Ice Fishing

“I've heard a lot of speculation about it, but I've never heard of anyone actually doing it. Several years ago the biologist in King County hauled an ice auger in to Williams Lake on snowshoes in the late winter or very early spring so he could test dissolved oxygen to see if that would explain the lack of fish survival in the lake. He went down to the end of the auger and had to improvise an extension and even then was barely able to get down to open water. The dissolved oxygen turned out to be fine and the problem with the lake is chemical, possibly from the mines up at the Chain Lakes.^^^^[Edited on 10-21-2003 by Brian Curtis]”

“Williams is at 4600'. On the flip side of the coin I've skied into, and across, lakes that got really scary when water started showing up around my skis. I think the position of the lake (slides coming in?, lots of snow in the area?), and the weather that year will greatly effect when the best time to try it is. The lakes typically won't have their snow blown off like the lakes in the midwest so snow is likely to be an issue no matter what. It is probably more dangerous early in the year then later. When people are ice fishing in other areas do they often catch trout?”

“My experience at some alpine lakes in the North Cascades are that the fish, predominantly cutthroat, tend to go into a hibernation stage when the lake freezes over, especially when the lake freezes all the way through. Quite a few years ago, my father pried some large slabs of ice off the surface of a small lake at about 5000' elevation. Underneath he found slush and then a thin bottom layer of water. The cutthroat were in a hibernation state in the thin water layer. I kind of tested this out later in my travels. I caught a few cutthroat at an alpine lake, about 5300' elevation. I place the fish in a snowbank. The next day before we left, we tossed the fish we had not eaten back into the water. The fish floated for a minute and then swam off. I am assuming the snow put them into the hibernation state, allowing them to live without the dissolved oxygen from the water.”

“They definitely swam off as any other fish would. I still do not know how they did it, but we were very amazed that they did swim off.”

“This is a long one – I posted wwarner's 10/24 message on Trail Blazer e mail group list. Here are excerpts from replies…^^^^[fisheries biologist]Like all poikilotherms (gotta use that expensive degree every so often), they simply get, as Jamie said, more and more lethargic.^^Respiration and activity rates drop to very, very low levels. This is similar to hibernation in those respects, so I suppose for the lay person^^it's close enough.^^^^But think about it. We've all caught or seen fish very strong and active in very cold water. Take your basic native char in icy headwater streams like the Sauk. But, a lake that has a lid of snow and ice is probably on the order of 35 degrees F near the bottom, unless influenced by springs or snowmelt coming in under the edge of the lid. The guy who “exhumed” the fish found it in water that was obviously NEAR freezing. We all know fish^^can survive in streams with anchor ice. But, this is definately at their edge. Even “coldwater” fish suffer physiological damage, even death when they are forced to be exposed to 32 F or below. ^^^^[Trail Blazer] – I used to catch trout in the Clark Fork River in Montana when I was a boy. We would fish through the ice for white fish but also caught some rainbow trout. I also caught trout in Washington from Fish Lake through the ice. One time I was trying to catch some perch in Fish Lake but couldn't get the bait down to them because the trout would grab it on the way down. I got tired of releasing the trout so I packed up and went back home.^^^^[Trail Blazer]- A lake we go to in B.C. each summer, Charlotte Lake near Nimpo . . . west of Williams Lake . . . freezes over during the winter. The lake is at about 4,600 feet. The locals go ice fishing and catch RB up to 10 lbs . . . or so they tell us.^^^^[Me, Mossback] – I forgot about citing any lakes in B.C. ^^^^When Con Mattson, Gene Rose, Bruce Tanggard, Jack Pfister, etc., and I used to go to Nulki Lake (and later to Tachick Lake), some of us also hit backcountry lakes while there. One of the best used to be Lavoie (about 3,300 feet elevation). It had fish up to about 10 lb, too, for awhile. [Snip–I just snipped about 400 words. I had included too many interesting activities that happened in that area, including a woman who repelled a grizzly with an umbrella, but that's something for another time.]^^^^Has anyone tried to ice fish on Lake Isabel? It is 2800 feet elevation, about 180 feet deep, and ices over during winter. I used to visit it about every year over Memorial Day week end. It was my “gauge” of what to expect in that area's mountain lakes during summer. Probably 4 of every 5 years, the lake was partially or completely frozen over. At “big rock point” (near the east-side camping area) one year, ice was gone, and I saw Lake Trout cruising by the point no more than 4 feet under the surface. – Virg^^^^P.S. Tanggard said he ice fished Lake 22 and Annette Lake. He said essentially the same thing that was in the attachment I posted. He said the fish were in such a hibernated or lethargic state they wouldn't even move toward a lure. (A biography for Con Mattson and for Gene Rose is in Biographies link) – Mossback”

“I see I forgot to include the punch line for Lavoie Lake in Nulki Lake, B.C. area. During the good fishing years, getting to the lake was REALLY tough, even with 4WD, but it could be done–carefully. Unfortunately, that also allowed locals to use snowmobiles to get to the lake during winter. In less than 10 years, they ice fished the lake population into mediocrity. 🙁 – mossback”

“I'm no expert on ice fishing for trout, but yes, I believe you will find “active” trout in large lakes. That doesn't mean you won't find active trout in small lakes, but I believe you are more likely to find trout in “poikilothermic” condition–meaning (I think) they become less and less active as more and more water in a small lake becomes ice (and snow gets deeper on top of the ice). Assuming that premise is correct, I believe you will find “active” trout in small lakes *if* the lake has springs in it, or if the lake has an inlet flow large enough to keep the water reasonably moving and oxygenated.^^^^Re-reading your 1st paragraph, brownster 145, I think we are saying pretty close to same thing, just with different words.^^^^As to wwarner's explanation being science (scientific), I consider it being an anecdotal theory. That does NOT mean I consider it hogwash. I do think it might be possible. I've read about a couple incidents where a child was submerged for more than enough minutes to die, and didn't; or where someone was subjected to cold temperature for hours (days?), and survived, etc. How do you explain that India person who was submerged (fetal position) in a glass “box” filled with water for (I can't remember how long, but it was) hours, and came out breathing (alive!)?^^^^If you haven't ice fished on a large lake, be prepared ^^to (a) hear ice creaking or cracking at times (temperature changes affect ice pressure), and (b) see “cracks” sporadically. Con Mattson (has bio link) and I fished Banks lake several years (for perch). Watching ice cracking got my attention, even though I knew it was more than 3 feet thick. That's my round-a-bout way of saying being a little nervous is your first step to be safe. – mossback”

“One last message, and I shut up . . . I subscribe to Montana Outdoors, and to BC Outdoors Sport Fishing. Both magazines offer similar tips; thus, excerpts from BC article should be OK…..^^^^Ice auger drills holes quickly and with ease. General guideline calls for 10 centimeters of ice to hold a person…and 30 centimeters for a vehicle. (Personally, I wouldn't be comfortable walking on ice on large lake–e.g., Isabel, Dorothy, etc. that was less than 30 centimeters–about 12 inches thick.) Beware of rotten ice–old ice that has had a chance to deteriorate or thaw and refreeze. WHERE TO FISH: In early winter, under first ice, RB and BT in smaller lakes are noted for hanging out in shallows in search of feed. Fishing the shoreline with worms or salmon eggs is the way to go. As ice thickens, fish are forced into deeper realms. Larger trout are roamers, and in bigger lakes can be found in middle depths in earlier parts of season, moving down as ice grows thicker. Tried and true technique: With baited hook, drop sinkered line to bottom. Wind in to desired starting depth. Plant twig, rod or tip-up firmly in snow with tip centered directly over hole so line is not rubbing on the ice. If no bites at expected depth, try lowering or raising line. Jigging is the most productive method of catching big fish under the ice. Any spoon that can be worked to resemble lively minnow action is ideal for jigging. OK, have at it. Good luck. – Oldtimer”