Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: jgod on November 22, 2011, 11:12:47 AM
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Just looking forward to my first ever year of ice fishing. Im really excited and just wondering what rods, bait and what lakes will help me be successful.
cheers :)
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in metro vancouver, como lake, deer lake, lafarge lake, rice lake, green timber lake
when it's cold enough they might be icey.. dress really warm
and I guess you are looking for rainbow trouts?
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Thanks for the reply and yes i am looking for some big bows. but my dad says he wants to take me to interior lakes as they are alot safer for me as the ioce gets thicker.
Do you have any good ideas on which lures to use?
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Many/most lakes in the interior allow bait to be used....what I have found work great on big bows and brookies is store bought shrimp (cooked or uncooked) little unfrozen package of them at most grocery stores are 2-3 bucks.....krill.....good ole worms.......in fact I can't even recall the last time I seem someone icefishing not using bait but that could very well be because the lakes I have been to in the last years all allow bait.......biggest was a 10-12lb'er out of Bleeker lake somewhat near Kamloops....on shrimp.
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mzmann thank you very much for your reply it is very helpful. i will get my dad to check all the regulations and make sure we can use bait on the lakes he has planned for us to go to this winter. and what lakes have you had the most fish on as i really hope to catch atleast one as i have never ice fished before?
thank you
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for spoon, try 1/16 oz , the smallest gibbs croc spoon, color orange/red/green/silver
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should i put worm or other bait on the spoon?
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no, put bait on hooks, spoon is just cast and retrieve
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what technique do you use to cast into your ice hole with spoons?
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play your rod , you will find your own best way to cast spoon to the longest distance
however baitcasting is different story. I assume you are using spincasting rod set up
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ya i will be using small spinning ice rod. but i thoght for ice fishing all you did was jig mostly and there wasnt any casting involved?
i am new to this and could be wrong.
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no, put bait on hooks, spoon is just cast and retrieve
how exactly do you cast and retrieve through a little ice fishing hole?
i've seen people jigging with little spoons with some success
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no casting involved in ice fishing mr frozen salmon, lol....yes you can jig spoons or jigs but best bet by far is with bait........some good lakes....red lake, bleeker, mcgloshin (spelled wrong I think, lol)...edith (great for brookies) stump, monte lake and a TON more!....some decent ice fishing info here.... http://www.gofishbc.com/tips_articles/ice.htm
Also for the most part for Bows and brookies I have found that you really dont need to be fishing in any more than about 20ft of water (most times even 10-15) as many times these fish are just cruising the shallows looking for easy feeding......nothing quite like it when you are peering down the hole and watch a big one grab the hook right underneath you!!.....and very frustrating when all you do is sit there and watch them swim around your hook only sniffing or bumping it!! lol......always a good time though and especially with coffe and bailey's or some good ole fireball!! lol
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lol sorry you mean fishing in a hole?
sorry about saying casting spoon into a hole ;D
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Can also just google "Thompson Okanagan ice fishing" and I think you should be able to find out PLENTY more!! Enjoy!!
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always a good time though and especially with coffe and bailey's or some good ole fireball
haha i still have alot more years before im aloud to drink but im sure my dad will enjoy that :P
thanks for all of the helpful info im getting more and more excited to finally get my rod into the hole:)
and anymore info would be great.
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oops, lol....well when that age comes you will enjoy for sure! lol......bit of other info that I have found works better is to use as light of line as possible (keeping in mind of average fish size in whichever lake), basically you want thin non visible line, be sure to clip your knot ends so that you dont have excess line hanging to possibly scare/spook the fish..... recommend a portable ice fishing tent as it helps tons when the wind is blowing or when its not so nice out....plus makes it much easier to see down the hole when you are in a blacked out tent......also I use homemade ice rods made out of slab of wood (just google home made ice rods) but no drag or anything on them so I tend to use a bit heavier line with them.....if you do choose to buy an actual ice fishing rod make sure to get a good quality one.....I tested a FEW at walmart the other day lightly flexing the tips and 3 out of 4 of em broke VERY easily!!...oops, lol.......granted they were just little cheapo's but they only had 3 different ones there and each one snapped with maybe 2-3lbs of pull so if you go that route be sure to get good/decent quality!...would be really dissapointing for you to get your first fish ice fishing only to have your rod break and probably cause your line to break/lose the fish!
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Any regular rod will do but better yet would be to get a piece of 3/4 plywood and make a v notch on both sides. From their you can wrap your line around that and use that as your rod. You can put the plywood rods in a 5 gal bucket and be able to move around very easy. Hope this helps, but if you have anymore questions feel free to ask!
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"U" notch rather than a "V" will help prevent line kinks, nicks and from getting jammed in there in any sort of way....also if you go that route be sure to sand very smooth!!....for both sliver reasons and line breakage!
similar design to the ones I use here..... http://yahoo.shoptoit.ca/shop/product--productId_4770443.html
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Curious if anybody has tried ice fishing out the sea to sky way, between Squamish and Pemberton?
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Never thought of the u notch, and ya forgot to mention the sanding of the board.
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Alpha and Nita in Whistler are really fun to ice fish. Alpha actually has some nice sized fish in it. You can hit Lucille as well for brooks and rainbows and it can be quite productice.
I find the interior lakes produce best before the full moon nearest christmas after that it can be hit and miss. It is an easy way to get some huge trout.
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in metro vancouver, como lake, deer lake, lafarge lake, rice lake, green timber lake
when it's cold enough they might be icey.. dress really warm
and I guess you are looking for rainbow trouts?
You'd be crazy trying icefishing on these lakes, none of them freeze near enough to support the weight of a person. Closest lakes that freeze over enough to support weight east of Hope and north of Whistler.
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You'd be crazy trying icefishing on these lakes, none of them freeze near enough to support the weight of a person. Closest lakes that freeze over enough to support weight east of Hope and north of Whistler.
second that, I don't believe they freeze enough either to venture onto the ice, it's a recipe for disaster.
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I grew up doing lots of ice fishing, being from Saskatchewan. Lures we used for trout were mainly spoons. Swedish Pimple, Fiord spoon, Orange and Gold Kamlooper spoon and small Len Thompson Red and Yellow 5 of diamonds. As for bait all we would use was corn but I've heard trout can't digest it well. Not sure why we never used deli shrimp. To me that would be your best bet. We used to handline it in an ice shack but a small spin rod for ice fishing would work best.
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Me and my dad are very thankful for all of your great responses, they have been very helpful.
When do you think most interior lakes will be safe enough to fish on?
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When do you think most interior lakes will be safe enough to fish on?
A good way to find out is by phoning Fred at Nicola Valley Outdoors in Merritt. Here's their latest report.
http://www.fishingwithrod.com/fishing_report/thompson_nicola.html
You can also check with Chilliwack Dart and Tackle, as their staff and friends often ice fish around Merritt too.
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Really it all depends on weather and elevation.....I would let you know better but I am stuck away at work overseas so am unable to check......usually most if not all are safe by xmas but a good option to find out for sure or not is to call Wholesale sports in say Kamloops or even a sporting goods store in Merritt and ask them and they should be able to help further.......also as for interior lakes you could put a post up either on here or on sharphooks. com and someone who is driving daily/weekly around the areas could tell you more. :)
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what technique do you use to cast into your ice hole with spoons?
I prefer the pitch technique that is used by bass jig 'n' pig fisherman. Stand back from the hole about 3 rods lengths and hold your rod parallel to the ground with about 2 ft of line let out. Swing the spoon toward you and then flick it out. Takes a bit of practice to hit a 8-12" diameter hole but it can be done. Move toward the hole and stand above it retrieve your spoon. Back up and repeat
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clarki that method seems a little complicated i think i will just stick with the jigging method over the hole.
also has anyone ever used any fly patterns like scuds or chironomids?
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I have used some flies before. Killed it with a bloodworm up at lucille a few years back when I lived in Whistler. Bait in my experience far out produces flies, but that is my experience. Ice fishing is a fun social way of fishing in the winter but for the novelty wears off and I end up wishing there was a hatch or something to try and figure out.
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One thing about ice fishing in the interior is that the best fishing is end of December and early January. Nother thing is the best fishing for trout is first light and last light. Nother thing is find a lake with Kokanee if you want to fish all day.
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well....
the guys at my work had a good time messing with my account...
sorry about the ridiculous posts guys... >:(
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as a kid i have some fond memories ice fishing with my dad near princeton. we used dew worms, shrimp, maggots, and meal worms. this past year i took my girlfriend and we had the best success right as the sun went down. the best bait was the deli shrimp... it went so well we ran out of bait.
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FIve years ago, I went ice fishing at Deka Lake with some real hard core ice fisherman. They had snowmobiles, a sled and a gas powered ice auger. Stayed in a cabin playing cards all night. Woke up and had a big greasy breakfast. As we got ready to leave I pulled out a thermos to take some coffee with us. The other guys just laughed and told me to leave the thermos in the cabin. I turns out their way to stay warm was a cooler full of hard liquor and beer. Spent the whole day passing around bottles of Schnapps and whiskey and washing it all down with beer while staring at a two foot rod sittiting in a holder (Powerbait) and peeing into a milk jug (not allowed to pee on the frozen lake). I consumed more alcohol that weekend than in the last 10 years combined. Only caught one trout the whole weekend. They keep inviting me to go every year but I haven't able to go partly because of schedule and partly because I don't think my body can take all that alcohol abuse.
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fireball is an icefishing staple, actually firebal is a fishing staple period, fishermans toothpaste is what i call it,lol...hotdogs can be productive as bait as well....holmes*
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anything that goes well with ice really