Erie anglers anticipating great ice season

After the early December snow, single-digit highs and negative overnight temperatures along the North Coast, a thin layer of ice formed in the Western Basin of the lake.It was extensive enough to stop the Miller Ferry on Dec. 13 and allow fishing in several marinas, harbors and bays.More recently, a warming trend that is projected to continue for weeks has made the prospects of ice fishing less certain on the lake. Boat fishing is underway, and on Dec. 9 the Miller Boat Line resumed ferry service to Put-in-Bay.Still, the majority of forecasts this year predicted favorable news for Erie ice anglers. The Farmer's Almanac called for "numbing cold and snowy" conditions for the Great Lakes, while the Old Farmer's Almanac predicted mild and wet conditions for this region.The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said to expect average winter temperatures with above average precipitation. However, they predicted that La Nina will bring cooler temperatures down from the upper plains through western Michigan, but not into the lower Great Lakes.Two consecutive cold winters, 2014 and 2015, provided countless trophy walleyes through the ice, before last winter's El Nino-impacted, mild weather allowed boat fishing for most of the year.If we do get fishable ice, the 2003 year-class of walleyes, along with fish from the 2007 and 2010 hatches will make the odds good for a trophy catch. However, huge numbers of walleyes from the 2014 and 2015 hatches and hordes of yellow perch will also be present.Walleyes hatched in 2014 have virtually all grown beyond the legal 15-inch minimum size limit, but the much more abundant 2015 year class will still mostly be sub-legal throw backs.Sampling that was done after the official August trawl surveys showed the 2015 year class to be much more abundant than originally believed, maybe even the biggest ever.Yellow perch are once again abundant in the Western Basin, thanks to some respectable hatches in each of the 2013-16 spawning seasons. If the fantastic fall perch fishing is any indication, anglers will likely be able to once again pull some tasty, bonus perch along with the walleyes through the ice this winter.Because of the explosive popularity of ice fishing over the past 20 years, more equipment designed for angler comfort, safety and successful fishing continue to be introduced.Truly portable ice shelters allow angler mobility in their search for active fish. Warmer inner and outerwear, dexterous gloves, floatation coats and survival suits, safety throw ropes, and picks of life are designed angler comfort and safety.Two-cycle gasoline, propane, electric and manual augers provide lots of options for punching through the ice.Fish finders have evolved from the red bulb spinning wheel display to one changing from green to yellow to red as the targets get closer, with target separation as tight as ½-inch as power increases to 1000 watts.If sonar is not high tech enough, underwater cameras can now film low light scenes below onto a color monitor. Cameras are a very useful educational tool, allowing identification of the bottom type, fish species and behavior toward the baits.More varieties and new colors of lures, specialty jigging rods, tip-ups and other gadgets go well beyond what is necessary to fool a fish with a brain the size of a pea that might be caught just as easily with live bait.If Lake Erie ice cover is marginal, locked-in island ice often offers better odds for getting out, but a deep freeze will allow thousands of anglers to get onto the lake from the more numerous boat launches and beaches that double as ice ramps.Some include Catawba Island State Park, Mazurik Access, Magee Marsh Wildlife Area and the Lucas County Public Ramp.Camp Perry was a very popular place to access the ice through the 2015 ice season.Even though we didn't end up getting much fishable ice last year, poor behavior by fishermen, including widespread littering, parking in unauthorized/restricted areas, tearing up lawns, public urination and other actions in 2015 prompted them to announce a parking ban there for fishermen in 2016.How many areas need to be closed before sportsmen learn that the leading cause of access sites on private property being placed off-limits to fishermen and hunters are because of littering and other disrespectful behaviors?Discussions regarding Camp Perry reinstating parking and beach access for the 2017 ice season have not occurred as of press time.