chain lakes

[deepfried]

Merry Christmas to all

So all I wanted for Christmas was some ice fishing gear as I have been wanting to get into it for sometime now. So I managed to get a hand ( manual ) auger , a rod , a scoop and a few other things from Santa this year , and now I really want to get out and try ice fishing out ! I was thinking of heading down to chain lakes south of longview on Tuesday or Wednesday next week and was wanting to get some tips and tricks on ice conditions and what lures and such to use ! Don't need any secret location description unless someone is willing , but just some general advice would be greatly appreciated !!

Thanks a bunch in advance !!!

[roachman]

Anytime I have ever ice fished chain lakes I have taken an arsenal of things. Corn (to some ppls dismay), shrimp, velveeta cheese ( which is always a winner) and powerbaits of many colors. I always used a pickerel rig with super small hooks and was never disappointed. It is not uncommon to haul them out of the ice two at a time.

[deepfried]

anyone know how the ice is down there ?

[Scott N]

Just an observation, but last Sunday I drove down to Beauvais Lake, but stopped off at the south end of Chain Lakes, and there were signs saying the ice conditions were unsafe. I didn't see anyone fishing at the north end of the lake either, so perhaps someone can confirm whether or not the ice is actually unsafe? I don't see why it would be unsafe at this time of year.

[theduke]

anyone know how the ice is down there ?

was there on tuesday, a good 10 inches plus. no need to drive on just walk out a couple hundred yards from shore and u will catch fish

[hairycanary]

They put the unsafe ice sign out there every winter and it will be up all winter