw –out egg sacks or bucktail jigs. Temperatures are predicted to hit 50 degrees next week. That will melt the any ice build-up. The parking lots on both sides of Lake Road are open as of Friday.
Bays; The bays are frozen over with a thin sheet of ice. Port Bay does have 4 inches on the south end; however the rest of the bay has no uniform ice. Sodus, the bigger pond, doesn’t have any consistent safe ice.
If you do decide to fish where you believe there is 4 plus inches, start with a spud and make sure you have a solid surface. And beware of places that have slight currents, like around the islands in Sodus Bay.
Leroy Island, one of the first places to freeze on Sodus, had 4 inches; however the strong winds broke the surface and made everything un-safe.
The season is still young, but a warming trend for next week will certainly slow any ice making conditions.
Warren’s Hook-Line-N-Sinker at Sodus Point will be having their annual ice fishing tournament sometime in mid-February. They will be promoting the event as soon as we make safe ice!
Erie Canal; The canal ice is 4 to 5 inches because there is no wind to slow ice making. Try the Widewaters. Make sure you have a solid 4 inches under foot.
