So I ventured out to Newman for the first time to try my luck. Found the WDFW parking area alright and headed out from there. Ice was in great condition with about 2 inches of new snow on top. Ice is probably 12-14 inches thick from what I could tell. I drilled my first hole right about where the 5 m.p.h. marker is and the depth there was only about 6 feet. So I started drilling a hole about every 100 feet or so until I was out to about 20 feet of depth (maybe 200 yards from shore). I fished with about everything I had on me including various sizes and colors of swedish pimples topped with maggots and white jigs, black jigs with yellow eyes, and black jigs with yellow eyes with a little silver blade all tipped with maggots. Never had so much as a bite from what I could tell. Worked everything from the bottom up through the water column but no luck. One of the locals on a snow mobile came by with an underwater camera he'd picked up at Cabelas. He lowered that in my hole to see if anything was moving about. Was hard to tell as it was dark under the ice but we did see one fish when he first lowered it down. He only checked my furthest hole so I don't know what the others had, but even if they were there they weren't biting.

If anyone has any advice please give it up. There were no other fishermen on the lake that I could tell. As I said, because it was my first time there I am totally unfamiliar with the structure of the lake or where the fish might be hiding. If I knew that I might have had better luck.

TroutCowboy

2/16/2009 12:40:00 PM

there are guys who do pretty well at newman but i am not one of them. i'll read a positive report on this site and decide to give the lake another try, but out of probably a dozen visits, i've caught fish only 2-3 times, and most experiences are like yours -- i throw every spinner, jig, artificial and every bait, everywhere, without much luck. i keep swearing i'm never coming back, but since i live in liberty lake and it's a year-round like, i keep coming back for more punishment.

i once heard somebody say "you know what's good about newman? nothing."

i have had better luck on the ice this year on eloika. it's been worth the long drive. good luck!

Anglinarcher

2/16/2009 4:31:00 PM

I don't Ice Fish Newman, so my advice may be useless, but nevertheless:

Check out the topo map on this lake. It is almost featureless along the bottom. If you can get to the West side where the rock point comes out, perhaps that point will have a concentration on it somewhere.

Otherwise, try working off the end of some of the deeper docks that are still in the water. It will take some walking, but the anchors to the bottom provide some structure. Once in a while, the dock owner, or another fishermen, will drop some trees or brush to the bottom near them, and that will hold fish.

Look for any remaining weed beds and fish off the deeper side of them. Don't worry so much about depth, worry about STRUCTURE.

I hope this helps, but I suspect that it takes a lot of time to learn Newman well enough to do well through the ice.

Kfedka

2/17/2009 12:47:00 PM

Never been on Newman Lake this year, but I was there last year. From the main public dock, walked little to the lest like 100 years. There I caught some small perch and sunfish maybe half a dozen.

Best bet to catch some fish is Silver Lake off the main parking lot. Small but fun.

bjperry

2/17/2009 4:31:00 PM

Thanks guys. Your candid advice is helpful. Anglinarcher: The local gave me the same tip about the rock point across the lake. He said there was an underground spring there or something that usually holds fish. However, I didn't feel like walking all the way across (nor did I really have the time). If I'd had a snowmobile or something like he had I would have been there in a heartbeat. Oh well, perhaps next time.

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