The ice surface resembled a frosty-glazed Swiss cheese by noon last Saturday after 248 contestants finished the Wilson Harbor Ice Fishing Contest.

Plans for this inaugural event began with possibly 100 anglers signing on to enter fish caught through Wilson Harbor ice in four categories: trout, pike, perch, and
 L. to R. Dennis Klinger, Wilson - Chris Wagner, Middleport- 11 yr old Brandon Ptak, Lockport - Ron Phelan , Eden    any panfish.

Pete Marotta at Feather & Fur Bait Shop in Wilson and Mark Daul, webmaster for OutdoorsNiagara.com, enlisted the aid of Chuck Booker with the Lake Ontario Tributary Council (LOTAC), Wilson-Tuscarora State Park officials, Wilson Conservation Club volunteers, and others in what was to be a modest fishing contest on harbor ice.

By late Friday morning before the contest, Marotta said, "We have nearly 100 entrants and can probably handle up to 120 anglers." But when all signed on Saturday morning the count more than doubled and all enjoyed a good time on sun-drenched harbor ice that measured more than a foot in most areas of Wilson Harbor.

Fish patterns were established early. The larger trout, both browns and steelies, were hitting around the piers close to the harbor mouth; perch and panfish scattered throughout the state park launch site and around back bays.

During the start of ice fishing season, Marotta had reported an uptick in northern pike catches. Perch catches were solid and a variety of other panfish (bluegill, crappie, and river rudd) catches made things look good for a separate category for adults and kids to enter catches in this derby.

But when weigh-ins began at 12:15 p.m. at a table set up at the entrance to Wilson Conservation Club, only one northern pike, a 26 5/8-inch entry, came through.

Dozens of others filed through for official entry, door prizes, and places in the Adult and Junior divisions. Area anglers dominated the list of entrants, but others traveled from Alden, Friendship, Oswego and other homes to fish Wilson Harbor ice.

Newfane angler Chris Wagner's northern took all places in the Pike Division. One angler released what was assumed to be an undersized pike that measured about 22 inches. A check of statewide fish lengths pegs northern pike as keepers at 18 inches. Blame the bright sunshine, the extensive foot and machine traffic around the harbor, or bad bait karma, the pike bite was slight.

Not so for perch and other panfish. Along with the winning entries, many a bucket of sizable perch came off the ice around noon that day.

Brandon Ptak of Lockport, youngest entrant at 11 to finish first in the Adult Division, won the Panfish Category with a 12-inch river rudd, a nuisance fish that has entered area waters through the Mississippi River system. Like white perch, white (silver) bass, and many other "exotic" panfish, rudd cook up well just after the catch; they don't have great shelf or storage life. For Brandon, a 12-inch rudd was worth the ride.

Many bigger perch were scattered on ice surfaces around the harbor that morning, and Eden angler Ron Phelan brought in the best, by length, a 13 3/4-inch ringback.

Phelan, a generous guy, contributed his winning and other fish to a friend who was planning a big fish fry. In the true spirit of honest reporting, Phelan held up a borrowed 9-inch perch for the photo that accompanies this column. That fish has the distinctive ring markings on its back, but by the time the winners' photos were taken, Phelan's fish was headed to the fryer.

Dennis Klinger of Wilson topped all in the Trout Category with a 27“-inch brown. Despite a solid presence of rainbow/steelhead trout caught that day, browns dominated the tape measuring. Even brown trout entries out of the top three looked impressive. Robin Coomey of Burt fished with son Nikolas Coomey, 11. His 25-inch brown took some time to bring through the ice.

Other youths did well in the Junior Division. Kids entered fish in perch and panfish divisions. Brandon Few of Lockport topped the Perch Division with an 11 1/8-inch entry. Second and third places went to Kevin Brown of Ransomville (9-inch) and Colin Croop of North Tonawanda (8 7/8 inches).

Roman Tomasi of Friendship took first in the Panfish Division at 7 3/16. Travis Schurr of Lakewood got second at 7 inches; Jayden Szalanski of Lockport finished third with a 6 3/4-inch entry.

Chuck Booker handled door prize drawings and presentations of all awards the LOTAC group donated. The Wilson Conservation Club accommodated the extensive crowd and each of the 35 registered kids went home with a special prize or two.

To check out additional fish-catch photos, contest details, and winners in all divisions, go to www.outdoorsniagara.com