Long Island's winter fishing scene is growing: 3 ways to hook in
Rich Brown, of Islip, fishes for trout at Connetquot River State Park in Oakdale. Credit: Newsday/James Carbone
Grab your ice-fishing tackle and dress for the weather. The extended cold snap covering local lakes and ponds in ice may also bring back ice fishing for the first time in three years.
“We do expect things to freeze over” for ice-fishing this winter, says Heidi O’Riordan, regional fisheries manager for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in Stony Brook. The DEC is scouting out safe conditions — which include a minimum three inches of ice — at popular ice-fishing spots like Artist Lake in Middle Island and Deep Pond in Wading River, the latter stocked with 340 brown trout in October.
Fly-fishers are reeling in trout even as the snow falls. Local bait shops are selling a mess of night crawlers for anglers to cast from the shoreline or a kayak for yellow perch, pickerel and largemouth bass.
Colin Malone, of Patchogue, pulls up a rainbow trout that he caught at Connetquot River State Park in Oakdale. Credit: Newsday/James Carbone
"I can say 100% that they are fishing year-round now," Pablo Salinas, manager of J&J Bait & Tackle in Patchogue, says of Long Islanders. Salinas says winter fishing "is getting more popular" at West Lake and Patchogue Lake in Patchogue, Canaan Lake in North Patchogue and Upper Yaphank Lake in Yaphank.
"You can fish all winter long, they don’t stop biting," confirms year-round Lake Ronkonkoma fisherman Joseph Blunden, 69, of West Babylon.
Here are three ways to keep reelin’ ‘em in when Jack Frost is nipping at your nose.
Before you go
A freshwater fishing license for ages 16 and up is required and can be purchased at decals.east.licensing.app. Prices are $25 for people ages 16 to 69 and $5 for those ages 70 and older.
Brown is a frequent winter fisher. Credit: Newsday/James Carbone
If you want to go ice-fishing
Ice fishing requires special conditions, such as a minimum of four inches of ice on a pond or lake, according to the Department of Conservation in Stony Brook. In addition, a winter thaw can quickly change conditions, rendering ice-fishing unsafe, according to the DEC.
But if it’s done safely and with the proper clothing, gear and shelter, "you could catch more fish when ice-fishing, if you are good at it, than using a boat or on shore," says Tom Hughes, 52, of Baldwinsville, New York, an environmental educator in the New York State Parks Bureau of Public Programs.
"I’ve heard from my Long Island colleagues that winter fishing has gotten a little better for the last 10 years," says Hughes, who lived in Rocky Point, Sayville and East Setauket and went ice-fishing here during the early 2000s. "There’s always panfish, sunfish, white perch and crappies and those are tasty to a lot of people."
Hughes says on Long Island, a two-month window for ice-fishing can occur in January and February. "If you get cold, still nights, you can have consistent ice; the best places are smaller lakes and shallow ponds," he says.
Jason Faso, 27, of Merrick, a sales associate at Causeway Bait & Tackle in Wantagh, says for such occasions, the shop sells special gear such as shorter fishing rods for ice fishing’s tighter spaces and "woven fishing line that doesn’t freeze."
If you go, Hughes recommended wearing insulated waterproof footwear and a life jacket or arctic float suit, and to carry safety equipment such as ice picks in case of an emergency.
INFO dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/freshwater-fishing/ice-fishing
A sign shows fish to expect at Connetquot River State Park. Credit: Newsday/James Carbone
If you want to fish the 'cold water period'
"If the ice is not there, you have the cold water period," Blunden says, referring to air temperatures in the upper 30s or 40s when anglers can cast from the shore or launch a car-top boat or kayak.
Small and largemouth bass, yellow perch and panfish can be biting this time of year, according to the DEC. Tidal waters also have white perch and the occasional trout, especially on the South Shore in the Carmans, Connetquot or Carlls rivers.
Other popular cold-water fisheries include Lower and Upper Twin Ponds in Wantagh, Massapequa Reservoir in Massapequa, Belmont Lake State Park in North Babylon, Laurel Lake in Mattituck and Fort Pond in Montauk, local anglers and the DEC said.
INFO extapps.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/ifnyliandnycfishing.pdf
Colin Malone, of Patchogue, fishes for trout in the river. Credit: Newsday/James Carbone
If you want to go winter fly-fishing
On a recent Sunday morning at Connetquot River State Park Preserve in Oakdale, eight anglers were fly-fishing as a wintry mix fell and the air temperature hovered around freezing, according to Ryan Albinski, assistant park manager.
The action started "a bit slow" but soon picked up at reserved fishing sites along the Connetquot near the hatchery, which in the fall stocked the river with 3,100 rainbow trout and 2,600 brook trout, Albinski says. "I personally witnessed four rainbows caught at those spots," says Albinski.
Park manager Patrick Hein says winter offers "some of the liveliest fly fishing of the year for our native and official New York State fish, the brook trout, which prefers the cooler water temperatures."
INFO parks.ny.gov; Connetquot River State Park Preserve, Oakdale, sessions from 8 a.m. to noon and noon to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Call to reserve a session; 631-581-1005, $25/session.
