Ice Fishing, My New Late Winter Addiction

The cold wind was picking up as it rattled the portable ice house. Gray gloom and chilly temps surrounded my shack nestled over 8 feet of water. At least the rain had stopped. But now that wind made me wish it was raining and warmer again.

I thought at any moment that next big gust would be just strong enough to send me and my gear para-sledding across the pond. Suddenly, the rod tip tapped, I lifted up and the fight was on!
 

Too bad the fingerling bass wasn't much of a fight! But there were bigger fish there and I was happy to land the first one of the day. It had been five years since I last tossed a jig into the icy waters of an 8" hole in the ice. Back in college, I'd fish with some friends at ISU and I always enjoyed the time on the hardwater. It made winter much more enjoyable and I always vowed to get back into it someday. Either I didn't have the gear, or I didn't have the time, but this year I made it happen. And I'm sure glad I did!

As if a switch were flipped, the fish began biting with reckless abandon. One after another, I reeled them in and it was 6pm before I ran out of bait. I ended the day with a few keeper bluegill.

Caught in the excitement, I lost all track of time. I knew I'd be in trouble since I had just called my girlfriend reporting no fish after 5 hours of trying. I told her I'd be home by 6.

She forgave me when I made her dinner -fresh fish!

Here's a breakdown of the weather factors and ice conditions on a few ponds in central Iowa:

Weather Thursday, Feb. 7th:
Overcast, Rainy, Windy
Temps Falling Through 30s
Low Barometer, Rising Tendency
Ice Conditions:
6" to 8" of ice, with top 1" rotten ice melted from rain
5" to 7" clear ice, pond edges thinning
Fish Caught:
6 Largemouth Bass, 24 Bluegill

Weather Friday, Feb. 8th:
Overcast, Light Wind, Snow Showers
Temps in 20s
High Barometer, Steady Tendency
Ice Conditons:
6" to 8" of ice, top 1" white ice refrozen from previous day's rain, very slick
5" to 7" of clear ice, pond edges thinning, especially near mouth of creek
Fish Caught:
10 Largemouth Bass, 2 White Crappie, 28 Bluegill

Ice Fishing Hanging on in Central Iowa

Ice fishing this time of year can be very hit or miss. Ice thicknesses are beginning to vary widely across the state as our spring-like sun is gaining intensity.

Image Courtesy MDNR

Although warm weather is approaching and ice may become dangerously thin, I expect ice thicker than 3" to hang on. Using a model I put together based on ice growth processes, it appears fishable ice may remain in central Iowa for at least two more weeks. With that said, dangerous ice conditions are likely to develop this weekend.

Average to above average temps in the forecast this week.

This year anglers have been blessed with more ice than last year (which isn't saying much) but temps in the 40s signal the end is near. Temps will continue to warm on average through the weekend and could stay above freezing deteriorating ice conditions through Valentine's day.

Ice growth chart courtesy fishingvermont.net

Ice growth and melting is a very complicated process. The biggest factors on ice growth are the average air temperature, the thickness of the ice, snow cover, water currents, sun intensity, fish schooling and waterfowl. In order to grow, ice has to use energy to freeze water into solid form. Initially, skim ice can freeze and grow very quickly. As the thickness increases it takes more energy to transfer the heat/cold through the system because some energy is lost along the way. The result is; the thicker the ice - the longer periods of cold are required to freeze the water below. Slower growing ice is often clear and very strong. Fast growing ice is full of trapped air bubbles which makes it weaker.

Ice growth chart
 courtesy http://lakeice.squarespace.com/ice-growth/

Snow cover can insulate the ice, protecting it from the harsh cold and preventing it from thickening. Water currents on rivers or convective currents in lakes can erode ice in localized spots resulting in potentially dangerous weak spots. Schools of fish and waterfowl can also "stir" up the water causing weak spots and maintaining open water.

Caught on Twelve Mile Lake 1-21-13. Thanks Cindy McNamara.

As the sun angle increases, and our sunshine becomes more intense, ice conditions will begin to be vary even more than they do now. South facing shorelines will heat up above and below the waterline. Humps and underwater reefs, trees and other shallow structure will begin to absorb sunlight and create daily weak currents of warmer water that will melt the ice from below. Eventually the ice will break apart and ice fishing season will be over.

The good news is, that may not happen until the end of the month here in central Iowa. I put together a crude, empirical model of ice growth and decay for central Iowa. If the forecast holds, we'll lose 1.5" to 3.5" of ice by Valentine's day. Dangerous ice conditions may develop between the 10th and 14th in southern and central Iowa where thickness may thin down to 3" or less.

Actual temps through Feb 5th, forecast temps after that.

After the 15th, an Arctic air mass will spill down from northern Canada and temps will chill into ice-making territory again. This could save the day for ice anglers in central Iowa by rebuilding some ice and prolonging the season another week.

Post-Season Drift

Well, as you may have noticed, there haven't been many posts lately. Sorry and thanks to those of you checking in... I think I'm still in denial about the end of hunting season.

The TC Impact sits quietly as deer fill the valley below.

I was happy to take a nice deer on the last day of Late Muzzy season.

It happens every year. Hunting season comes to an end and I find myself lost for a moment. It's a sort of post-season drift followed by an intriguing process of re-entering society. I'm staying in town more, going to movies, even watching that thing called television. The truck is the cleanest it's been since October, and I even shut off my 4:44am hunting alarm so I'm beginning to sleep normally again. Although a bit more well rested- I still feel a sense of sadness. My solution to the post-season Winter blues is simple... more hunting! And ice fishing too!

Can't see this from the couch... 

My buddies are sending me pictures of good success through the ice. While I'm not an avid ice fisher, this is a sport I'd really like to get into! And frying up a cold water fillet seems like just the ticket to cure my post-hunting blues. I'm also going to try and do some coyote hunting. My rifle needs some work and some sighting in, but that too would be a fantastic excuse to get outside and keep enjoying the outdoors.

28 lbs of Redneck Survival Food ready for grilling!

I also leave myself plenty of meat processing to do. Typically, I'll bone out the venison and toss it in the freezer within a day or two of the kill. I like to set aside the final stages of trimming, grinding and vacuum packaging for those bitterly cold days in January and February. I also enjoy re-living the hunt with my favorite venison recipes and I look forward to sharing some of those with you.

50/50 beef from Amend Packing has this stuff tasting better than store bought burger. I'll usually make an 80/20 mix of venison to beef.

So I guess, post-season Winter isn't so bad after all. If you want more good news, Season 1 for spring turkey is only 77 days away! This means I can now replace my antler-filled dreams with those of thunder chickens and Morel mushrooms.

Starting the New Year Right

I am truly blessed to be an outdoorsman in Iowa! Every time I go afield I feel grateful for the hunting and fishing opportunities we have in this state. I am also extremely lucky to have a girlfriend strong enough to brave the cold and eager to share in the outdoors adventures.

So what better way to begin the new year than a New Year's Day hunt? With the day starting out with high pressure and temps near zero, we decided to sleep in and wait for the balmy 15 degree afternoon temps.

Attempting to fill some bow tags, we toted the archery tackle through the snow into a well used travel corridor between bedding and a large cornfield.

Although the trails were recently used by this nice young buck, the herd wasn't there that day. We did end up seeing a silhouetted young buck and doe at last light. He and the doe he was with didn't stick around too long as we shattered the arctic silence crunching our way out of the valley. The trail camera read 9F when we left and boy to temps like that put your layers to the test.

I wish we had better luck. But what a blessing to endure the arctic outdoors with my best friend! I hope your late season adventures are warmer and more successful ;-)

Happy New Year!