HOW TO START ICE FISHING

Last time we checked, winter is the best time to ice fish. And while some parts of the Northwest are beginning to moderate, lakes in inland regions as well as at higher elevations should stay frozen and fishable the longest. Here’s advice I received from Roger Phillips of Idaho Fish and Game on how to start.

Just do it: “Just go – ice fishing can be as simple as digging a hole and dropping in a worm. But there is skill to this; you have to learn it, talk to experts and possibly invest in electronics. You get to decide how serious you want to get about the fishing.”

Be mobile: “The thing about ice fishing is that the fish are fairly lethargic. Perch tend to school up, and trout do as well, to some extent. Give it about 15 to 30 minutes in a spot, then move.”

Maximize effort: “First off, take advantage of the five lines you can have in the water in Idaho. It’s not all that expensive. You can build a tip-up system with a dowel, a flag and wire – a couple bucks at most … As far as electronics, you can go complicated, but you can also go cheap. Some of them are little bobberlooking things that are fairly cheap. You connect to it with a cell phone app. A vital part of ice fishing – all lake fishing – is knowing that there is nothing underneath you. Knowing that the fish are not there is a very valuable piece of information.”

Build a knowledge base: “You gotta learn the lake, learn the conditions and build on the success you have had. You might go one day and catch no fish; you might go the next and catch one. Did you learn anything or did you just catch the one dumb fish swimming around? It’s all about learning the lake and building on the successes you have had. There is nothing wrong with hearing about a hot bite and digging a hole relatively close to those that are already fishing an area.”

Find a mentor: “It has always surprised me how friendly people are out on the ice, just how willing they are to help you be successful. When you approach people really respectfully and are honest with them – ‘Hey, I don’t really know what I am doing, I would love it if you could show me something’– I’d bet nine out of ten times on the ice you walk away with some wisdom and maybe even a new friend. The ice is much more communal than combat fishing elsewhere.”

Use the “poor man’s” fish finder: “Go look where a bunch of people are fishing on the ice. Go there and get started.”

Dress for success: “Cold? Well, yeah, you are standing on ice. Most people think that it’s going to be uncomfortable, it’s gonna be hard. I’ve been out on the ice on a day that never got above 10 degrees. It was bright, it was sunny and not a breath of wind. I swear to you I was peeling layers all day long. Dress in layers, be prepared. Take care of your hands and your feet and go give it a try … Even if you don’t get anything, at least you got out on a winter day.”

Safety first: “The first time I heard ice groan I was ready to sprint for shore. Four inches of clear ice for a single person is the minimum. Just realize what you are doing – you are standing on ice. If in doubt, drill a hole and check depth. Just be careful so you can come back and enjoy it another day. If something does not look right, just don’t go there.” –RK than summertime fish, but I never really believed it. How was that even possible? Well, a little investigation informed me.

Tired of taking discussion-board advice on the topic, I called Roger Phillips with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and asked him about ice fishing. He was super insightful on why fish pulled through ice taste better.

“That is from the blue-green algae, that creates it,” says Phillips. He explained that warm summer months grow a lot of algae, which can in turn make the fish taste bad.

“For some reason perch always have a good reputation, no matter what time of year. But with trout you always hear about how they are tasting muddy in the summer ... A lot of algae blooms affect the taste of the fish. People always rave about how good the fish taste pulled out of the ice. With trout there is actually science behind it; they really do taste better in the winter,” Phillips adds.

That was all the proof and enough culinary motivation for me to want to hit the hard stuff again. Trout caught through the ice just taste gooder. NS

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