Comins Lake was about 60% ice covered as of Thursday, December 2.  There was plenty of open water along the north and west shorelines for fishing, but trout fishing was just fair due to the cold water temperatures.  Anglers can expect to catch Rainbow Trout in the 16-to-17-inch range but shouldn’t be surprised when they hook into fish that are over 20 inches.  Water temperatures are in the mid 30’s. Next week’s colder forecast should see this lake ice covered with very unsafe ice.  Expect the ice to remain unsafe until sometime in early January.   Construction of a brand-new boat launch and shade structures was completed early last month. Anglers, please note that NDOW has placed radio tags in several Northern Pike.  These pike will have an orange floy tag near their dorsal fin and a small antenna coming from their stomach. Please return these fish to the water for research purposes.  If the pike doesn’t have the transmitter tag, please humanely dispatch the fish.  Do not put it back in the lake.  Comins Lake was stocked with approximately 14,000 trout this fall along with brown trout salvaged from Cave lake.  Stocking is done for the year.