By Drew Hackett:

There are two ways for a fisherman to handle the winter months. The first one is to simply pack it up until spring. But for those of us who believe the best time to go fishing is when you can, it’s time to chop your way through the ice and keep fishing. You can even go so far as to do a weekend outing.

Okoboji and Storm Lake are probably first places that come to mind when you’re thinking of finding a place to stay, and you’re probably right. There are numerous cabins and hotels in both areas. Obviously that means there’s a lot of fishermen too, so when our group gets together for our yearly trip we like to call the “Ice Fishing Safari”, we head for the county parks. The campgrounds are closed but fortunately there are a few scattered cabins available.

Lake Pahoja is an excellent place to go for an ice fishing getaway. Convenience is the name of the game with this place. There is a bait vending machine on-site and is fully stocked with minnows and wax worms. This glorious contraption never seems to run out, believe me, we tried our best to empty it! The camper cabins sit right on the water, the only thing separating the cabin from the lake is a paved sidewalk that has been cleared better than grandma’s sidewalk! The cabins are heated but there is no water during the winter months. The fishing is generally good to excellent for bluegill, bass, crappie, and the only purebred longear sunfish I have ever caught.

Crawford Creek in Ida County will rent their camper cabins in the winter. All you need to do is call and reserve one and they’ll make sure there’s a trail plowed for you to get in. These camper cabins are heated but we did have a somewhat bad experience with the breaker tripping when we stayed.  But to be fair it was a high of -1 when we stayed and the amount of space heaters we had going in the cabin were enough to overload any circuit. After we found just the right combination of heaters to run we were fine, a little cold but overall comfortable enough to not let it wreck our good time. Crawford has good fishing for bluegill, bass, and crappie. Crawford Creek runs very deep at 30+ feet, making it a good choice for late winter.

One other known place is Nelson area in Harrison County. I have never stayed there but have called and confirmed it is indeed open in the winter and the water is left on. And yes, the cabins do have bathrooms and showers.

I would have to say our favorite distination for our Ice Fishing Safari is at Willow Lake in Harrison County. It has a great combination of seclusion, convenience, and comfort. There are two cabins available in the winter, the White Pine that sleeps 8, and the Scotch Pine that sleeps 12. Both cabins will spoil you with their heat, bathrooms, and showers. A private drive brings you into both cabins nestled on the opposite shoreline from the main entrance. The cabins are within walking distance to a public hunting area which includes a food plot. The trip could actually double as an ice fishing and late muzzleloader trip.

Now, if we can just get some ice! We had our Willow Lake trip planned for the weekend of Jan 7th. We’ll shoot again for the first weekend of February. So if you see some plates from Plymouth county make sure you stop by and say hi.