By Bruce Parker
From the December, 2003,
North Platte Newsletter
History, Forecasts and Recommendations:
Since the editor is writing this article and that would be me. I will only comment on waters I am familiar with. If you have a report, I will gladly publish it. See "Editorial" at the end of this news letter.
Boysen:
This lake always freezes from the south to the north. Early fishing and ice conditions will be best in the Freemont Bay and Badwater Creek areas. With water levels as low as they are, Poison Creek is "high and dry" this winter. Typically, this lake is usually in an atmospheric phenomenon called an "inversion". This means temperatures are usually very cold with little wind.
In years past, "first ice" has always been the most productive (Thanksgiving thru Jan 15). Generally speaking, walleye and sauger can be found relatively shallow during this period (5 to 15 feet), however sauger and large perch can be found in deeper water as well.
Jigging a small spoon such as a Swedish pimple and fishing a live minnow about 8 inches off the bottom are the "tried and true" techniques to use. Jigging spoons appears be more productive at first light and toward dark.
Later on, after January 15, fishing usually starts to slow down at the south end of the lake but starts picking up at the north end of the lake. Normally, you will find walleyes in a little deeper water (10 to 20 feet) during this period and you may fish as deep as 40 feet for sauger and large perch. You may also notice a daily migration where you will find fish shallower early in the morning and in the evening and deep at mid-day.
Usually, when I fish a new area, I will run a long string of tip-ups from shallow to deep water. Once I find the fish, I start moving tip-ups.
Based on history and the fact that there is more water in the lake than last year, I predict Boysen will be the number one pick for the serious walleye/sauger ice-fisherman.
UPDATE: I went by Boysen last Wednesday. There were two fishermen on the ice at Freemont Bay. They said they were standing on 6-7 inches of ice. While I was there I saw that one of them had two flags go up. The lake is frozen from Poison Creek to about ½ mile north of Badwater.
Ocean Lake:
This lake is usually the first lake to have safe ice. It is also subject to the winter inversion which means cold temperatures and little wind. Like Boysen, it is usually most productive at "first ice". By the middle of January, ice fishing has slowed to the point where one would be better off making the trip to Boysen.
Jigging a small spoon such as a Swedish pimple and fishing a live minnow about 8 inches off the bottom are again the techniques to use. This lake is shallow so you should be in the zone if you are fishing 10 to 20 feet of water.
UPDATE: I looked at this lake last Wednesday also. Saw a couple of vehicles on the peninsula and the lake is totally frozen. I do not know how thick the ice is but it looked safe.
Pathfinder: This lake usually begins to freeze about mid-December. New ice can break up and move due to the windy nature of this lake. Caution should always be used on this lake because you can have thick sturdy ice in one spot and dangerous ice a few yards away. Most ice fishers wait until the holidays to begin fishing this lake.
Jigging a small spoon and fishing a live minnow 10 to 15 feet down on structure, or 10 feet down suspended over 15 to 25 feet has worked well for me. I rarely catch walleyes during the day, having my best action just before and just after dark. Trying to keep the trout away long enough to catch walleyes is the biggest hurdle to overcome. The walleyes are somewhat small, generally speaking (12 to 16 inches and thin bodied). However, a big hog can occasionally be caught.
Try fishing the rock outcrops at Wolf Point, Canyon Creek Point, the Marina area, and outcrops in the Sweetwater Arm. Also, Cottonwood Bay, Walleye Bay, and Sand Creek Point will produce winter eyes.
Glendo:
The last few years, long periods of thick ice are rare. During those periods of good ice fishing is typically slow. This may be due to the fact that large numbers of shad are dying under the ice.
I would suggest fishing live minnows or jigging spoons in Elk Horn Bay east of the boat ramp or across to the School Bus Bay side. If you can find the river channel, try fishing the edge of it. Indian Point, the mouth of Muddy Bay, Sandy Beach, Whiskey Gulch and the dam area have been known to produce decent catches of winter walleyes. Try fishing various depths in 15 to 30 feet of water and look for structure.
Goldeneye:
This reservoir has started to freeze but has no walleye fishing history. The Game and Fish has planted fingerling walleyes in this lake for the last 3 years. This winter will be the first opportunity to catch fat 14-15 inch walleyes. One concern may be that the fish are gorging on gizzard shad and may not want to readily feed. We'll see! Remember, you can only use two (2) lines. The use of live minnows will be legal after January 1.
Side Note: The new boat ramp has been poured.
Tight Lines -- Bruce