It has been a chilly holiday season thus far, but those bitter mornings and frosted windshields do come with a benefit—we have safe ice on several fisheries, a few weeks ahead of what we’d see in a typical year. Here are some pointers on where and how to enjoy the early ice.
As always, safety should be top-of-mind when ice fishing. The minimum thickness required for fishing is four inches, and while we have that on several lakes, anglers should proceed with caution early in the season. Be careful around the edges, drill test holes as you go and use the buddy system. Here are some reports as of this writing:
- Henrys Lake is completely safe—it has been frozen for a month. It’s a nearly six-hour trek from Boise, but the trophy cutthroat, brook and cutbow hybrid trout that live there make it worth the journey. On my annual Henrys ice trip, my group had success using small jigs tipped with worms and/or Power Bait. Note: New Year’s Day marks the end of ice fishing season on Henrys.
- Horsethief Reservoir has 6 to 8 inches of safe, solid ice. Stay away from docks and other obstructions in the water, which prevent safe ice from forming. Anglers at Horsethief can expect good catch rates on small to medium-sized rainbow trout and occasional Kokanee salmon. Big fish are hard to come by, but it’s a good place to take kids and beginners. Small, brightly colored jigs tipped with a night crawler or mealworm have been productive for me in the past.
- Lake Cascade is capped and building safe ice across much of the lake. The north and south ends of the lake often have the thickest ice first. Access points include Blue Heron, Van Wyck, Poison Creek and the new Boulder Creek access. The schools of big perch are mobile and can be difficult to find, but Cascade is a world-class fishery if you locate the elusive jumbos. Big rainbow trout and other bonus catches are always possible, too. For the latest reports and conditions, call Tackle Tom’s at (208) 382-4367.
- Magic Reservoir and Mormon Reservoir both have about eight inches of ice. Both lakes are home to trout and yellow perch. I would anticipate moderate catch rates on pan-sized rainbows at Mormon, with an occasional keeper-sized perch in the mix. Magic has bigger trout and a much larger perch population, but fishing is restricted to the southern half of the lake because of low water conditions. I recommend setting out a few “dead stick” bait rods and moving around with a jig tipped with worm or perch meat to try and locate fish with a flasher.
- With cold temperatures, ice has formed earlier than usual. That also means fisheries that don’t usually freeze might come into play this season. I recommend staying off city and neighborhood ponds, which often have soft spots created by inflows and aeration pumps. As of this writing, C.J. Strike has ice beginning to form around Jacks Creek—it remains to be seen if it will build enough ice to fish (but if it does, it should be awesome). Wild adventures onto the ice can pay off big time if you stay safe. Just remember: four inches of clear, solid ice is the minimum for safe fishing.
- If you want to learn more about hardwater fishing, check out my Ice Fishing 101 class in January!
Hey Jordan- I’d like to fish in the Owhyhee country and catch Lahontan cutthroat trout, because I’ve never caught a Lahontan. So I searched maps for Riddle Lakes in the Owhhee Canyon Wilderness. And well, that lake doesn’t exist within the wilderness so I looked around Riddle and found a few likely spots for fish to be–you know, like, in lakes or reservoirs… But there are lots of lakes and reservoirs near Riddle, which surprised me because I’ve mostly been a hiker to the Owyhees. There is Boyle Cr. Res, Juniper Basin Res., Tent Cr Res.; Juniper, Henry’s , Mud, Ross, and Rough Lakes, and several within the Duck Creek Reservation (where, I assume, you couldn’t fish…). Now I ain’t saying that you was hiding the location of Riddle Lakes, but they surely ain’t ’round Riddle or in the nearby wilderness. Tsk, tsk, tsk!
So, could you tell me which lakes are likely to support Lahontan Cutts, because I’d like to catch one. If you’d ever like to catch Golden trout (the six-inch beauties…) or Grayling in Idaho I would like to go with you on the search for them. I know that the IDFG had planted some lakes with goldens and grayling but I don’t know if they ever took hold of the lakes or streams. It might be fun to check out a few of those streams and lakes. By the way, I like your writing and your coverage of fishing; it’s more like Ted Trueblood than the recent writers. And don’t tell them I said that.
Hi Mike. Thanks for reading, and for your kind words! Much appreciated. The three “Riddle Lakes” where they stock Lahontan are Bybee, Grasmere and Shoofly. There are for sure Lahontan cutthroat in there in good numbers. They are remote and difficult to get to–you will definitely need 4WD, and you’ll want to go during a dry spell as the roads are impassable when wet. My fish was caught through the ice, but I have recent information that they have started to thaw, so probably no ice fishing until next winter. However, you can fish them from the bank in the spring and summer–I have done that and caught some Lahontan then as well, along with a few rainbows. The fishing is technical, but I enjoy it and it’s really cool to catch such a rare Idaho species. I will give you this hint–no matter when you fish the Riddle Lakes, don’t use anything that hits the bottom. The lakes are loaded with crayfish, so anything that gets too close to the bottom just winds up getting devoured by them, and the fish never see it. Pink has been a good lure color for me there. I wish you luck in your adventures. Tight lines!