This past weekend was ideal for ice fishing as continued freezing temperatures managed to produce some fishable ice on local ponds and lakes. And barring any heat-ups, this upcoming Saturday should be equally as good.

It's been proven that first ice at the beginning of the season and last ice at the end of the season, is the best time to ice fish and when fish are on the feed.

Willie from Willie's Bait & Tackle in Cementon and adjacent to the Lehigh River, reports that couple customers went to Ontelaunee Reservoir where the ice was 6-7 inches at spots on Saturday, and they all picked up a bunch of crappies, perch and a few largemouth bass.

Willie also said Lake Minsi in Northampton County yielded some nice perch for a customer where ice there was close to 5 inches. He also received several reports of good ice ranging from 8-10 inches at northern Pocono area lakes like White Deer, Tobyhanna, Goldsboro, Promised Land, Pecks Pond and Shohola where one buddy picked up a bunch of bluegills there and two sizable pickerel. Most fish no matter what lake fished, were caught mostly on waxworks and mousies with a few falling for shiners and minnows.

Chris from Chris' Bait & Tackle in Mertztown, and the eyes and ears for Ontelaunee Reservoir in upper Berks County says there's a good 6-8 inches of ice on Ontelaunee and anglers are picking up crappies and largemouth bass. One customer used a jumbo pike shiner to jig-up a 6.1-pound largemouth from there. Peters Creek Cove is the most popular spot and Chris said customers are buying everything from mousies, fathead minnows, shiners to wax worms for success there.

Chris also reported that Leaser Lake is fishing fairly good for trout and panfish atop 6 plus inches if ice. Again, most ice fishermen are using the aforementioned live bait, which seems to be the ticket in this early season.

Experienced ice anglers know that ice conditions on any lake can vary from location to location. The places to be extra careful around or avoid is moving water from feeder streams, rivers and springs that can cause ice to form unevenly. The consensus is that it's truly up to anglers to learn the ice conditions from other ice fishers, snowmobilers, fishing clubs or bait shops around the area of the waters.

If you've never ice fished before, all you need are the basics, which includes a hand auger (avoid large diameter ones that require more effort to cut a hole), a set of tip-ups, a skimmer to clear ice from the hole, and if you'd like, a jigging rod (a short trout rod will do). Most species can be caught on tip-ups baited with minnows that are generally best set near the bottom, according to veteran ice anglers, then varied at different depths until you catch fish. Crappies, for instance, can be caught at all depths and you can use a small split shot as a marker on your line so you can quickly return to the same depth when you catch your first fish.

Bluegills are best targeted with a light jigging rod and tiny ice jigs tipped with mousies, wax worms or mealworms. A light rod with a soft tip is needed for detecting light bites that often occur during ice fishing. And light mono line, like 2 or 4-pound test, is preferred as the latter is still strong enough to haul in a 5-6 pound bass through the ice.

All said and done, ice fishing is a great way to enjoy the outdoors, especially when taking a youngster or two along. And it's tough to beat the taste of fresh caught crappie, perch or walleye through the ice.