SOUTHERN N.Y. THREAD (L.I., WESTCHESTER, PUTNAM, DUTCHESS, SULLIVAN, ORANGE COUN

[Subway4X4]

King of the ice was interesting to say the least. I had 6 pickeral and one perch no winners. At the end we see about 5 ATV and a fire department utv racing to other side of lake. 2 girls went through ice on atv. They drove only feet away from open water bubbler. A few of their friends where standing next to us at the awards. They where in a panic someone called them to let them know. The friends where still drinking at the end so possible that the girls who went down where drinking?? Thank God a ice fisherman pulled them out safe.one of the mothers is going after the fire department and club for not marking off the bubbler spot. So let's see what happens next year?? After they gave the king of ice award out and money the president said that the weighmaster made a mistake and he took everything back from the man and gave it to someone else. So it was a real crap show.

Didn’t the organizers say NO MACHINES allowed for tournament anglers?

[jghunter]

No they did not. That was mahogany ridge contest that said that.

[TopWaterAuger]

TopWaterAuger-Jghunter thank you for your reports from the king of the ice contest. Hopefully they due a better job with the weigh-in and results next year. I will also venture a guess any aerator's/bubblers and other areas of thin ice will be marked at next year's contest.

TopWaterAuger here are two places you might be able to ice fish this weekend . Winding Hills park (Orange county) off of route 17k in Town of Montgomery 40 acre lake  max.depth 10 feet, blue gills, yellow perch .This park like Harriman and Sterling forest has a ice thickness requirement so call park office before making the trip .Also at this time fishing is catch and release only.

     park office (845)-457-4918  hours (am- 5 PM

Chodikee lake outside of New Paltz,NY. (ulster county) lake is off of route 299 state access is on North Chodikee lake road. large mouth bass,chain pickerel,yellow perch,other pan fish. this lake is near the DEC region 3 headquarters in New Platz so give them a call hopefully can tell you ice conditions.   
 Region 3 NYSDEC (845)-256-3161
the closest place i know of to get bait near both of these lakes is Thruway Sporting goods at the base of oak street in Walden, NY. Believe they open at 8AM fishing dept. is on second floor. i hope this is of some help to you.

 Steve

thanks for the recommendation steve, i'm going to bit the bullet and head back up to Monticello Sunday. Thinking about hitting lake superior for a day trip. anyone care to join?

[mr.clean]

TopWaterAuger you are welcome, best to you were ever you end up fishing. Check the snow totals before heading out here in New Windsor forecast to receive between 5-11 inches of ice and snow given Sullivan county's higher elevation and slightly colder temperatures Monticello area may see all snow.

Steve

[jghunter]

I'm near washingtonville on got few inches mostly hail rain mix

[Gamalot]

Sullivan county in Forestburgh has more rain and sleet than snow. Maybe 3" on the ground but tamped down by the rain and sleet. Seems to be letting up now at 10 AM but maybe more to come.
 A Buddy fished Big Pond yesterday and not a single flag or jigged fish all day long. Looks like tons of activity up there all winter long. Ice was about a foot thick but shorelines are sketchy. He said there was a big house fire up at the top of the mountain above BP and he heard a big explosion at around 8 AM then saw the smoke and fire response teams all day long. Filling tankers from the pond. This was not the house on the lake or the one just above it but further up at the top of the mountain. I am pretty sure our ice is thick enough but just watch the edges getting on and off and of course the weak spots around flowing streams and rivers. Another buddy fishes the local ponds and said they have 13+ inches but the same at the edges, always the first to go.

[Ice Wine]

Just want to add to the late-ice warnings: watch out for spider holes! Fished Superior on Wednesday and some holes had opened up that were quite large--big enough to fall through. They may have crusted over with the cold and now are covered with snow.

[hardwater diehard]

Just want to add to the late-ice warnings: watch out for spider holes! Fished Superior on Wednesday and some holes had opened up that were quite large--big enough to fall through. They may have crusted over with the cold and now are covered with snow.

Northern and eastern shores took a beating with the warm up ...access could be difficult . Spud is a required item ..the ice is in a funky state with each, and every step caution is required .Any location with run off into the lake is certainly going to have some dangerous conditions. We lost a lot of thickness. The snow is sure to hide a lot of the danger spots.

[kb]

After the previous warmup and all the wet, heavy, heart-attack snow we've had, SPUD your way out.  Wet heavy snow puts a lot of weight/strain on the thinning ice.  Not to mention that it hides weak spots.

Its been a bad year for me as I have a shoulder issue, but we dont need to make headlines with people falling through.  Where I like to fish, I wouldn't trust it anymore, not that Ive been out.

Peace and be safe.  I'm living vicariously through you..

kb

[iceman99]

How are edges by superior Morningside white coming Tuesday with family

[Gamalot]

How are edges by superior Morningside white coming Tuesday with family

I know there were guys out on White yesterday but it was not me and I can't say what the edges were like. Wish one or some of the guys who were out would give a report.

[hardwaterhonkey]

I know there were guys out on White yesterday but it was not me and I can't say what the edges were like. Wish one or some of the guys who were out would give a report.

why not stop for a second n check?

[Gamalot]

why not stop for a second n check?

Probably because I was 30 miles away at home when my friend told me there were a number of guys on the ice on his way to work.

[hardwaterhonkey]

ice is good still then it seems don't cry and beg for people to post on here

[Gamalot]

ice is good still then it seems don't cry and beg for people to post on here

Iceman99 just above my post that appears to have twerked you off asked "How are the edges" at Superior, Morningside and White lakes? That is a "Perfectly acceptable" request. I simply replied with what I did know, there were guys fishing on White Lake. Most of us here are friendly enough to report the ice conditions if we know them and it could save others who travel from wasting their time. Maybe you should apply for a Moderators position here so you can delete posts you don't like rather than getting into personal attacks.

[hardwater diehard]

The recent snow/ice/cold weather has helped with saving the season some..if your access point is from south/west most places should be fine as they tend not to be beaten by the hottest part of the days sunshine ..sandy beaches and boat ramps could be tricky as they tend to hold the days heat into the nighttime hours...but snow cover helps alot. Wear cleats its a mixed bag of conditions ..from really hard snow pack to some icy patches . Drilled holes will flood the area and that becomes a mixed bag of slush and frozen areas ...if you can keep the holes coned it may help some .As always bring a spud/chisel.

[loustru]

    I fished private lake next to Highland Sunday. We had 10 inches of good ice and totally locked up conditions.  There was even a side by side out on the ice. We caught 10 fish in 4 hours all on tipups, no jig action. 7 pickerel, 2 bass 1 perch. Lou.

[Glenmere]

Fished private lake not far from Highland this afternoon. 9+ inches solid ice sleet covered.
3.5# bass 2 decent pickerel and a nice bluegill all jigged up.
Small protected waters still alive in Sullivan Co.

[iceman99]

I only asked I would show courtsy we drive 3 hour to fish. Anyway mor inside had over foot good Ice. Good action on tipup. After dark. Caught perch crappie catfish eel. Also fish couldn't I'd. Looked like small walleye. But no walleye in morning side had walleye body shape solid gold body color no dark markings. ??.??. I'll try to post picture

[Gamalot]

Hope you get the picture posted or email it to me and I will see if I can ID the fish. Never know what fish we might find around these lakes and ponds these days. Glad you did find safe ice after driving a few hours up to here. I live about 5 miles from Swinging Bridge but we can't actually base the conditions in one on the conditions in the other lakes here. Water levels rise and fall in most of the Mongaup chain of lakes and what we find in one could be completely different in another. Morningside does tend to lock up early but it could also break up sooner than some others.

[iceman99]

12 inch long looked like mini walleye try to post picture

[mr.clean]

 Hello, I received a PM for a member who was going to head North to fish this past weekend told him to check on Chodikee Lake in the New Paltz-Highland area (Ulster county) possibly save some time and gas. He made the trip on Monday and reported finding the parking area plowed after recent ice-snow storm and 8-12 inches of black ice on the lake with around 2 inches of slush on top of the black ice. He also caught some blue gills and a couple small large mouth bass   also reported that it looked like the outflow from the lake had opened and then refroze. Best to everyone making late season trips.

Iceman99 thank you for the report on Morningside. I believe the unidentified fish is  a walleye believe at one time/possibly  still true parts of the proceeds from the Hurlyville Fire department-Town of Fallsburg yearly ice and open water fishing contests was used to stock walleyes in Morningside.  I have no idea how well the stocking went  morning side is  a shallower lake and late spring/ Summer water temperature may get above zone prefered by walleye not to mention competing with other fish species for food.

Steve

[greensider]

Never go near inlet or outlet on chodikee

[iceman99]

Don't know how to post picture.same size as perch maybe a little bigger same body shape all gold sides  looks like small walleye

[greensider]

If you want to text me the picture I will post it for you 8457058157 ken

[greensider]

I heard a few years ago that walleye were put in chodikee

[hardwater diehard]

Don't know how to post picture.same size as perch maybe a little bigger same body shape all gold sides  looks like small walleye

[hardwater diehard]

https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/124258.html

[Subway4X4]

I feel like I wanna get a Snowdog. But my practical side says it’s not gonna be used as much in our area: Westchester/Putnam/Duchess/Sullivan/Rockland/Orange

Anyone in this group use a Snowdog? Any input?

[Gamalot]

I have owned a Snowdog for 3 years now and love it. I am in Sullivan county and there is limited places where it can go, same as snowmobiles and ATV/UTVs. White Lake, Swinging Bridge and Toronto are about it here and maybe Huntington. I don't get out as often as I would like and it only really has maybe 30-40 miles total on it but it has performed great and saved my old legs and back. Some things to be mindful of when using the dog. On glare ice you will want the tread to be studded with ice screws, I used Kold Cutters. On snow covered ice it blasts through just about anything except deep slush that can be a big problem if you get sunk and stuck. I used it on Toronto last year and went from the Moscow road side all over the lake. The year before I went from the dam side launch that is all pebbles and stones and I did have a tough time going back up when dragging anything behind it. On the snow and ice it is a monster for pulling lots of heavy gear with ease. It stores easy in a small spot and so far NY has not banned or made any registration/insurance requirements on them. Since you do not ride on or in it and it is not listed as a motor vehicle I consider it nothing more than a tow motor that gets the job done.