Washington Ice Fishing Guides?

Jacob Watrous

Jacob Watrous

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Does anyone know where I might find a guide, "guide", or guide service for ice fishing in Washington State? Preferably 3 or fewer hours from Seattle.


After watching Grumpy Old Men there were several takeaways; first, for better or worse, the movie holds up as well as it ever did and second, my kids really, really want to go ice fishing.
 
You might call MarDon and talk to Levi Meseberg.
I’m not sure he does ice fishing guiding but he would likely know as well as anyone someone who does offer that service.
SF
 
Stonedfish said:
You might call MarDon and talk to Levi Meseberg.
I’m not sure he does ice fishing guiding but he would likely know as well as anyone someone who does offer that service.
SF
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Thank you!

I can’t imagine what a day of guiding that would look like (sitting around making small talk?) but my kids really want to go and I really don’t want to invest in the equipment to DIY.
 
It seems that everyone thinks that a shot of booze will warm you up. But all it does is give false hope. It really gets you colder faster.
 
So I've looked into this before. Living on the wet side in oregon we don't get a lot of ice fishing options, but we go to eastern Idaho every year for 3 weeks in December and January. I also don't want to buy all the ice fishing junk but it looks like you can get away with as cheap as you want or as expensive.
I have seen some augers that are powered by a cordless drill. Then I looked up ice saws, which are really expensive for some reason, I can't even find a cheap China one. So now I'm looking at folding pruning saws. So my gear bag will be:
-Cordless drill
-Long shaft chisel tip drill bit
-Folding pruning saw
-4 foot piece of rebar sharpened to a chisel tip for testing ice/walking stick or chiseling with lanyard wrist strap.
-Life jacket, and those picks for hauling yourself out on the ice if you fall in.
-Cheap sled/backpack
-Hole ice scooper
-Warm gear/should already own all this
-SPF chapstick
- Ultralight trout rod/ maybe even mono wrapped on a dowel if I'm in a panfish area.
Do you really need to buy a short ice fishing rod?
-Trout/panfish gear I already have
-5 gallon bucket/seat
-Book
-Mind altering substance
-Regret?

Anyways gonna give it a shot if there's decent ice and I should be able to do it for pretty cheap, just need my Idaho license, and a trip to harbor freight.
 
Dr. Magill said:
Find a frozen lake that is open
Chop a hole in the ice- I’ve used an ax many times
Fish
Some will chum the hole if allowed
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Ax, chainsaw.. I dunno if I want to do that to my nice chainsaw though.
 
FontinalisFin said:
So I've looked into this before. Living on the wet side in oregon we don't get a lot of ice fishing options, but we go to eastern Idaho every year for 3 weeks in December and January. I also don't want to buy all the ice fishing junk but it looks like you can get away with as cheap as you want or as expensive.
I have seen some augers that are powered by a cordless drill. Then I looked up ice saws, which are really expensive for some reason, I can't even find a cheap China one. So now I'm looking at folding pruning saws. So my gear bag will be:
-Cordless drill
-Long shaft chisel tip drill bit
-Folding pruning saw
-4 foot piece of rebar sharpened to a chisel tip for testing ice/walking stick or chiseling with lanyard wrist strap.
-Life jacket, and those picks for hauling yourself out on the ice if you fall in.
-Cheap sled/backpack
-Hole ice scooper
-Warm gear/should already own all this
-SPF chapstick
- Ultralight trout rod/ maybe even mono wrapped on a dowel if I'm in a panfish area.
Do you really need to buy a short ice fishing rod?
-Trout/panfish gear I already have
-5 gallon bucket/seat
-Book
-Mind altering substance
-Regret?

Anyways gonna give it a shot if there's decent ice and I should be able to do it for pretty cheap, just need my Idaho license, and a trip to harbor freight.
Click to expand...

I have friends that ice fish Trillium.
 
Ice fishing isn't my thing. If I was to go, the guided trips on Cascade lake in Idaho for giant perch look interesting.
 
NH raised, much time on ice. Some ineffective ideas proposed above. Real ice chisel is only $20-40, and far better than some of the above if you can find one. Need something heavy and sharp for vertical chipping. Axe is best idea above, but problematic if ice is >6". You don't need a large hole. If you have the skills, could weld a 3/8" soft iron steel 2-3" wide to 6' heavy rebar or heavy 2" pipe, then sharpen a curved blade with grinder and file. Make it sharp. Even sharpened rebar would work if you have 30-60 min and ice isn't too thick. Need a scoop to clear ice.

For trout, fish sandy shallows in 2-6'. Salmon eggs, power bait, or small 2" minnow just off the bottom. Can jig too, including flies like balanced leeches, but it's hard not to scare them in shallow water.

Be safe, be cautious. Going through gets ugly in a hurry. Don't take your kids out there unless you are confident in ice depth.
 
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Guy Gregory said:
What kind of question is this? Of course you need a new rod.

And a hand auger will make this way more fun. They're not that expensive, and you're gonna get a new rod, anyway.
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True, I was trying to see if I could be as cheap as possible with gear I already had but this looks really tempting. These auger bits are not that expensive.
 
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