Skunking my way into the New Year on thin ice | Quest for No. 1: Part I
The ice creep began early this year, despite another mild winter.
With my first glimpse of the lake I realized my worst fears had come true. Instead of rippling reflections of the overcast sky, through a gap in the trees all I could see was a dull, whitish sheen that wasn’t moving.
Temps had only dropped to 31 the night before, but without the warming help of direct sunlight a thin wrap of ice had appeared across nearly the entire surface.
As much can be expected in early January at The Park in Outer Borough, NYC. It happens fast.
RELATED: This park (and this month) is full of skunks | Quest for No. 1 Part II
RELATED: Can a New Jersey wild trout save my month? | Quest for No. 1 Part III
RELATED: Last-ditch, Hail Mary trip for winter stripers | Quest for No. 1 Part IV
RELATED: A fish of many firsts (and the first fish of 2024) | Quest for No. 1 Part V
Typically I get out January 1st to catch a few small bass, black crappie and bluegill at The Park near my apartment, securing my first catches of the New Year to give me a bit of peace of mind as the winter takes hold. I also have an ongoing personal challenge to catch at least one fish every month. I have successfully gone 12-straight months catching before, but often I’m undone by the colds of February.
January rarely gives me a problem, with small fish often eager to bite in mild temps the first half of the month.
But thanks to my decision to forgo a New Year’s Day session for some relaxation (of course it was 50 and sunny with little wind), it was mid-January and my active 10-month catching streak was threatened. And it wasn’t even February yet.
Adding to the bummer was the many non-anglers with looks of disbelief or laughs at the site of me, dipping my tiny white EPF swim bait in the few spots of open water left. Although that’s a regular occurrence when fishing in NYC, no matter the season.
An ultralight rod and an Eurotackle EPF swim on a tiny jig are my winter bass go-tos.
On the bright side, the most prominent open section was in my only winter hotspot on the lake, a small circular area, about four feet deep and choked with branches providing abundant cover. Circling the spot are giant, old London plane trees (a popular urban hybrid of the mighty American sycamore), with the lowest branches hanging out over the water, 10 feet up.
I’ve had a lot of success on the panfish and small bass bite here in the cold, and even caught one of my biggest largemouths here in early May years ago.
I’d also seen an old YouTube video once of a guy pulling a 5lb-plus bass out of this particular spot with a live worm, snow blanketing the park path.
All of this provided my with enough of a false sense of confidence to fight through my quickly freezing hands.
Nothing.
Not good.
Later on in my one-and-a-half hour session, one teenage angler on a bike shouted toward me, asking if I’d got anything.
He was shocked by the ice too, and told me his friend had pulled in a nice bass the day before, without a cold crystal in sight.
And that’s the way she goes.
As he rode off, he related the bad news to his friend over speaker phone.
SONG OF THE TRIP
Check out more from Fishing On Fire with our social accounts below…