A Tale Of Two Fish

he cold snap was not unexpected but it certainly was longer than normal. So long, in fact, that a lake that hardly ever freezes over had done so and was now offering up an ice fishing opportunity. CJ Strike is a reservoir owned and operated by Idaho Power and is located at the convergence to the Bruneau and Snake Rivers in Southwest Idaho. When it ices up, it allows for epic bluegill, trout and perch fishing. So when I saw reports on Facebook about solid ice and decent fishing, I hatched a plan.

In The Wild

Tblind I sometimes use for turkey hunting. Oh, and an ax and a drill, plus a spud bar I borrowed from a Minnesota buddy. It felt like we were equipped well enough to catch a fish, and my bank account didn’t have to suffer much more than funding bait and gas buys.

Now, I am no crystal ball user, but when the hot bite is “on,” you typically know it by the look of the ice. If the fish are biting, people are on the ice. When we got to CJ Strike it was not crowded at all. There was a smattering of ice holes, a few wellinsulated old men and not much else. Still, we poured our coffee and set to it.

fishing days past. All in all, a wonderful day.

But to say the fishing was slow is an understatement. Three perch and a small trout came through the ice. Not exactly a haul, but not nothing either. (I contributed nada to that catch; my line never even got a bump).

TRADITION HOLDS THAT those who catch, keep – but no one wanted to keep the meat from these four fish. “CJ Strike fish taste like pond water” is a normal refrain. And, well, they can be right.

That weekend we went out with a couple of buckets, our bass rods and a tent

We dug random holes, mostly to keep warm. We moved locations. We went for walks to chat with said well-insulated old men, who regaled us with stories of ice

But I took those little buggers home and made a great dish anyway. And shockingly, the fish tasted bright, fresh and clean. That confused me a bit, so I started looking into it. I have heard over the years that fish that come through ice taste better