Continued warm temperatures make for wet ice fishing

My wife and I returned from our trip to Florida on Sunday, and saw a light sprinkle of rain in spots, as we were driving home from the airport. In the morning we got up to see nearly all the snow melted off of our lawn —including the backyard which is partially shaded. There were a few very small puddles, so our yard conditions generally looked like mid - to - late April rather than the beginning of March.

Before going ice fishing on Monday, I called my friend, Dan Suprak to find out if he had been out ice fishing since I talked to him the previous week. No, he had not been out again, but was planning to go. I also talked with A.J. Hayes at 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle in Wasilla, who had been out on Finger Lake on Saturday. He reported good fishing in the morning, slow fishing during the middle of the day, and then better fishing in the evening on Saturday, A.J. mentioned people were catching some landlocked salmon, rainbow trout, and arctic char at Finger Lake. He also mentioned there was water on top of the lake ice, from warm temperatures melting the snow. Out away from shore the ice was 26 inches thick, but getting wet. Close to shore, where the sun was warming the bank, the ice was in the worst condition. He also mentioned people might want to look out for spring holes or weak spots out in the lake away from shore.

With that information, I slopped out onto one of my favorite ice fishing locations near Palmer on Monday. Temperatures were in the mid 40s, so I was wearing tennis shoes, and was stepping into about an inch of water as I stepped away from the bank. The water beneath the ice was fairly shallow at this spot, so I walked away from the bank about 30 feet before drilling my first test hole. I’d caught fish near this location in the past, although the fish catching action was generally slower than another location on the far side of the lake.

After punching through the ice, and skimming the ice chips out of my hole, I baited a hook and dropped a line down to the bottom. After finding the bottom, I cranked up about a foot and slowly jigged my bait once in a while for about 10 - 15 minutes. Nothing. Looking out at the lake I could see it looked wetter away from the shadowed location where I was fishing.

I loaded my fishing gear back in my sled and started walking, but as I proceeded I could see a large pool of water covering the other half of the lake where I was headed. I stopped and looked for a bit, then turned around, walking off the lake and trudging back up the muddy hill toward my vehicle. I loaded my sled, auger, and fishing gear, then drove around checking 4 additional lakes — all of which had similar wet conditions. On one lake I saw a group of 3 people out ice fishing on a small, relatively dry spot, on the ice, but all the lakes had plenty of water on the ice, and none of the lakes looked very appealing to me. Enough ice fishing for now!

I later talked with Dan Suprak, as he and his wife had been planning to fish on Monday as well. They fished further north on a small lake in the Big Lake area, but found the same wet conditions I had experienced in the Palmer area. They tried a couple different spots on the lake they were fishing, and caught two rainbow trout, but quit relatively early, because of the wet conditions out on the ice.

On both of our trips we experienced wet ice conditions as we drilled out holes. When water starts seeping down through the ice, the ice gets softer and hole drilling becomes easier and quicker. The ice was still over two feet thick on both lakes, and solid enough to feel safe, however, it pays to keep a close tab on conditions as they currently exist, especially if air temperatures stay near 32 degrees or higher overnight. That is exactly how temperatures have played out since I’ve been back in Alaska.

Water on top of the ice, while unpleasant to fish in, is an indication that the ice ( with its present thickness ) can still bear a considerable amount of weight. If temperatures remain warm, it will not be long before all the water seeps through the ice. That creates less wet fishing conditions, but indicates the ice is further deteriorating, My normally careful self, will now be even more cautious about venturing very far out on the ice.

If present day long air temperatures above freezing continue for much longer, I may decide to call an early end to my ice fishing ventures this year.

Good luck and Fish On ( it may be a while until there is much open water to fish in).