The Fishing Line - February 4th Edition

Freshwater Fishing, Fisheries Management, and Fishing Access News

In This Issue:

• Free Fishing Days - President's Day Weekend
• Chain Pickerel - Where's the Love?
• Ice Fishing Lingo
• Ice Fishing with Inlines
• Four Down, Two to Go for Lake Sturgeon!

Free Fishing Days - Presidents' Day Weekend

February 19-20 are free fishing days in New York, so it's the perfect opportunity to introduce someone new to ice fishing.

Visit DEC's Ice Fishing webpages for places to go, regulations, and more. As a reminder, all other fishing regulations remain in effect.

For additional free fishing days in 2022, visit our website.

Chain Pickerel - Where's the Love?

If there's one species of fish that can evoke a groan out of any angler once they realize they have one on their line, it's probably a chain pickerel. They're slimy, have a mouth full of sharp teeth, and sometimes get the bad rap of being a "trash fish." All too often we hear of these fish being left on the ice to die.

Chain pickerel are a valuable sportfish that play a vital role in an aquatic ecosystem. Not to mention, they're relatively easy to catch and can provide a lot of action on the ice. And believe it or not, they're actually very tasty if prepared properly. As members of the pike family, they tend to be bony, but you can grind the "y bones" along with the meat and make them into patties. We encourage anglers to release the pickerel they catch or harvest them legally to take home for a tasty meal. Chain pickerel may just become your new favorite species to pursue.

Keep in mind, if you do plan on targeting pickerel, you'll want to make sure you attach a steel leader to the end of your line. Otherwise, you'll quickly see what all the groaning is about.

Ice Fishing Lingo

If you've ever been ice fishing, you may have noticed that ice anglers practically speak their own language. To clear up any confusion, we thought we'd cover some commonly used terms you may hear being thrown around the next time you're out on the ice. Enjoy!

Spikes - bottle fly larvae (maggots)

Mousies - drone fly larvae (maggots)

Flasher - Electronic sonar fish finder

Markin' – Fish showing up on a flasher
“Hey, you markin'?'”

Juice - Great spot, holds lots of fish, marking lots of fish. “I’m on the juice.”

Rip – Hooked up, have a fish on the line. “Rippppppppppp!”

Paper Party – catching lots of crappie. “We're having a paper party!”

Ice Fishing with Inlines

Small spinning reels work well for ice fishing, but another alternative to consider are inline reels. We weighed out the pros and cons to help you decide if an inline reel is something you'd like to add to your arsenal.

Pros
Less line twist
Less line memory (curls in your line)
Fast drop time
Larger spool diameter = more line pickup

Cons
Can be expensive
Backlashes/tangles
Drags can have issues with certain models

Ice Fishing Video Series - New Video Drop

Two more ice fishing videos have made their way over to DEC's YouTube channel.  Be sure to check them out, and let us know what you think or if you have other videos you'd like to see.

Ice Fishing - Jigging Basics 
Ice Fishing - Drilling a Hole 

Four Down, Two to Go for Lake Sturgeon!

The 2021 Lake Sturgeon Population Assessment Report (PDF) has been released, and we are happy to announce that the Upper St. Lawrence Management Unit (USLMU) has exceeded metrics set forth in the Lake Sturgeon Recovery Plan for adult spawning and juvenile recruitment. This unit includes the St. Lawrence River from Cape Vincent to the Moses-Saunders Dam in Massena, and the Oswegatchie River system including Black Lake. Data from this unit show there are at least 750 spawning adults among several spawning locations and multiple naturally produced (not stocked) year classes of juveniles. The USLMU is the fourth of seven management units to achieve the recovery target. Once six management units meet the recovery targets, DEC will seek to remove lake sturgeon from the list of Threatened Species in New York.

Lake sturgeon can live for more than 100 years and grow to 7 feet in length, making them the largest freshwater fish in New York. Because of this long lifespan and delayed sexual maturity, lake sturgeon are incredibly vulnerable to overfishing and population depletion. Anglers should continue to support lake sturgeon recovery by releasing any sturgeon caught immediately, and without removing it from the water, if possible.

Lake sturgeon have been on New York’s threatened species list since 1983. DEC began its lake sturgeon restoration program in 1993 by stocking four sites. Now, DEC and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stock 10 locations annually. More than 275,000 lake sturgeon have been stocked into New York waters since 1993. For more information on the lake sturgeon recovery plan or to see a video about how we track the lake sturgeon we stock, visit our website.