As Warm Winter Continues, Ice Fishermen Grow Anxious

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LAKE EIRE (Erie News Now) — Ice fishermen are disappointed with the lack of ice available for them to go fishing this winter due to the unusually warm weather.

“It’s got a lot of people anxious,” said Jerry Skrypzak, President of the S.ON.S. of Erie. “We had four or five days of ice.”

But Skrypzak says, in his experience, it’s not unusual to have a warmer January.

“There’s always a January thaw,” said Skrypzak. “I’m guessing that sometime in February it’ll come back. It usually does.”

Erie News Now meteorologist A.J. Mastrangelo isn’t as optimistic.

“So peak ice coverage usually comes mid-February,” said Mastrangelo. “Just because we have no ice in January doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing those colder temperatures and some of that ice forming later in the year. But for the next six to ten days, it’s not looking too good. Above average temperatures are favored as we continue into our first week of February. So moving forward, not looking too good, but never say never.”