Clearwater/Panhandle Idaho Ice Fishing

[MNIceNut]

Hello All,

This is my first time posting in a forum like this. Back here in Minnesota I’ve been ice fishing for the better part of 30 years, which has led to the connections and experience, to not require going to outside sources for information.

With that being said, I am swallowing my pride and asking for some help here.

I am planning a road trip with a fishing buddy for mid march. We are going to stop in Big Sky MT to do some skiing, then head to the west coast for some pacific ocean fishing and golfing. On the way, we will be driving through the panhandle of Idaho on I90.

The idea hit us that maybe we could stop in and do some ice fishing for a couple days.

From what I have seen so far, it seems like the lowland lakes are VERY questionable that time of year (specifically 3/13-3/15). I haven’t really been able to get an answer on the high mountain lakes from any of the bait stores in the area.

I understand that ice conditions vary from year to year, but back here in Minnesota, on 3/15, you can bet with 100% certainty you can walk out on most lakes, even find 16"+ of ice, just depending on how far north you are willing to drive.

So I am looking for assistance. I can scour the forum boards for tactics, presentations, baits etc. But with the many hours of research behind me already, I have reached a dead end in deciding on which lake/area to target.

So here’s what I am looking for:

Within 2 hours of the I90 corridor
trout species present (not picky on exact species, just looking to add a few species to my list that I cant get back home)
vehicle accessible (an hour hike would be fine, but we are certainly not mountain climbers. four wheel drive F-350)
IDEALLY HIGH MOUNTAIN LAKE

I understand I might need to pick one or the other when it comes to vehicle accessible and high mountain lake, but poking around on the IFG website I found Hoodoo Lake and Little Bayhorse lake that look like they are at some high elevations with scenic views and a cool drive, but they are a bit too far from the I-90 corridor.

Now, 2 hours from the I-90 corridor is not a must. I can change the route if you have a gem on the south side of the state, I am just assuming that the further north you go, the better odds of finding fishable ice around 3/15.

Also, I wanted to add, since if it were me reading this post I would chuckle and say “do your own field work”, I am not looking to keep any fish. I am not going to post any recommendations or any fish I catch to social media.

It has always been a dream of mine to catch trout through the ice in the shadow of a picturesque mountain scene. Absolutely any assistance in locating this scene is greatly appreciated.

One more note, I would really like to do this trip self guided, but if you have any ice fishing guides to recommend in the area, send them my way.

[obifishkenobi]

@MNIceNut

Hello All,

This is my first time posting in a forum like this. Back here in Minnesota I’ve been ice fishing for the better part of 30 years, which has led to the connections and experience, to not require going to outside sources for information.

With that being said, I am swallowing my pride and asking for some help here.

I am planning a road trip with a fishing buddy for mid march. We are going to stop in Big Sky MT to do some skiing, then head to the west coast for some pacific ocean fishing and golfing. On the way, we will be driving through the panhandle of Idaho on I90.

The idea hit us that maybe we could stop in and do some ice fishing for a couple days.

From what I have seen so far, it seems like the lowland lakes are VERY questionable that time of year (specifically 3/13-3/15). I haven’t really been able to get an answer on the high mountain lakes from any of the bait stores in the area.

I understand that ice conditions vary from year to year, but back here in Minnesota, on 3/15, you can bet with 100% certainty you can walk out on most lakes, even find 16"+ of ice, just depending on how far north you are willing to drive.

So I am looking for assistance. I can scour the forum boards for tactics, presentations, baits etc. But with the many hours of research behind me already, I have reached a dead end in deciding on which lake/area to target.

So here’s what I am looking for:

Within 2 hours of the I90 corridor
trout species present (not picky on exact species, just looking to add a few species to my list that I cant get back home)
vehicle accessible (an hour hike would be fine, but we are certainly not mountain climbers. four wheel drive F-350)
IDEALLY HIGH MOUNTAIN LAKE

I understand I might need to pick one or the other when it comes to vehicle accessible and high mountain lake, but poking around on the IFG website I found Hoodoo Lake and Little Bayhorse lake that look like they are at some high elevations with scenic views and a cool drive, but they are a bit too far from the I-90 corridor.

Now, 2 hours from the I-90 corridor is not a must. I can change the route if you have a gem on the south side of the state, I am just assuming that the further north you go, the better odds of finding fishable ice around 3/15.

Also, I wanted to add, since if it were me reading this post I would chuckle and say “do your own field work”, I am not looking to keep any fish. I am not going to post any recommendations or any fish I catch to social media.

It has always been a dream of mine to catch trout through the ice in the shadow of a picturesque mountain scene. Absolutely any assistance in locating this scene is greatly appreciated.

One more note, I would really like to do this trip self guided, but if you have any ice fishing guides to recommend in the area, send them my way.

I’m glad you said your willing to go south, your best bet would be Henrys Lake in South East Idaho it is just outside West Yellow Stone Montana and is a Blue Ribbon Fishery for Cuttthroat, Cuttbows and Brook Trout and will still have good ice at that time with easy access. Until this year it was closed from January 2 through Memorial weekend, but now it is open for catch and release fishing during your dates. You will also find lots of You Tube videos with useful ice fishing tactics and I would be willing to answer any question you may have and tell you what works there for me.

[MNIceNut]

Thank you very much for the tip. I was not expecting to get a response, and this is exactly what I am looking for. I can’t believe I hadn’t seen this, only an hour south of Big Sky, which is where we will be heading from. I assumed we’d need to go north to find ice.

Fishing has always been a passion of mine, and lately I have been itching to broaden my horizons beyond the lakes of MN. I have been visiting my parents in Florida a handful of times the last couple years, and have found a whole new passion in saltwater fishing. After realizing how much larger the fishing world is than the 10,000 lakes of MN, I’ve decided to explore it.

I thank you for offering to answer some follow up questions, and I am going to bombard you with some. Thank you for any info you willing to give.

Have you been to Henrys this ice season? How was your experience? I know ice conditions are never really a guarantee, and I feel like an asshole even asking this, but if its always been closed through memorial weekend, how do you know it would have ice in mid March? Is the only access through the state park on the SE side? What depth would you typically target trout this time of year? Is live bait allowed, if so would you even recommend it? Seems like minnows aren’t a common thing out there. I think you, and the videos I’ve been watching, have sold me on this lake, but I do get a little nervous about ice conditions with how far south it is, maybe that’s just my Minnesota showing. Is it the altitude that keeps it locked up into the Spring?

A little more on our trip, day 1 is driving, we’d be skiing the second and third day, ideally get to where we’ll be ice fishing the night after skiing day 3, which makes this lake a huge benefit. This way we could ice fish our entire fourth day, and even take our time heading west day 5.

Now, I have this image in my head of simply driving up a forest road up the side of a mountain until I reach a stream with trout in it, grabbing my 7’ spinning rod, and hooking into some fish. Is this realistic at all? Because that is what I was thinking of doing as I worked my way to the coast days 5 and 6. Maybe even stumbling into some high-altitude lakes that are still locked up. Is this a total pipe dream, or is that possible?

[obifishkenobi]

@MNIceNut

Thank you very much for the tip. I was not expecting to get a response, and this is exactly what I am looking for. I can’t believe I hadn’t seen this, only an hour south of Big Sky, which is where we will be heading from. I assumed we’d need to go north to find ice.

Fishing has always been a passion of mine, and lately I have been itching to broaden my horizons beyond the lakes of MN. I have been visiting my parents in Florida a handful of times the last couple years, and have found a whole new passion in saltwater fishing. After realizing how much larger the fishing world is than the 10,000 lakes of MN, I’ve decided to explore it.

I thank you for offering to answer some follow up questions, and I am going to bombard you with some. Thank you for any info you willing to give.

Have you been to Henrys this ice season? How was your experience? I know ice conditions are never really a guarantee, and I feel like an asshole even asking this, but if its always been closed through memorial weekend, how do you know it would have ice in mid March? Is the only access through the state park on the SE side? What depth would you typically target trout this time of year? Is live bait allowed, if so would you even recommend it? Seems like minnows aren’t a common thing out there. I think you, and the videos I’ve been watching, have sold me on this lake, but I do get a little nervous about ice conditions with how far south it is, maybe that’s just my Minnesota showing. Is it the altitude that keeps it locked up into the Spring?

A little more on our trip, day 1 is driving, we’d be skiing the second and third day, ideally get to where we’ll be ice fishing the night after skiing day 3, which makes this lake a huge benefit. This way we could ice fish our entire fourth day, and even take our time heading west day 5.

Now, I have this image in my head of simply driving up a forest road up the side of a mountain until I reach a stream with trout in it, grabbing my 7’ spinning rod, and hooking into some fish. Is this realistic at all? Because that is what I was thinking of doing as I worked my way to the coast days 5 and 6. Maybe even stumbling into some high-altitude lakes that are still locked up. Is this a total pipe dream, or is that possible?

I live in northern Utah but I fish South East Idaho a lot, because my in laws live in Idaho Falls. At 6500’ altitude Henrys Ice off typically happens in May most years, in fact there are many lakes in the intermountain west hundreds of miles south of Henrys that have fishable ice well into April because of the elevation. I usually start my ice season at Henrys as early as Halloween, this year it froze late around thanksgiving and I only fished it a couple times before the New Year and I have been fishing down in Utah since. Last year I fished it 5 times between Halloween and New Years which is more typical. A slow day for me at Henrys is a dozen 2-4 lb. trout with a typical day being 2 dozen and a good day 3 dozen. Henrys is a shallow lake most of it is less than 15’, I am usually in 8-12’ of water. I believe that the closure was to give the trout a break during the time of the year when there is low oxygen levels to avoid stressing them, but they have determined that they can handle the pressure, I guess. I would suggest accessing the lake at either the Fish Hatchery on the North end of the lake or Staley Spring on the West side. There is a resort called the Wild Rose near the Hatchery where you can get a room practically on the ice. There could be a lot of snow but fortunately you do not need to get more than a couple hundred yards off the bank. Live minnows are not allowed out in this part of the country, the most common set up is a 1/4 oz. 1.5-2’" white tube jig tipped with a piece of night crawler or meal worm or a chunk of chub or sucker meat. My go to is a 1/16oz. Maniac baits 1" white with red flake Gitzilla tipped with a meal worm, which unfortunately are no longer available. Spoons like Swedish Pimples are also popular. I would also suggest small tungsten jigs as the fish will be pretty picky this late in the ice season. A fish finder or flasher helps immensely to see the level of the fish coming through and to put your offering in their face. With or without a fish finder. I would start at the bottom come up a foot or two and jig until a fish appears on your screen adjust your depth to their level and then dead stick with your rod in your hand, watch your rod tip for very subtle bite, don’t try and set it on the first tap try and anticipate the next one and lift up. Another note most people jig way to aggressively jigging for me is all in the wrist and hand and I shake the jig more than anything. If you do not have a graph start at the bottom, bounce your jig off it a few times, then dead stick in your hand for a minute, if you don’t get bit, reel up a turn jig and dead stick, keep repeating this until you get bit noting how many turns you where off the bottom when you got bit. If you miss on the hook set, put it right back they will bite it again it is not uncommon for me to swing and miss several times before I hook up, remember hook sets are free.

As far as just driving along and finding fishable water it is possible but not that easy, I would plan ahead, if you want to just pull over along the highway you could do that along the along the Lochsa and Clearwater River drainage in central Idaho.

My background is, I grew up on the central coast of California, bass fishing and saltwater fishing, then moved to North Idaho to attend the University of Idaho where I stayed for 13 years catching ocean run salmon and steelhead, catfish, bass, panfish and trout. I moved to Utah 10 years ago where I Ice fish in the winter targeting mainly trout, kokanee, perch and crappie, soft water I mainly troll for kokanee but I also catch wipers, walleyes, catfish and trout. I hope this helps if your going to be at Henrys on a Saturday I may be able to meet you there and show you the ropes.