Wednesday, November 18, 2009

First ice fishing trip of the season




Yesterday evening I went to Henrys Lake for my first ice fishing trip of the year.  Several people had done well on Sunday and Monday on ice only about 2 inches thick.  With the cold weather I decided to try it.  It was abou 40 degrees and it looked like some of the ice was getting in bad shape around Staley Springs.  Here a group of fishermen are on the ice just yards from open water.  Some of them had trouble getting off the ice because the edge melted.


So I drove to the County Boat dock where the ice was from three to four inches thick.  The Fish and Game reported that the fishing and the ice was better in that area.  I met a neighbor with a large four pound brook
trout.


By the time I got to fishing, it had slowed down, but I did manage to catch three before it got dark.  It was an enjoyable evening and a great way to start the ice fishing season.  Henrys Lake will close to fishing on Nov. 30, so I will have to make a couple more trips up there.

At four inches the ice is safe for even little kids to get on the ice.




Just another wild day in Idaho

12 comments:

Sunny said...

Wow, I can't believe how close they are to open water. I used to go ice fishing but it's been a while.
Have fun!
Sunny :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your comments Bill. You could be right about summer birds hanging on. We get warblers and hirundines staying a lot later than normal. We get Barn swallow records right in to December and there were even a couple around in January last year.
There was a record of Willow warbler the other day and this is a bird that has normally vacated the country by mid October at the latest with most birds leaving in September.
The ice fishing looks great fun, it's something I'd love to try but it never gets that cold here.

Frostbite and Sunburn said...

Woah - that looks right on the edge of "far too dangerous" for me! We have a lake near us that I guess will be suitably frozen by January, and then the guys drive their Ford F150's onto the lake and set up for the day. Now that is strong ice!

Monts said...

Nice post Bill gives us an insight into activities,that we dont hear much about over here.So thanks for that,and may your next one be a bigun.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Brrrr---looks cold up there in Idy-ho!!!!! I wouldn't stand out there on that thin ice ---but I surely would eat that trout.... YUM!!!!!

Hope the fishing will just continue to get better and better --as winter gets colder.
Betsy

Alpicks Treasures said...

WOW nice Trout! You are lucky to be in an area where you see such beatuy. Love the moose shot. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Unknown said...

The ice is THAT thick already? No ice at all here yet...except for morning frosts.

Janie said...

Your friend caught a nice trout! I'm sure yours were just as good.
Scary to be out on ice when the edges are melting. I'm glad you found a place with 4 inches. I'd be comfortable with that.

Anonymous said...

thats great! my dad and i are going up there to try our luckthis weekend!last year the one time we got to go for the ice fishing run we caught nothing. Nice Images!

Cloudia said...

So excitingly different from what's outside my window, Bill!



Aloha, Friend


Comfort Spiral

troutbirder said...

Great brookie! Four inches of ice does not attain my comfort level. Actually in recent winters a fire, a book and an easy chair is for me.

NatureFootstep said...

never in my life I would have walked on that ice sheet. But you got some stunning images. :)

you have a nice blog :)