Lakes can go bad fast with this weather

Excuse me, do you have the MONTH?

Last I checked, it was mid-February, but this warm, rainy weather really has me thinking I RipVan Winkled my way right into mid-March. Honestly, I still have way too much ice fishing to do, with two more Perch Assault tournaments to conduct and the TGO film crew arriving in 10 days for a week of filming the spectacular ice fishing opportunities we have … er … had?

Now I am pretty confident that this too shall pass, and we will get back into a regular pattern real soon, but when you combine lakes that had marginal ice to begin with, and now three to four days of rain, those lakes can go bad fast. Can’t urge folks enough, you need to check ice conditions daily — just because it was good ice yesterday does not mean it will be good ice today. In fact, all we have to do is look west to McGregor Lake and you will see what I am talking about.

According to Mike Feldman at the Lodge at McGregor Lake, while the lake still had quite a bit of open water on the Kalispell end the weeks before last weekend’s tournament, they thought they still might get it locked up. In fact, Mike told me the fishing the week before the tournament was some of the best he had seen in his 18 years at the resort. That’s saying something.

Then it warmed up, the lake stopped building ice and the fishing flat shut down. Not that the two were related, but conditions had everyone concerned and kept a lot of folks away. Smart.

No ice is worth risking your life for. If it doesn’t get better again, there is always next year. Remember your safety gear like ice picks and flotation gear and don’t fish alone. Are there some lakes around that still have good, hard ice? Sure, but you won’t know until you go, and if you go, please be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

Speaking of the McGregor Lake Lodge Derby, congratulations go out to Tom Erickson from Libby whose 6 1/2-pound lake trout took top place in the Mackinaw category. At almost $200 a pound, that’s a good day’s fishing! For the first time ever, a rainbow trout was not entered into that category until, with less than two hours to go, a very small subadult rainbow was entered. Since Montana does not have a minimum length regulation for rainbows, it was a legal fish and the check was awarded, but look for some changes to the derby rules in years to come. This is a big fish derby and I agree minimums should be in play.

In other tournament news, the monthlong Perch Pounder continues through the 28th (with a break this weekend for the “holiday”) and is currently led by Russ Geldrich with a 1.832-pound whopper caught out of a local Region One lake! (Gotcha Russ!) 

Will the 2-pound mark be broken this year, or perhaps even a new state record? With two Perch Assault Tournaments still to go  (along with the Perch Pounder) there are still lots of chances for a big, egg-laden female to top that magic 2.39-pound beauty caught by Josh Emmert back in 2006. For more information and online entry forms, check out www.perchassault.com

Other upcoming events include the local Walleyes Unlimited Banquet on Feb. 28 and the Montana Sportsman Expo Feb. 27 and 28 and March 1. I will be there all weekend and will be conducting seminars and helping you get the most out of your angling time. I’ll see you on the water!