Ice Fishing!

[GoldenRing270]

Curious how many of you guys and gals are into ice fishing?

If you haven't been ice fishing before I would strongly encourage you to give it a try. It's a lot of fun. Even if it means driving 6 hours north to find safe ice it's worth it. Make a trip out of it.

If your an ice fisherman, have you checked out Iceshanty.com? Its an internet forum for ice fishing. Lots of great info and people on the site. It's a lot like hunting-washington forums. They just added a Washington section and it would be cool to see more folks using it. Washington needs to represent in the ice fishing community. We get safe ice for nearly as long as many places in the midwest and they are crazy about ice fishing. It seems slower to catch on here but it seems to be building steam.

[762Armo]

I've tried at Banks Lake a couple years ago. Didn't catch anything.

[Huntin Hounds]

I enjoy ice fishing. We usually fish local small lakes around Spokane and North Idaho. I just picked up an ice flasher for this year. I have used my buddies quite a bit and they are super helpful. Seeing what the bottom is made of along with if there are any fish looking at your lure makes for a much more successful day. If you're not seeing anything you can bounce around until you find fish.
Later this year I am going to Lake Cascade in Idaho with some friends to fish for giant perch. They went last year and caught several 2lbs fish. Hopefully we will get some safe ice around here soon so I can get some practice in.

[Ridgeratt]

 

Glad to see it turning cold before we get snow that way it's hard ice.

[steelhead4life]

This will be my first year.  I was a avid bass fisherman in the past and have been looking to expand on the opportunities in the area.  Just ordered a auger and a ice rod up last week.
Any pointers for a new guy

[Ridgeratt]

ice cleat's

Just like any other hobby. Depends on how thick your wallet is. I have used hand augers for years. But a person I fish with went and bought a gas auger last year.

[snake]

Any ice reports for the spokane area? I moved over here a few years ago from central Washington. Would love to fish for some Walleye and Pike through the ice. I lived in MN for almost 30 years and Ice fishing was a way of life for us.

[oldschool]

 Perch eyes are best bait.

[Ridgeratt]

Any ice reports for the spokane area? I moved over here a few years ago from central Washington. Would love to fish for some Walleye and Pike through the ice. I lived in MN for almost 30 years and Ice fishing was a way of life for us.

To fish Wally's it will be a trip to the basin, unless long lake get's hard. Tiger Musky's would be a trip to silver lake by Cheney or Newman.  You can catch pike on long lake as well.

[boneaddict]

Used to snowmobile to the lake, chop a hole, (no auger) Cut a pole from a willow by the lake and catch trout.   Good times!   Havent ice fished for years.   We watched Grump Old Men yesterday and made us think about it just yesterday.  Theres a nice lake here by Selah that they just dumped some pounders in.   I dont think the ice is there yet though.

[Ridgeratt]

On a safety note.
Last year there were folks using chain saws to cut holes large enough to go through in some areas.
Some lakes have springs that might be a shade soft also.

This photo was on the ice shanty site under the Idaho section

[GoldenRing270]

I would suggest getting a pop up ice shelter or a big hunting ground blind and get a buddy heater. It will make fishing on the cold days much more fun and it will keep you out there on the ice later in the evening when the fish really get going. A sled to haul your gear around. If you really end up liking it and want to increase your success catching fish invest in an ice flasher. They aren't cheap but its a game changer. As for tips on tackle, I really like small spoons and very small jigs but if your just getting into it I suggest doing some searching around at iceshanty.com. I wish I'd found that site much sooner. It would have eliminated a lot of trial and error and my success rate has at least doubled or tripled since I first logged on.

[GoldenRing270]

Oh and look for tackle that glows in the dark.

[Ridgeratt]

You could install led's in your fishing hut as well. Both white and red. White so the old guy can see to tie on micro jig's and red so the hole is dark and you can see in the lake.  Dimmer controlled. Then again some type of decoy can be useful.

[Ridgeratt]

I just found this. 
Just depends on how thick your wallet is.