As residents start to feel the bitter cold of winter, anglers rejoice that it may be time to start ice fishing.

Guthrie County Conservation Director Brad Halterman advises to be patient for safe ice conditions, as he says area ponds and other fishing areas aren’t quite ready, “The ice fishing around here has obviously been slow if not all but nonexistent so far. I know that there’s been some folks around here in the area that have traveled up north and northwest and have done some ice fishing earlier. Those ice thicknesses were okay at that time, but right now as we sit here the ice fishing has just been non existent.”

Halterman says the minimum recommended ice thickness for fishing is four inches, while taking a car or small pickup onto a lake would require 8-12 inches of ice. He also advises anglers to avoid off-colored snow or ice as it’s usually a sign of weakness. Halterman emphasizes that ice fishing should be considered a social activity, so to not go out alone in case an emergency would happen.