by Captain Jeff Smith
Jeff’s Charter Fishing
Ice fishing Lake George is excellent. I have been ice fishing it for many years and have seen many large fish come through a small hole in the ice. There are a few ways to make a fishing hole in the ice. When I was a kid, we used an ice chisel, which is a long metal bar with a sharp edge and attached a rope to put your hand through. When the chisel would finally break through the ice, the rope would stop it from falling to the bottom. Then I got a hand auger which comes in different sizes. They make a 3″ for perch, a 6″ and 8″ for the larger fish. We can also catch Northern Pike, Pickerel, Lake Trout, and Salmon through the ice by setting up tip ups. The standard “Tip Up” is wooden with a flag and reel, in which the reel remains in the water to keep it from freezing up. I bait the hook with a medium shiner or a small sucker (my favorite); then when a fish takes the bait, the flag will release and pop up letting me know there is a “Fish On!” Once I see that flag pop up, we run over to the tip up and grab the line by hand. Then you work the fish up to the hole and up onto the ice. We can also jig with small jigging poles for Perch and Lake Trout. I have a heated ice shanty that I pull onto the ice with my snowmobile or 4 wheeler to keep warm. And don’t worry, I now have a gas powered auger to drill the holes! So dress warm and come on up this winter to Lake George and jig a Trout through the ice. Or fish for Perch that kids really enjoy catching, for it is nonstop action while you’re waiting for someone to yell “Flag!”
