In places like Wild Horse Reservoir near Elko and Red and Caples lakes along Highway 88, ice fishing is possible when water freezes and creates ice a minimum of six inches thick.
It has been a Cassinelli family tradition for several years to go ice fishing when the lakes and reservoirs are safe for ice fishing. Ice must be a minimum of six inches thick to be safe. If there’s corn snow above the solid ice, it may need to be even thicker. With the use of either a power auger or a hand auger, a 6-to-8-inch hole is drilled into the ice for each fisherman in the group. Those with a second rod stamp can use two holes.
Usually 4-6 or more of us pick a date in January or February and decide which lake or reservoir to try. Some of our favorites are Wild Horse Reservoir north of Elko, South Fork Reservoir south of Elko or Cave Lake southeast of Ely. We have also been known to go to Red Lake or Caples Lake along Highway 88 in California for day-trip fishing.
Layers of protective clothing must be worn, since the winter weather can be brutal. Waterproof boots with treaded soles, insulated gloves, earmuffs, long johns, and a warm jacket with a hood will help. It’s always better to bring extra clothing than be “caught out in the cold.” Children dressed up in winter coats and mittens love to skate and run around out on the ice. Letting them pull out a fish is a treat they’ll never forget.
A family group will always have an ice sieve to clean snow and ice from the fishing holes when needed. The holes drilled are sometimes 24 inches or more deep. Some groups (including ours) may set up a portable ice fishing tent, a collapsible table with a propane stove, ice chests with no ice to keep worms and drinks from freezing and plenty of your favorite beverages. Simple wire or PVC rod holders to keep your pole at a 45 degree angle with the ice are nice to have. One year, I even made some wooden balanced and weighted trout decoys to lower down into an ice hole to attract fish to the place where we were fishing.
Everyone fishing must have a license, trout stamp, extra rod stamp if wanted, short ice fishing poles, tackle box, worms, power bait, shrimp, jigs or whatever bait or lure you (and the fish) desire. Game wardens do check for licenses and go from group to group on snowmobiles. There should be a folding chair with a drink holder for each person. A trick we learned early on was to attach a jungle bell or a rattlesnake tail to the end of the fishing rod so you can hear when you have a bite. You can then visit and tell lies to the other fishermen until the bell rings. An ice fishing sled or a large plastic box for your gear can easily be pulled across the ice to the desired place to fish.
A few times when the ice was solid and over two feet thick, we have taken the truck out on the ice. This must be done with extreme caution and isn’t recommended. The NDOW website usually has ice fishing conditions listed for each lake or reservoir. There’s a humorous story about prehistoric ice fishing in my novel, “Legends of Spirit Cave.” Several ancient stone ice fishing picks were found at and near Lovelock Cave by the Humboldt sink, so we know prehistoric people enjoyed the sport and the fish they caught.
This article is by Dayton author and historian Dennis Cassinelli, who can be contacted on his blog at denniscassinelli.com. All Dennis’ books sold through this publication will be at a 50 percent discount, plus $3 each shipment for postage and packaging.
