Some rambling thoughts on ice fishing

[dubob]

I can only assume that for a lot of you, the recent warmer weather has got you thinking about boat fishing when a lot of our local reservoirs are still hard deck covered.  Ice fishing is still available, but most of you have given up on it thinking it is no longer safe or advisable to venture out on the hard deck.  I can appreciate your caution.  However, with respect, I don’t share your concerns.

A week ago Thursday, I was on Pineview.  There wasn’t a single other person fishing it from 7:15 AM until 2:45 PM.  The edges at the Port Ramp were as solid as concrete and the ice was 18” thick.  I iced 15 perch that day.  Yesterday, I was on Mantua.  Again, not a single other person fishing it other than me and a friend fishing with me.  And, again, the edges were solid as concrete, and the ice was 14” think.  We iced trout, perch, and gills (16 total fish).

I will be ice fishing again next week Tuesday & Thursday (weather permitting).  My only concern this time of year is how the edges are holding up on the local waters.  Some of lower elevation waters (Willard, Utah Lake, Deer Creek) are already ice free.  Some of the higher elevation waters are already being filled and the edges are open water too wide to safely cross without planks or waders making machine access (SnowDog) a no-go.  A few lakes that don’t vary much in depth from draw done and re-filling (like Matua) will likely be good to ice fish until the end of March.  Uinta lakes will be good to fish well into May if you have a snow machine to get you up to them.

I’ll put away the ice gear in a couple more weeks and then get the boat ready for the soft deck season.  I’m planning some early trips to Jordanelle for kokanee this year.  And Willard should be starting to turn on in late April/early May.

I do think that folks quit too early on ice fishing here in Utah, but that’s just me.  Y’all have a great year fishing in 2021 and tight lines to ya wherever you walk on water or float your boat.  

[Muskyon46]

I totally agree and am all for it Bob. Ice fishing this time of year is fantastic as long as its holding out. I did put the ice camp gear away yesterday but still have the day trip stuff out and ready. You sure you don't want make a run to the berry? Either way I'm sure I'll be seeing you next week as the wife gets nervous if I go alone, Lawrence and sky are probably done for the season. The only day I have things to do is Wednesday. Weathers looking better for Thursday right now than Tuesday.

[Mark M]

Hi Bob ,

I’m brand new to the forums .

I live in liberty and I agree 100% .

My 6 year older wanted to go ice fishing in January and it’s been 15+ years that I have went . Needles to say he caught a perch before I could get my line in the water and he was hooked . Which is great for dad ! I got the wife’s permission to buy new gear .

Since we got a late start I have been using the forums to find ice and was bumped to see the ice edge around pine view yesterday but then I saw your Mantua status . Thanks a bunch ! I am going to go pick my dad up and head out there today while my son is at school and hope to take him tomorrow back up there .

Only if we had another month or so , still have new gear to try

Mark

[TubeDude]

Glad there is still some hard water for you to keep "scratching your itch".  You are definitely committed.

What's the difference between dedication and commitment?  In a ham and eggs breakfast, the chicken is dedicated but the pig is committed.

Sometimes I mildly regret giving up ice fishing.  Most of the time...NOT.  You can have my share.

[Miles Fitzrobert]

Thanks for this and your other update! This is my first year ever being on ice (fishing or otherwise), so there's been a lot of anxiety. But when I reached out and got so much advice (which landed us a ton of perch on our last two trips), I've been wanting to go more. Been laid up with arthritis and thinking I'd have to wait until next year, but the posts the last couple days have given me new hope.

Great people on these forums!

[dubob]

Since we got a late start I have been using the forums to find ice and was bumped to see the ice edge around pine view yesterday  (I assume you meant "bummed".)

I fished Pineview a week ago yesterday and had NO problems getting my SnowDog on at the Port Ramp.  Can you be a little more descriptive about the edges?

[Mark M]

Bob, just stop by there on my way back from Mantua . Over by the spill way you have 2-3’ of water/thin ice . You can hope a crossed on the few big rocks at the bottom of the trail or you need a bridge of some sort . The surf swim beach has a 4-5 ‘ of almost all water and you would need a ladder to get to the ice . The dock was the best bet like you had last week . This morning around 10 I drove by and saw a snowmobile drive over the the make shift bridge of plywood and 2x6 that have been ther all week but it broke the ice under the plYwood even more but a few anglers were out on the ice by the dock . You needed tall water proof boots because the board would sink in the water . Now at 4pm that thin ice was about 4-5 ‘ gap . I stopped by no anglers but one hut by the spill way . I walked down to check the dock area , the ice is starting to form around the wood a bit and I could at least walk on it with out sinking 6 “ into the water . A better bridge or a real early entry might be able to get a machine a crossed but this is the most water I have seen Along the edges all week . I am going to try and go check it In the morning and watch the temps .

[meancuznalfy]

I agree, I took my last trip today as most lakes here that have ice I trust are a long ways away and I don't have the time or money to put into the trips. But open water is right around the corner, probably can fish the lake right down the road now. I'd love to do more ice fishing as it is getting good now.

[MWScott72]

Had a similar experience yesterday. NO ONE on Pineview at 4pm. Only saw 1 other party allafternoon/evening...and the fishing was great! 7-8" of cloudy ice and 6-7" of clear ice below. Edges were decent and could hop across to solid ice. I'll be back there tomorrow...

[SkunkedAgain]

Well it’s true you can still fish ice, but do you want this:





Or this:





I kind of prefer a battle myself. Later Jeff

[wiperhunter2]

I guess for me it is just a matter of what I enjoy the most, open water fishing or ice fishing. I ice fish because there is no open water, at least in my general area in the Winter but if there was open water all Winter I doubt I would ice fish at all. Driving to Bear lake or the Gorge is just too far, especially in the Winter and forget about Powell, way, way too far. I never put my boat way until Willard has froze but in most years that is usually in Dec.

[liketrolling]

Keep posting Bob I don't ice fish so have to get all my fun from your post.

[dubob]

Keep posting Bob I don't ice fish so have to get all my fun from your post.

Stay tuned Robert; leaning heavily towards Rockport on Tuesday.  

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Well it’s true you can still fish ice, but do you want this:

ABSOLUTELY want that.  I'm after food, Dude.     I'll leave the tugs to you Jeff.  Tight lines and all that.

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Had a similar experience yesterday.  NO ONE on Pineview at 4pm.  Only saw 1 other party allafternoon/evening...and the fishing was great!  7-8" of cloudy ice and 6-7" of clear ice below.  Edges were decent and could hop across to solid ice.  I'll be back there tomorrow...

I'm hoping to get back up there on Thursday.  I'll run up and check the edges at the Port Ramp Wednesday afternoon.  If I can't get the dog on there, it will be back up to Mantua.

[SkunkedAgain]

Keep posting Bob I don't ice fish so have to get all my fun from your post.

Stay tuned Robert; leaning heavily towards Rockport on Tuesday.  

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Well it’s true you can still fish ice, but do you want this:

ABSOLUTELY want that.  I'm after food, Dude.     I'll leave the tugs to you Jeff.  Tight lines and all that.

---

Had a similar experience yesterday.  NO ONE on Pineview at 4pm.  Only saw 1 other party allafternoon/evening...and the fishing was great!  7-8" of cloudy ice and 6-7" of clear ice below.  Edges were decent and could hop across to solid ice.  I'll be back there tomorrow...

I'm hoping to get back up there on Thursday.  I'll run up and check the edges at the Port Ramp Wednesday afternoon.  If I can't get the dog on there, it will be back up to Mantua.

If the wife would eat fish I may be doing the same thing, but since I'm the only fish eater in the house, I'm okay with catching and releasing...

Hey ran by Cutler all 3 north ramps from Benson, Ballard Bridge to Cache Junction are open water and boats launching at all of them today... 

Ran by Newton and at the ramp it has several feet of edge gap before you get on the ice, but I seen a group with snowmobiles on the ice up north, so I assume there is an area somewhere that you can get on without getting your feet wet or else they jumped the gap, but they had big tents and all so I doubt they jumped the gap with them...  Anyway if you liked that blue perch, that was the second one I've gotten this winter out of Newton... Doubt I caught the same one twice, but it could happen since I send them back... anyway, looks like you can still fish Newton, but I'd take a plank to get on the ice... How big were your fish at Mantua?  Going to say Newton is mostly 7"ers, so if they are bigger for you I'd stick with Mantua... If not there were a lot of fish in Newton and you can catch them about anywhere I drilled a hole, they just aren't very big... but there were a lot of them and most trips I could break 20 easy enough... Except for two days one with Alan and one with Shawn, when I was lucky to catch anything... However, both of them did really well on those trips... (Makes me wonder why the fish always like my company better than me????) If you're looking to get the dog on the ice at Newton give me a call and I think I know where they got on the ice so I can cut your search time down..   Good luck... Jeff

[dubob]

I haven't fished Newton since 2019 Jeff.  Just never did that well up there.  Also, I haven't fished Mantua this year until last week.  Again, out of Mantua it's rare for me to catch perch or gills 8" or bigger.  Rockport & Hyrum have been yielding some nice perch (8" to 11") the past two seasons, so no reason to go anywhere else for me.  But with the edges getting bad at most of the close to me places now, my choices are getting narrowed down a bit.  Next week may be it if we don't get some below freezing weather for a few days this week.  But hey, it only takes a couple hours to get the boat ready.  

[MWScott72]

I've only fished Hyrum and Newton a couple times this year as the perch size at Pineview has gotten much better. A couple years ago, all u could catch were 6-8" fish. Now they seem to be 8.5-9" average which is plenty good for me. Overall size at Hyrum was great this year but numbers have been down. Newton crappie were better size-wise than Pineview's. Pineview's size are a solid inch or two below what we caught out of Newton this year.

[SkunkedAgain]

I haven't fished Newton since 2019 Jeff.  Just never did that well up there.  Also, I haven't fished Mantua this year until last week.  Again, out of Mantua it's rare for me to catch perch or gills 8" or bigger.  Rockport & Hyrum have been yielding some nice perch (8" to 11") the past two seasons, so no reason to go anywhere else for me.  But with the edges getting bad at most of the close to me places now, my choices are getting narrowed down a bit.  Next week may be it if we don't get some below freezing weather for a few days this week.  But hey, it only takes a couple hours to get the boat ready.  

Matt was saying Rockport was getting dicey and may be a no-go, hope you guys find someplace good to chase a fish this week... I'll bet it's kind of fun to have the boat you do, so the change over is a pretty fun one... Good luck on whatever you decide to do... I'm down to short spots of free time this week, so I'll probably be close to home if I make it out... and since the catfish contest just opened I'm sure I'll be trying them to see what I can find... Best of luck... Jeff

[dubob]

Jeff, I may be getting the boat ready sooner than expected.  

[dubob]

Took a drive today to Pineview and Mantua.  Ice is still safe to walk on, but the edges are toast for supporting machines.  I'm not into walking long distances and pulling a sled, so tomorrow I'll stow the ice fishing gear and work on putting the boat back together.  Might make a run to Willard and check everything out on Thursday.  I'll also be looking to hit Jordanelle maybe one day next week if the weather looks good up there.

[SkunkedAgain]

Things change quickly this time of year... I put my ice sleds away yesterday... Still need to find a good spot for my X-200, but I've made my transition to spring fishing I guess... Was fun and I'll be ready for it again next fall... Later Jeff