Northwest Fishing Reports

any one out there buy any new ice fishing equipment this year? i myself am really thinking of getting an ARGO so that i can access some more lakes. but allready i have bought 2 new poles all new line for all my poles and tip ups and i have got about 10 new jigs. along with a propane tank for my heater. that is a small list but im still thinking about other items i want or need.
i hope to see some good ice this year and see other people fishing on the lakes.

You know what I have that would be good for ice fishing is a seat cover that is a heating pad. It works like those hand warmer things. You open the package then take out this seat cover and its gets real nice and toasty.It worked well on the boat for winter fishing. The only problem was the heat on the bowels really made you have to potty alot.

you know you coud use that as a foot warmer and put your feet on it then you will stay much warmer that along with your heater you will be toasty.

The same people that make hand warmers also make foot warmers that go in your boots. They work pretty well.

ya that same company used to make a large 12x12 patch that was a great idea you could put it in your sleeping bag and stay warm even i nthe coldest nights. i wish they continued to make it i have not seen it in about 4 years. but it was a good idea.

Okay I have always wanted to try ice fishing. So where do I go here in WA? I have no gear what so ever for ice fishing either. This somehting i want to try someday maybe this year.

scott080379 wrote:Okay I have always wanted to try ice fishing. So where do I go here in WA? I have no gear what so ever for ice fishing either. This somehting i want to try someday maybe this year.

Head East young man, head East.

Go out Highway 2 in January or Feburary. Find Fish Lake in Chelan County. Make sure its been cold cold winter.From there to the N.E youll find frozen lakes. Just like Big D said go East..
I still have 1.5 boxes of those large body or sleeping bag heaters. They are nice.

your a lucky man to have gotten more than 1 or 2 of those heaters but to have a 1.5 boxes of them makes you enlightened beyond all knowledge.


As for ice fishing if you have never went then it is extreamly important expessually in washington state that you go with someone whoe knows about ice fishing. (the ice is very hard to read if you have never done it before) as for places fish lake by lake wenatachie is very good to see ice fishermen at it. +this lake is used often enough that you dont need much as in gear a metal bar to punch thru the ice using an existing hole a small fishinig pole and several jigs or hooks along with bait and chair and warm gear. that will get you started and from there you will see what you want or need to continue the adventure. and then the more east you go the more lakes you can axcess. as for me i hit alot of the lakes over here on the west side its hard to get to but with snow machine i can make it. they are productive but secluded and the last 2 years i have not even seen any holes in the ice other than mine that i drill so they get no pressure at all.

The latest and greatest in HD color flasher VEXILARs are in...

I just snatched up a Eskimo Quickfish 3 shelter and a new ice sled. Wholesale Sports has all their ice fishing gear on clearance. Figured I would get it here vs. Alaska where it will be a lot more expensive.

@raffens- Nice buys - that sled looks nice and big; How deep is their discount now? Was only 30% last I was there.

Haven't been back on the ice to test 'em yet, but picked up an Arctic Armor Plus suit at a significant discount and a Petzl head lamp on discount as well. Now I might be able to extend those fishing sessions past sundown and/or pickup some crappie night fishing. Have always wanted both of those things.

It's still 30%, JKay and only 25% on remaining ice shelters. I wanted to wait a bit longer for further markdowns, but with the movers loading us out next week, I just got it. And a very reasonable price compared to what I would have paid in Alaska!

Thought I might start some intrest in this thread again....only about 2.5 months to go until ice season. And the countdown begins now...

I am going to try a few new things this year. Custom Jigs and Spins has the Gil Pill that comes in great colors. They kind of look like the perch pounder but I really like the shape and weight of them.

I just put in an order to Yourbobbersdown.com and bought some Atomic Nuggies. I accidentally ordered some Fluorescent Green colors instead of Chartreuse. If you could use them I have 2 bags (total of 12) that I will give away...including a free lesson on how to rig

ya'll are as crazy as the YAK'rs ... lol

'OL GREY DOG wrote:ya'll are as crazy as the YAK'rs ... lol

DOG- What's up with that man!? Just because I'm from Wisconsin doesn't mean I'm challenged!

We're iced up now in interior Alaska! I'm heading down to my local char and pike lake tomorrow, where I'll drill some holes and check ice thickness. After our arrival here late last March, the Sportsman's Warehouse in Fairbanks had it's usual spring clearance of ice fishing equipment. As I suspected, nearly everything was 10-25% more expensive than WA state. But they have more of it to get rid of, and after a few markdowns I was able to get a couple nice medium action rods and a bunch of jigs, several Swedish Pimples included, at great prices. They also had the 8" South Bend spring bobbers that I haven't seen since the 90s, when I was able to get some in Colorado. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up some nice, colored up arctic char to post photos of. They spawn in the winter, under the ice (crazy, huh?), and will be very pretty. Will keep y'all posted.

Vexilar announced that every thing they have made for this year has already been "pre-sold" out. I have most all the lineup on the shelves right now including the one and only one I am allowed of their newest top of the line the FSDV20DT double vision color camera and FL-20 flasher combo package. I won't go fishing w/o my Vexilar, and you shouldn't either, make this year your best by stepping up to a Vexilar. Don ~ BMGW