Author Topic: North Idaho Ice (Read 540112 times)

plfish · « **Reply #600 on:** Dec 10, 2011, 11:33 AM »

Priest doesn't always freeze and this time of year it's lucky to have much more than a skim of ice. Earlier in the week around the docks there was barely a skim of ice if anything at all. It"s been in the single digits this week so things should start getting firmer but it doesn't take much in the way of wind or mild temps to lose ice quickly at Priest. I don't live on the Lake but only a few minutes away. I don't see the Lake everyday but I'll be checking as I'm getting antsy to get out there. My problem is that I'm on the west side and can't check on Cavanaugh Bay without driving over there or talking to hearing from someone on that side of the Lake.

BlueDuck · « **Reply #601 on:** Dec 10, 2011, 11:41 AM »

Priest is deep and takes a good cold snap to freeze it. I don't think I have ever seen it with safe ice unless we have had a week or so of sub zero weather.

idaho4life · « **Reply #602 on:** Dec 10, 2011, 07:41 PM »

Went to Soldier Meadows Res. this morning for about an hour. Ice was really good with 6-8" of clear ice. Ended up with 10 perch and 5 trout with a total combined length of 2.5". I got tired of that really fast so I went over to Winchester. 3-5" of very clear ice depending on where you were at. A lot of trout there with 1 perch and 1 bass. It was great to be back out on the ice!

sihlms391 · « **Reply #603 on:** Dec 10, 2011, 10:03 PM »

Heading to upper twin lakes in morning. There is about 4 inches of good clear ice. Then I think I will try round lake in late afternoon.

sticksandstring · « **Reply #604 on:** Dec 10, 2011, 11:28 PM »

Some friends went over by Harrison. Said there was about 3" of good hard ice. Did pretty good from the pictures i seen.

idahonative · « **Reply #605 on:** Dec 10, 2011, 11:59 PM »

Is Bull Run a good ice lake for pike? I've always gone there through the spring and summer and did pretty well. I went out a few years back in mid January and there wasn't a single footprint out there.

Idahogator · « **Reply #606 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 12:07 AM »

Welcome Sihlms391.
Is your skimmer marked for accurate ice measurement? Black felt-tip marker and a yardstick with a few numbers really help and it's always with you. It would be nice to know about the ice at Round Lake, as the temps have been 10 to 15 df below the other places listed on Wunderground.com Thanks and good luck.

Hmm, Bull Run, been here over 35 years and never heard of that one. Care to say where?

idahonative · « **Reply #607 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 12:21 AM »

It's about a mile or so past Rose lake. After you pass Rose, you take a left that takes you over the River. It's a nice area. Been going there for years.

sticksandstring · « **Reply #608 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 12:30 AM »

Yea see the sigh every time I go throw Rose Lake. Never been there always wanted to thew. I fish a lot of those chain lakes in the spring and summer.

Idahogator · « **Reply #609 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 12:34 AM »

Thanks for the info. Chilly temps coming by next weekend. Good luck.

h20eskimo · « **Reply #610 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 12:40 AM »

I hope upper twin is 4.5" thick. I may give it a try tommorow if it is.

idahonative · « **Reply #611 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 12:43 AM »

I'm waiting on Kelso to firm up.

perchsoup · « **Reply #612 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 10:28 AM »

WENT TO UPPER TWIN YESTERDAY MORNING, THREE OR FOUR INCHES OF ICE,4 PEOPLE FISHING,SAW ONE SMALL PERCH CAUGHT,FISHED TILL 11:00 WITHOUT A BITE,SAID MAYBE NEXT WEEK.

free_spirit · « **Reply #613 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 12:31 PM »

Hello fellow North Idaho cyber-icefisherman! I am new to the forums but have ice fished N. ID since I was a little tike. Usually get out a few times a winter, but I hope to hit it hard between now and New Years this year as I have few commitments to hinder me

Anyway, I went to Gamblin Lake yesterday with 3 inches of ice. There were about 7 people total on the ice, and didn't see anyone catch a fish ( including myself ). Going back out this afternoon to see if luck has changed. I will report back if I do any good.

mlanphere · « **Reply #614 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 12:42 PM »

Anyone know if Cocalla is safe yet?

free_spirit · « **Reply #615 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 02:46 PM »

I doubt Cocolala is safe yet. I checked it on Friday at the sportsman access and it only had about 1/2" of ice.

perchhead1 · « **Reply #616 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 04:13 PM »

I was on Dawson Lake today (Sun) there is 6 inches of very good ice. (Boundary Co)

eatumfish · « **Reply #617 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 07:46 PM »

We fished smith lake Saturday from 11 to 3 and got 5 trout 10 inches or so. the ice was 4-1/2 inches. smith lake is 4 miles north of Bonner's ferry for you that don't know.

born2fish · « **Reply #618 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 09:11 PM »

For anybody around the Moscow area I did a little recon today.

Elk River has 8-9" of ice 7" of which is real good and the other 2" is getting there.
Moose Creek has 4-5" of ice that is real good but a few soft spots here and there.
Spring Valley has about 3" of ice not in the best shape maybe another week

Only fished at Elk River caught a few cuttbows nothing really to speak of, figured the fishing would be better however it was really slow. Had to keep changing bait and jigs to keep the fish interested and they where really soft mouthed. If it wasnt for my flasher and spring bobbers i probably wouldnt have caught anything.

Last, has anybody around here ever fished Waha it must I up, I have on the soft water and done real good there. Stay dry

sihlms391 · « **Reply #619 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 09:41 PM »

Went to round lake today. Four inches of good ice. Caught lots of perch in morning slowed afternoon. Caught a few trout. Perch were decent size. Going again tomorrow. I think I will wait until gamble gets more ice.

Idahogator · « **Reply #620 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 10:00 PM »

Thanks for the info, but, a little more ice and a little less pucker factor for me.

Welcome to the forum: H2Oeskimo, Perchsoup, Free_Spirit and Mlanphere.

Good luck out there.

Bearsfan · « **Reply #621 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 10:15 PM »

Walsh should have some ice on it by now, I loved fishing that lake but sometimes it would get me so frustrated. $:-\$ Did get some nice perch out of there, crappie were small though.

DakotaElkSlayer · « **Reply #622 on:** Dec 11, 2011, 10:51 PM »

Quote from: born2fish on Dec 11, 2011, 09:11 PM

For anybody around the Moscow area I did a little recon today.

Elk River has 8-9" of ice 7" of which is real good and the other 2" is getting there.
Moose Creek has 4-5" of ice that is real good but a few soft spots here and there.
Spring Valley has about 3" of ice not in the best shape maybe another week

Only fished at Elk River caught a few cuttbows nothing really to speak of, figured the fishing would be better however it was really slow. Had to keep changing bait and jigs to keep the fish interested and they where really soft mouthed. If it wasnt for my flasher and spring bobbers i probably wouldnt have caught anything.

Last, has anybody around here ever fished Waha it must I up, I have on the soft water and done real good there. Stay dry

Thanks for the report! Haven't fished Waha yet... Need some REALLY cold weather for that thing to freeze up decently. Checked it out a couple of years ago when Winchester had about 10" of ice on it. Stepped off the bank of Waha and SPLASH!!!

Jim

idahonative · « **Reply #623 on:** Dec 12, 2011, 05:02 PM »

Checked Fernan today. The whole lake is frozen. I checked several spots but nothing over about 1 1/2". Boat launch has about 4" now. Dropped a line for about a half hour just for the heck of it with no action.

free_spirit · « **Reply #624 on:** Dec 12, 2011, 11:29 PM »

Well I made it to Round Lake this afternoon. For about 20 minutes just before sunset I was catching perch as fast as I could in about 10 feet of water. I ended up with 17 of them, all 8-9". Also a 12" and a 15.5" rainbow showed up in the middle of the perch run. Didn't see anyone else catch more than one or two fish, but they were all farther out in the lake and running still trout setups ( I was lightly jigging a small blue-gray crappie jig just off the bottom ). Gonna go back to my lucky hole and see if I can catch some more in the morning. And by the way, Shepard Lake is up to 4" of ice. Haven't checked Mirror in a few days, but it was running about an inch behind Shepard. I can't wait to get up there and catch some bluebacks ( yum! ) .

mlanphere · « **Reply #625 on:** Dec 13, 2011, 09:20 AM »

What's the latest info on Kelso Lake. I went out last year and had a little luck. Someone had a lot of fun with the Trout. They left the heads on the ice and there were some nice ones in the bunch. I wondering if the ice is good before I make the drive..

sticksandstring · « **Reply #626 on:** Dec 13, 2011, 09:24 AM »

Has anyone checked the ice on Cave lake or Medicine lake? Thinking of heading there this sunday.

crappieluvr · « **Reply #627 on:** Dec 13, 2011, 12:56 PM »

Has anyone checked the ice on Perkins Lake here in Boundary Co? Good to hear everyone again.

troutfool · « **Reply #628 on:** Dec 13, 2011, 02:03 PM »

@ Free spirit

I have never been ice fishing for kokanee but have been wanting to do it for a while, what setup do you use?

free_spirit · « **Reply #629 on:** Dec 13, 2011, 04:02 PM »

I've got a couple of different blueback setups. One is just a straight wedding ring spinner. For another I use a flasher ( one is just a weight with a built in spinning flasher about 1/2" diameter and the other is one of these:http://www.sepsprofishing.com/cart/products/Pro_Dodgers_1_0_Silver-230-24.html that is about 3 inches long ) , then about 18 inches of line and a size 8 glow hook. The bigger flasher is better for attracting schools from farther off. Once you've got a school all you really need is a hook. I use either maggots or white shopeg corn or both for bait. Oh, and another thing that comes in handy is metered line, so once you get the fish going you know where to back to. I jig up and down three times, pause for a bit, then slowly rise for about 10 inches, then give it a jerk and repeat. Hey, if you decide to make it out to Mirror Lake, you're welcome to send me a message and I might be able to make it up too and we could see if we can't catch a few.

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Author Topic: North Idaho Ice (Read 540112 times)

sihlms391

sihlms391