Presque Isle Bay in Lake Erie is one of the top winter fishing destinations in the United States, according to FishingBooker, an online reservation service for fishing trips.

The online service reviewed its database of user-booked trips to come up with a list of the top 10 across the United States.

“Among such a mix of top winter fishing destinations, we would be remiss not to mention Presque Isle Bay as a major ice fishing competitor,” noted Fishing Booker.

“This tiny bay is nestled in the nook of Lake Erie and is the first to benefit from safe ice cover. The fastest and easiest way to get there is from the city of Erie, although you can easily drive there from either Pittsburgh or Cleveland.

“Presque Isle Bay is one of the first places to provide fishermen with safe ice for fishing, and it can happen as early as December. As soon as conditions allow, horny ice fishermen flock from across the country and start digging holes.

“The prospect of yellow perch, northern pike and sunfish will also be enough to forget the cold. The top of the bay is usually the best place to start your ice fishing excursion.

“If you don’t like the idea of ​​being exposed to the elements all day, there are ice huts you can use to keep warm.

“Presque Isle Bay is the gateway to ice fishing on Lake Erie, which makes it such a popular winter fishing destination. To get a head start, stay on top of weather reports and be ready to hit the ice when the opportunity arises.

The other destinations on the top 10 list are Kenai, Alaska; Morro Bay, California; South Padre Island, Texas; Lincoln City, Oregon; Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, Alabama; Bristol, Tennessee and Virginia; Elephant Butte Lake, New Mexico; and Bozeman, Montana; and Miami.

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Presque Isle is a 3,200 acre sandy peninsula that flows into Lake Erie from a point 4 miles west of downtown Erie in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Almost the entire peninsula is occupied by Presque Isle State Park, a day-use park that offers Pennsylvania only the “seaside”, with recreational activities such as birding, swimming, boating. , fishing, hiking, biking and rollerblading.

The peninsula creates a natural bay of 5.8 square miles off the coast of Erie. It is about 4.6 miles long and 1.8 miles wide at most, with an average depth of around 20 feet.

FishingBooker offers more than 30,000 fishing trips in more than 2,000 destinations around the world.

Contact Marcus Schneck at [email protected].