The start of winter shouldn't dampen the amount of time you spend outside catching big fish. In fact, there's a hardy subset of anglers who are just getting started when the snow starts to fly and lake surfaces freeze over. Now that winter is officially upon us, consider putting one of these top-notch ice fishing destinations on your must-fish list.
1. Chaumont Bay, Lake Ontario, Upstate New York
Chaumont Bay is an inlet on the north end of Lake Ontario near the village of Chaumont (pronounced sha-mo) in Upstate New York. Sometime after New Years, anglers begin flocking to Chaumont to chase pickerel, pike, walleye, and perch, but the bay is famous in ice fishing circles for its massive walleye. In fact, last February, a Pennsylvania ice angler caught a 16-pound, 8-ounce walleye in Chaumont that nearly toppled the New York state record. Ed Green caught that fish on a Rapala Jigging Shadow Rap. He was guided by Louis Pagnotti of Chaumont Masters guide service.
TIP: The perch fishing in Chaumont Bay can be world-class as well, and there's no limit on size or quantity. Local anglers are known to catch boatloads of jumbo perch using hand-tied "perch bugs" on size 8 hooks, tipped with either a maggot or a perch eye.
2. Devils Lake, North Dakota
At 190,000 acres, Devil’s Lake is the largest naturally occurring water body in North Dakota, and it’s famous for healthy populations of walleye, perch, and northern pike. Ice fishing typically kicks off on Devil’s in early to mid-December, when anglers can jig rattling spoons for fat, football-shaped walleyes that feed heavily above man-made structure. Fish 2 to 3 feet off the bottom in water as deep as 30 feet when targeting perch. One common perch lure on Devil’s is a slender 1/16th spoon tipped with 2 or 3 maggots (A.K.A. spikes) on the treble hook. Tip-ups are a good strategy when fishing for pike, and every flag that goes up has trophy potential. Fish dead herring or cisco right off the bottom for your best chance at netting a trophy northern.
TIP: Foggy, overcast days are best for the all-day walleye bite on Devils.
3. Strawberry Reservoir, Utah
Strawberry Reservoir is one of the largest lakes in Utah, and—with thriving populations of cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, and kokanee salmon—it's one of the best ice fishing destinations in the Intermountain West. At an elevation over 7,500 feet, ice on "The Berry" is usually thick enough for consistent fishing by early to mid-December. Anglers target trout with small tube jigs tipped with spikes. Most of the cutthroat in Strawberry Reservior reproduce naturally, but the Utah Department of Wildlife Resources does stock healthy amounts of sterile rainbows as well as some cutthroats. When fishing for kokanee (land-locked sockeye salmon), anglers will rig a vertical spoon jig 8 to 12 inches below a lake troll like a Mac's Sling Blade Dodger.
TIP: The Strawberry Bay Marina offers shuttles out onto the ice all week long during the winter months. A round trip will cost you $45.
4. Green Bay, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin-Michigan
Green Bay is an arm of Lake Michigan that butts up to the east coast of Wisconsin and the southwest coast of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It's approximately 120 miles long and ranges between 10 to 20 miles in width. The bay is a legendary destination for big walleye, northern pike, perch, and whitefish.
TIP: During late winter, walleye push into the shallows and feed heavily near structure in preparation for the upcoming spawn. Try fishing an 8-ounce jighead tipped with a dead shiner over shallow-water zebra muscle beds.
5. Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Wyoming-Utah
The Flaming Gorge Reservoir is formed by the Green River which is impounded by the Flaming Gorge dam in southwest Wyoming. Much of the 42,000-acre lake sits in Wyoming, but a good-sized section extends into northern Utah as well—and the ice fishing is great in both the Cowboy State and the Beehive State portions. Ice anglers from all over the country travel to the Gorge to target kokanee salmon, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, trophy lakers, and burbot.
TIP: Fish big tube jigs an inch or two off the bottom to catch trophy lakers on Flaming Gorge.
6. Fort Peck Lake, Montana
Few fisheries in the West can rival Fort Peck Lake when it comes to ice fishing. This remote reservoir sprawls over 234,000 acres in north-central Montana and offers great fishing for walleye, northern pike, and trophy-sized lake trout. The lake usually has fishable ice by early December, and the walleye and pike bite picks up as soon as the ice is on. Walleye can be caught with jigging spoons or live minnows over structure and around drop-offs. For early-season pike, anglers rig tip-ups with herring and smelt along the weedy shorelines and shallow bays where they hunt for baitfish. TIP: Tip-ups set out overnight on Fort Peck often yield fish the following morning.
7. Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota
Mille Lacs is the second-largest lake in Minnesota and one of the state's most renowned fishing destinations. First ice fishing typically begins in early December and brings a fast-paced bite for both walleye and pike. Anglers use a variety of vertical minnow jigs for perch and walleye, usually tipped with a spike or a minnow head. The lake is known for its trophy northerns—40-plus inchers—which can be caught in shallow, weedy water using suckers or frozen smelt for bait. TIP: When the ice thickens in mid-winter and the walleye and perch bite slows down, there's still great fishing for tullibee. Also known as lake herring or cisco, these fish grow to more than a foot in length on Mille Lacs, and they're great eating.
8. Lake Gogebic, Michigan
Lake Gogebic is a natural lake spanning 13,800-acres in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and it's well known for jumbo perch through the ice. Anglers hone in on the north end of the lake for walleye, mid-lake humps for pike, and submerged structure on the south end for trophy walleyes and northerns. The jumbo perch that make the lake famous tend to feed around submerged vegetation and along drop offs.
TIP: Use small vertical jigs tipped with minnows, spikes, or worms when targeting jumbo perch on Lake Gogebic.
9. Lake Champlain, Vermont-New York
Lake Champlain is a naturally occurring lake that extends for 120 miles along the border of Vermont and New York. Great ice fishing abounds on Champlain when the lake finally freezes in January or February. Target species include land-locked salmon, lake trout, walleye, and perch. Pike tend to congregate in shallow-water bays and shallow flats while salmon are found in deeper water north of the Sandbar Causeway. According to Vermont Fish & Wildlife, the walleye can show up anywhere, but the most consistent winter action is on the southern end of the lake near the towns of Benson and Orwell. TIP: Fish small-to-medium suckers (live or dead) on the bottom when targeting Champlain lake trout.
Read Next: The 50 Best Fishing Lures of All Time
10. Pactola Reservoir, South Dakota
At 185,000 acres (all on public land), Pactola Reservoir is the largest lake in South Dakota's Black Hills. And it's a must-fish destination for anyone interested in trophy lakers, which were introduced in the 1970s and have been strictly managed ever since. In January 2013, ice fisherman Aaron Jones of Rapid City caught a 30-pound, 42-inch laker that still stands as the South Dakota state record. The lake also draws anglers in search of rainbow trout, brown trout, northern pike, and perch. TIP: Though there are no walleyes in Pactola, you can use traditional walleye tackle to catch massive lakers.
