On the ice fishing

After returning from a bright and sunny vacation in Hawaii, I made it out ice fishing a couple times this week. The first day the temperature was reading 5 degrees when we started downhill toward the lake, and I was wondering how I would adjust to the Alaska climate. Fortunately there was no wind, and the fishing was steady, but not so fast that my hands would ever get so cold that I could not warm them up again — before the next fish would be caught.

When we arrived at the first spot I intended to drill a hole, I found out that the hand ice auger I had been sharpening up the night before, was not digging in and cutting the ice very well. I attempted to re-sharpen the blades out on the ice, but it did not help much. So the first ice hole was incredibly slow in going through the ice — even though the ice was only about 8 inches thick at the most. After cutting a new hole, my first task (even before attempting to catch a fish) is simply dropping a line down to see how deep the water is. I was quite disappointed to find only about 3 1/2 or 4 feet of water under the ice in the first hole. Yes, I’ve caught fish in water this shallow in the past, but often times have to move out to deeper water for better luck.

The second hole was even slower being dug, as I kept being interrupted as the person fishing with me kept catching trout through the first hole. With each fish caught I unhooked it , kept some fish and released others, then rebated the hook with single salmon eggs before going back to work drilling the second hole. When finished, even though it was only a few feet further out in the lake, the water depth below ice in the second hole was considerably deeper at possibly 20 feet.

As it turned out all of the fish were caught in the shallower hole that first day, without even hooking a single fish from the deeper water. I am not a fish counter — unless the fish are kept — and I got that right at 5 rainbow trout, but I suspect I may have released another 10 or 15 before we quit. The fish were all rainbow trout and looked to be about 10 to 14 inches in length. I was chilled enough after that trip that it took me several hours to warm up after getting back inside the house.

Second Day Differences. The second day was warmer at 12 degrees, but as soon as I stepped out of the vehicle I noticed a cutting wind that made it appear considerably colder, so I was wondering how cold it would feel out on the wind-exposed lake ice. After my attempts at sharpening my auger blades produced little positive results, I had replaced the blades with a new set for the next day of fishing. When I started up my Armstrong auger this time, the blade immediately caught the ice and dug. I leaned on the auger and was through the 8 inches of ice in a minute or two. When an ice hole freezes overnight it is often easier to drill a new hole rather than going through the same hole as the day before, as the ice usually only freezes completely over on the top, but the sides also constrict somewhat. That constricting of the hole can make drilling all the way through the ice considerably more difficult at the older hole location than simply drilling a new hole — and especially when working with a hand auger. Working hard to get through a constricted hole — in my opinion — can also damage the auger blades — and when the auger blades are not right, cutting the hole becomes much more difficult. Having learned these lessons the hard way — I try not to repeat them. One other tip I would provide about starting a hole with an auger — some people want to jam the auger down hard into the ice before starting to drill. If you want you auger blades to stay sharp and work well for as long as possible — AVOID JAMMING the auger into the ice before you start drilling.

I had a married couple, celebrating a wedding anniversary, fishing with me on the second day, and the husband let his wife have the first hole — she also caught the first 5 trout form that hole. Sometimes on a trip most or nearly all of the fish may be caught from one specific hole, even though other holes are close by. Perhaps the fish get attracted to the first location and stay mostly in that location because of the commotion of the other fish in the area. I don’t really know, but for quite a while all of the fish were caught form that first hole, but, later, the husband started slowly catching a few fish from the holes he was fishing, and towards the end of the trip he seemed to be catching as frequently, or nearly as frequently, as his wife.

Once again I did not keep track of the number of fish caught and released, but the wife mentioned she thought they must have caught at least 20 trout, between the two of them, and that seemed a good estimate us at the time. All of the fish were released on this trip. My hands definitely got quite cold near the end from unhooking trout and rebating the hooks so frequently.

Considering the cold, both trips ended when the participants got cold enough that they decided to quit. Since I fish without a shelter, and people are standing on ice, often in cold weather, the right clothing makes the trip much more enjoyable. Boots, hats, and gloves are items that most frequently are not adequate for new comers to the sport. Especially Warm boots, as standing on ice is cool on the feet, and in both of the two trips mentioned in this column, cold feet were the determining factor in calling it a day — besides which the guests had each caught enough fish to feel satisfied with a successful trip.

Happy New Year! Or in other words, unless you are old enough that the state provides you with a free fishing license — or you are young enough that a fishing license is not required — it may now be time to purchase your 2025 fishing license before going on your next Alaska fishing adventure.

Good Luck and Fish On!