Ice fishing Mackey Res

After two weeks of no fishing at all, I just had to find some hard ice - thick enough to hold me and allow me some chance at success.  I found it by traveling to Mackey Reservoir about 110 miles from home.  Thick fog made the travel over difficult and very slow.  But the fishing was good.  It was my first trip ever fishing this small reservoir.  The sun was just touching the tops of the mountains surrounding the town of Mackey as I pulled in.

I was the third person on the ice and set up too close to the shore.  After an hour of fishing with no bites, I noticed two fishermen catching a few out further in the reservoir.

I moved further out and soon started getting a few hits.  Some were very light and I thought they were probably minnows or crayfish playing with my bait.  The solid hits produced rainbows like this one.

 

I visited with a local fisherman and he explained the light hits were the kokanee, the fish I wanted to catch.  He explained that they hit most bait light, but they hit rotten corn or wax worms harder.  I did not have either, but used smaller hooks and pieces of bait.  I then started catching some of them.

It was a very enjoyable day - cold as the devil, but fun.  Another wild day in Idaho.