OBSERVER Photo By Gene Pauszek Ice fishing continues on the east side of the Dunkirk Pier.

Sunny days and frozen nights are keeping area waterways ice-covered, at least for now. Judging by popular opinion, this winter appears to be lasting forever, but there are some positive signs of springtime ready to arrive. Turkey vultures, robins and flocks of Canadian geese heading south have all been observed for several weeks now, and the days are getting longer and slightly warmer. Ice fishing on the east side of the City of Dunkirk Pier remains popular with continued ice cover, and that ice is starting to look like swiss cheese with all the holes drilled by fishermen. There is a crack in the ice that is getting noticeably larger towards the north end — so use caution. There have been recent reports of yellow perch taken in this area, but the most abundant species continues to be steelhead trout. Rick Miller in Irving reports that the smaller creeks like Walnut and Silver Creek are open and fishable, and Cattaraugus Creek is stained but attracting some fishing effort.

Most of the stream activity appears to happen later in the day as the water temperature warms up. As the water continues to clear up, remember to use caution when approaching likely hot spots, to keep from alerting the fish to your presence. Anglers have been reporting suckers are already in the streams, and some of the ice anglers report that the female trout (hens) are already dropping their eggs. Skip Bianco from Hogan’s Hut/Stow reports that there is still ice cover on Chautauqua Lake. The ice cover is questionable, but that area received some heavy snowfall last week. Freezing temperatures after sundown continue to keep the channels from becoming open water. Ice fishing on Lake Erie — other than Dunkirk — has also been on hold. A tip of the hat to the City of Dunkirk for providing two portable toilets for angler/tourist convenience at the east end of the City Pier.

Calendar: The Eastern Lake Erie Charter Association will be having a meeting on Friday, starting at 7 p.m. at the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club. Topics covered will include: Volunteers needed for June 29 for the WNY Heroes Fishing (disabled veterans), The Innovative Fishing Tournament at Chadwick Bay Marina on Aug. 24-25, VIP day fishing on Aug. 8, and more.

There will be a free hunter safety training course at the Bear Lake Rod & Gun Club on March 28-29 from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. Two day attendance mandatory. Call Vince Luce at 753-6347 for registration information, or go to the DEC email address.

There will be a free hunter safety course at the Con Club on April 18-19 from 5 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. Two day attendance. Call Gary at 366-3397 for information.

On April 14-15, there will be a gun show at Ashtabula County Fair Grounds at the Expo Center Building, located at 127 North Elm St., Jefferson, Ohio. For more information, contact Larry Spicer at 792-9972 or email LRgunshows@gmail.com.

Billed as New York’s longest running tackle show, The Lockport NY 2018 Icebreakers will be held at the Elks Lodge, located at 6791 Canal Road, Lockport, on Saturday, March 24 from 9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. This is a great place to see old tackle, and connect with people involved with buying and selling antique fishing gear. For more info call Dan Bedford at 713-9410 or email wdanfran@aol.com.

The first annual Lake Erie Outdoor & Fishing Show is scheduled for April 21 at the Clarion Hotel Marina & Conference Center from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. They are still looking for vendors. Call 366-3000 ext. 420 or email mpatton@observertoday.com.

Monday night, free fly tying courses at the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club are from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. Tying vises, instruction and materials are all provided free. No registration is necessary. The Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club is located on Mullet Street in Dunkirk. Turn towards the lake at the Country Fair store located on Lakeshore Drive West (Route 5).

The Children of the Stream Youth Fly Fishing Program will be starting its 18th year of providing weekly free fly tying and fly fishing classes to both youths and adults in our area. Classes are Wednesday evenings from 7 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. at the Costello Community Room (P84) in the new addition to the Rockefeller Arts Center at SUNY Fredonia. You do not need any prior experience to attend these classes, and the course is geared towards ages 10 and older. For more information contact Alberto Rey at 410-7003 or alberto@albertorey.com.

The Great Lakes experience Festival in Dunkirk will return this year on June 9 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. The event will once again be held in Memorial Park. More details at a later date.

If your club or organization is holding a hunter safety training/trapping course or a turkey shoot or any other outdoors event, and would like to see it posted in the calendar, send information to the OBSERVER, 10 East Second Street, Dunkirk, NY 14048, or call the sports department at 366-3000 ext. 5 after 6 p.m.

Note: If you have a big-game fishing or trapping success story you would like to share, call 366-1772, or 467-2079 and leave a name, phone number and a time you can be reached. You can also call 366-3000, ext. 5, after 6 p.m. or email Sports@observertoday.com.