Icing Pike And Pearch At Chaumont Bay

Upon entering the True Value Hardware store in Chaumont, I was drawn to a picture in the front window. The photo showed an ice fisherman holding a stringer of five large northern pike.

When I inquired about the photograph, store manager Bob Bates said, "That's Charlie Richardson of Rochester. He's holding three 10-pound pike and two seven-pounders that he caught while fishing off Point Peninsula." Richardson's catch gives testimony to the high quality fishing that exists at Chaumont Bay and adjacent waters.

Located in the northeast corner of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Crescent, Chaumont Bay has a reputation as the largest fresh water bay in the world. The main bay itself has over 12 square miles of surface water.

Chaumont offers year-round fishing, and the bay is especially popular among ice anglers. Visitors can easily reach this area by taking Rt. 81 to Watertown and then taking Rt. 12E to the village of Chaumont.

Northern pike and yellow perch are the primary quarry of ice fishers. Public access exists at the Chaumont Boat Launch located just outside the village at the mouth of the Chaumont River. Another popular access point is the ramp at Last Resort Motel (315/649-2433). Since this is a private launch, anglers should seek permission before using. A number of other private access points are located around the bay, and anglers can locate them by inquiring at local bait shops and businesses. These businesses can also provide details on annual derbies such as the Lyme Ice Fishing Derby, Pillar Point Derby, and Three Mile Bay VFD Derby.

Northern Pike

Pike anglers use tip-ups baited with shiners, suckers, or chubs. A general guideline is to set the live minnow a few feet above bottom. Bob Flavin places a Lake Clear Wabbler two feet above his minnow to serve as an attractant. To create more flash, Bob often uses no weight so that the minnow can swim more freely. Because of improved water clarity in recent years, I like to use a monofilament leader (20-pound test). I set the hook as soon as I feel the pike at the end of the line, and the number of bite offs is minimal. Sometimes I'll go a whole season and never have a pike break the line, but I do have to change leaders periodically because of frays in the line.

Flurries of pike activity occur throughout the day, but the larger fish tend to be caught in the early morning or late afternoon. A number of anglers even head to the water in late afternoon and continue fishing after sunset in their search for big northerns. These toothy critters can be found throughout Chaumont Bay.

Johnson Shoal, located in front of the village off Independence Point, is a popular pike spot. Set your tip-ups in the deep water off the south side of the shoal. A second productive area is Upper Guffin Bay. Work the area off the mouth of Guffin Creek where the shallows gradually slope into deeper water (12-20 feet), or fish along the north or south shorelines of the bay where the bottom drops sharply into 20-feet of water. Herrick Grove on Three Mile Point is a third pike area. Fish can be found on the 15- to18- foot flat between shore and Herrick Shoal and also in the deep water off Herrick Shoal.

Two other prime pike areas are The Carrying Place and the southwest end of Chaumont Bay. The Carrying Place is located off County Rt. 57 (North Shore Road)), and pike hold among the scattered weed growth in the 15- to 18-foot depths and in the deep water adjacent to the shoreline flat. The entire southwest corner of Chaumont holds winter pike. Here, anglers will find weeds and a sloping bottom in the 12- to 20-foot range.

Yellow Perch

Yellow perch inhabit the same areas as northern pike, and while most anglers will set tip-ups for pike and also jig for perch, a number of Chaumont fishers target only yellow perch on their outings. Tip-ups or jig poles baited with small minnows work well, but a teardrop jig tipped with a grub or a Swedish Pimple tipped with a perch eye are the most productive perch-catchers. A general guideline for perch is to work the rig close to bottom. As winter progresses, the perch action gets better at Chaumont with the best catches occurring in February and March.

Mike Branski of Watertown, a third-generation ice angler, is among those who target only yellow perch on their ice ventures. In explaining his technique, Mike said, "We start by baiting our tip-ups with small minnows. Wherever we set a tip-up, we also drill a second hole. Once we catch a perch or get a perch flag, we go over and jig in the adjacent hole with a Swedish Pimple and perch eye. I would say we get 20 percent of our fish on tip-ups and 80 percent on the jig poles."

Mike does most of his fishing near the family camp on Point Salubrious. Perch congregate here over a flat-rock bottom at the 15- to 20-foot depths. He also fishes in Guffins Bay where perch hold among the weeds in 15- to 17-feet of water. Mike said, "Ice fishing is a good opportunity for us to get the family together, and it's especially fun in late winter when we get those nice, sunny days."