On a sunny Friday afternoon when most everybody else was at work, Bob Busch was trying to land some fish. He sat still on a white bucket at the south end of Owasco Lake waiting for them to bite.
Outfitted in RefrigiWear coveralls, a camouflage ski mask worn as a hat and clown-like white boots that he referred to as "my Mickey Mouse boots," he waited, every so often getting a bite and setting the lure. No gloves worn with the ensemble though -he doesn't need them, despite the below-freezing temperatures.
Busch didn't say much. He just sat with his jig line in the water, waiting for a bite. He stared at the hole in the ice and occasionally adjusted his reel.
The ice, pock-marked by the bottoms of buckets used as makeshift seats, is vast. Standing in the middle is dizzying and makes you feel small. On this day, the wind whipped across the frozen lake from the west and settled snow from the shores in wave-like patterns on the ice.
Still, Busch sat, undeterred by the stinging winds.
"You just gotta dress for the weather," the Syracuse resident said. "You have to get used to it."
It may seem crazy to spend hours upon hours sitting on a frozen lake waiting for a fish to bite. The wind whipping off the lake, swirling snow and ice flakes, is enough to dissuade most people from ice fishing.
Then there's the solitary nature of the sport. It's just you and your reel and a hole in the ice. Sure, there are other hearty souls out on the ice braving the frigid winter temperatures, but everyone does their own thing.
But spend a day on the ice and you quickly realize that ice fisherman are particularly unfazed about the cold or the isolation associated with their sport. Most are just interested in getting down to the business of catching fish.
Busch is the ultimate ice fisherman. If there's ice and some fish beneath, Busch will be there.
"I'll fish anywhere there's water. It's a chance to get out in the winter instead of staying outdoors," he said. "I'll generally stay out all day until it's dark."
The Syracuse China employee makes the 45-minute trip to Owasco Lake fairly regularly, though he also fishes Oneida and Cayuga Lakes, Lake George and Sandy Pond in Sandy Creek, Oswego County. He likes Owasco Lake because it's "good fishing and there's not much of a crowd."
In just a half an hour out on the ice of Owasco Lake, Busch hooked three fish. A trio of sunfish flopped about in his little white bucket gasping for breath, a testament to his good luck or perhaps his fishing prowess.
The other anglers around Busch weren't having such good luck. A few small perch and panfish were all that seemed to be biting at the south end of the lake.
But still the 15-odd fisherman continued drilling and waiting and reeling on the ice. For many ice fisherman, it's less about the yield and more about being outside in the bleak winter months.
John Hahn, Vince Agati and Dick Firsching, retired friends from the Johnson City area, came to the lake armed with a wooden pallet to hold all their equipment, including a motorized augur for boring through the ice and a number of lures handmade by Hahn. But regardless of their gear, the fish just weren't biting.
"The water's too milky for the fish. You can see the water's just pouring in on the sides. The fish can't see the bait," Hahn said as the three walked back to shore.
After shedding their thick coveralls, similar to Busch's, the three stood in their matching wool Adirondack pants and boots that made footprints the size of bear paws, jawing about recent fishing luck. Though they only nabbed a couple of panfish, the day wasn't a total loss.
For Firsching, just being outside and active is enough. He recently went through a kidney transplant and this is his first time back on the ice. He's just happy to be alive and well.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation's Web site on ice fishing says, "ice fishermen tend to be a highly social group, eager to share tips, techniques and stories." Perhaps that's because it takes a special person to sit out on an ice-covered lake for hours at a time.
Or perhaps it's because there is no pretension with ice fishing. It's truly the everyman's sport. It's hard to be hoity-toity about your sport when you're bundled to the hilt and rivers of snot pour down your face. Plus, unlike spring and summer fishing, you don't need a lot of expensive equipment or a boat to catch the best fish.
Of course ice fishing is as expensive as you make it. Busch's gear consisted of a jig reel, a shortened fishing pole, a bucket, a hand augur and a little black sled for towing all the equipment. Some other fishermen out on the ice, the ones who claimed not to be playing hooky from work, had hundreds of dollars in equipment, which didn't help them hook the big ones with any more success.
One Auburn fisherman, who preferred not to be named for fear his boss would find out he ditched work, had about $1,000 worth of equipment helping him find the fish. In addition to a Vexilar depth finder, this mystery fisherman used his father-in-law's underwater camera to find exactly where the fish were hiding.
The man hunkered down with his equipment for an afternoon on the lake. He sat on his bucket, scanning the hole for movement, not even noticing the jig line had sliced into a crease on his left index finger.
After an hour and a half of fishing various holes on the lake, the geared-up angler had only hooked a bluegill and a tiny perch. It didn't matter though that the yield was unimpressive - he'd be back again the next day, and the day after that and that. He fishes at least four or five times a week and insists that it's worth the often bitter conditions.
"Winter fish is better eating," he said.
He catches enough for his wife and three children and what he doesn't need, he gives to other anglers who haven't had such good luck. Busch does the same with his extra fish. He also gives much of his catch away to friends and family who do not share his love of the ice.
"It's Lent season, so I give a lot away," Busch said. "A lot of people become your good friends when you've got fresh fish."
Staff writer Lauren Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or lauren.ober@lee.net
Busch didn't say much. He just sat with his jig line in the water, waiting for a bite. He stared at the hole in the ice and occasionally adjusted his reel.
The ice, pock-marked by the bottoms of buckets used as makeshift seats, is vast. Standing in the middle is dizzying and makes you feel small. On this day, the wind whipped across the frozen lake from the west and settled snow from the shores in wave-like patterns on the ice.
Still, Busch sat, undeterred by the stinging winds.
"You just gotta dress for the weather," the Syracuse resident said. "You have to get used to it."
It may seem crazy to spend hours upon hours sitting on a frozen lake waiting for a fish to bite. The wind whipping off the lake, swirling snow and ice flakes, is enough to dissuade most people from ice fishing.
Then there's the solitary nature of the sport. It's just you and your reel and a hole in the ice. Sure, there are other hearty souls out on the ice braving the frigid winter temperatures, but everyone does their own thing.
But spend a day on the ice and you quickly realize that ice fisherman are particularly unfazed about the cold or the isolation associated with their sport. Most are just interested in getting down to the business of catching fish.
Busch is the ultimate ice fisherman. If there's ice and some fish beneath, Busch will be there.
"I'll fish anywhere there's water. It's a chance to get out in the winter instead of staying outdoors," he said. "I'll generally stay out all day until it's dark."
The Syracuse China employee makes the 45-minute trip to Owasco Lake fairly regularly, though he also fishes Oneida and Cayuga Lakes, Lake George and Sandy Pond in Sandy Creek, Oswego County. He likes Owasco Lake because it's "good fishing and there's not much of a crowd."
In just a half an hour out on the ice of Owasco Lake, Busch hooked three fish. A trio of sunfish flopped about in his little white bucket gasping for breath, a testament to his good luck or perhaps his fishing prowess.
The other anglers around Busch weren't having such good luck. A few small perch and panfish were all that seemed to be biting at the south end of the lake.
But still the 15-odd fisherman continued drilling and waiting and reeling on the ice. For many ice fisherman, it's less about the yield and more about being outside in the bleak winter months.
John Hahn, Vince Agati and Dick Firsching, retired friends from the Johnson City area, came to the lake armed with a wooden pallet to hold all their equipment, including a motorized augur for boring through the ice and a number of lures handmade by Hahn. But regardless of their gear, the fish just weren't biting.
"The water's too milky for the fish. You can see the water's just pouring in on the sides. The fish can't see the bait," Hahn said as the three walked back to shore.
After shedding their thick coveralls, similar to Busch's, the three stood in their matching wool Adirondack pants and boots that made footprints the size of bear paws, jawing about recent fishing luck. Though they only nabbed a couple of panfish, the day wasn't a total loss.
For Firsching, just being outside and active is enough. He recently went through a kidney transplant and this is his first time back on the ice. He's just happy to be alive and well.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation's Web site on ice fishing says, "ice fishermen tend to be a highly social group, eager to share tips, techniques and stories." Perhaps that's because it takes a special person to sit out on an ice-covered lake for hours at a time.
Or perhaps it's because there is no pretension with ice fishing. It's truly the everyman's sport. It's hard to be hoity-toity about your sport when you're bundled to the hilt and rivers of snot pour down your face. Plus, unlike spring and summer fishing, you don't need a lot of expensive equipment or a boat to catch the best fish.
Of course ice fishing is as expensive as you make it. Busch's gear consisted of a jig reel, a shortened fishing pole, a bucket, a hand augur and a little black sled for towing all the equipment. Some other fishermen out on the ice, the ones who claimed not to be playing hooky from work, had hundreds of dollars in equipment, which didn't help them hook the big ones with any more success.
One Auburn fisherman, who preferred not to be named for fear his boss would find out he ditched work, had about $1,000 worth of equipment helping him find the fish. In addition to a Vexilar depth finder, this mystery fisherman used his father-in-law's underwater camera to find exactly where the fish were hiding.
The man hunkered down with his equipment for an afternoon on the lake. He sat on his bucket, scanning the hole for movement, not even noticing the jig line had sliced into a crease on his left index finger.
After an hour and a half of fishing various holes on the lake, the geared-up angler had only hooked a bluegill and a tiny perch. It didn't matter though that the yield was unimpressive - he'd be back again the next day, and the day after that and that. He fishes at least four or five times a week and insists that it's worth the often bitter conditions.
"Winter fish is better eating," he said.
He catches enough for his wife and three children and what he doesn't need, he gives to other anglers who haven't had such good luck. Busch does the same with his extra fish. He also gives much of his catch away to friends and family who do not share his love of the ice.
"It's Lent season, so I give a lot away," Busch said. "A lot of people become your good friends when you've got fresh fish."
Staff writer Lauren Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or lauren.ober@lee.net
