I have posted information about a couple of ice fishing derbies that are happening in the higher elevations of our region on my website and Facebook pages. The first one is at Molson, near Oroville, and the other is at Bonaparte Lake, outside of Tonasket. Both of these get solid layers of ice early in the winter, long before other lakes get ice thick enough to allow for safe fishing. Many of you know that Curlew Lake, near Republic, is a very popular ice fishing destination in the winter. It has reputation of producing large perch, and I know people from Wenatchee who make day trips to this distant lake. I checked with the folks at Tiffany’s Resort about ice conditions and they reported that there is very little ice on the lake as yet. Only the sheltered bay by the railroad trestle has a thin layer. Tiffany’s is closed for the winter and isn’t renting cabins, but they do keep the parking area by the boat launch open for parking. There is a ten dollar fee to park here, but many ice fishers are willing to pay the fee as the perch fishing near here is very good and well worth it.