Chills & thrills

The recent cold snap that ushered the Inland Northwest into winter was greeted warmly by anglers pulling plastic sleds onto lakes freshly covered with ice. The frigid temperatures came with little wind, and by last weekend a solid 5 to 6 inches of skating-smooth ice had formed on some — but not all — of the region’s lakes.

“I checked out the east end of Fernan (last weekend) and the ice was still too thin, so I went to the west end where it was thicker,” said Ned Horner, Idaho Fish and Game Department regional fisheries manager. “And the Priest Lake mackinaw fishermen were still waiting for ice.”

Anglers who scouted around had little trouble finding winter hot spots from the Idaho Panhandle to the special winter trout fishery at Fourth of July Lake near Sprague.

Clear sunny days, however, had a noticeable effect on when fish were caught last weekend.

Early birds who braved single-digit temperatures walked off Eastern Washington’s Hog Canyon and Fourth of July Lakes by 8 a.m. with limits of rainbow trout last Saturday. Anglers who came after them enjoyed the warm sunshine but struggled to catch a fish or two until the bite seemed to pick up in late afternoon.

“Even under the ice, the fish definitely seem to prefer low-light conditions,” Horner said. “I was fishing Avondale (Lake) on Saturday and it was slow, but between 3 and 4:15 in the afternoon I did really well for perch, bluegill and bass.”

Chris Donley, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife district fish biologists, said it’s possible to dupe fish on bright winter days by anchoring a large sheet of black plastic on the ice and cutting your fishing hole through the middle of it.

The fish might react to the shaded area below as they would to a dock in summer, schooling up and dropping their guard, he said.

“Just be sure to take home the plastic when you leave,” Donley said.

A sharp auger that quickly bores a hole in the ice is an essential tool. “You don’t want to sit in one spot too long if you’re not catching fish,” Horner said. “Sometimes you have to go find them.”

Different techniques tend to target different species.

“In most cases, I’m targeting perch, so I move around a lot to find the schools and I jig right off the bottom,” Horner said.

“I think jigging helps attract the fish, and I’ve caught a lot of trout just jigging for perch. But if I’m targeting trout I use PowerBait or my favorite, steelhead roe, and fish up in the water column 5 to 10 feet under the ice. I usually just set a bobber up on the edge of the ice with enough slack so that when the bobber disappears I pick up the rod.

“Crappie and bluegill prefer a smaller presentation — smaller jigs, lighter line, single maggots on a real thin hook. You fish for them next to weed beds and structure.”

For 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 marabou jigs.

“Once you catch a few, perch definitely seem to like hooks baited with perch eyes,” Horner said.

And while anglers must be cautious to check for changing ice conditions from day to day, they also should keep in mind that the water chemistry changes through the winter.

“Perch tend to be deeper water now while there’s plenty of oxygen in the water,” Horner said. “But as the lakes cover with snow and the oxygen is depleted, they’ll move into shallower water.”

Anglers in this region have no shortage of ice-fishing options.

Eastern Washington anglers tend to target mix-species lakes such as Eloika or the special winter rainbow trout fisheries, such as Hog Canyon and Fourth of July lakes west of Spokane and Williams and Hatch lakes in Stevens County. Check the regulations for details on size limits.

Hog Canyon, incidentally, has a steep drop the last quarter mile to the access that can get icy in certain weather conditions.

In North Idaho, try Medicine and Killarney for pike, also Hayden and Coeur d’Alene if the ice becomes thick enough. 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 school up, so look for other anglers catching fish and without crowding them too much, auger a hole nearby. Try a bead chain with a maggot tipped glow hook.

Here’s an overview for other winter fisheries in the Panhandle:

Avondale: Perch, crappie, occasional largemouth bass, bluegill and bullhead.

Blue: (Bonner County) Perch, crappie, bass and occasional channel catfish.

Brush: Rainbow trout, bass and bluegill. Access can be limited by snow, about a 2-mile hike.

Cocolalla: Perch, occasional crappie rainbow, brown and cutthroat trout.

Dawson: Perch, occasional crappie, bluegill and bass.

Fernan: Perch, occasional crappie, bass and northern pike, rainbow and cutthroat trout.

Freeman: Perch, occasional crappie, bass, tiger muskie and stocked rainbow trout. Access can be limited by snow, quarter-mile hike.

Gamble: (Gamblin) Perch (large but not numerous).

Hauser: Perch, occasional crappie, bass. Good for rainbow and cutthroat trout.

Hayden: Northern pike in the north end at Sportsman Park. Some perch, but slow. Trout and bass closed during winter.

Jewel: Perch, bluegill, channel catfish and stocked rainbow.

Kelso: Rainbow trout and mixed warmwater fish.

Medicine: Perch, with occasional bass and northern pike.

Mirror: Rainbow trout and occasional kokanee.

Perkins: Perch, with occasional crappie, bass.

Robinson: Rainbow, brook, and occasional cutthroat trout. Some bluegill. Bass closed.

Rose: Perch, some crappie, bluegill, bass.

Round: Perch, rainbow trout.

Smith: Rainbow and cutthroat trout, some bass.

Spirit: Kokanee.

Thompson: Northern pike.

Lower Twin: Perch, rainbow and cutthroat trout, some kokanee.

Upper Twin: Perch, some crappie.