The popularity of Curlew Lake ice fishing has spiked in recent years, as the perch population has blossomed. Reports of perch of over 10 inches being caught by the bucketful has anglers traveling to this remote lake, which is 185 miles from my home in Leavenworth, for example. I do drive this distance already to fish for kokanee and trout out of Keller, so no big deal. Anglers often have to drill through two feet of ice to reach the water, but big perch are worth the effort. I have been getting questions about the ice conditions at Curlew Lake for a while now, and I wanted give everyone an update. According to the folks at Black Beach Resort, anglers have been fishing the south end, near the State Park since around Christmas. This is the shallow end and freezes earlier than the north end of the lake. The people I reached at Fisherman’s Cove Resort, which is at the deep end of the lake, say it may be a couple of weeks before the ice is safe for fishing. Another popular ice fishing lake, which is near me, is Fish Lake, and I know it hasn’t been cold enough to form safe ice there.