Ask a fish biologist: Fishing clear ice is tricky

Ice fishing conditions are different from what we experienced last year. Last year there was ice on many of the small lakes when we received a big dumping of snow. That led to slushy conditions, and the insulating nature of snow made it difficult to build more ice.
Walking was not easy in many places, and in some cases, driving was not an option. Anglers still managed to go fishing, but many seemed to consider it almost a lost season.