Photo evidence that Magic Reservoir is producing big trout

After doing my weekly fishing report for the Jan. 15 Idaho Outdoors, Don Hartman at West Magic Resort sent me this photo taken on Wednesday. Here's what he had to say: "14.4 lbs total, Steve Johns, using baited jigs. Total time: 2.5 hours."

That's an impressive limit of trout, and you might fish a long time during spring and summer to match it.

So if you wonder why people go ice fishing, there's your answer. But make sure you check the ice depths. Johns later called to report he found really mixed ice conditions on Magic and wanted to warn others to double check any area they are fishing. Johns said he found ice thickness varied from 6 inches down to an inch, and some ice is soft from the recent warm temperatures Magic has had. Within 20 yards of shore is the thickest ice, he said.

To learn more about ice fishing, check out last week's cover story here.

This story was originally published January 14, 2015 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Photo evidence that Magic Reservoir is producing big trout."