Staying safe while ice fishing

Sub-zero temperatures last week were unwelcomed by many people in North Idaho. But ice anglers couldn’t have been happier.

The last three winters have been very poor for ice fishing in our area. Temperatures didn’t stay below freezing long enough to create good ice for extended periods of time in recent memory.

Ice anglers are hopeful that this winter could be different. People have already been out on the ice on Cocolalla and Avondale and likely a few other lakes. The ice had just formed, but these avid ice anglers could not wait any longer.

One person I talked to said he fished a local lake for one hour and spent two hours at home cleaning a bunch of perch.

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 safety restriction on the size of hole you can make. And, ice anglers are permitted to use more lines than those not fishing through the ice.

As is the case with any outdoor recreation, safety is something that must be considered in addition to the regulations. Callers to the IDFG office often ask how much ice is needed to safely support a person?

The safe load that ice will bear is not dependent entirely upon its thickness. A minimum of three inches of clear, blue ice, will support a single angler, and five inches will hold several anglers. But ice thickness is not the only consideration. The manner in which the ice formed and weather following formation are also important to assessing the integrity of ice. Slush ice is only about half as strong as clear ice. 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 canal, springs, groundwater seepages 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 the sun’s heat and weaken ice. Ice near shore may also be weakened by heat 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.

North Idaho offers some excellent ice fishing 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, with some slower action periods in the middle of the day.

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 seems to 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 when solid ice forms 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 other anglers catching fish. Without crowding them too much, 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 10 inches in diameter for safety reasons. I once took a call from an angler complaining that the fish were too big because he couldn’t get them through the 10-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 Jan. 1.

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 “this or that” water is safe. Conditions change so quickly that we cannot be certain what you may find when you get to an area lake.

Good luck, be safe and dress in layers!

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Phil Cooper is a wildlife conservation educator employed with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.