Thin Ice at Fishlake!

[JustaJim]

Hi All, I'm new to this forum. I've been reading for about a year and until now have not had much extra to contribute in addition to what was posted so I have not signed up 'til now.

I was looking for some good ice to get my fix today and went high to Fishlake. I saw an old co-worker in the gas station in Salina. He warned about a pressure ridge off Joe Bush. I ended up there and stayed clear of the ridge which was about 150 yards out. There were 2 other couples out past it, but I still thought it wise to stay clear. One of the couples had a wheeler they were crossing with. On the third pass across the ridge, you guessed it, his 1 week old, $8000 Polaris was donated to the artificial reef program. The guy got out of the hole ok and when his wife came running over to him, she ran up to the bike as it rolled over, and she went in too. The guy pulled her out. Long story short, they got back ok with their small boy and gear, minus one brand new wheeler.

Also, the couple out past the ridge fell in as they crossed back to the shore. Everyone got out ok.

If you go to Fishlake, stay clear of the pressure ridges. It's been too warm for them to freeze back up. I was 30' away from the ridge and was on 11-12" of clear ice. The top 2" was frozen slush, the rest was solid. Lots of bites right under the ice, hooked a few. 12-13" splake.

Be careful out there, Jim
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[HaggardW]

I saw I just missed you at Yuba, what is really funny is I sat at the Yuba turnout for 5 minutes wondering if I should hit Fishlake []

I haven't heard anything about the ice and I am unfamiliar with the lake so I opted not....
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[muleyloco]

Thanks for the heads up I hate going near those cracks I think I will stay as far away as possible
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[utfishguy31]

Heading up there friday, hows the edges and the rest of the lake?
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[FishnMusic]

I was there on saturday in the wind and hail. The ice was 8-10" thick just out from lakeside. We fished first in about 25 feet of water just outside the weedline and caught some nice rainbows--then after approaching our limit of those moved back in on the weeds in about 12 feet of water and caught a bunch of perch. Good fast fishing in both spots!! Seemed like white was the color--tipped with a meal worm or piece of nightcrawler.

The ice looked good around the edges and was solid--there were tons of people, wheelers, and snowmobiles everywhere. There were groups that traveled to the east side (could see about 50 tents) and some in the middle and all along up the west side too.

[Chileno]

Ya, be extra careful in that area. My buddies and their families went out to the same area on Saturday and were fishing out from the ice ridge in the late evening.

They stayed fishing until dark and on their way back two of the three adults went all the way in up to their chests. They luckily got out of the water and made it to the truck. in time before anything serious happened.

Thankfully their small children were not walking to the sides of them or they would have gone in also.

Someone really needs to place some flags or orange tape around those weak stress cracks. My buddy said if he had been alone he is not sure if he could have gone out on his own.

Be CAREFULL!!!
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[PBH]

[quote Chileno]

Someone really needs to place some flags or orange tape around those weak stress cracks. My buddy said if he had been alone he is not sure if he could have gone out on his own.

Be CAREFULL!!![/quote]

I'm not so sure about the flagging -- in all reality, can't people see the large pressure ridge with water coming up out of it and know to stay away from it?

FWIW -- I parked at Joe Bush on Saturday, left my ATV on the trailer, and hiked with my brother and his daughter across the pressure ridge (we picked a good spot, obviously) then had a great day fishing the eastern shore. On the way back, I noticed a big red ice-shanty setup right on the edge of that pressure ridge at Joe Bush -- must have been your buddy -- and thought "those guys are crazy..."


Use some logic. Be safe.
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[Chileno]

Ya that was most likely them. They were in a big red six man Quick Fish from sportemen's warehouse.

My buddies are new to the whole ice fishing thing. They drove down to Fish Lake in hopes of getting their kids into fish. They only eneded up laneded a couple fish in a few hours. They stayed way too late in hopes of catching a few more fish. When they decided to go home they lost their tracks they had made when they came out and were following the ice ridge back to the shore line. Little did they know they were walking on "thin ice".

They called me on the way home and were wet and freaked out.

Herb
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[JustaJim]

The edges at Joe Bush were flat and a little mushy. It wasn't hard to pick a spot to keep from getting wet. Elsewhere there's a lot of buckled up ice as usual along the resort side shore. I'd say just follow the tracks out of the parking areas to see where everyone is getting on the ice.
We got quite a bit of valley snow in Sevier County today. If it fell in the mountains as heavily, there's quite a bit of insulation on the slush now around that ridge. It probably won't freeze anytime soon.
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[liv2hunt]

Where is Joe Bush at ? (west side, south end) It has been a few years since I have been to Fish Lake, I dont remeber Joe Bush! Hopefully going to make it this saturday with my wife and boys! Hope the splake are still hungry. My youngest is only 3, and needs the hungry non- picky fish to catch. Or maybe its me that needs the non-picky, hungey fish!!
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[JustaJim]

Joe Bush is a parking area past Bowery Haven Resort (N/W part of lake). The road is not maintained past Bowery, and like I said we got snow today. You may need a Wheeler to get into it. There's a sign to the beach and a small parking area. You might try a little farther than Joe Bush and get away from the pressure ridge, especially if you have small kids. I was using a small green tube jig with perch meat, watching the splake rip the jig 5 or 6 feet down.
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[Kent]

It is unfortunate that some people have never heard about pressure ridges, let alone to avoid them. I watched two young men pulling a sled by hand step right on a pressure ridge and go through up to their chests. On the return trip one of them did it again -- slow learner.
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[Havnfun]

Chileno! nice little worm you got there. It's good to see ya post over here !! Hopefully this little scare wont run of the 2 J's !! How are they doing I have not seen them yet?
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[liv2hunt]

Thanks for the info Justajim! I was trying to decide if I wanted to take the wheeler or not. I usually like to walkout to fish, though with the kids it limits how far we walk. The east side of the lake is where I want to fish. With the colder temps this week I hope the ice becomes more stable!! 20's the next few days, lows in the teens. thanks again for the info, it all helps!!!!
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[JimmiJack]

I spent Saturday on the south end of Fish Lake. The ice was fine down there. We had sleds and buggies cruisin past us all day. Good day too. Half the group limited out on trout within the first hour. Then we moved into the weeds and jerked a bunch of perch for my brother-in-law. Every hole we drilled was at least 8" of ice. Can't wait to hit again when I'm back down in two weeks.
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[PBH]

[quote liv2hunt] I was trying to decide if I wanted to take the wheeler or not. I usually like to walkout to fish, though with the kids it limits how far we walk. The east side of the lake is where I want to fish. [/quote]

Just use some common sense! When you look out at the lake and you see the biggest pressure ridge on the lake, don't try to drive over it without checking it out first!!


Last week there was at least 10" of ice on the east shorline across from Joe Bush \ Pelican. The guys on sleds and ATV's that drove over there without going through the ice all made a detour around the big ridge. No problems.
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[Splitshot]

Jimmijack,
I've never been to Fish Lake before. But my son and I are heading down in the morning and didn't plan to take the 4-wheeler .

Is it obvious on the south end where you can park? And how far out did you walk out? We're not afraid of walking but really don't want to take a plunge thru the ice while there.

Oh, yeah and we don't have a fish finder. So any info your willing to post will be appreciated. We plan to buy one as soon as we decide which one. We've been reading everyones posts about them which.

Thanks..
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[PBH]

Splitshot -- you just as well take your ATV. The weather has been very cold this week, and the lake should be safe -- as long you use some common sense. Watch for other ATV and snowmobiles. Travel where they have been traveling. The south end should be fine.

As far as a fish finder goes, don't worry about it. Use your jig or lure for a fish finder. If you aren't catching fish within 15-20 minutes of dropping your rig down the whole, move 100 yards in any direction and try again. A fish finder isn't really necessary.

Parking areas are obvious. Just look for the other vehicles.

Depending on what you want to catch (I'm assuming splake), get yourself outside the weedline (25 feet deep). From their, just start fishing till you find the fish. You could fish out to about 80 feet of water and still find fish.

good luck.
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[JimmiJack]

we just park at Lakeside Marina. like PBH said, just look for other trucks parked there. if you want splake i'd take your wheeler. you'll catch more splake on the east side and more rainbows on the west. it's weird but it's true.

you'll want to fish just outside the weedline. the trout don't stay in the weeds but the majority of their food does.

fish in 20-25 feet of water. on fish lake your jig will fade from view in a shelter right around 25 feet.

oddly enough our most productive lure was a white crappie jig from blue fox.

also i'd recommend getting there nice and early. i had to wait for my brother-in-law to get off work last weekend and by the time we got there we counted close to 100 shacks on the ice. add to that all the anglers w/out shacks and you get alot of fishing pressure.
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[JimmiJack]

also dress warm if you don't have a shack. it's a rare day on fish lake when the wind doesn't blow.
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