Kevin J Legg

Just wondering if anyone targets bullhead through the ice. I was fishing crappies after dark with a lantern tonight and caught one and lost two at the hole. I've caught as many as 7 in an afternoon while fishing crappies with jigs tipped with spikes and it's not unusual to catch them this time of year. Thought I might try using tipups with worms, shrimp or several spikes some evening soon. They are great eating from the cold water.

I also heard Mud Bay was tough. 6' of slush below the ice has some pushing PVC pipe through the holes and skimming slush out just to be able to fish. I will likely hit Chamount Friday or Saturday. My wife is going to be away for a couple weeks so I will be spending a lot of time on the ice.

A couple weeks of walleye season left. I'd like to get out on either Ogdensburg, Mud Bay or Chamount before closing. Hard to believe we were fishing open water near Mud Bay right before closing a couple years back. I'm also looking forward to hitting the perch when they turn on. I like to freeze up a mess of them and let the hog walleyes go.

I made a run to Quinte when my buddy Landshark let me know the bite was on ( he caught 8 good fish Tuesday afternoon).. We fished last night and it was slow, a couple small fish. This morning I managed to catch 4 small 16" fish and one 24". I also lost a decent one at the hole and Grizz lost a good fish. Not what we were hoping for as season closes there on Sat. Grizz says the bite has been on and off all winter.

Lot's of NY State Parks and Canadian Provincial Parks are available and have dockage. Communities with dockage are Kingston. Gananoque, Rock Port, on Canadian side, Cape Vincent, Clayton, Alexandria Bay on US side. You can also visit Rock Island Light House near Fishers Landing which has opened fairly recently. Lots of paces to launch a boat in State Parks and villages as well as some marinas.

I agree with Nessmuk, Also, Singer Castle down river from Alex. Bay is worth seeing. A trip to the Lake of the Isles and through the International Rift is a nice area to explore. Also remember, you need to report in to Customs if you land or even anchor in Canadian waters (passport or enhanced ID required for all on board). Generally it's ok to cross the boarder via water, if simple sightseeing.

I have frequently fished Millsiite for lakers and have done fairly well long-lining j11 rebels/ rapalas or similar sticjkbait. I often catch them near the surface in 60-70 fow over no apparent structure. I believe the smelt move upward toward the evening and the lakers follow. I have experimented with side planners and down riggers but I have had my best results simply using long-lines. For some reason stickbaits have been much better for me than spoons. Over the years things have changed somewhat as smelt have taken over and cisco numbers seem to have decreased. Keep an eye out for surface activity and if you see a fish swirl, troll over toward it. I've also been fairly successful using jigging spoons in the depths latter in the year. I've caught lakers over 13 lbs., and a brown or LL about 7 lbs., and saw a rainbow caught about 7 lbs. taken. That said I haven't fished it in a few years as I've been running to Lake Ontario to fish spring browns, even though it's much farther than my 10 minute drive to Millsite. A good day on the big lake is 20+ browns where a good day on Millsite is 2-3 fish but it is a peaceful, quiet, small lake experience. Also, on the small lakes, I'm limited to using my Gheenoe with a 6 hp rather than my Lund which is much better equipped.

I actually kept them separate this time but have mixed them.

Hit Chaumont again today and couldn't find the perch. Only caught about a dozen and not real big. Quit early went to the gym and spent the afternoon grinding goose, turkey, and venison sausage. (Italian, breakfast, and kielbasa) and made a venison meatloaf. Now I'm bushed.

I haven't been out much lately due to illness in my wife's family. We do eat lots of fish and game My friends and relatives enjoy it as well. I have a bunch of goose and venison thawing to grind into sausage tomorrow . May fish again tomorrow and there are tournament the next two weekends.

Fished Chaumont Bay today and caught about 50 perch. Most in the 8-10" range but a few larger. Took wheeler out from boat ramp. Plenty of ice.