Looking forward to ice fishing

Many of the lakes in the Valley have started to freeze over the last couple of weeks. Recent dumpings of snow have me excited for the winter season to come. With these cooler temperatures, some nights getting down to 12 degrees so far, it won’t be long until I’m punching holes and chasing trout through the ice. Here are a few of the thoughts I have in the upcoming season.

I enjoy being mobile and fishing without a tent. The lakes I enjoy fishing are close to home and I can be back to the house within minutes if I get too cold. Fishing without a tent allows me to travel light and fast and cover more ground. I also don’t feel as dedicated to a location when I don’t have to set up a tent and drive stakes into the ice. I’ll be continuing the practice this season.

Insulated and waterproof gear is mandatory for an enjoyable experience on the ice, especially when bringing a significant other! I’ve slowly accumulated better cold weather gear each season and I’m pretty confident and happy with my current kit. I’m very excited to put my new Alaska Gear Company VBX Max Bunny Boots to the test this year.

One of my goals this winter is to spend more time targeting pike. Setting multiple tip-ups and waiting for a flag to shoot up keeps an angler active. I’ve used satellite imagery to pinpoint vegetation lines along the lakeshore and bathymetric maps provided by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to locate drop offs and shallow flats to target pike. Watching the spool unwind and feeling the weight of a fish on the line in my hands is one of the most exhilarating feelings in ice fishing.

Last winter I had issues with my flasher, or depth finder, and fished “blind” all season. In some ways I think it made me a better angler, judging depths and trying different methods and techniques to catch fish. Without seeing the marks of trout on the sonar, I had to use my angling intuition to get the most out of each trip. This year I’ll either upgrade my flasher or fix the issues I’m having.

I added to my ice fishing tackle selection with my recent trip to the Lower 48. I scored on some unique soft plastics that I’m excited to test out and use. Perhaps these lures are something that these fish have never seen before. We’ll see if they work for all of the 99 cents that I paid for them!

Winter’s here and it’s time to break out the sled, perform some routine maintenance on the auger and organzie some tackle. Let the freezing weather come!