Frozen landscape fishing

A white silence presses in from all sides. Cold, crisp air sends a shiver throughout your body.

Surrounding you is a beautiful frozen winter landscape. Your mind wanders. Then it happens. The rod tip starts bouncing. You instinctively grip it and set the hook, feeling the tug as you pull up the line. Hand over hand you bring him up, and soon you are rewarded with a fat specimen flopping on the ice.

Welcome to ice fishing in northcentral Pennsylvania.

Those who are adventuresome enough to brave the cold weather can often find good open water fishing. However, if things get real cold and streams freeze up, fishermen still have another option. Many of the lakes, ponds, and reservoirs in this region provide fantastic ice fishing.

If you are a novice, find someone who is willing to share what he knows. There is no better way to learn what techniques and what locations will put fish on the end of your line, than from a well-seasoned veteran.

Ice-fishing equipment usually isn't too costly, so this is one enjoyable sport that can be taken up without hurting your wallet. To get started all you need are some simple jigging rods that can be purchased. There are also kits available for making homemade jigging rods.

A jigging rod is short, approximately two feet in length. It generally has a very sensitive tip, or a spring on the tip of the rod that telegraphs the most sensitive bites.

The reel is not very important. Many ice fishing rods simply use pegs upon which the fishing line is wrapped.

Normally, when a fish is on, it is brought in by pulling up the line. This allows the ice fisherman to maintain the same fishing depth each time a fish is brought in.

Most of the ice fishing here is for small trout and panfish. Usually these are not large enough to break the line.

Generally, when going for trout and panfish, you should fish just above the floor of the water body. Lower the line down until it goes slack upon hitting the bottom. Then, reel in the line so that it is less than a foot up from the bottom.

A variety of bait can be used. The most popular baits are maggots, waxworms, and mealworms. These baits are jigged periodically by quickly lifting the rod tip six inches and then dropping it. This adds motion to the bait and is often the key to enticing fish to bite.

Safety should be a top priority when ice fishing. Never ice fish alone and always obey posted signs concerning unsafe ice conditions. In cold weather, four inches of ice is sufficient to support a pair of ice fisherman. But realize that there will be areas that also have less than four inches, such as near outlets and inlets, where springs enter, and near submerged trees and stumps.

Once ice reaches a thickness of six to eight inches when temperatures are remaining below freezing, ice fishermen can consider the ice to be quite safe. When temperatures are climbing above freezing, this can lead to localized areas of weak ice.

Ice fishing helps ward off cabin fever by providing an outlet to enjoy the outdoors when there is little else to do outside. It also can provide a tasty meal for the dinner table.