COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — The scraping sound of an auger rings out over the desolate and frozen Fernan Lake as Jordan Smith drills a hole in the ice. After meticulously scooping out the excess ice chunks and placing a lure on the hook at the end of his ice fishing rod, Smith lowered the line below the surface.
But that Thursday morning ice fishing trip was different than most because Smith was fishing from the dock. That's because the ice layer on the Coeur d'Alene lake is not nearly as thick as it normally is by the end of January.
Smith, who is the store manager of Fins and Feathers Tackle Shop, said that most years the ice is thick enough to hold human weight by the first of the year. But this year is different.
"It's not looking too promising at the moment," he said.
The Fins and Feathers charter has not been able to take anyone out on the lakes this season, which cuts profits.
Ice fishing is the business' way of maintaining a source of income throughout the off season. In the more than two decades they have been operating the ice fishing charter, Smith said this is one of the worst years for ice they have seen.
Smith's expertise comes with years of experience. His father opened the tackle shop in 1984, so he grew up learning the craft of fishing in all seasons.
He said in his experience that four inches of clear, strong ice is necessary for him to feel safe on any lake. Fernan Lake's sheet of ice was only three inches thick near the shore as of January 23.
He said that the three things necessary to create solid, thick ice is cold water, temperatures below freezing and little to no snowfall during the cold snap. The water got cold this season, but North Idaho has not had consistent cold temperatures combined with little snowfall.
Not only is the lack of thick ice making it impossible to run a charter, but it is also hurting sales of ice fishing gear.
"No one's even coming in to look at it, so that makes it a little tougher," Smith said.
He said by the end of the season, if their inventory doesn't sell, they will have to discount the products. Ultimately, they will lose money that the store was counting on.
For now the father son duo is working with what they have, which as Smith said, is "not much."