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I am looking to find info on ice fishing during low water years. What are your experiences with this? I haven't gone ice fishing during a low water year so this year will be a new experience. Do the fish go as deep as possible? Looking at the lake levels right now, they look like they will freeze quicker, but I am worried that the fish will be stressed and all over the place and just roaming. When it does freeze, my main target is Deer creek and walleye. If that doesn't happen I prefer panfish on other lakes. Not too much into chasing trout, but a tug is a tug.
Thanks for any help,
Gabe
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LOL, I would not consider this to be a low water year,at least compared to when we see the lakes really low during extended droughts but IMO fishing or catching improves, because more fish are pushed into a smaller area. The way things are this year, I'll be fishing the same areas but moving out into deeper water if I don't find them where they were last year. I usually start off drilling holes, looking for fish near or on the bottom, a decent fish finder is a must. I keep drilling until I locate fish, then I'll drill several more holes in the general area, setting up where I mark the most fish, that way, if the fish move, I can check the holes around the area to try and relocate the fish.
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I can't remember where I was, maybe Pineview, but onetime I drilled a hole and I was four feet above the water. That must have been a low year. Lol
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Over the many years while I still trudged across the ice each winter, I have fished quite a few of my fave waters during low water winters. Gotta expect that. We live in Utah.
I don't think I would ever try fishing a low water lake through the ice...if I didn't have a pretty fair knowledge of the bottom contours and some spots of greater depth. But if you do, try starting near a dam...or fishing along an old river channel if you can locate one. During the winter the fish will congregate where water chemistry and food resources are best. That is usually in the deeper remaining spots.
You mentioned Deer Creek. That is an enigma to many walleye fans. But I have seen underwater camera shots taken from beneath the ice that shows walleyes stacked up in water over 60 feet deep...and with zippers on their mouths. (not really). When water, weather and food conditions are right, walleyes will come cruising into shallower water in search of winter food. That is when you catch the odd one on normal ice jigs...and think you've got it figured out. I have seen midwinter walleyes come out of Starvation and Deer Creek in water less than 30 feet deep...and a few as shallow as 10-15 feet. And I have even seen them cruising through at mid depth over deeper water. Having a good sonar and being able to put your offering at the right level can be a good thing. Not all the middepth marks on your sonar will be trout.
Fish are a lot more adaptable than anglers though. For example, when Utah Lake has been down so low there is only a couple of feet of water in the harbors, there will still be fish coming in under the ice. You are not likely to be able to catch them all over the lake because the disturbance you create by drilling your hole...or even just walking around...will spook the fish elsewhere. But if you are quiet, you can sometimes sneak up to the end of a dock, drill a hole quietly, wait a while for the fish to settle and then pull a few from beneath the structure in surprisingly thin water.
This winter, lakes are down from last year, but not anywhere near where they have been in other drier years. There should still be a lot of good hard-decking this year.
