Staring at holes in the ice

You could almost call them a perverse group, these people with short fishing rods. They come out when it's extremely cold, and they seem to relish the idea of sub-zero temperatures. As the wind picks up and drives more people away, they simply smile.

Sitting on makeshift five-gallon buckets, they stand on lake ice, looking through a little hole, hoping to feel a tug on their rod. Ice fishing enthusiasts are a hearty breed, and there's lots of them out there.

"I love the people who think fishing season ends in September," said Carl Montrose. "For me, fishing season begins when the ice gets thick enough to drive on. I love ice fishing."

At first glance, it's easy to assume that ice fishing is simple-minded - after all, you are staring at a hole for hours. But if you take a closer look, you'll see a sport that is extremely complex, and even has a technological twist to it. Many of the hard-core anglers rely on underwater sonar units to find the fish - and they only use those units after consulting bathymetric maps.

Never heard of "bathymetric?" That's an underwater map of a lake's contours, and to experienced anglers, it holds the key to where the fish are. Seasoned ice fishing anglers don't leave home without them, because they are just as important as an ice auger.

After finding the fish, many set up camp in ice shacks, which range from portable units on sleds to actual "houses." Inside, you may find a couple of comfortable chairs, a heater or two and enough room for two people to spend a couple of hours jigging through holes in the ice.

"You have to have an ice house, no doubt about that," said Thomas Greenfield, one of Montrose's fishing buddies. "When the wind starts kicking up, you have to have a place to go. It can be brutally cold."

If you take a look at some of the popular lakes in the Valley, you'll find that there are plenty of ice fishing enthusiasts looking for northern pike, landlocked salmon, rainbow trout, Dolly Varden and char. Last Sunday on Big Lake, one popular fishing area had six ice houses within a quarter-mile area, and even more anglers standing outside of those ice houses. Another area of the lake had five anglers and four ice houses in close proximity to each other. Hundreds more anglers were scattered around the lake - and that's just one lake, on one afternoon.

"I really like Big Lake because you can drive right to where you want to fish, and the fishing is decent," Montrose said. "Another lake I really like is Finger Lake, because it's close to home and accessible, and you can always catch a ton of fish. It makes it a lot more enjoyable when you are catching a lot of fish."

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game makes sure people are catching fish, too, through the department's stocking program. Many Valley lakes are stocked with small landlocked salmon, rainbow trout and a few other species.

While you aren't going to catch a lunker at these lakes, your odds are pretty good about pulling up a fish through the ice, which sits well with the youngest anglers.

"My kids love ice fishing. It's a real family-oriented sport, but you have to be quick about it because kids aren't going to stand out in the cold for hours," Montrose said. "And neither is Tom, so I'm used to it," he added, with a pointed jab at his fellow angler.

"My kids love going to Finger Lake because they know they are going to catch fish. I can't keep their lines in the water over there. We pack a Thermos and head out for the afternoon, and they love it," he said. "If the wind has blown the snow off the lake, they take their ice skates and when they get bored of fishing, they skate."

If you are headed out to try your hand at ice fishing, there are a few lakes that are recommended by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. For landlocked salmon, try Finger, Knik, Matanuska, Memory, Carpenter, Christiansen, Kalmbach, Klaire or Victor Lakes.

For arctic char, try Echo, Finger, Long, Lynne, Matanuska or Memory lakes. Lake Lucille and Kepler-Bradley Lake are good bets for rainbow trout, while northern pike can be had in Memory Lake and Red Shirt Lake, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Web site.

Lists of lakes that are stocked in the Valley, as well as bathymetric maps of those lakes, can be found at the ADF&G Web site, www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us.