Photo by Ron Sinfelt

For enthusiastic Iowa ice-anglers, last winter was disappointing. The season started with great promise, Arctic air sweeping over the state in early December, bringing with it bone-chilling cold that quickly froze our ponds, lakes and even rivers. A few days later, a half-foot of fluffy snow fell over much of the state. It looked as if we were in for a winter like those in the good old days.

Then the weather turned. Snow quickly melted; so did the ice. The rest of the winter was balmy. In most parts of Iowa, either there was no ice, or what little there was too thin to support an angler or two safely. Even worse, the weather pattern was dangerous.

"An insulating blanket of snow fell on thin ice, but it was very cold out in December," said Steve Krotz, fishing manager at the Cedar Rapids' GOT Outdoors store and a dedicated angler. "Ice-fishermen are an enthusiastic group, and they like to get out on the early ice. They assumed the ice was safe when it wasn't. Many went through. It was a deadly pattern -- and we want ice-fishing to be a safe sport."

Every biologist and most experienced ice-anglers I talked with in preparing this article expressed concern about ice-fishing safety. Several said that no fish is worth getting drowned for! Brian Hayes, an Iowa Department of Natural Resources employee at the Manchester Trout Hatchery, told me that an ice-angler drowned while fishing South Prairie Lake in Cedar Falls. Biologist Andy Moore said, "We had one drowning and one near-drowning at Prairie Rose Lake in Shelby County due to poor ice conditions. Fortunately, park personnel were close by to make the save."

Although some parts of Iowa had safe ice in December, the rest of the winter turned out unusually warm, and ice-fishing was impossible in most of the state for most of that long winter. According to most biologists, few anglers attempted to fish open water; most, apparently, stayed home and watched football games on TV.

Hopefully, this winter will be better. The fish are certainly there: Biologists across the state report that many lakes, reservoirs, and river backwaters harbor respectable populations of bluegills, redears and crappies. A few lakes and Mississippi River backwaters offer fine winter fishing for yellow perch, and some lakes boast large numbers of yellow or white bass, which, although rarely pursued by ice-anglers, offer the possibility of interesting panfishing. Assuming the ice is safe, it looks like a great winter for Iowa ice-anglers.

The biologist with what's probably the best feel for statewide ice-fishing opportunities is IDNR fisheries chief Marion Conover. He tends to encourage Iowans to head for the state's bigger waters. "I'd look for excellent fishing at Lake Anita, Three Mile Lake, Spirit Lake, Brushy Creek Lake, Clear Lake, Big Creek Lake, Lake Rathbun, Lake Wapello, Pleasant Creek Lake, and the Mississippi River backwaters," he said.