Salt Lake City — While skiing and snowboarding are often what first comes to mind when people think of Utah and winter recreation, ice fishing is another great way to get outside and enjoy the season. If you are planning to go ice fishing this winter, here are a few things you should know before hitting the ice.
Safety tips for anglers
Staying safe is the most important aspect of ice fishing — and staying safe includes staying warm. Be sure to dress in layers and have all the needed food and equipment to stay warm. To avoid falling through the ice, a general safety recommendation is to not go onto the ice unless it is at least 4 inches thick. Keep in mind, though, that ice thickness can vary across a lake, especially in larger reservoirs or areas of inflow. If you see the ice is 4 inches thick in one spot, don't assume it's 4 inches thick across the entire lake.
Be sure to drill test holes into the ice as you venture onto it or take a spud bar (ice chisel) if it is early in the season, so you can test the ice regularly as you walk out. You should also avoid putting large groups of people and equipment in one small area — spread the weight out.
"As a basic precaution, you should always bring and wear ice safety picks while ice fishing, which can help you get out of the water if you fall through the ice," Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Sportfish Coordinator Trina Hedrick said. "I'd also recommend taking a throw rope with you and having someone else with you when ice fishing."
Staying warm is the most important safety aspect when ice fishing, especially when bringing kids with you. If you are bringing children, it's nice to have hot chocolate or even hot soup available to help them stay warm. You can also bring hand and toe warmers that you can put in your gloves or boots. Ice fishing bibs are another great way to bundle up and stay warm, and they also use material that keeps the angler afloat in case they fall through the ice.
Find more ice safety tips on the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation website.
Common mistakes to avoid when ice fishing
Another important element of ice fishing is to make sure you are following all the laws. A few of the most common mistakes that Utah Department of Natural Resources officers encounter are:
- License violations (fishing without a license or with an expired fishing license)
- People catching and keeping too many fish (over the legal daily limit)
"Quite often, ice fishing is so good that people can forget about the regulations and take too many fish," DNR Lt. Casey Mickelsen said. "If you are lucky enough to experience one of those kinds of fishing trips, please remember the rules so other anglers can enjoy that same kind of day later on. Make sure to know the rules and regulations for each waterbody before you head out on the ice."
Anglers can find all the rules and regulations for each waterbody in the 2025 and 2026 Utah Fishing guidebooks.
Catch-and-release tips for ice fishing
If you want to release the fish that you catch while ice fishing, there are a few things you can do to help decrease stress to the fish and increase their chance of survival.
Just like hot temperatures and warm water can have impacts on certain fish species, freezing weather can also be tough on fish. Anglers have to remember that even though they are ice fishing, the fish they are catching are living in water that is not frozen — which means that the water temperature that the fish are experiencing is often warmer than the temperatures they are exposed to coming out of the water.
"If an angler is fishing on a particularly cold day, pulling a fish up through a hole and exposing them to freezing conditions can be stressful to the fish," Hedrick said. "The water that remains on sensitive areas — such as the gills or eyes — can begin to freeze and this can cause damage to a fish. So, it is best to minimize exposure time and, just like the rest of the year, release the fish as quickly as possible after catching it."
One way to eliminate the air exposure time is to make sure you have quick access to all the tools you will need to easily and quickly release the fish.
"A unique aspect of ice fishing is that anglers tend to dress in layers and bulky clothing to keep warm, which is definitely recommended," Hedrick said. "However, they often bury key equipment, such as pliers and cameras, under those layers. Anglers also often fish with two holes (or more at certain waterbodies around the state) that are somewhat separated from each other. This makes it easy to forget key equipment for releasing the fish when you head to another hole in response to a strike. What you don't want to do is increase air exposure time for the fish because you are scrambling to find equipment. Anglers should carry the equipment that they need to release their fish in an easily accessible location."
One idea for doing that is to keep your pliers on a lanyard around your neck to make them easy to find and access while ice fishing. Another idea is to keep all your equipment in a bucket or sled so that it's easy to find and doesn't get buried in the snow on top of the ice.
Another tip for decreasing the stress on a fish is to remove your gloves before handling the fish. Wearing gloves while ice fishing is typically recommended to protect an angler's hands from freezing conditions. However, winter gloves are often made of absorptive fabric. Fish have a protective slime coat on their skin, and wearing gloves while handling the fish can remove the slime coat.
"That can leave fish more susceptible to various skin issues, such as fungal diseases," Hedrick said. "I know that it is tough to take gloves off while ice fishing because it's cold, but handling fish with your bare hands is best — and when the fishing is hot, your hands just don't seem to get as cold! Once the fish have been safely released, then you can put your gloves back on. This also keeps your gloves drier throughout the day, which will help keep your hands warmer in the long run."
Find more information about where to go ice fishing in Utah on the DWR Fish Utah map.
