My family and friends has really enjoyed the opportunity to ice fish Henrys lake since icefishing was allowed through the month of December.
The open water anglers get 5 to 5 1/2 months access time most year, icefishermen get 4 to 6 weeks, dependent on the year.
Are there any future possibilities to allow ice fishermen access until 28 February?
Answer:
Thanks for your interest in ice fishing Henrys Lake. We extended the season in 2011 to allow for more opportunity for anglers. Like you, many anglers have expressed a lot of satisfaction with this longer season. However, there are others who would like to see the rules returned to a more conservative level, and cite the lack of big fish in recent years as justification for more restrictive rules. Based on IDFG biological data, the smaller sized fish seen in 2011 - 2013 are the result of an increased abundance of wild fish, and not overharvest by anglers (particularly ice fisherman), as some suggest. We have implemented a program to restore the size structure of the population, and have reduced stocking levels by nearly a half-million fish annually. We are starting to see fish size increase, and anglers are reporting catching larger fish again. Once we bring that population back in balance, we can consider additional changes to the regulations, but for the time being, we intend to focus our efforts on restoring balance to the size structure of that population.
If you have additional questions or comments, feel free to contact me at 525-7290.
Dan Garren
Regional Fisheries Manager
Answered on:
Monday, December 29, 2014 - 4:29 PM MST