Ice Fishing Safety

Anglers were out on Cocolalla, Fernan, Hauser and a few other lakes last weekend. The ice had just formed, but these avid ice anglers could not wait any longer. Most waters in the Idaho Panhandle are open to ice fishing. Anyone interested in ice fishing should carefully review the regulations for special rules that apply only to ice fishing. There is a restriction on the size of hole you can make for safety purposes; and, ice anglers are permitted to use more lines than those not fishing through the ice. Anglers also need to know the regulations because there are bag limits or size restrictions on some waters in our area. Once you know the regulations for the water you want to fish, the question potential ice anglers are asking is, "How much ice is needed to be safe?" The safe load that ice will bear is not dependent entirely upon its thickness but there are some reliable rules of thumb. A minimum of three inches of clear, blue ice (preferably four inches), will support a single angler, and five inches will hold several anglers in single file. Thickness is not the only consideration. How the ice formed and weather following formation are important to assessing the integrity of ice. Slush ice is only about half as strong as clear ice, so anglers should double the minimum thickness figures when encountering ice that appears cloudy in color. Any lake with moving water in it, whether from an inlet, a spring, or an outlet should be regarded with skepticism. Water movement, no matter how slight, retards freezing and speeds thawing. This often results in hard to detect thin spots. Be suspicious of any discolored ice. Imbedded materials, such as weeds, rocks or logs weaken ice. Large objects in or on the ice such as duck blinds or ice shanties can absorb heat from the sun and weaken ice. Ice near shore may also be weakened by warmth from the ground. Anglers, skaters, snowmobilers etc. need to keep in mind that a sudden warm spell can change conditions quickly and that caution must always be used before venturing forth on ice covered lakes. When the weather changes, ice conditions quickly change. Ice weakens with age. Late in the season, when it turns dark and gets "honeycombed," it's time to quit for the season. A cold snap sometimes halts the deterioration, but honeycombed ice will never refreeze to its original strength. Northern Idaho waters provide excellent ice fishing opportunity for yellow perch and northern pike. Also available at times are crappie, bluegill, bass, cutthroat, rainbow and kokanee. Mornings and evenings are often the most productive fishing times. For yellow perch and other panfish, auger a few holes until you find a spot about 20-25 feet deep and fish just above the bottom using maggots, cut bait or black maribou jigs. Occasional movement of your bait or lure will trigger strikes. Those who prefer to catch trout will do better with their bait suspended in the water column rather than just above the bottom. Ice fishing for trout is often better in shallower water along shorelines. Try several depths until you find trout. Any type of the bait additives adding scent or color will likely improve your success. Places where action should be good (provided the ice is solid) include Avondale, Upper Twin, Cocolalla, Rose, and Fernan Lakes. Try Medicine, Killarney, or Coeur d'Alene (when well frozen) for pike. Shallow bays with lots of weed growth on Hayden Lake are also productive for pike. Use smelt or herring 3-4 feet below the ice. When ice conditions permit, try Spirit Lake for kokanee in the very early morning. Kokanee live in schools, so look for anglers catching fish. Without crowding other anglers, auger a hole nearby. Use a bead chain with a maggot tipped glow hook. Ice anglers are permitted five lines, however any more than two or three are difficult to keep baited and watched at any particular time. Holes may be no more than ten inches in diameter for safety reasons. I once took a call once from an angler complaining that the fish were too big because he couldn't get them through the ten inch hole. I told him I'd better come and check it out for myself, but he wouldn't tell me where he was fishing! After safety considerations, the second most important thing to remember is that a new license is required January 1st. For more information, look us up on the web. There is also a private website called "iceshanty.com" where many people report on how conditions are and how successful they have been fishing. On that site, go to the Idaho Panhandle forum and there are usually several new posts every day when the ice is on. Please do not call IDFG asking if the ice on a particular lake is safe. Conditions change so quickly that we cannot keep track of ice conditions on each lake daily. Good luck, be safe and stay warm.