ERIE (AP) — Erie’s ice-fishing seasons have become as unpredictable as its weather.
The city’s location along the shores of Lake Erie on the northwestern tip of Pennsylvania famously exposes it to ever-changing winter weather patterns.
The Erie area’s devoted ice anglers yearn for the frigid conditions that transform Presque Isle Bay into a wonderland for outdoors enthusiasts of all types. Those conditions, though, have not yet materialized this year, a development that has become more common during warming trends of the past two decades.
Mild winter temperatures combined with a prolonged northwest wind can lead to lake-effect patterns that frequently dump more than a foot of snow on the area in a day. In fact, Erie currently leads the nation’s large cities in snowfall for 2020-21.
On the other hand, any prolonged cold period with temperatures in the 20s during the day and teens during the night will generate thick, clear ice cover on Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay.
“Once those areas are safe enough, you’ll see ice shacks scattered all over the area,” said Brian Gula, an environmental education specialist at Presque Isle State Park.
However, with most of the month of January gone, shanties had not been present in the bay, which was strictly open water. The first half of the month featured temperatures in the mid-30s and, occasionally, low 40s. Recently, though, conditions turned colder with nighttime lows in the 20s. The extended forecast called for highs in the 20s.
That has given ice-fishing enthusiasts some hope that a freeze could be on the way.
“One thing I’ve learned over the years at Presque Isle: I’m done making predictions,” Gula said. “That’s always been unique about this area. It’s just the nature of Presque Isle; it constantly changes. I really don’t think you’ll know until the day it happens.”
Ice season’s appeal
A Presque Isle Bay freeze-over can lead to many positive impacts on Erie recreation and businesses.
Smaller inland lakes, also prime waters for ice fishing, often form ice earlier than the bay. When the bay does freeze, ice anglers spend money at area sporting goods stores and bait shops. They buy augers, ice huts, warm clothing, fishing gear and more.
“That’s what everybody is waiting on,” said Bill Noble, co-owner, with his wife Lisa, of Tudor Nook-n-Hook bait shop in Girard.
The positive impact, though, isn’t reserved for the fishing industry. Many other outdoors enthusiasts benefit from a big freeze.
“It’s not just the ice fishermen,” Gula said. “You’ll get a lot of folks that cross-country ski across the bay and folks that play hockey or ice skate.”
Many ice boats also can be seen racing across the bay when the ice is thick enough, and smooth enough.
All of that activity leads to increased traffic for restaurants, hotels and other businesses along the bayfront, downtown and beyond.
None of that is currently happening, though, as Erie-area residents await the ideal conditions to unleash the city’s traditional winter activities.
Uncertainty abounds
Erie’s ice-fishing season on the bay didn’t happen in two (2017 and 2020) of the past five years because of a lack of ice. There have been years of moderate success, too, including 2018 and 2019, albeit the season started later than normal in 2019.
Records from the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that there was full ice cover on Lake Erie in 2018-19. The prime time for ice fishing came in 2014 and 2015, when the Polar Vortex hit the area and froze all area lakes after a series of mild years.
“Those years were exciting,” said Gula, an ice fisherman himself. “We had opportunities where it was safe around December. I don’t think the ice went away until mid-April.”
“We’re in a warming phase,” said Gus Glasgow, tournament director of the Western Pennsylvania Hardwater Series. “It goes up and down. There’s been several years we haven’t had ice. There have been years where we’ve had tons of ice. It just goes in cycles.”
When the conditions aren’t ideal in the bay, anglers often look inland to other Erie County waters such as Eaton Reservoir, Lake Pleasant, Edinboro Lake, LeBoeuf Lake and others. However, anglers must always be cautious before venturing on these lakes’ ice, especially more unstable “white ice” created by snow pack.
“I know there are some lakes getting ice,” Noble said, “but when you get a lot of snow and not the cold weather first, it creates ‘white ice’ rather than ‘clear ice.’”
Windy conditions also can prevent a strong ice shelf from forming in the bay. Even within Presque Isle Bay, smaller coves such as Horseshoe Pond and Misery Bay freeze quicker than the larger sections of water. The bay will resist freezing if strong currents are coming from the lake.
“The lake plays a big role as well,” Gula said. “The longer the lake is open, when you get these high winds and storms, those currents are still going to run into North and South Pier and come into (Presque Isle Bay).”
Hardcore ice-fishing
A resident of Harrisville in Butler County, Glasgow makes several fishing trips each year to Erie.
He began organizing ice-fishing tournaments for the Western Pennsylvania Hardwater Series in 2016. Now in its sixth year, the series welcomes competitors from many states.
The series has already postponed the first two events of its five-event schedule, including Saturday’s competition on Lake Wilhelm in Mercer County and a Jan. 9 event at Lake Arthur in Butler County. The remainder of the schedule, including a Feb. 6-7 outing scheduled for Presque Isle, might change further if conditions are not conducive.
Last winter, the season was limited to outings on Edinboro Lake and Eaton Reservoir.
“A lot of people like to do (ice-fishing tournaments) because it allows them access spots to fish that they couldn’t access before,” he said. “You don’t need a fishing boat or a walleye boat.
“You’ve got a couple fishing rods and a tackle box. You don’t even need an auger; you can use somebody else’s hole. It’s a very inexpensive sport. The boundaries are limitless.”
Noble has noticed an uptick in ice-fishing interest over the past 10 years.
“From what we’ve seen, it’s a growing thing for people to do,” he said. “It’s developed a following.”
Newer technologies have aided the influx of anglers. More affordable nowadays, underwater cameras are increasingly prevalent in the sport.
Presque Isle Bay remains the premier ice-fishing location in the Erie area because of the large variety of fish that can be hooked.
Panfish, such as bluegills, crappies and perch, are primary targets of ice fishermen. Steelhead, brown trout and walleye are also potential catches in the winter.
“That’s the fun part of fishing in the bay,” Gula said. “You never know what you might get. For the most part, a lot of these folks, you catch yourself a bucket full of perch and you have yourselves a nice meal.”
That can happen, of course, only if the conditions are right and the bay is frozen.
