Lower Pine Lake Lower Pine Lake is mostly covered with ice. Uncertain ice conditions; Fishing is not recommended. The panfish/perch bite has slowed down somewhat due to the recent cold front. The evening pike perch bite from the shore was slower. Forecasts predict peaks in the 40s with much colder nights leading to frost. Most of the temperatures in the lakes are now in the 30s. Many small lakes became icy during the nights. The Great Lakes of Iowa are located about 45 minutes from Emmetsburg in Dickinson County. Walleye are subject to special legal provisions on the Western and Eastern Okoboji Lakes. Access is via the ramp at the northern tip of the lake on Pioneer Beach Road, via Interstate 71, and on both sides of the canal between Lakes West and East Okoboji. The first of these two ramps is located on Gordon Road; the second, on linden Street in Arnold`s Park. According to fishing guide John Grosvenor, « We have more fishing pressure on these lakes in winter than at any other time. I raise my eyebrows with this statement, but it`s true.

Okoboji is legendary in ice fishing circles. If the bite is hot, you`ll see license plates from Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. Grosvenor said Okoboji`s popularity, especially at West Lake, is rooted in its ability to « catch sight. » West is one of the few lakes in America where you can sit above a hole in the ice and see at least 20 feet below it on sunny days, watch the fish approach and take the bait, » Grosvenor said. He hypnotizes fishermen and hooks them for life in ice fishing. « Even the most negative beginner is fascinated by visual fishing, » Grosvenor confessed. Fishing through the ice for panfish such as yellow perch and bluegills is perhaps the most popular technique, although the pike perch bite can also get hot on the okoboji and the big spirit, according to Grosvenor. With more than 16 miles of shoreline, its average depth of 17 feet and its maximum of about 23, this largest of the state`s largest natural lakes — it covers 5,684 acres — is at the top of the chain. Upper Gar is located between East Okoboji and Minnewashta Lakes and serves as a waterway between them in hot weather. The lake reaches 5 feet deep at its deepest. Public access is via Hinshaw Road on the south side of the lake.

For more information, visit the Iowa DNR website at: www.iowadnr.gov/Fishing/Fishing-Tips-How-Tos/Ice-Fishing Lost Island Lake The lake has different ice conditions with an average of about 8 inches. Check the ice condition frequently. The depths go up to more than 16 feet. Minnewashta, hidden between Upper and Lower Gar Lakes, has an area of 126 hectares. Public access is at the west coast ramp west of the Orr Bridge over Sandy Lane. Effective January 1, the boundary of protective pike perch slots at Big Spirit Lake, east and west of Okoboji Lakes, Upper Gar Lake, Minnewashta Lake, Lower Gar Lake, and Storm Lake increases to 19 to 25 inches. No more than one pike perch over 25 inches and over 25 inches can be taken per day. Most of the lakes in the area are completely icy and have ice that is safe for pedestrian traffic. There are a lot of holes and seams that have been frozen lately. Make sure you have flotation, ice axes and check the thickness of the ice often. The colder temperatures forecast for this weekend should help create even better ice conditions. For current conditions, call the Spirit Lake District Office at 712-336-1840.

According to Hale, when visual fishing — which is not a concept applicable on many lakes in winter, he noted — is used here in conjunction with its electronics, success is much easier. It combines the Vexilar flasher – which lets you know you`re on certain fish – with an Aqua View underwater camera – which lets you know what kind of fish it is. The camera also allows you to see how the fish react to your bait. If they don`t take it, you can experiment with colors and sizes until you find what they want. This tactic works as well for walleye, bluegills, crappies as for poles. Fisheries biologist Jim Christianson warns fishermen not to pay attention to dangerous ice. Conditions on the chain lakes vary widely and can give a misleading sense of security. Safety first. Upper Gar sometimes pumps good-sized gills. This shallow lake may not contain bluegills in large numbers, but it can abandon beautiful ones. Look for green seagrass beds in this small 37-acre lake. Minnewashta and the Gar Lakes are shallower and warmer earlier in the spring than the deeper lakes in the range.

The ice is not as safe as winter subsides, and there are some early opportunities in open water. The smallest lakes in the chain can be grouped together. They will sometimes produce very useful ice fishing, but not as regularly as Spirit and West Okoboji. The Iowa Great Lakes are a series of interconnected water bodies of varying size and habitat. Lakes Okoboji East, Upper and Lower Gar and Minnewashta can produce if conditions are right, but the majority of fishermen stick to Spirit and West Okoboji, the two largest lakes in the system. Ice fishing can be good for ice, but Grosvenor has warned fishermen to only fish on safe ice. « It`s just not worth taking risks on marginal ice conditions, » Grosvenor says. Always put safety first when going ice fishing, check out the latest ice fishing reports or make a quick stop at the local bait store to find out which bites where. As always, make sure when you get out on the ice and follow these guidelines: For more than a century, fishermen have been targeting Iowa`s Great Lakes to enjoy the great fishing that these lakes offer. Most of the ice fishing takes place on Spirit and West Okoboji Lakes, but fish can still be caught occasionally on the rest of the lakes. Yellow perch is also available in good numbers – but Hale doesn`t expect a record year. .