When The Forecast Calls

By Raeanne O’Meara

The very mild December we had in northern BC was less than ideal for the formation of ice on the lakes where we usually ice fish; what little ice did form was then battered by days of rain. Not exactly ideal conditions. Temperatures finally plummeted to -30 for a couple days at the start of the new year, the start of what should have been typical January weather – but Mother Nature evidently had something different in store, and all of a sudden we were back to zero degree bliss.

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Now, typically I hunker down in January. As much as I love an excuse to get outside (paired with my never-ending love-hate relationship with ice fishing) I have no interest in freezing my behind off, jigging for hours in the frigid cold. No thank you! However, when the forecast calls for sunshine and darn near t-shirt weather, you better bet that I’m loading up my fishing gear into my sleigh and headed out onto the ice.

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Paired with a few trusty lures and unbridled early season enthusiasm, I pulled out all the stops to get the first fish of the year. Burbot or lake trout, I didn’t really care; in our household, we enjoy eating them both equally. Now, my head wasn’t up in the clouds – I was not thinking that I would catch anything within the first hour (although, last winter I did catch a laker the moment I finished letting out my line!) but I was fairly confident that by the end of the week, I would have a fish on the ice.

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A couple hours in the morning. A couple hours in the evening. One spot, to a second, to a third. Tube jig to ruby eye, back to tube jig and back to ruby eye. Sprinkled in a little FST action. Guys, I even actively jigged the entire time I was out there (and anyone who has fished with me knows I tend to get a little distracted while jigging, be it on the ice or in a boat).

 

Alas, my early enthusiasm slowly crumbled away – when it comes to fishing, I am undeniably an instant gratification kind of gal – and as I dragged my sleigh back to the truck empty handed once again, I was reminded why I have such a tumultuous relationship with the activity. While there’s yet to be a fish laid out on the ice, I have a feeling the 2025 fishing season is going to be a great one!