There are a very good number of anglers enjoying the colder weather we’ve had this winter, by fishing through the ice on many of our area lakes. This has been one of best ice fishing seasons we’ve had in recent years. People give me funny looks when I say I am going to go ice fishing. I just tell them “Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it!” Dress right and get a sharp auger and it’s a great way to spend a winter day.

The ice fishing season is probably the shortest season we see here in North Central Washington. This year we have had good ice conditions on many of the more popular lakes, but how long that will last depends on the weather. It has been cold, but the forecast for warmer temperatures in the coming week may be a sign that the end of the season may be coming soon. You will want to get in as many trips as you can right away.

I checked in with the folks at North 40 Outfitters in Omak to see how the fishing is at a couple of the better lakes up north. The best report is for burbot at Palmer Lake. Lots of people are out, mostly at night, and success has been good. They are using large jigs or spoons baited with nightcrawlers to get them. Palmer is known for producing some of biggest bubbot, or freshwater ling, in the state. These fish may not be much to look at, but they make that up in their delicate flavor.

The perch have moved out of the shallow water near the State Park on Curlew Lake, but anglers that are fishing in water that is 40 feet or more in depth are still getting good catches of large perch. Those who are fishing Bonaparte Lake can be frustrated. One day its good and next not so much.

Also, not many anglers have been fishing Rufus Woods. Freezing, below freezing temperatures have discouraged boaters from making the run down from Seatons Grove, or the long run up the reservoir from Bridgeport. This may change with the warmer weather that is forecasted for the near future.
One of my followers sent me a photo of people ice fishing on Roses Lake, near Lake Chelan. This lake doesn’t get thick enough ice for safe fishing most years, so I ran up there to check it out. I was pleased to see that the road into the lake had been plowed as was the parking lot. There were a couple of anglers that had just started fishing and two groups of other anglers loading their sleds to head out on the ice. I took my auger along and drilled a hole to measure the thickness of the ice. I was surprised to find it eight inches thick. This is the best layer of ice I have seen on Roses Lake in years. This week’s photo was taken at Roses Lake.

Roses would be a great destination for anglers in the winter. It receives a very generous plant of catchable size rainbow in the fall. It also has good populations of perch, bluegill, and crappie. The ice is safe now, but there is some warm weather forecasted for the coming week, so I don’t know how long it will last.

The most recent report I got on Roses indicated that anglers are catching lots of small rainbow through the ice. There are some carryover rainbow mixed with the catches of the rainbow that were planted earlier this fall.

I stopped by the Mill Bay launch and found that just two boats had launched. They must have run up lake to look for kokanee as they were nowhere in sight in the lower basin. According to my brother Rick Graybill, kokanee fishing has been very good, and there are some kings being caught on Lake Chelan as well.
As winter grinds along, there have been obstacles that have cropped up to me out of the field. My wife tested positive for COVID, but the symptoms weren’t too serious. I tested negative but until we both got negative test results we would be staying home. I am happy to report that we both tested negative later last week.

In the meantime, I brushed up my Power Point presentation that I did virtually for the Seattle Boat Show. I understand that many of the presenters have opted to do their seminars via Zoom this year. It’s not as much fun as having a live audience to interact with, but at least the Boat Show can provide the seminars, which are a huge draw to the show. You can buy a ticket that allows you to watch all the seminars during the show and then anytime up to three months after the show. Learn about it at seattleboatshow.com.

With time on my hands and since I wasn’t going anywhere I decided to attack the clutter in my garage. I have been putting off getting all my stuff organized and put away. Now I don’t have any excuses for letting things continue to pile up. Last year I found that a rodent had chewed through a scent bottle and it leaked all over my box of spools of line. What a mess. Serves me right.

I am happy to report that I can now see the top of my workbench and have made real progress on sorting out the gear that was scattered all over the place. I was gifted several storage bins and have put them to good use. I do need to label the drawers though, or I will be opening and closing them as I search for what I need for my next fishing trip.

I was pleased to see the forecasts for much warmer days in the coming week. It will make it easier for people to get out on the water. I want to get some ice fishing in while the sun is shining. Plus, I want to try to get some of the kokanee that are being caught on Fish Lake. My plan is to jig Kokabow Tackle blades with a Swedish Pimple below it. I hear this is a very effective way to get kokanee through the ice. Maybe I will see you out there. It’s still chilly enough at night to keep the ice nice and solid.