Ice conditions have rapidly deteriorated at Comins Lake this past week.  Approximately 90% of Comins Lake has open water.  Anglers can shoreline fish the northern portion of the lake or even launch a boat (dock will go in later this spring) and troll for trout and northern pike.  Decent size trout have been seen shoaling along the shorelines of the north lake. As of this report, access into the south lake from the main boat launch is not possible due to ice.  With the current forecast, what ice is present should persist for the next few days. Most of the south lake is open water, with small watercraft (canoe, float tube, or kayak) access at Argus Mill.

When ice fishing was possible, anglers were catching rainbow trout in the 16 to 25 inch range. Early ice off fishing can be extremely productive at times, with trout hitting newly emerging invertebrates. We are not of out winter yet, so fish behavior can change quickly.

Comins Lake received 10,043 rainbow trout this fall averaging 8.9 inches. Approximately, 8,400 brown trout averaging 10.4 inches were also stocked.  If open water persists, northern pike will be moving into spawning season soon.  Anglers should target shallow water areas in the south lake when pursuing pike this spring. There is a limited bluegill fishery at Comins Lake and anglers are encouraged to release bluegill in order to better establish their population.

Please note that NDOW has placed radio tags in several Northern Pike. Any pike over 24 inches in length that have transmitters can be removed from the lake. These pike will have an orange floy tag near their dorsal fin and a small antenna (~ 7 inches long) coming from their stomach.  Please return these fish to the water for research purposes.