Ice-fishing season is finally here! For those of us who relish the thought of bundling up in heavy parkas, insulated snowmobile suits, thick hats, gloves, boots and a wide array of other garments, the hardwater season couldn't come soon enough. We love drilling holes in the ice; but the real joy is in setting the hook and pulling a trophy walleye or monster-sized panfish through the hole. That's what keeps us coming back for more every year!

As usual, there is always some doubt and concern about when the ice will be safe enough to venture out upon. Will we have enough cold weather to generate 4 or 5 inches of good ice before Christmas? Or will we have to wait until the beginning of January? No one knows for sure, but all ice-fishermen hope that Old Man Winter will put his ice-making machine in high gear and get things started early!

Last year, at least in the northern half of the state, we skipped the late-fall period and went straight to winter. The temperature regularly dipped into the single digits at night, and by the third week of December, there were ice-fishermen out on some of the area lakes. First ice often brings hot action, and that was definitely the case last year.

Of course, these days it seems like it just wouldn't be normal to continue with the cold weather for the rest of the winter. The day after Christmas, a big warm front moved into the area, bringing rain and 60-degree temperatures. Ice-fishing was put on hold. But after a week or so, normal temperatures returned and the ice began to recover.

By the second week in January, an arctic blast moved back into Indiana, bringing temperatures down to the single digits again. On Jan. 14, the temperature dropped below the zero mark and didn't rise above zero for nearly three days! In the northern parts of the state, the temperature dropped to minus 20 degrees! Safe ice forms quickly at those temperatures!

No one can predict what the weather will be like this winter, but hardwater anglers around the state hope that it will be cold. Better yet, they hope that the weather remains stable and that there will be no wild temperature swings that constantly weaken the ice. Once the ice-fishing season opens, we hope that it sticks around for several weeks!

As soon as the ice is safe, Hoosier ice-fishermen will make a beeline for the nearest fishing hole. Since there is a multitude of impoundments and natural lakes to choose from in our state, Indiana Game & Fish magazine has singled out several excellent places that you should try this winter to simplify your choice. They include: The Shakamak State Park lakes in the southwestern part of the state, Pike Lake in north-central Indiana, Crooked Lake and Goose Lake in the northeastern "natural lakes" region, and Pretty Lake in extreme northeast Indiana.

SHAKAMAK STATE PARK LAKES
Shakamak State Park (SP) in southwestern Indiana covers a total of 1,766 acres in Greene, Sullivan and Clay counties. The park is located only about a half hour drive (southeast) from Terre Haute, and is almost due west of Jasonville. Shakamak is dominated by a series of three impoundments, and these lakes attract plenty of fishermen throughout the year.

The three lakes in the park were once a single body of water, but now spillways separate them. The largest of the trio is Kickapoo Lake (290 acres), followed by Shakamak Lake (56 acres) and Lenape Lake (49 acres). Since impounding Big Branch Creek formed the lakes, flooded creek arms characterize all three with fairly steep dropoffs along the banks.

According to Debbie King, the District 6 assistant fisheries biologist for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Shakamak SP lakes are excellent places to wet a line.

"All three lakes have good-sized bluegills, redear sunfish and crappies, and an occasional nice bass or catfish," she said. Bass anglers should keep in mind the fact that these lakes have a 12- to 15-inch slot limit for largemouth bass.