Steve Weisman: Getting you ready for what should (hopefully) be a better ice-fishing season than last year in Iowa – Outdoor News
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While late fall fishing and various hunting seasons are taking place across the country, there’s something else taking place. Yes, plans for ice fishing have been going on at ice fishing manufacturers and retail outlets since, well, the 2023 ice fishing season came to a close.
We all know how short and frustrating the 2023 ice season was. Across the ice belt, the ice came late, and it left way too early. That’s in the past, and ice anglers are looking for and hoping for a much longer ice season in 2024-25.
I am an ice fishing fanatic, so I have been watching the new products unveiled online since August. Much of the excitement comes from the dream and anticipation of the next hooksets.
Several ice fishing primers
You Tube has given us great visuals for different types of fishing, especially ice fishing.
You can google a specific topic using a specific presentation and most likely get a how-to video. Pro staffers from across the country offer hands-on visual tips for using equipment and offering tips and tricks. These presentations have certainly helped us learn more and help us decide what equipment we really need.
Between now and the middle of December, there will be plenty of ice fishing kickoff opportunities. Wherever you live in the ice belt, there will be ice fishing shows. These are great places to learn about new products, hear from pro staffers to get pointers and just talk ice fishing.
A big regional ice fishing venue takes place in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with the Dakota Angler Ice Institute set for Nov. 8-10 at the Sioux Falls Arena and Convention Center.
The largest of them all is the St. Paul Ice Fishing & Winter Sports Show at the St. Paul RiverCenter on December 6-8. Presented by Clam, there will be more than 190 exhibitors on hand with products and services targeting ice fishing and winter sports enthusiasts.
MORE ICE FISHING COVERAGE FROM OUTDOOR NEWS:
Comfort, mobility, efficiency: Top ice-fishing gear for 2024-25
Finding those early ice hotspots
Ice-line technology: How’s it different from open-water lines?
Getting ready
As an ice fisherman for 60-plus years, preparing for the new ice season never gets old. I’ve learned the importance of getting ready plenty early.
Yes, I know 2023 was a bummer. Most years in northwest Iowa, you can figure that safe ice in our shallow lakes and canals and bays of our bigger lakes usually comes around the middle of December. So, that’s what I’m hoping for this year.
Before the season, though, it’s important to go through all the ice fishing gear to make sure everything is ready to go. When the first good ice appears, you don’t want to be scrambling to get things ready.
Not all ice is created equal
I repeat: not all ice is created equal!
I think we can look back to several instances last winter where ice anglers had to be rescued from unsafe ice. Ice thickness will vary from spot to spot, even from one day to the next and certainly from one lake to another.
Each state across the northern Ice Belt puts out safety guidelines anglers can use when considering ice fishing. According to ice safety experts, stay off ice that is three inches or less in thickness. Four inches of solid, clear ice is the minimum to support one angler.
Be careful of fishing alone in case something happens, but a group of anglers should not walk out together on four inches of ice. It’s wise to check ice depth as you move out deeper.
Watch out for bridge areas and other current areas, areas where water is entering the lake, shallow rocky areas or weedy areas. It seems every year here in the Iowa Great Lakes, vehicles break through.
West Okoboji and Big Spirit Lake are the worst. Both develop seams and heaves, and the ice seems to move, creating other seams and heaves. The thin ice under the bridge between East and West Okoboji seems to be a magnet, and every year somebody foolishly thinks they can make it through.
It hasn’t happened yet. Other areas, too, have become vehicle traps. My best advice is to check with area bait shops and area guides’ websites. They often have critical ice safety updates.
Remember, snow on top of the ice slows down the freezing process and you cannot see what’s going on beneath that snowpack.
Wear a life vest under your winter gear, or better yet wear one of the new flotation ice fishing suits such as the motion float technology designed by Clam Outdoors in its Ice Armor suits. It’s a good idea to carry a pair of ice picks if you do happen to break through.
On clear ice, always use a good set of ice cleats to give a good grip as you pull out your shelter and equipment and to help avoid falls.
At my age, I’ve found it important to go light as possible when walking on the ice. I still like to have a shelter, so I’ve gone with the Clam Scout XT Thermal.
At less than 50 pounds and with runners to help move the shelter, I can store a bucket with rods and tackle, heater, Vexilar and auger and still be relatively light and portable.
Early on
Based on the open-water fishing this past year for panfish on Big Spirit and West Okoboji, panfishermen should be excited for this winter’s action with excellent numbers of crappie, bluegill and perch in both lakes.
Historically known for its perch population, for the first time in years, Big Spirit produced lots of 9-10” perch this past summer and well into late October. Most of the action occurred in the shallow water (7-10’) in the weeds.
At the same time, crappies up to 14” were taken.
For that reason, I’m thinking the shallows in Templar Lagoon, the north Grade and Angler’s Bay should hold good fish at early ice.
One of the go-to winter ice fishing destinations is West Okoboji. Known for its gin clear water, West Okoboji is known for its sight fishing opportunities for the excellent numbers of 8-9-plus inch bluegills.
The bays of West Okoboji ice up a bit later than Big Spirit. However, Little Emerson, Little Millers, Big Emerson, Big Millers, Smiths Bay and North Bay will all be places to look for the finicky clear water gills.
Tackle and presentation
First off, you gotta go light! To start the winter off, you’ll be in shallow water, so downsize. I go with two-pound test line and small 1/32 to 1/64-ounce tungsten jigs like the Clam Drop or Dingle Drop.
It’s important in this shallow water that the jig doesn’t spin, so instead of using a spinning reel, I choose to go with the fly fishing style ice reel, so the line spools straight off the reel and doesn’t twist. Nothing stops a fish from biting more quickly than a spinning lure from a twisting line.
Matching this with an ultralight rod sensitive enough to detect the lightest bite or using a spring bobber is extremely important. Bites can be a heavy “thunk” or the most subtle little movement of the line.
Tipping these jigs with the right bait can make a huge difference. Traditionally, I will use a silver wiggler or a wax worm, but over the past couple of winters I have gone to using more plastics.
The Maki plastics have been good, and now there is the new Niku plastics that should work great for panfish. The key to these plastics on the Iowa Great Lakes is to pick a smaller, thin bait that you can thread on the hook with the end sticking straight out the back of the hook, causing a pulsing shimmer when you jiggle the jig.
As the winter goes, the fish will be more spread out and in deeper water, often relating to the deeper weed edges. The perch, of course, will be more nomadic with the big schools on the move. Sometimes they will stick in an area, but often they continue to move through in search of food.
So, yes, fall is here, and open water fishing and hunting seasons are going strong, but watch for it…ice fishing is right on the horizon!
