Good Morning.
Ice fishing is crazy. The lake out here is very large and a river of ice and water run across the top of the ice sheet. Many people ride their snowmobile across it. The people ice fishing wind up being in 1-2 feet of ice and water. It's mostly an excuse to drink I think. I can't think of any other reason why someone would intentionally do that.
Depends on what you target and where you fish. It is probably easier for me to ice fish certain places that it would be to put a canoe or boat out in the summer. Just walk to the spot, drill a hole, close up the shelter, catch dinner.
There are some amazing lakes really close by that don't have a river of ice and water on top. Henry's lake is the distance and it has some amazing fish in it. Quake and wade lakes, in the middle of Hegben and Henry's, are two of my favorite lakes. 30 plus inch browns. The rivers around here never freeze over. Crazy seeing how it gets to 50 below 0.
My coworkers parents just bought a house in Idaho not far from Henry's Lake, maybe 30 minutes away. I told her if she doesn't learn how to fly fish she's missing out.
Some people still fly fish out here. The biggest challenge is keeping your guides from icing over. I'll pass. I get about 100 to 150 days on the river most years. I don't need to be uncomfortable doing it.
Yes I think he does. I was down in his neck of the woods this past fall, Batten Kill area, fished a little bit, went to Orvis, and booked a summer vacation week down at the Rockwell Retreat...so I got to do my research on the local hatches.
Now isn't a great time to visit. Hoot owls and too many people. The fish need a break. And the rivers. A lot of people are just camping wherever they feel like and litter is just falling off them. I'll bet you can get an amazing deal on an RV in about 3-4 years after they find out how much work is involved in maintaining them.
