The ice fishing season is on! Anglers are out on frozen lakes throughout the region. I have reports of good catches of perch coming all the way from Curlew Lake in the far north, to Moses Lake and Fish Lake, near Lake Wenatchee.
When I saw the amount of snow that we were going to get on Sunday in Leavenworth, I decided to check on the ice at Fish Lake on Saturday. The highway was slick with black ice on the way up Tumwater Canyon. When I arrived at about 8 a.m. I found a good crowd of anglers out on the ice and more unloading their gear to head out from the parking area.

The group of anglers I visited with had a good catch of perch piling up on the ice. They were using Swedish Pimples, baited with perch eyes. I measured the ice and saw there was just 3 inches of solid ice and another 3 inches or so of the layers of ice and snow that had formed in the past few days. The folks I talked to had been to Curlew Lake the day before. They got a late start as road conditions delayed their arrival, and they just got a dozen perch while there. Another plan to fish Curlew for perch is in the works, though. I have heard that there are anglers on the ice at Moses Lake, but don’t have a report on how they are doing. This week’s photo was taken at Fish Lake last Saturday.

I was sure that ice fishermen would be out in force up in Okanogan County, so I checked in with the folks at North 40 Outfitters to ask what was going on. They said that anglers are out on the ice on the more popular lakes. Curlew Lake is at the top of the list since it provides excellent fishing for the largest perch in the region. They said that the area near the State Park is where ice anglers start in the early season. In some years the perch move into deeper water and are harder to catch. Palmer Lake is producing good catches of perch at the south end. I should mention that Palmer has some of the biggest burbot in the state and they are caught through the ice with redsides used for bait.

Bonaparte is pretty good for brook trout and tiger trout and some kokanee. Some whopper tiger trout can be caught here. Another good kokanee lake is Patterson, near Winthrop. The perch in Patterson are running on the small side again this year. Leader Lake is another popular spot for anglers in the winter up north. It is known for rainbow trout and a mix of spiny rays.

Temperatures have dropped to single digits overnight and well below 20 degrees during the day. It looks like ice fishing season is coming earlier than last year at this time. The popularity of ice fishing has really grown in recent years and these temperatures have fans of fishing through hard water excited.

I am gearing up, as I plan to do more ice fishing this year. I want to remind people about safety first when it comes to venturing on the ice on your favorite lake. Stay off ice that is 3 inches or less in thickness. Four inches of ice is considered safe enough to support an average person’s weight. Fish Lake is at about 2,000 feet in elevation, and lakes at this height could be measured for thickness. Don’t be in a hurry. There is a lot more winter ahead of us with many more opportunities to enjoy ice fishing.

With ice fishing season now upon us, it’s time to go through a checklist of things you need for a successful day of fishing. First is an auger. Most people agree that one that drills a six-inch hole is adequate. Be sure the blades are razor sharp, and if not, replacement blades are easy to find. You will want to have a slotted spoon of some kind to keep the ice out of the hole. Chairs are nice to have and even if you plan to stand, get a carpet sample to put under your feet. They are cheap and create a layer between the ice and your boots that makes a big difference in keeping warm. I have some rod holders that keep my rods out of the snow and ice.

Dress in layers and have a good supply of pocket warmers, toe warmers and body warmers on hand. I have an Ororo heated jacket that keeps me warm even on the coldest days. I advise a coat be worn over a heated jacket to contain the heat. I also have Begleri heated socks. The jacket and socks have rechargeable batteries, and both of these items work great.

Although the lakes in our region are freezing over, there are still good opportunities for bank anglers and boaters in the winter. Anglers can troll Lake Chelan and can often get limits of kokanee and a bunch of cutthroat mixed in the catch. You can bet that there will be a lot of boaters fishing the upper end of Rufus Woods Reservoir for triploids and walleye. I want to try trolling above Chief Joseph Dam for triploids. My fishing buddy Jim Paine says he has good luck here, and I haven’t tried it in years. One of my rules of thumb about trolling in the winter is to try to fish days when the temperature is above 25 degrees. When it is colder than that your rigger cable will freeze to the spool and the same will be true for the line on your reel. It’s just no fun.

I can get away with bank fishing even when temperatures are lower than 25 degrees. I may have to swish my rod in the water to clear the guides of ice with each cast, but at least I am fishing. My favorite places to fish from shore are Brandts Landing and the middle net pens on Rufus Woods. I also like to fish Lake Roosevelt at Keller and above the dam at Spring Canyon.

I have stayed close to home as we have had single digit weather many days in Leavenworth. When I get my ice fishing gear organized I will be trying Fish Lake. It’s just 20 miles from me and loaded with perch. Hope to see you there.