Ice fishing guidance

Well, since I can't catch a steelhead to save my life, I'm taking next weekend off and hoping to get a new adventure in. A couple buddies of mine ice fished some of the high lakes outside of estacada a few weeks ago and now a friend and I want to give it a shot. The only problem is, neither of us have any idea where to start. If anyone has any guidance on locations, that would be great. I'd like to stay within 2 hours of Oregon city (where he lives). Also, what do you use? I imagine scent of some sort, maybe worms. Any help would be great. I'll be sure to post back a report when we go.

From what I've seen, good bait is worms or synthetic worm shaped baits. Marion lake has a 5 fish limit on trout. There was either an old regulation that allowed more brookies at the time of the first video, or those guys were wrong.

Marion lake is about 3 hours from Oregon City. You could go to pretty much any lake you want to because most, if not all, of the high lakes should be safely frozen. The unusually low snow pack would obviously be a big benefit to you as well. You would probably still need snow shoes. Just remember the weather changes quick, so don't go if there are any weather systems of any size currently over us or coming in. Take proper survival gear even if the weather is perfect.

That's pretty much all I've got to offer you, though I'd say talk with someone who has actually ice fished and find out what lakes are accessible this time of year. I've done quite a bit of studying and some fishing in the high lakes, but haven't fished any in the winter so I can't offer any advice as to where a good place to go would be.

Good luck.

PNW Sam said:

Marion lake has a 5 fish limit on trout. There was either an old regulation that allowed more brookies at the time of the first video, or those guys were wrong.

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"Big Strapper" and "Trail Head Tim"...must be CB'ers...LOL.

The first video shows that they were fishing @ Marion in 2010. I just looked up the 2010 regs, and the limit was only 5 trout per day. So, I'm not sure why they were obviously keeping more than that.

In the second video, they mention "building a fire" to cook the fish. If I'm not mistaken, I do believe that fires are illegal inside of the wilderness area.

Wow, thats some good stuff. I know that a lot of the high lakes have a higher limit, or no limit on brookies sometimes because they populate so fast and push out other trout, that may have been the case in 2010. Thanks for the videos! I'll try to take some myself.

cookshot said:

I know that a lot of the high lakes have a higher limit, or no limit on brookies sometimes because they populate so fast and push out other trout, that may have been the case in 2010.

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Marion Lake is in the Willamette Zone. The only "printed" "special regs", mentioned the portion of the creek that is OFF limits (closed). There are no other "special" regs. So, the zone regs would apply; which is a 5 fish limit.

However, to err on the side of caution...ODFW may have issued some type of "special reg limit" change. And it may not have been published in hard copy--maybe only online and/or press releases.

The guy that made those videos seems to be a pretty good guy to me. I doubt that he'd purposely over limit, and he'd be a complete idiot to put it on youtube if he did.

I would think that it was just an old regulation, or one of ODFW's screw ups. For example, there is no mention of the Pudding river (Willamette Zone) in the Regs book, but on the Recreation Report it says that you can keep two trout per day. I'd like to think it was something like that, but who knows.

However, all that aside, I hope that you can find (or have already found) a place to go, and that you get in to some fish and come back with a good report cookshot! Good luck.

I think were headed to joyce. I'm pretty pumped, I never thought ice fishing was a real option in oregon. Hopefully it goes well and I can report back some good info!

The one piece of advice I would give is to make sure you have a good way to get through the ice. That is the biggest obstacle in my opinion. Last year we had to use a axe and a shovel to try and make a hole which ended up taking around a half hour of brute force. This year I am going to experiment with a cordless drill.

Our original plan was the axe option, but my buddy had a line on an auger, so hopefully we dont have to walk too far. Otherwise the drill option might work out. Thanks for the advice

when I went Ice Fishin we used a big peice of rebar about 3/4 inch or so with an axe head welded to the end of it. Now we fished the sticks in NE Washington and didn't have to worry about getting our holes checked for size (as I do recall there is a size limit to them)

I bet a small chainsaw would work. BTW, good luck ice fishing!

Agreed, good luck and let's see some pics after!

I definitely didn't think about the size of the hole, I better check the regs, good call! The chainsaw is a good idea, I think I'll bring my 16" bar just in case we have to hike too far.

Personally I didn't find anything restricting the size of the hole. May call just to double check. (mind you I went ice fishing in Washington) Another thing you may try is jigs tipped with waxworms or such.

Be cautious for thin Ice! It has not been that cold and I would hate to read or hear about your trip on the news. I have fished through the holes while living in Montana and we always used an auger as the ice was up to four feet thick and it was the only way to get all the way through. We had the luxury of being able to drive right out on the ice and fish from the back of the Scout.

Lots of fun if you can keep warm. Most days we were there it was below zero and windy as H@##.

Hope you have fun and take some pics so we can see how you did.

GD

Did some research... Can't have a how bigger than twelve inches. Also did some research on ice thickness. Talked to some guys from the mid west, they said anything thicker than for inches and they drive for wheelers on it!! I'm not quite that aggressive, but were going to keep driving til we find something at LEAST that thick. Picked up some jigs today as well. Thanks for the advice. tomorrow is the day!

Sweet! Looking forward to your report. Good luck!!!

Here is a good guide I found that helps be a little more safe when it comes to ice thickness.

Ice Thickness Guide

Well long story short... it worked out. Got out there around 9, found about 8 inches of ice and started slaying! Caught around twenty total, no real size, but we did end up having to eat one we cooked over our fire because it swallowed the hook. Overall it was awesome!! We brought GULP worms and real worms, but real ones worked the best. I made a youtube video, but I guess they didn't like that I used songs in it, so there is no audio as of now. I'll get it fixed soon though. I recommend this to anyone who can stand a little cold. Thanks for all the advice!!

thanks for the report. at least with your method of cutting the hole you can use the ice to prop your rod. I sure miss ice fishing...