hello,  Im kind of new to fresh water fishing. Ive recently moved up by lake George NY and did good in the fall for pike and bass with lures and bait. But the lake behind the house is frozen except for a strip about 20 yrd.s wide by 75 yrd.s long from the creek outflow. I was wondering if fish will still hit lures there. mostly a top water fisherman.  thank you good luck 

try.

I fish from shore when I put my boat away in November till ice up, and then again when the ice starts to melt in Spring until open water. I have never had success with top water. The fish at this point are very sluggish and will not chase bait. You can try slowly dragging a rattle trap, and I mean really slow, till the point of hardly moving the bait, but I found this technique works better in Spring when the water is warming as the days go on. Your best bet if you have to fish would be to throw out a bobber with a live shiner or golden roach on it if you are looking for northern pike. All other species of fish now want a slow to no presentation. You see I ice fished for years and use to watch the fish come up to the bait with a camera. Many times they would strike on a still line where there is no movement, and the bait is doing all the action. This is just my opinion.

I've had some great days fishing 20 yard by 20 yard open areas. The answer is YES....... what? That's up to you.

Bass fishing isn't written in books so give it a go... I probably wouldn't throw a top water, but then again you never know.. all waters are different... last year i was fishing a tiny pond right after ice out with COLD waters and was catching them on kvd 1.5 slowly worked below the surface and throwing a rebel frog-r working slowly..