Ice fishing is a fun sport that can be very safe as long as precautions are taken! It is important to always be aware of your surroundings when ice fishing because conditions can change quickly, especially during early and late ice periods (December & March).  As Colorado ice fishing guides, safety is always our number one concern and we take a number of precautions to make sure that our clients as well as ourselves are alway going to be able to get on and off the ice safely.

First Ice

When a body of water first ices up, conditions can vary greatly!

 It’s important to to watch the daily temperature highs and lows.  Once you see ice form and the daily high is not getting much over freezing, you can assume that some good, hard black ice is forming!  When you think you have enough safe ice to get out and fish, it’s important to test this ice.  You can do this by throwing some decent sized rocks onto the ice or by taking a spud bar to test thickness.  It’s important to have at least 4″ of solid black ice in order to be safe.  It is also very important to test the ice every 15-25′ as you venture forward to make sure that your ice is consistent.  

You should always have all of the safety gear items listed below with you at first ice.  Wear life/ice pics around your neck just in case you go through, you’ll have a way to pull yourself out. First ice is typically very smooth and slippery so ice cleats for your boots are very helpful in avoiding a hard fall.  Carry some rope and wear a life vest.  It’s always smart to have at least one other person with you. A change of clothes left in the car is a good idea just in case.  You can find more information about getting started in ice fishing by following this beginner’s guide to ice fishing.