Ice fishing a pond

Trout through the ice: testing it, cutting a hole, and staying warm while you jig.

What you need

Test as you go. Cut a hole a few steps out from shore and measure before you walk any farther.
Clear blue ice at least 15 cm thick holds one person on foot. A group wants 20 cm or more. White or grey ice is about half as strong, so count it as half.
Spread out on the ice. Never bunch up on one spot.
Fish the water you would fish in summer: the drop off, off a point, near the inflow but not over it.
Jig slow and just off the bottom, lift, then hold still. Trout in cold water take softly.
Skim the new ice off the hole every so often so the line does not freeze in.
Lay the fish on the snow. It freezes fast and keeps.

Don't

Do not go near inflows, outflows, pressure ridges, or snow that looks wet or dark.
Do not trust ice after a thaw or rain, even if it was thick last week.
Do not drive onto a pond you have not measured yourself.

Danger

Moving water under the ice at a brook mouth keeps it thin all winter.
If you go through, turn back toward the way you came, get your arms up on the ice, kick your legs out flat behind you, and pull out with the picks. Roll away from the hole. Do not stand up until you are well back on thick ice.
Hands and feet chill fast when you sit still. Get up and move before they go numb.

Ice fishing is mostly patience and a good thermos. The ice test is the one part you never skip.

The ice figures are the Canadian Red Cross guide for new, clear, hard ice. Old, slushy or snow covered ice is weaker than its thickness says.

Updated 2026-09-20