ICE OUT

Spring has officially begun and we’re gearing up for the coming season. Currently we have a few stretches of river open but we wouldn’t call them fishable just yet. The streams and rivers can fish ok in the spring but the icing off of our famed Delaney Butte Lakes is what we’re anticipating. Ice-off at the Delaney Buttes is a KILEER time of year. The fishing is usually very good and we think the bigger fish have their guard down. Crayfish, leeches, midges, eggs, water boatmen, and scuds are all super effective patterns. We feel it’s more about fighting the cold temps and being out there than having the perfect pattern.

Delaney Buttes Ice Off

Trout are super sensitive to water temperatures. In water that’s below 35 degrees a trout’s metabolism will slow down and they will spend less energy searching for food and more just trying to stay alive. Under the ice they also have to deal with depleting dissolved oxygen (DO) levels and the longer the ice cap is on the worse the conditions will get. This is why fishing can be so great as the ice starts to peel off. After being under a cap of ice at a sustained temperature and depleting DO for months you can only imagine how these fish get a jolt of energy when the ice comes off. Water temps start to rise and DO levels shoot up prompting fish to get on the hunt for food. As the ice starts to peel away shorelines heat up faster than the rest of the lake which attracts the fish to the shallow bays. This also attracts the biomass (food) in the lake such as crayfish, scuds, water boatmen, and leeches. If you’re patient enough to observe the fish you can watch them slowly patrolling the shallower water in search of food.

Delaney Buttes Cut-Bow Night Fishing with Meat!

During daylight hours  fish are usually patrolling the shallows from a distance but as the sun slides down and night appears they get more aggressive and come in tight to the bank.   During daylight hours we’ll target the fish in the deeper water with nymph rigs and as the sun fades away we’ll get out the streamer rods and change our focus to the shallow bays. Like we mentioned before pattern selection is not as important as having the toughness to be out there. We have a lot of success with a ton of different bugs at ice-off. We’ll begin posting maps revealing current ice conditions on our fishing report and facebook page.  We’d love to see pictures of the fish you catch, please share them with us using #iceoutdbuttes. We’re excited for the coming season and hope to see you here!

Fish On!