Winter (and Ice Fishing) Has Come

Thanks in large part to the snow and freezing temperatures, anglers in many locations have started to venture out into the cold expanse to enjoy ice fishing.

This is the case in the Eleven Mile Reservoir in Colorado, where people can see a smattering of people drilling holes and waiting for fish to bite under the ice.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) reported that the Eleven Mile Reservoir began to freeze over in the second half of December. Since then, people have begun camping out on the reservoir with huts and other camp-like settlements.

The park manager, Darcy Mount, was not fazed by the amount of visitors who were coming out to enjoy the ice fishing. Mount stated that they were expecting it, especially in the reservoir where fishing is a largely enjoyed activity.

A large collection of individuals make the trip to the reservoir, all for the thrill and enjoyment of catching fish under the ice. Whether they are families bonding with nature, friends making memories, or just fishermen having fun, there is a varied group of people there. The one thing they share in common though is fishing.

In terms of the stocking, it was reported that the Mt. Shavano hatchery stocks around 200,000 trout between a couple of reservoirs. The hatchery visits every other week, with each visit bringing approximately 20,000 fish to various state parks.

Shifting over to Pennsylvania, the ice and freezing temperatures have also come to visit. This has also brought about an abundance of visitors all raring to enjoy ice fishing. Anglers have visited several Pocono lakes and gauged that the ice is fishable.

The lakes in both the Upper and Lower Promised Land State Park are reported to average at least 4 inches of snow. Several other spots have either around 2.5 inches, with some reaching 5 inches.

In this area, anglers have been reported to catch fish such as pickerel and panfish. The most popular live baits used to catch these fish are shiners and waxworms.

The main problem that anglers have been experiencing in these Pennsylvania lakes is drilling the holes. While reliance on diesel powered drillers was frequented previously, usage of these pieces of equipment has begun to die down, with anglers relying on manually drilling holes.

Another area that has reported ice fishing is several lakes in Faribault, located in Minnesota. As soon as January hit, anglers received the go signal to head out for some ice fishing. One local bait shop owner stated that most lakes would have around 12 to 15 inches of ice.

Faribault plays the central hub to several lakes where people can go to enjoy ice fishing. Lakes like the Cedar Lake, Shields Lake, and Roberds Lake offer the opportunity to catch fish like sunfish, walleyes, and northern pike.

We are sure that these are only a few areas where ice fishing has become a present and enjoyable activity. If you are planning on making a trip and enjoying some fishing on the ice though, local agencies are keen to stress the importance of gearing up comfortably and to always check the conditions.