Mat-Su ice fishing: Searching for specific conditions

Back when I was attending Palmer High School in the late 1970s I often went ice fishing when conditions kept nearly everyone else off the local lakes. Back then very few anglers had shelters (tents) or heaters. While I was in high school and even for a few years after I graduated we used to get a spell of 40 degrees below zero weather that might las a week, 10 days, or even two weeks. I’ve fished through the ice with no shelter at 40 degrees below zero, at multiple Mat-Su Valley locations, and we caught fish. Some of the things I used to do for fun simply don’t have much appeal anymore, and ice fishing at below zero temperatures is one of them. Ice fishing on the open ice in heavy wind with temperatures at 10 degrees or less is another situation I choose to avoid. I reported last week that some of the parking areas near multiple Mat-Su Valley lakes are buried in snow — and I certainly agree with the concept of clearing snow from streets, businesses, and public building parking lots as a priority. How does an ice fisherman with years of experience under such conditions handle them now?

I talked my much younger nephew, Paul Warta, into going ice fishing on the day after Christmas and reporting back to me on what he found. He was planning on fishing Canoe Lake, but the wind had drifted the road to the access closed. He also checked out the parking lots at Meirs Lake and Matanuska Lakes — both still buried in snow with no vehicle access to parking. The small parking lot at Echo Lake was cleared, but there is a heck of a steep snow covered hill to navigate for public access after parking. There is still a single lane road to Bradley Lake — however, it is just that and the first vehicle that drives all the way down the hill would likely be trapped until anyone parking a second vehicle closer to the Glenn Highway was willing to move. Even so, I’ve seen evidence of multiple people ice fishing at this location. When Paul checked out Junction / Loberg Lake near the Park Highway / Glenn Highway junction on the day after Christmas, there was a cleared area to park, with several groups out fishing this small body of water.

Paul, his dad, and one of his brothers ended up fishing at Finger Lake. But first they had to help dig a high-centered car out of a snow drift, before they could access the Alaska State Parks parking area at Finger Lake. Once out on the lake they attempted to find shelter from the wind behind the first island near the parking area. The best protection from the wind seemed to be directly downwind of the island, but they were having very little action. Another group set up a shelter further out in the wind, but the wind damaged the shelter so that group left before long. Paul reported that they braved the wind, moved out to deeper water away from the island, and started catching rainbow trout and landlocked salmon measuring up to a foot in length. All of the fish were caught on single salmon eggs or home-cured salmon roe. They caught several fish, let them all go, and when everyone was more than cool enough, cut the trip short and headed for home.

Terry Warta, Paul’s father, told me that a car had driven through the access area where they had shoveled the first car out, and was the only vehicle that anyone was driving out on the ice. According to Paul the Finger Lake ice was about two feet thick — so cold temperatures and strong winds have significantly built up the ice depth during the first three weeks of December. Terry also mentioned that wind was already closing the access road with drifting snow, in the short time they were out fishing Finger Lake.

The Right Conditions?

My wife and I drove by Mirror Lake on Tuesday and noticed a very well-cleared parking area not far from the highway, with several groups of ice fishers out on the lake. This lake can have low oxygen levels later in the year, so the catching is often best early in the season. I was intrigued by what I saw. Did I mention that there did not seem to be much, if any, wind, and the temperature was up to 27 degrees on that particular day — those are the type of ice fishing conditions that can get me fired up — and they were likely available at specific spots in the Mat-Su Valley on the same day. Picking your conditions carefully can help make ice fishing trips more enjoyable, and especially for beginning ice anglers.

Indoor Fishing Related Activities

Sportsman’s Warehouse in Wasilla, and Bass Pro Shops in Anchorage currently have year-end clearance sales inside their warm wind-proof stores. My wife and I did a bit of shopping on Tuesday and in addition to walking around and inspecting a wide selection of fishing gear, I found a couple deals I had to take home. I’ve also been building new custom fishing rods this winter, and have the spinner parts to build into hundreds of salmon catching lures. Fly tiers often build up their supply of open-water fish enticers in the warm indoors during cool winter days.

Whether now or when your preferred conditions arrive, plan for fun trips, and Fish On!

Andy Couch is a Mat-Su fishing guide who prefers open-water adventures on Mat-Su Valley rivers during the longer and warmer days of summer.