Editor’s note: After this column was posted, Black Lake Fish & Game Association announced it has postponed its ice fishing derby until Feb. 24.
The Black Lake Ice Fishing Derby Dave Roll’s upcoming weekend just became less complicated.
The owner of Black Lake Marine Cottages can focus Saturday on the Black Lake Ice Fishing Derby and forget about the sting of the Buffalo Bills elimination from the NFL playoffs.
The lifelong Bills fans and season-ticket holder will host a weigh station at his lakeside resort about two miles northeast of Edwardsville. He spent last Sunday night at frigid Highmark Stadium in Buffalo, watching his beloved, undermanned Bills lose for the third time in the last four seasons to their nemesis, the Kansas City Chiefs.
An observer Sunday reported about 4 inches of ice, the minimum depth suggested for ice fishermen. The snow was piled about 7 inches deep, and there was slush and weak ice along the shoreline. The problem with the snow cover is that it insulates the ice from colder air, discouraging further freezing. The weather forecast calls for temperatures in the 38-degree range on Thursday and Friday with overnight lows of 33 and 32 degrees. Those conditions aren’t ideal for thickening the ice sheet.
Roll admitted he would have been distracted this weekend if the Bills had reached the AFC Championship Game. Now he’ll concentrate on the ice depth on Black Lake. The looming question – Will there be sufficient ice to support the Black Lake Fish & Game Association’s derby?
Another observer, James Rupert, reported Sunday on Facebook the depth at about 6 inches on most of the lake with “a little more in some spots, less in others.’’
Although a few pop-up shelters were spotted on the lake, Rupert added in an all-caps caveat: “I would not attempt to cross the lake anywhere at this point.’’
Roll routinely advises guests at his cottages to err on the safe side.
“The rule is four inches, but in some spots it is 7 inches,’’ said Roll, who talks regularly with fishermen who buy bait and tackle at his shop. “I never want to put a guy in danger.’’
President Mike Warren and the Black Lake Fish & Game Association will make the final call on the derby, which is expected to draw 400 entrants. BLF&G is offering top prizes for an expected field of 400 anglers at each weigh station — Black Lake Marine Cottages or Roll-A-Way Bay — for adults ($500) and youths ($250). It is offering $150 to adults and $100 for youths for panfish, and $100 for dogfish (BLMC) and $100 for walleye (Roll-A-Way). The association is accepting registrations from 6-9 p.m. Friday at its clubhouse, and on derby day at the weigh stations. The derby runs from 6 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday.
This winter has been lousy for anglers. The St. Lawrence River remained wide open last week. Even with a cold snap, ice was just beginning to form on Morristown Bay. Between Waddington and Louisville, you could find ice in the deepest parts of Coles Creek Bay, where you’ll find yellow perch, Northern pike, blue gills and occasionally walleye and crappie.
Robert Johnson, who operates J & R Bait n Tackle Shop, 230 Brown Road, Ogdensburg, said the open water is limiting his business in worms, minnows and lures. “The past 4-5 days, things have picked up a little, but the ice was nothing to brag about.’’
Black Lake’s ice sheet has averaged between 17 and 20 inches the past couple of mild winters, Roll said, and he recalled several years when it averaged 30-36 inches. Johnson recalled a few years ago when it was so cold early in the season that anglers fished through St. Lawrence River ice before Thanksgiving. But those conditions have faded.
Roll said besides hosting the weigh station on the north side of Black Lake, he’ll offer bait and tackle, sell several cups of coffee, and place a port-a-john on his property for anglers. He doesn’t expect to make a killing on the derby, but it keeps his cottages in the minds of tourists who might visit during the derby and return in the summer months to fish the open lake.
Roll traced his association to Black Lake to his grandfather, who fished there years ago, and brought along his son. He purchased the site and passed it on to Dave, who has developed the docking and cottages over the past 30 years.
“I loved coming here as a kid,’’ Roll said. “It was our Disneyland.’’
Now Disneyland needs a cold snap. Or a visit from Queen Elsa from “Frozen.’’ I’ll even settle for Mr. Freeze from Batman.
Morristown native Jim Holleran is a retired teacher and sports editor from Rochester. Reach him at jimholleran29@gmail.com or view past columns under “Reflections of River Rat’’ at https://hollerangetsitwrite.com/blog/
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