Ice fishing lures Fairbanks man into the cold
Published Monday, January 5, 2009
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS - Some people are content to fish in the summer, maybe for trout in the lake or salmon at the stream.
Benny Williams rolls out his gear during the winter. Last month, Williams, who has lived in Alaska for 26 years, made a trip to Chena Lake Recreation Area for some ice fishing, a hobby he picked up a few years ago.
“That spot was hopping,” Williams said a few days after the trip of the site picked by his group. He said they caught dozens of fish, most of which they released. “They were rocking.”
The public recreation area hosts a pair of ice-fishing houses, and the lake is stocked with fish including rainbow trout and Arctic char, according to the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
That’s enough to coax residents like Williams out during cold winters to play on the ice and try to bring home some fish in the process.
Interior Alaska has plenty of lakes and rivers. Many are kept stocked, and Williams, a father and airway transportation system specialist with the Federal Aviation Administration, has been fishing on and off since arriving in Fairbanks.
But it took him until just a few years ago to try ice fishing. He first learned from co-worker Henry Garbowski, who has a cabin near Delta Junction. Garbowski, who said he’s also originally from the East Coast, said he had plenty to learn when he first tried ice fishing in Alaska. The ice here is much thicker, for example, than back east, and it takes a lot more work to punch a hole and keep it clear, he said.
Williams said he’s picked up at least one important trick that Garbowski brought with him to Alaska. He keeps egg shells, and on fishing trips crunches them up and drops them into the hole. Williams said the move tricks fish, as the bits of shell reflect light, artificial or natural, and attract fish toward the hole — and the fisherman’s hook.
“They see it as daylight, and they come after the stuff,” he said.
Williams and his fishing partners try different things for bait. Corn, plastic salmon eggs, cheese balls, cocktail shrimp or real salmon eggs all might make their way onto the group’s collective lines, said Fennell Leavy, another of Williams’ fishing buddies.
After rigging the line, it’s then a matter of dropping the hook to the bottom of the lake and “slowly but surely” reeling it back up until you feel a nibble, Williams said.
“Then you stop in that neighborhood and you generally get them there,” said Leavy, who has been fishing with Williams for three or four years but only started ice fishing with him this winter.
Williams said while some trips are more fruitful than others, the name of the game is simply getting out of the house during the long Alaska winter and having a little fun. The group said they usually don’t go out when it’s colder than 10 degrees below zero, and even at that point, Williams said he makes a point of preparing—particularly because his feet get cold quickly. “The main thing is to stay warm.”
Birch Lake State Recreation Area has fishing too, but Williams said he likes the public ice-fishing cabins at Chena Lake and, particularly, its location.
“It’s close, and then again if we ever had to get back to town, we can get back real quick,” he said.
Garbowski said he’s now trying to lead Williams toward fly fishing as well. Williams said he’ll hear the proposal.
Contact staff writer Christopher Eshleman at 459-7582.
Community Discussion
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i have always wanted to ice fish. Does the chena lakes have everything u need to make the whole and what else do u need for it. How many fish you allowed to keep per person per day?
When I was stationed at Eielson AFB during the early 70's I made trips down to Bolio Lake near Delta Junction. We cut through 20 inches of ice one November and caught our limit of Silver Salmon in less time than it took to cut the holes. We went back in February the next year and cut through 56 inches of ice. We limited out once again. The fish turned off to our offerings of salmon eggs. One of my buddies put on a piece of Macaroni from lunch I was fixing and BOOM he caught fish on Macaroni. The fish were hungry I guess.
montanacreek:
How big were the silver salmon?
That sounds like so much fun. And tasty too.
They were 12 to 15 inches on average. Back then the limit was 10 fish per person. Yes, they were delicious. The hard part was cutting through all that ice. It usually took us 30 minutes per hole by hand with three extentions on the ice auger. We did it the old fashion way, by hand. No powered auger for us. Anytime outside in Alaska no matter what time of year was fun, even if we had to work for it.
Cool.
For more on the FAA:
www[dot]BobbySturgell[dot]org
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