by mmichelsen , January 29, 2015

Whether you're an old hand at ice fishing or just interested in trying the sport, ice fishing in Washington can be a great way to get out and enjoy the fresh air, and bringing home some tasty fish is always a bonus. The ice fishing season usually starts in mid-December and lasts until early March. The best ice fishing lakes are east of the Cascade Mountains, or what is called "The Basin," or the Colombian Plateau. Here the temperature will consistently get down to about 10 degrees, which is ideal for when there is plenty of thick ice, depending on the lake as well as how cold the particular winter is. Your best bets for a catch are yellow perch and/or trout.

Being Safe, Not Sorry

The pros recommend that anyone who goes ice fishing have at least four to five inches of good ice to walk on, nine inches if you're going to drive. Above all, however, never go ice fishing alone. In terms of gear, it's relatively simple to get started. You will need a hand auger and a snow shovel. In most cases, a six inch hand auger will suffice, something big enough to create a decent size hole in the ice. The snow shovel is for keeping the area around the hole clear as you remove ice from the hole. A large ladle is used to clear ice out of the whole while you’re fishing. For gear, you can go ultra-light, using either a rod and reel specifically for ice fishing, or, a short rod and spinning reel you use year round. The short ice fishing rods do make it easier to jig over the top of the hole. As regards to line, go light, and lighter still! Use fluorocarbon line to make it less visible to the fish. When there’s ice on the lake, the water is undisturbed, making visibility higher. Going stealth mode is very important. Always ice fish on a lake and not a river, since the running water under a river tends to weaken the ice. It is also important to remember that if you go ice fishing in a group, be sure you spread out since concentrating the weight of a group in one place will weaken the ice underneath you, and spreading out will distribute the weight more evenly, making a breakthrough more unlikely.

Where to Go

Fish Lake. Fish Lake is located in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, near the small Bavarian town of Leavenworth, Washington, near State Route 2. The lake is home to a small fishing resort called The Cove, which is where you can buy virtually anything you need for your fishing trip, or practically anything else. There are even places where you can camp and rent cabins for your trip. Call ahead to make sure the lake is good and frozen. The best times for ice fishing are between December and early January. The lake takes up more than 600 acres, and holds good numbers of trout, perch and bass.

Patterson Lake. Patterson Lake is a reservoir in Okannogan County, located in north-central Washington state, eight miles south of the town of Winthrop. The lake covers 257 acres and is perched more than 2,700 feet above sea level. The lake is known for its largemouth bass, yellow perch, black crappie, rock bass, and rainbow trout. The rainbow trout and perch are what you will be fishing for in the winter since those are the most active in the cool weather. There are a lot of cabins and resorts available if you want to stay, and there are a lot of sources of bait in the area. The best bait for ice fishing are wax worms and grubs. Whatever you use, add it to a jig and you're ready to go. The perch that bite are usually from six to 12 inches long. Perch also tend to school in larger lakes at about the 25-foot level. Bigger perch tend to travel deeper. Perch also don't see well, so you need to fish for them during daylight hours so they can see the bait.

Sidley Lake. Sidley Lake is located south of the Canadian border, just east of Oroville, Washington. The lake is at th 3,700 foot level. Ice fishing is the focus of an annual festival where more than 200 participants routinely turn out to brave the cold and snow to enjoy the fun. Each year, the ice is between 18 and 22 inches thick, far more than enough to be safe. As always, check with locals before heading out on to the ice.

Roses Lake. Roses Lake is one of three lakes near Lake Chelan, in the northern Cascade mountain range. Dry Lake and Wapato Lake are the other two. Roses Lake is in an area called "The Devil's Backbone," and is at 1,168 feet above sea level. The average temperature during the winter is 10 to 20 degrees. Most of the ice fishermen here target rainbow trout, which they most commonly find just about a foot off the bottom. The average size of rainbow trout caught here is between 10 and 12 inches, but nice holdovers are avaliable. Most rainbows will be found in the shallow water during the winter, which is opposite of the summer, when they tend to go deep. Use a lighter tackle with a small reel for your best results.

Needless to say, ice fishing in Washington is a great winter opportunity. It's a sport that is hard to find in the western side of the state, but when it comes to the eastern side, anyone with a know how or a willingness to learn is in luck. Be willing to learn from those with more experience, watch the weather, and chances are good that Mother Nature will reward you handsomely. Sometimes ice fishing can be dicey, which is another way of saying that if things like rain hamper you trip, take heed since things like rain while ice fishing can make conditions very dangerous. Otherwise, ice fishing can be fun and very productive. After you have your hole drilled, it's not too complicated, just add some shot weights to your line, jig, bait, and get started. Some ice fishermen use two hooks where legal. This maximizes your chances, but be sure to check current regulations for the lake your fishing. Don't worry about catching more than one at a time!

The trick to ice fishing is to move around. If you don’t have success in one location, sometimes moving a hundred feet over can result in finding a school of perch. It's only those who give up on it who lose out, and to paraphrase the old saying, even a bad day ice fishing is better than a good day working.