Anglers waiting for ice on Anchor Bay

FAIR HAVEN - There are optimists — and then there are anglers.

Even though it hasn't been cold enough to keep a skim of ice on the roadside ditches, anglers still are hoping they'll be able to get out on Lake St. Clair at some point before spring.

"There's going to be some sort of ice, probably on the canals," said John Johnson, of St. Clair. He was buying spring bobbers and other ice-fishing gear at Angler's Outfitters, 1426 Oakland Ave., St. Clair.

Bill Barrons, who owns Angler's Outfitters, had more of a glass-half-empty outlook.

"I don't expect ice this year, I really don't," he said.

Dan Thompson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service forecast office in White Lake Township, said winter — which started Monday — likely will be milder than usual.

"It's hard to predict things like that that, but the official outlook is for warmer than usual temperatures to continue this winter," he said.

"Shallower bodies of water will freeze quicker," he said. "There have been times at night when temperatures have dipped below freezing, but it hasn't been too often this month."

He said this is a strong El Niño year characterized by warm water temperatures in the central and east central equatorial Pacific.

"It's likely due to El Niño," he said. "It's hard to point to one specific factor because there's a lot of things working. ... But in an El Niño year, warmer temperatures are favored and certainly that is what we're seeing this year."

Joel Anderson, owner of Anderson's Pro Bait, 2731 Pine Grove Ave., Port Huron, said he cut back on buying ice-fishing gear to sell in his store.

"My brother-in-law is a meteorologist for the commodities markets," Anderson said. "I talk to him every year before I go to Wisconsin to buy my ice-fishing equipment."

Based on what he heard, Anderson said he bought about a third of what he usually stocks.

"The stores that flip the quarter and hope they have ice, they're going to be struggling," he said.

Barons said he put a hold on purchasing larger items, such as portable ice shanties, until later in the winter.

Brian King, who owns Brian's Blue Water Bait, 8089 Dixie Highway, Ira Township, is used to seeing a small city of ice shanties, complete with buzzing snowmobiles and ATVs, on Anchor Bay this time of year.

He's seeing water this winter.

"I'm not even going to speculate," he said. "I'm absolutely hoping (for ice).

"You kind of look at the next three months, they say 10 degrees above normal. Everybody's wondering if it's going to happen or not."

He said he also cut back on buying gear to sell in his store.

"Normally, winter is the busiest time of the year," King said.

King said some of the bait shops around Lake St. Clair in Macomb County have laid off their help.

"Me being a one-man show, it's a little easier for me," he said. "I just tighten up the reins and hold on."

With no ice to contend with, anglers have continued to fish from seawalls in the St. Clair River and from docks and boats.

"There's been a handful of guys going out from here," King said. "If the forecast stays warm, hopefully the Department of Natural Resources will put the docks back in (at the boat launch)."

Ralph Brown, of Smiths Creek,was fishing for steelhead and walleye in the St. Clair River at Thomas Edison Parkway in Port Huron.

"The weather is fine," he said.

He said the fishing was slow.

"The water's too clear," Brown said. "It's very slow fishing. Gotta get a north wind to muddy it up."

Barrons said anglers fishing for perch and sunfish need to use the same tactics as they do ice fishing: Small baits such as waxworms and mousies — moth and fly larvae — fished on small hooks with light lines.

"Three years ago we were out in the boats all winter long," Johnson said.

Anderson there was little ice in 2006 but he had an outstanding February that year because anglers were vertically jigging for walleye in the St. Clair River near Algonac.

"The stores on Lake St. Clair, upwards of 40 percent of their sales is ice fishing," he said.

"I don't get rich from ice fishing, but I don't go broke from it."

Contact Bob Gross at (810) 989-6263 or rgross@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobertGross477.

If You Go

If you're fishing from shore or a boat, you could get wet, which increases the risk of hypothermia. The U.S. Coast Guard has the following cold water and ice safety tips:

• Always wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket and dress for the lake temperature. A life jacket helps a person float without using a lot of energy and allows the person to assume the Heat Escape Lessening Position - HELP - by bringing the knees close to the chest and holding them in place by wrapping the arms around the shins.
• Never go out on the water without a buddy.
• Always check and monitor the marine weather forecast before and during any trip on the Great Lakes or connecting waters.
• Carry a registered personal locator beacon and a marine radio to alert the Coast Guard and local safety agencies of problems.
• Carry all recommended safety gear, such as visual distress signals and a horn or whistle, in the pocket of your life jacket.
• Always tell family and friends where you are going and when you plan to be back - and stick to the plan or notify them if plans change.