OBSERVER Photo by Gene Pauszek Ken Tarnowski, Mike Porpiglia and Ed Nalepa try their luck ice fishing out of Dunkirk on Sunday.

Ice fishing conditions continue to stay good for now, but once the warm spell sets in, things could change quickly. As of Wednesday afternoon, there were reports of safe ice and good fishing from a variety of local areas. Rick Miller in Irving reports that fishermen have been catching walleye and yellow perch in 40-60 feet of water off the mouth of the Cattaraugus Creek, but have been launching their ice machines out of the Town of Hanover Park. Miller reports that there is one ice shove to contend with, but after you get past that, it is smooth sailing. Ice conditions were over 10 inches thick. A variety of walleye sizes were reportedly taken including some trophy-sized fish. Moving east, there has been some ice fishing reported out of Sturgeon Point, and further east also off Hamburg. Walleye and yellow perch continue to be the target fish. Both Lee Weber and Miller report having good supplies of live emerald shiners. On Chautauqua Lake, Skip Bianco from Hogan’s Hut/Stow reports that the walleye fishing was excellent over the weekend with Prendergast being the hot spot, followed by DeWittville and Long Point. Lots of limit catches of walleye in the 18-inch range. One angler reported doing well on some hand-sized blue gills, fishing out of Mayville. He commented that he was out a little deeper and away from the crowd when he found the aggressive panfish. Barcelona harbor ice looks like swiss cheese with all the ice fishing activity, but anglers report that the best action appears to be early in the morning. Over the weekend, there was some ice fishing activity near the City of Dunkirk Pier, but the catching seemed to be slow, with only a few hook-ups . Stream action should pick up when the warm weather moves in, and look for the fish to be more aggressive towards mid-day.

Calendar:

The Southtowns Walleye Association will hold their next monthly meeting on Thursday, Feb. 15 starting at 7:30 p.m. at the club located at 5895 Southwestern Blvd.,, Hamburg. Guest speaker will be Mike Steffes of Warrior Lures. In case you anglers have been wondering, there will be a Walleye Tournament sponsored by the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club this year on Aug. 3-5.

Our local chapter of Duck’s Unlimited will be holding their annual membership/fundraiser banquet on Feb. 24 at the Beaver Club. There are about 25 tickets left. Contact Ron Romance or any committee members soon.

The Friends of the NRA will be holding their banquet also on Feb. 24 at the American Legion Samuel Derby Post 556, located at 9 Meadow Lane, Frewsburg. Dinner is from 5-6:30 p.m. For more information, contact Jennifer Schmitt at 487-2487 or log on chautauquacountyfriendsofnra@yahoo.com.

The next gun show is on March 3-4 at Hickory Post VFW located at 5550 East State Street US Rt 62 East of PA 18, West of Mercer on 62 Hermitage, Pa.

Another gun show will be on March 17-18 at the Harborcreek Fire Department Social Hall located at 7275 Buffalo Road, US Rt 20 (located between North East, Pa. and Harborcreek, Pa. 16421).

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 44047. For more information, tables etc, contact Larry Spicer at 792-9972 e-mail LRgunshows@gmail.com. The Senaca Allegany Casino Events Center will host the annual Outdoor Show on February 24-25. Log on enchantedmountains.com for more information.

There will be a Sportsmen Flea/Yard sale at the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club on Sunday, Mar. 4 from noon until 5 p.m. Bring or look for old-new fishing, hunting, trapping, camping equipment etc. NO GUNS. Call Paul at 680-4629 for information.

The Western New York Sport & Travel Expo held at the Erie County Fairgrounds in Hamburg will be a four day event from March 8-11. Check out eriepromotions.com for more information.

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 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. *Note: Classes were on Tuesday evenings, but will now be held on 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.

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 14048, or call the sports dept. 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 e-mail Sports@observertoday.com.