With below freezing temperatures conditions might be right for ice fishing.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer for Greene County Aron Arthur advises of some safety measures to have with you when ice fishing, including dressing for the weather to prevent hypothermia and frostbite, wearing ice cleats to prevent slips and falls and using a spud bar.

“Spud bar is essentially a piece of metal that you tap on the ice and when it gets to a thin spot, because ice doesn’t necessarily form evenly, if there’s springs (or) current in some of these waters, you could go from being on perfectly good ice that you could walk on to where it’s thin and you could fall through. So we recommend to make sure you have a spud bar.”   

Arthur recommends also telling others where you are going to be and what time you expect to be back as an additional precaution in case you were to get into trouble. He adds to make sure you have a new fishing license for 2026 with you as well.