Me and two buddies fished Magic on the 1st. Fishing was slow but we dont know the lake very well. We caught 3 rainbows and 7 perch, only 2 perch worth keeping. The ice was about 6 inches but a little unsettled, the middle was not safe to fish. The lake levels are up from last year by at least 15 feet which is leading to late ice. If anyone can give me some pointers on fishing this lake I would appreciate it. It is the closest lake to Mountain Home that ices consistently and I am now hooked on fishing hard water! Does anyone know if little Camas will produce fish if it ices over?
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Glad to here there is ice there. I had heard it was still questionable. How many other fishermen were out there?
Last year I struggled up there. I used to catch some perch in the shallower bays 10-15' but now with higher water i am not sure. I heard some guys were going up to the inlet for perch. Browns were more on the east side if I remember right and the trout just seemed to be every where depending on how they were moving.
Never ice fish little camas but it should be good as there is a nice population there.
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The perch were in about 20 feet of water. We fished the east side but will probably try the west side next time. We only saw one other person on the ice fishing and they were across the lake so I dont know how they did. The folks at the resort said the ice has only been fishable for a week. The trout were biting in waves like last year but just fewer bites. The fish were bigger though (about 17"). If you go let me know how you do.
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Ys I will. Are you fishing for what ever bites or seeking out the perch?
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I love perch but I can catch bigger ones at CJ Strike. The trout are really tasty out of magic compared to the warmer lakes around mountain home. Basically I'll fish for whatever bites though.
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My understanding is that there is no real ice fishing at CJ. Do you fish for the panfish there now? I am thinking of making a trip to cove arm and see if I can persuade something to get on my hook.
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No, I havent seen ice on CJ in three years but I heard that about 8 years ago it froze in the bays. I fish for the perch from the dam or out of my float tube. I caught a lot of big perch in cove arm this fall but I am too chicken to fish from the tube when it is this cold even with neoprene waders. Good luck.
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