With the conclusion of my 2018-2019 ice fishing season I like to look back and reflect on the highs and lows of the previous ice season.
First fish of the season
This season was ushered in by cold weather and ice formation in early November and some friends and I were able to hit the ice on November 18th; which was the earliest I have ever been out ice fishing. Central and Southern Iowa would take a few weeks longer to lock up and have fishable ice, but I was able to find enough ice there on the first Friday of December to cut some holes and go fishing. With the extended cold this winter, I was fortunate enough to log 54 trips over the course of 20 weeks straight to 51 different bodies of water; 31 of which were new to me this winter. My travels this winter also found me fishing in three different states (Iowa, Minnesota, and Idaho).
This winter I only fished in two tournaments; the NAIFC qualifier on West Okoboji Lake and the Clear Lake Yellow Bass Bonanza. Most winters I average four tournaments but this year between traveling and other interests, those two tournaments would suffice.
The North American Ice Fishing Circuit qualifier on January 13th at West Okoboji Lake was the first time that the circuit had been back to Okoboji since 2003 and kicked off my tournament season. The NAIFC is widely renowned as the upper echelon of competitive ice fishing and my regular tournament partner Todd Reed and myself decided to try our luck in this tournament and fish against some of the best anglers in the country. When most folks think of West Okoboji, they envision gin clear water and sight fishing opportunities. Unfortunately this has not been the case the past few winters and this year was no different. Due to hazy water conditions, this was an electronics bite and the team who caught the largest mixed bag of 10 gills and crappies would win. Crappies were going to be the ticket in this tournament and most of the larger ones were confined to a very small location in Emerson Bay. Launch order would be vital for a good finish and despite us launching fourth, that was not enough to get on the exact spot. We opted to fish other spots where we caught larger bluegills but come tournament day those fish were not in those locations, as they had been prior in the week, and found us scrambling for quality fish. We ended the tournament with a very disappointing finish of 38 out of 41 teams.
The only highlight from tournament day
My next tournament was the Yellow Bass Bonanza at Clear Lake, IA on February 10th and would be the first time I fished this tournament with my partner Cameron Arnold. We set out to fill our bag of 30 yellow bass and compete against over 300 other teams. The yellow bass fishing on Clear Lake had been very spotty all winter with some folks catching a bucket or two of yellow bass one day and only a handful the next day. Since neither of us had spent much time on the lake prior to the tournament weekend, I was apprehensive of how the tournament would play out. Fishing was excellent the two days prior to the tournament and the yellow bass were more than willing to bite but were in smaller schools than years past. Tournament morning saw a change in weather and with that the bite also hastened. We found our best success fishing with 4mm tungsten jigs and maggots as the fish were not as interested in spoons as they had been the two days prior. With the bite becoming more difficult and with smaller schools of yellow bass, only 16 teams caught their limit of 30 yellow bass with half of the field unable to catch a single yellow bass during tournament hours. Cameron and I were able to catch our 30th yellow bass with 10 minutes to spare and our bag of fish was good enough for 16.37 pounds which earned us 15th place and were awarded a new Vexilar FLX-20 flasher for our efforts. A respectable finish for our team and the highest I have placed in the three years I have fished the tournament.
Top 21 weights from the YBB
In late January a group of five us embarked on a trip of a lifetime when we left the comfortable confines of Iowa to chase perch in the pacific northwest. We spent three days fishing the world class perch fishery at Lake Cascade, an impoundment of the Payette River in west central Idaho, which is an hour and a half north of Boise. Pictures do not do the trip justice at the size and quality of fish caught and if that were not enough, the scenery was second to none. Below is a video chronicling some of our trip to Idaho.
We utilized Southern Idaho Fishing Excursions as our outfitter and could not have been more pleased. Bill Lavin is the owner and only guide on the lake and comes highly recommended from our group, so if you're interested in making the trip be sure to look him up and book a trip!
Day 1 keeper perch
A couple of my larger perch from day 1
Day 2 keeper perch and trout
A couple of my larger perch from day 2
Day 3 keeper perch
A couple of my larger perch from day 3
15" yellow perch
13.25" 1# 10 oz yellow perch
My main focus this winter was the continuance of the quest to ice fish all 99 counties in the state of Iowa. Last year really sparked my interest in branching out and fishing different bodies of water than the same ones I have become accustomed to fishing over the years. So I took the challenge to heart last spring and started doing my homework to determine which lakes would be worth my time and effort to fish and set a plan of action to tackle as many as I could this winter. It would not be truthful to say that every place I fished was a home run as that was simply not the case. But with that said, I was able to discover some outstanding and untapped fisheries through out Iowa in my travels this winter. Sure the road got long and lonely at times, but the desire to unlock each lake fueled my passion to complete my goal. One piece of advice I have to fellow fishermen is to not be misguided when others tell you that there isn't any good fishing in Iowa; you just have to go out and find it. I was able to fish a body of water in 36 different counties in the state of Iowa this winter bringing my total up to 50 counties I have ice fished in Iowa. So I am halfway through completing my challenge, but realize that the second half of the counties will be much harder to complete as they are further away and many do not offer great public fishing. So what fun is all "work" and no play? In late March a gathering of about 50 fun loving friends and myself hosted our second annual Yellow Bass Beatdown this time at 5 Island Lake in Emmetsburg, Iowa. It is an informal event full of fishing, food, and fun to commemorate the past season and help the resource by removing the aquatic nuisance species, yellow bass, from the lake. Last year we held it at Clear Lake and estimated around 1,000 yellow bass were removed from the lake. This year we moved the event to 5 Island as it offered more numbers of yellow bass but unfortunately they are smaller in size. By the end of the day we estimated 3,000 yellow bass were removed from the lake and the fish were donated to a handful of needy families. It was a fun conclusion to the winter and full of laughs and great memories!
Some of the 3,000+ yellow bass
Some of the 3,000+ yellow bass
My good buddy Chad and I clowning around the day prior to the yellow bass beatdown
This winter I was able to catch a couple personal bests through the ice and tie with another species. While in Idaho, I was able to catch numerous perch in the 13-14.5" range and tied my personal best perch in the process. I also caught a personal best 11" 1 pound 3 ounce redear sunfish through the ice this winter and a 21.5" 5.75 pound largemouth bass. It is always gratifying to catch trophy fish through the ice and to do it on public waters makes it all the more sweet.
21.5" 5.75 pound largemouth bass
21.5" 5.75# largemouth bass
21.5" 5.75# largemouth bass
11" 1# 3 oz redear sunfish
11" 1# 3 oz redear sunfish
Below are a few of the memorable fish I was fortunate to land this winter.
10" bluegill
10 1/8" bluegill
9 5/8" 15 ounce bluegill
9 5/8" 15 ounce bluegill
11" 1# redear sunfish
11" 1# redear sunfish
10.5" 14.6 ounce redear sunfish
10.5" 14.6 ounce redear sunfish
19" 4.75# largemouth bass
19" 4.75# largemouth bass
19" x 15" 4# 9 oz largemouth bass
19" x 15" 4# 9 oz largemouth bass
14.5" black crappie
14 1/8" black crappie
14" black crappie
14.5" black crappie
14.5" black crappie
14 1/8" black crappie
14.25" black crappie
14.5" black crappie
14 3/8" black crappie
I would like to take a moment to thank my sponsors Clam Outdoors and Sportsmen's Direct for their continued support this winter. It is a pleasure and honor to be a part of each of each of their respective teams and endorse their products. With that said, that puts a wrap to another fun season. See you on the ice next winter!
Final trip of the season to central Minnesota the last week of March
