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Hungry predators lurking in area lakes are fair game for ice fishermen this time of year.

The Department of Fish and Game liberalizes ice-fishing regulations on a handful of lakes menaced by the invasive northern pike in an effort to keep their numbers in check.

Anglers are allowed to fish five "closely attended" lines in the Mackey Lakes, Tote Road Lakes, and Cisca, Derks, Sevena, Stormy and Union lakes, improving their odds.

All those lakes have confirmed pike populations.

Aside from being allowed to fish more lines, there is no bag limit on pike, though wanton waste laws apply.

The white meat from pike is well regarded, and Fish and Game offers resources to anglers on how to easily clean the fish despite their unique bone structure.

Robert Begich, the area management biologist for Fish and Game's Sportfish Division, said pike are most frequently fished for with tip-up and dead bait.

Pike, which provide anglers with a thrill in the warmer months because of their tendency to stalk retrieved lures or make a splash attacking a surface plug, are typically more sedentary in the winter.

For this reason, he said anglers can comfortably set a few dead bait rigs using small herring to produce a catch.

As the fish cruise the lake they hone in on the bait.

Another school of thought however, is that because the fish are visual predators, movement is more effective.

Anglers might try to jig and attach a flasher to draw attention. Jigs that imitate a wounded prey species will work best, though pike aren't particularly choosy predators.

Begich said pike prefer to stay close to some sort of structure.

The fish, which are known to rely on ambush, like to hang out around points, weed beds or rock structures.

Avoid deep or open areas of a lake.

The department has been attacking pike populations on the peninsula in recent years through netting and eradication programs.

Begich said Stormy Lake in Nikiski remains one of the best pike fishing grounds on the peninsula, though in recent years the population there has evolved into a smaller population of mature fish.

He said Sevena had been popular historically, but that now the lake consists mostly of small juveniles that won't provide much of a meal.

Lakes such as Union and the Mackey's are decent options as well but don't offer public access.

In the last two years two former pike lakes, Arc Lake in Soldotna and Scout Lake in Sterling, have been treated with rotenone to kill off the fish.

Begich said that when pike move into a lake they devour everything, resulting in fisheries that consist of a few large pike feeding off juveniles or a stunted population.

When trapped in a landlocked lake their impact is limited.

The department's concern is that while the introduced pike appear to have remained in the few waterways they were dumped into, they might gain a foothold in critical salmon rearing habitat.

With the beginning of the new year and growing daylight hours, anglers planning on getting a line in the water should make sure they purchase their 2010 fishing license before they do so.

For more information on pike populations on the peninsula visit Fish and Game's Web site at http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Statewide/InvasiveSpecies/index.cfm/FA/pike.about

Dante Petri can be reached at dante.petri@peninsulaclarion.com.