PAXSON — A few evenings ago, my daughter came to me with a deck of cards. "Hey Dad," she said. "Let's play 'Go Fish!' "
Good idea, but it reminded me that we should really "go fish." It is that time of the year: The ice is safe, but not too thick. The fish remain relatively active. There is fair daylight, and it isn't minus-40.
Early winter has been quite benign here. Paxson and Delta Junction have seen a few days below zero, but the lower temperatures have only held a few days. Ice on Delta-area ponds is 8 or 10 inches. Lake ice in Delta is generally safe earlier than ice in many places, especially on lakes stocked by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The stocked Delta lakes have no inlets or outlets and rarely have springs near the shoreline.
Consider Quartz Lake
Landlocked silvers, rainbows and Arctic char are common in this part of the Interior.
Quartz Lake is the popular fishing spot for Delta folks. However, there are many smaller stocked lakes that offer excellent fishing. Coal Mine Road at Mile 242 of the Richardson Highway has a half-dozen lakes that are excellent for rainbows within a few miles of the highway. Consider a snowmobile to haul gear; it snowed Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Donnelly area also has numerous small lakes that are stocked with rainbows and char. One can drive a truck right to the lakes for the most part, but be sure to check the ice carefully before you drive on it. Conventional wisdom says 6 inches of good, clear ice is needed for a light truck. Opt for 10 inches. I may be a little cautious, but having put a half-ton Ford through the ice many years ago educated me.
An ax will suffice to chop a hole now, but a decent ice chisel is a better tool.
The Delta area is known for wind, so if you have a canvas ice shack, bring it. Also, don't forget a few of those screw-in ice anchors to keep your tent from blowing west.
The good thing about thin ice is that one can make a larger hole and see the fish below. Angle the sides of the hole back so there are no straight, sharp ice edges to fray your line. Personally, I prefer a good monofilament line, though braided lines are very popular with those targeting larger fish and are more resistant to abrasion.
Once you have the hole in the ice, the challenge begins. There are as many lures as there are fishermen. However, the old standbys are still the best starting points.
- Red-and-white Dardevles have always worked and still do;
- Chartreuse or fluorescent crocodiles are effective;
- Single eggs, either red or pale, work alone or in conjunction with a lure.
- Rainbows love cluster roe.
- White mini-jigs should be in every tackle box.
Snap swivels are really handy for changing lures in a hurry, but picky fish may be turned off by the excessive hardware. Consider tying lures on when jigging. Keep movement to a minimum when fishing a large hole. Noise is not necessarily good either, though I have found that some repetitive sounds attract fish.
I fished with a buddy who's an incessant foot tapper. It drove me nuts until it became apparent that the fish loved it. If I fished with him, we out-fished everyone in the immediate area two to one.
Big lake trout in Paxson, Summit lakes
Fishing stocked lakes usually means action. One is rarely skunked, and the kids love seeing fish in the hole, even the small ones. Big fish are tougher to come by in the stocked ponds, though. Anything over 16 inches is typically considered large. By contrast, an 18-inch lake trout out of Paxson or Summit Lake is a little guy.
Both of these lakes, at Mile 180 and Mile 192 of the Richardson Highway, have trout in 20-pound range, and 5-pound fish are common. Lake trout bite well in early winter. Twenty feet of water is a good starting point and excellent fishing can be had in even shallower areas. The water in both Paxson and Summit is very clear; fish can be seen up to 15 feet away. Save your eggs shells for a couple of weeks before you go fishing. Crush them and bring them along. White eggshells at the bottom of your hole will let you see fish that cross, even at depths of 20 feet.
Bait is allowed in winter on most Copper Basin lakes. Check the regs; not all lakes are the same. Whitefish pieces are best for trout, but I have done well with herring too. Salt herring stays on the hook better than fresh.
If you don't catch any trout, you can always eat the herring!
Lead-head jigs, either with a bucktail or rubber tails are superior trout lures. A trailer hook with bait can boost your prospects.
However, fishing is not just about catching the fish. It is about getting out there, getting cold feet and wet hands, building a windbreak from snow-blocks, bringing the fish to the bottom of the hole and having him escape before getting a look.
How big was he? It's my story, and I'm going to stick to it.
John Schandelmeier is a lifelong Alaskan who lives with his family near Paxson. He is a Bristol Bay commercial fisherman and two-time winner of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.