{"id":114263,"date":"2026-02-14T23:49:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T23:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/114263\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T23:49:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T23:49:12","slug":"lake-erie-ice-fishers-take-advantage-of-frozen-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/114263\/","title":{"rendered":"Lake Erie ice fishers take advantage of frozen lake"},"content":{"rendered":"

PORT CLINTON, Ohio \u2014\u00a0Before the sun rises on a February morning, a group of dedicated ice fishers journeys out onto Lake Erie.<\/p>\n

What You Need To Know<\/p>\n

Ice fishing season on Lake Erie lasts anywhere from a couple of weeks to two months<\/p>\n

This year, ice fishers have been taking advantage after arctic temperatures froze a majority of the lake<\/p>\n

The area near Port Clinton is known for its great walleye supply, and the islands and shallow waters help keep the ice from breaking up\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once Lake Erie freezes, locals who live on the islands near Port Clinton are entirely reliant on air travel<\/p>\n

\u201cYou got to be a little bit crazy, you got to be a little bit obsessed, because it\u2019s not for the faint of heart,\u201d said John Fickert, one of those ice fishers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the sun starts to poke out over the horizon, Fickert makes camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re many miles offshore, really desolate, really peaceful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On Lake Erie, the ice fishing season lasts anywhere from two weeks to two months. During that time, Fickert goes every chance he gets.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably as soon as I could walk, I was out here fishing with my dad,\u201d Fickert said, lighting up when he recalls old memories. \u201cThose were the good ol\u2019 days when I\u2019d get out of school, and he\u2019d haul me out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ice<\/p>\n

Ice fisher John Fickert set’s up his gear as the sun rises on Lake Erie. (Spectrum News 1\/Corey O’Leary)<\/p>\n

Using a fish finder, he puts two rods in and can see when fish are near.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are fish swimming across; do you see them?\u201d he asks, pointing to two slender blobs on the screen of the fish finder.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, after seeing a few fish, none of them wanted to bite.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s there, but he just won\u2019t quite do it,\u201d Fickert said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Often, it\u2019s a waiting game, and you don\u2019t always get lucky.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just kind of unpredictable,\u201d Fickert explains, adding that there was one day this year when he caught nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He fishes around the Port Clinton area, near Put-in-Bay and Kelley\u2019s Island. The ice on Lake Erie drastically transforms that area both visually and economically.\u00a0<\/p>\n

No one knows that better than Dustin Schaffer, owner of Island Air Taxi in Port Clinton.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the winter, it\u2019s like a light switch when the boats quit,\u201d\u00a0Schaffer said. \u201cIn the winter, it\u2019s the only way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once the ferries stop running because of the ice, all travel to and from this island have to be done by air.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of ice fishermen. There\u2019s islanders, I fly teachers, there\u2019s school kids that I transport back and forth,\u201d Shaffer explained.<\/p>\n

In February, fishermen’s huts dot the lake, with the area known as one of the best places to catch walleye.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ice fishing huts dot Lake Erie.\u00a0(Spectrum News 1\/Corey O’Leary)<\/p>\n

On the ground, Fickert finds a new place to set up after a couple of hours with no bites. This year, he didn\u2019t get to come out with his father.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe passed away last year,\u201d Fickert said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fickert said he spread some of his father\u2019s ashes across the frozen lake. Now, he uses his father\u2019s snowmobile and gear.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ice fishing is an activity he\u2019ll always associate with his father, even when he\u2019s not catching anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"John<\/p>\n

John Fickert and his father. (Spectrum News 1\/Corey O’Leary)<\/p>\n

\u201cNot a good sign\u2026 very negative mood,\u201d Fickert said after a fish came near his lure but quickly swam away.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After a day where there were no bites, and right before he was planning to head back to shore, a fish finally bit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been waiting all day for her,\u201d Fickert said, laughing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But ask any ice fisher, it\u2019s not all about the fish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe draw to it is just the rareness of it,\u201d\u00a0Fickert said. \u201cIt\u2019s more like a treat when you get to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORT CLINTON, Ohio \u2014\u00a0Before the sun rises on a February morning, a group of dedicated ice fishers journeys…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114264,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[21167,33525,292,54541,54539,136,138,137,139,21168,293,42732,42731,54540,708,295,25636],"class_list":{"0":"post-114263","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-erie","8":"tag-app-for-your-consideration","9":"tag-app-outdoors","10":"tag-app-top-stories","11":"tag-corey-oleary","12":"tag-ctv","13":"tag-erie","14":"tag-erie-headlines","15":"tag-erie-news","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-nnt","18":"tag-ohio","19":"tag-ohio-cleveland-top-stories","20":"tag-ohio-roh-top-stories","21":"tag-ohio-what-you-need-to-know","22":"tag-outdoors","23":"tag-top-stories","24":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}