Area lakes safe for ice fishing

The lakes are prime for ice fishing, said Dale Odenbaugh with Fins and Feathers Tackle Shop and Guide Service.

"The ice is good pretty much on all the lakes," Odenbaugh said on Tuesday. "This nice little stretch of weather locked everything in."

Ice fishing for perch and crappie has proven particularly decent on Fernan Lake, he said.

Pike have been biting in Rose Lake, too, he added.

"We had a couple of guys just in here (at Fins and Feathers) who were catching pretty decent pike," he said.

Using smelter herring with tip up rigs is best for grabbing pike, Odenbaugh said. For the pan fish, he suggested glow jigs with Ratsos or Rat Finkes, as well as Swedish Pimples and maggots.

Ice fishing for bass, perch and crappie is also going well on Kelso and Granite lakes, as well as Round Lake and Gamble Lake, Odenbaugh said.

"All the small lakes are froze over," he said.

Pike fishing is also strong on Hayden and Twin lakes, he added.

He advised using the same lure as at Fernan and Rose lakes.

"With ice fishing, you don't get too awful technical," he said.

•••

Local ice fishing has heated up with the recent cold snap.

"Ice fishing is going really well on the area lakes," said Steve Holweg, who works in the fishing department at Cabela's. "Stick with the standard stuff, troll deep and just get out there and enjoy it, especially with it's 18 or 20, there's no wind and a lot of sunshine. It sure beats sitting in the living room and watching TV."

Trout as well as panfish such as perch, sunfish and crappie are being caught in good numbers on Twin and the Chain Lakes.

"Everybody is using their favorites, which include maggots, mealworms, salmon eggs, marshmallows and nightcrawlers for trout," Holweg said. "One nice thing about ice fishing is that when you use maggots, the fish are going to find it. They are going to key on the sense being released by the baits."

For pike, dead baits such as smelter or herring are working well.

While there's good ice on all or most of the area lakes, Holweg said fishermen still need to use caution.

"The lakes do have a lot of snow and that can soften the ice in some areas," he said. "If there's springs, also watch out for those areas."

Holweg said anglers may want to use a little more caution on Hauser.

"Because of the algae, it freezes a little later than some of the lakes," he said. "But we're still getting good reports on the amount of ice there."

Holweg recommends 4 to 6 inches of clear ice and 6 to 8 inches with the snow before going out.

"You can tell by the way the auger goes through the ice whether it's good ice or not," Holweg said. "If you see a guy with a power auger that's standing up, you can almost be guaranteed that there's good ice out there."

•••

Ice fishing is finally here.

Anglers no longer have to wait for the winter fishing season.

Frozen Spirit Lake is the best spot for catching kokanee, said Josh Kinghorn of Black Sheep Sporting Goods. Use a glow hook and bead chain, add a maggot, and drop the line in.

The lower Twin Lake is offering up trout and perch.

"It just depends if they're chasing a maggot or worm," Kinghorn said.

"We're in gear, it's going."

Use a Swedish Pimple, or a glow hook and bead chain, with a chunk of worm, corn or maggot, for the trout and perch at Twin Lake.

Fernan, Avondale and Hauser lakes are active, too. The same formula will land you pan fish and crappie and large mouth bass, especially on Avondale.

South of here, it's still steelhead season, too.

On the Clearwater River, between Memorial and Orofino bridges, steelhead are chasing both live baits and jigs. Loading shrimp, with shrimp oil or egg hooks, are successful lures for the fish, either casting from banks or back trolling in a boat. Jigs and bobber jigs are good options, too.

•••

Die-hard fly-fisherman are roaming the Snake, Clearwater and Grand Ronde rivers these days, tracking down the elusive steelhead.

But the fishing has been hit-or-miss, says Mike Beard of Orvis Northwest Outfitters in Coeur d'Alene.

"Unfortunately, not much is new," he said. "It's kind of icy."

The Snake is probably the most consistent fishery right now, Beard said. It's warmer than the Ronde, and because the water volume changes so rapidly - often fluctuating 10 or 15,000 cfs per day - the fishing is not so easily ruined by bad weather or heavy runoff.

Beard said the Hellar Bar or Grouse Creek areas might be a good place to start.

"Look for the slowest water that still has some current," he suggested.

Anglers should probe tail-outs, and pay close attention to the greasy, glassy water between rapids.

"That kind of water I like on the Snake," Beard said, adding that steelhead are generally holding in one spot during the winter. "(The fish are) just biding their time until spawning time. For the next couple months, the fishing can be great. Once you find fish, good chance there's more than one."

Traditional steelhead flies should do the trick, he said. Swing a big leech or large maribou spey fly. Or try nymphing with a dead drift, using stonefly and egg patterns. As usual, sink-tips are a good call.

Present your fly as slowly as possible, Beard advised.

He said fishermen should watch the flows, ideally catching the rivers on the drop.

"You gotta go, and hope for the best," Beard said. "If not, it's usually a good day. If the water looks clear (on the Snake), I'd fish it."

On local waters, last week's warm spell provided a brief opportunity for trout fishermen.

"We had a short window," Beard said, "from about 10 to 2. More like noon to 2."

Trout might sip nymphs, or streamers on a sink-tip. Just like for steelhead, keep the presentation slow and deep.

This week, though, the weather is just too cold for decent fishing on the Coeur d'Alene or Joe.

"I'd say it's probably not the greatest at the moment," Beard said. "When you're cutthroat fishing and it feels like steelheading, it's not always ideal."