Submitted Photo Brycen Fuhrman is pictured with his Vermont moose tagged with help from Hunt of a Lifetime.

Ice fishermen can celebrate the return of freezing temperatures.

Hard-water fishermen have found some pan fish success at Clear Lake and the Buffalo Small Boat Harbor, the latter yielding some smaller-sized yellow perch and a few smelt.

As of Thursday evening, the Dunkirk Harbor was getting iced over, but no report on any safe ice there as of now. Area streams are iced up and Chautauqua Lake has safe ice over the entire lake. According to Zach, my contact at Hogan’s Hut, there are 5 to 6 inches of hard ice with another 3 inches of slush ice on top.

Anglers were out trying their luck on Thursday, heading out to Long Point, Bemus Point and Celoron with no reports as of Thursday. Rick Miller and Justin Stevens report having a good supply of live bait to meet customer needs, including golden shiners and a limited supply of certified emeralds, as well as mousies, spikes and wax worms. Chautauqua Reel Outdoors has a monthlong ice fishing contest, too.

The Southtowns Walleye Association has a newly elected president in Ron Kucinski. Ron and the Southtowns Walleye Association are looking forward to a promising walleye fishing season and overcoming and outlasting the ravages of the COVID pandemic.

COVID has already canceled the Niagara Outdoors Show and prompted the change of dates for the Outfitters Fair from Jan. 15 to Feb. 19. It will be held at the Southtowns Walleye Facility located at 5895 Southwestern Blvd., Hamburg. Like any well-run organization, maintaining and increasing club membership will be vital for this worthwhile club to prosper. General meetings are usually the third Thursday of the month and starting in March the meetings will start at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30 p.m. They plan on holding their annual perch contest (weather permitting) on Saturday, May 21 and their popular walleye derby on June 11-19. They would love to have you become a member.

Did you know that after hatching, Chinook salmon spend just four months in a tributary before taking a trip downstream to spend the majority of their life in Lake Ontario. On the other hand, Coho salmon spend one and a half years in tributaries before migrating out to the lake. This is from the DEC Fishing Line.

Here is a letter sent by Brycen Fuhrman. Brycen is a young man who was suffering from leukemia. His father was a Navy Corpsman stationed in Afghanistan helping wounded Marines. Imagine how helpless he felt being unable to help his son in his fight against cancer. Brycen wanted his family to be together, and he secretly had a wish to hunt moose in Vermont. His wishes were granted. Hunt of a Lifetime provided him, accompanied with his dad, the opportunity to tag a moose. Six days after tagging her moose Brycen and his family celebrated her fifth-year anniversary of her last chemo dose. Brycen stated in his letter, “I hope you continue to donate so other kids get to live their dreams of these hunts.” Respectfully Brycen Fuhrman.

To learn more about Hunt of a lifetime, go to www.huntofalifetime.org or call Tina Pattison at 814-572-4387.

If you have a photo or story you would like to share, call 366-1772 or 785-3659.

Go Bills.