m&M: - Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission

• Having been reared in an area where ice fishing was
something we only read about, I've never ceased to be
amazed at the fortitude of Luzerne County ice fishermen.
The dawn of Feb. 10 found the countryside covered with
a sheet of ice. Anglers Lou Wilie and Chet Mack of Glen
Lyon set out for Lake Jean atop 2400-foot Red Rock
Mountain. Fishing all day through freezing rain found
tip-ups and angler alike glazed with ice. At 3:15 p.m.
Lady Luck smiled upon the pair. Lou got a flag and when
the hook was set, he had a dandy. After quite a tussle he
called to Chet for help. When the fish was finally brought
to the hole, Chet plunged his warm arm right into the
icy abyss and collared the fish by the gills. Lou gasped
in amazement as Chet hauled out the prize—a musky
measuring 38 inches and weighing 118 pounds. Checking
the Commission's age-growth tables, this is about par for
a 6-year-old. I can remember the first fingerlings introduced
here by the Commission in 1959. Looking like so
many little green pencils, I found it difficult, then, to
anticipate catches such as this. Unbelievable as it may
seem, the musky was caught and held by a No. 10 treble
hook on an 8-lb. test line. Some people have all the
luck . . . in SPADES!-Di$lrict Warden JAMES F. YODER
(Luzerne and E. Sullivan counties)
• Mother Nature finally gave the trout lake fishermen a
break and put enough ice on Chapman dam to make it
safe. We had an unusual winter here in Warren County,
more open weather than most old timers remember. With
plenty of ice, some very nice catches were made, trout
measuring up to 17 inches.—District Warden KENNETH G.
COREY (Warren).
• Walleye fishing continued good in January in open
waters at the mouth of Tionesta Creek and the Allegheny
River at Tionesta. A few muskies have also been caught
in these waters. Charles Ciernik, Tionesta, Pa., caught a
31-inch, 11-pound walleye in the Allegheny.—District Warden
NORMAN I. BLUM (Forest & Clarion).
• In approximately six years of service in Lycoming
County I have seldom seen more than a dozen ice fishermen
on Little Pine Dam except for this year. Every day for two
weeks in January there were at least 40 fishermen per day
on the ice. Many drive their autos out on the ice and fish
out of the cars. Anglers I talk to have a tremendous liking
for the sport and express a desire for more places to fish.
Many large trout were taken from the dam in January
Taking the good with the bad, the ice was slippery—one
broken wrist and one dislocated arm were reported. Care
should be Used when out On the ice!—District Warden LEE F.
SHORTESS (Lycoming).
FROM THE STREAMS
11 11 i — i a ^
• During the first half of January, before the cold weath
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hit Northwestern Pennsylvania, fishermen angling FreflC
Creek in Erie and Crawford counties were very w e
pleased with the nice walleye they were harvesting'
Anglers who store their fishing equipment away after u!
leaves drop are missing out on the best catching seas"
in this stream.-District Warden NORMAN E. ELY (Erie).
• During the early part of January, which was unseaso 11
ably warm, walleye fishing was good using minnows a"
jigs.—District Warden CLARENCE W. SHEARER (Venango).
• In January I saw two chain pickerel about 22 inches Wf
taken through the ice at Hills Creek Lake. To my kno^'
edge, chain pickerel were never stocked in this lake ***
how they found their way into the lake is a mystery-
District Warden RAYMOND HOOVER (Tioga).
• Pete Shulneski, Wellsboro, Pa., was setting up his eqU'P.
ment for fishing Lyman Run Lake for trout. Pete bart e
his jigging rod, set it across a folding stool. He the
proceeded to set and bait his four tip ups. He just start*
when the reel on the jigging pole screamed and rod, re
and line vanished under the ice. Later Pete set up a W"
up baited with a minnow in the same hole in which "J
lost his equipment. The first time Pete retrieved this **"
up, he came up with his lost equipment. Attached
the rod and line of the lost rig was a fourteen inch rainbo v
trout. The incident brought much laughter and appl a °
from the crOwd.-District Warden KENNETH ALEY (Potter)-
• While patrolling Fairview Lake one day I checked t%v
anglers and one man told his friend . . ."this is the fell"*'
who gives fishing information to an outdoor column 15 '
telling of the good fishing in Pike County." The other m a
looked at me and said . . ."there must be some mix-up '
my report to him and the final story because I could"
catch a fish like the story outlined." I explained the F lS
Commission's weekly Ice Fishing Report to him but
was skeptical. He went on to declare a fellow can' 1
believe everything he reads. I went on to check otn t,
anglers and when I returned to my car the "non-belie ve
was there handing me a can he was reading from
cover, with the comment . . ."now I know you can't beh e
everything you read." The contents of the can was fr° ze ,
hard. It was a can of liquid placed in the gas tank
the car to keep water from freezing the gas line! "
fishermen like to venture out on the ice to fish the deep
water and when they don't catch fish, they wonder wn"
I explain they should fish water one to eight feet deep
trout, perch and walleye. Usually, anglers think, * ;
kidding and I suppose their pride is hurt because v
few take the advice to move closer to the shore.— 0 "
Warden JOSEPH E. BARTLEY.
24 PENNSYLVANIA ANG LS 1