zackcarp Report post Posted January 5, 2021 So a few months back my cousin called me up to see if I wanted to go on an adventure. So when he mentioned ice fishing in Idaho I was a bit skeptical of the whole idea, since I've never done that before. After talking with my wife we decided we would go and leave the kids behind. Over the next few months was me trying to get enough cold weather gear for my wife and I. I watched a few YouTube videos on ice fishing and saw huge trout and perch coming out of Lake Cascade, which got me excited. My cousin ended up hooking us up with a guide there which was nice, not having the proper gear and all. So 2 days after Christmas we left Gilbert and head off on a 13 hour trip to Mountain Home. We went up through Las Vegas and then to Ely, Nevada. I have driven up to Idaho Falls through Utah before, so I wanted to see what Nevada was like. I was very surprised how scenic Nevada ended up being. As we drove through Ely I could see people ice fishing there. I asked my wife why were going so far when we only had to drive half way. That night we arrived at our friends house in Mountain Home and stayed the night. We stayed in Mountain Home, got our day lisences and made our way through Boise and up to Cascade. Once we left Boise the snow was over 12"s or so. We arrived at our "Lodge" and waited for my cousin and his kids to show up. Once they got there we headed off for burgers at the local bar and grill the gal from the lodge recommended. As we pulled up, its obviously closed. Great, so we decided to head back to main Street and stop at the only Cafe that looks open, sliding on the ice covered roads the entire time. Once we slid into a parking spot near the Cafe my wife finally relaxed and we went in. The funny part was, the sign out front said "Tonight's special is Chicken Alfredo", which is my wife's favorite. But once we got seated the waitress tells us she was all out. My wife was disappointed. The next morning we head to meet our guide Bill and get onto the ice. The high was supposed to be 33 and low was supposed to be 12. When we were getting on our snow mobiles the truck thermostat read -8 degrees 🥶. Way too cold for this AZ native. After watching my cousins kids flip one snow mobile, we made it to our spot. After a quick tutorial on ice fishing we were off. Bill threw up a few shelters and started the buddy heaters. That made all the difference on my freezing toes. I dont know what it is with me and fishing, but I have 0 luck. My cousin and his kids though have it all. Immediately they started pulling fish. My cousin's youngest (10) pulled the biggest perch and a 20" trout. Once we caught a few fish we ended up popping out the eyes and using that for bait. It seemed to work better than worms. Through out the day we braved the elements (12 degrees ended up being the high) and fished different holes outside the shelter, then went back to warm up. My wife and I ended up watching a couple movies. It was pretty much the closest thing we have had to a date in a long time, so it was enjoyable. Over all we ended up with about 20 fish. We went back to the motel which actually had a small cleaning station in their lodge which was cool. We met a couple from Wyoming who were spending some time there to ice fish as well. They were pretty impressed with our catch, which I was happy with, not knowing anything about ice fishing. Then we ended up coming straight back the next day, stopping at a few of the sites in Idaho and Utah. A couple things I thought interesting, is our guide's helper mentioned his cousin was coming all the way to Tombstone to hunt Coues deer in January. So we discussed that a bit since we live in Sierra Vista. The other was that every older person i talked to asked where a good spot to snow bird at would be in Arizona. I told them all Yuma, so good luck with that over there fellas. Overall a fun experience. Would I do it again? I really doubt it! Not when its that cold. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Delw Report post Posted January 5, 2021 Yup that looks way too cold, but fun as heck. My father and his brother iced fish all the time in NY when they were kids, one day in there teens the ice broke(where the holes where) Dad fell in. he and his brother never went again. He always told me that story everytime I got the idea/urge to go. (Washington state and Japan). in the 80's I got the urge to goto kinikik up by flag. Wife and I get to the lake and there was a truck on it a few 3 wheelers too. walked on the ice said F this and went for a drive up to the north rim and fished lee's ferry on the way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yotebuster Report post Posted January 5, 2021 Looks like fun! Being from ND we do a lot of ice fishing, but I’m pretty picky about what days I go. That sounds too cold to me!! I usually try for days that are slightly above freezing as I hate dealing with my lines all froze up and hate fishing in a house. I’ve seen some giant perch come out of cascade. Enjoy the meal! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trphyhntr Report post Posted January 5, 2021 Been eyeing the reports from there for years now. Kind of a bucket list place to fish. I’ve heard the bite can be tough Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zackcarp Report post Posted January 5, 2021 1 hour ago, trphyhntr said: Been eyeing the reports from there for years now. Kind of a bucket list place to fish. I’ve heard the bite can be tough They say its the Mecca of ice fishing perch. It seems to be getting more popular like everything else outdoors. Our guide said this year has had the most people he's ever seen. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BassSlayer Report post Posted January 16, 2021 Just about time to dust off my ice fishing gear and go to Big Lake here in ARIZONA. No perch but some nice trout and a good time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trphyhntr Report post Posted January 16, 2021 12 minutes ago, BassSlayer said: Just about time to dust off my ice fishing gear and go to Big Lake here in ARIZONA. No perch but some nice trout and a good time. Is it iced? I was thinking of going Sunday. Weather seemed pretty warm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yotebuster Report post Posted January 16, 2021 Got into some fatties the other day up here in ND. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flatlander Report post Posted January 16, 2021 3 hours ago, trphyhntr said: Is it iced? I was thinking of going Sunday. Weather seemed pretty warm There was ice on it right after Christmas. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NOTAGS Report post Posted January 16, 2021 Ice is God’s way of telling you it’s too cold to fish.... just my personal take on it. I like warm weather and cold beer when I’m fishing.... not cold weather and warm beer. Or frozen beer! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HuntHarder Report post Posted January 16, 2021 A few jumbo's in there. Perch might be my favorite fish to eat. One of my favorite things about going back to ND to hunt each year, are the fish frys. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yotebuster Report post Posted January 16, 2021 3 hours ago, NOTAGS said: Ice is God’s way of telling you it’s too cold to fish.... just my personal take on it. I like warm weather and cold beer when I’m fishing.... not cold weather and warm beer. Or frozen beer! That’s why you set up an icehouse! Only way to fish in climate controlled comfort! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yotebuster Report post Posted January 16, 2021 2 hours ago, HuntHarder said: A few jumbo's in there. Perch might be my favorite fish to eat. One of my favorite things about going back to ND to hunt each year, are the fish frys. Where do you go in ND? What do you hunt? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HuntHarder Report post Posted January 16, 2021 1 hour ago, yotebuster said: Where do you go in ND? What do you hunt? Sutton, Mchenry area. Have a few buddies with larger farms that we hunt Whitetail and geese on. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
