Stopped at Mantua from noon-3. Couple dozen people on the ice, not too bad. Found an easy parking spot near boat ramp stairs. Started at ramp and hole hopped a little bit eventually found a couple fish. Caught an aggressive little bluegill for number 1, then 18 smaller perch. They were not nearly as aggressive as my last trip there. I could get them to rise up, but they stared at my bait for awhile before a little nibble of commitment. Used a clown colored jig with wax worm. All fish were caught on a brand new freshly dropped worm. They didn't like ones that had caught a fish or been chewed on. Ice was 4" with some water and slush on top
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Thanks for the fresh report, I keep wanting to get back over there and so it's nice to know what is happening.. Thank you... J
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I was also there on the 19th. I got there earlier, around 9:00 and couldn't find a place to park by the boat ramp, so I parked further north on the west side, and went out not too far. Too much slush monster in that area, which is not good for this time of year. And it was sloooowwww. They are down there, they just won't bite like they did a week ago.
After an hour of getting skunked I decided I had enough and got out of there. Almost needed a plank to get on/off the ice on that west side.
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Yep the slush caught me off guard. I didnt wear my 'good boots' and had soaked feet in a few minutes. And definitely had to work harder for a bite. Hope your luck is better next time
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really itching to get back out there, but bite dont sound any better than last week.
Temps here in Brigham have been in the 40s. I guess the night temps must be low enough to hold the ice up at Mantua.
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Go get 'em. Last year proved the season can go by fast. They're still biting, just not the frenzy like a couple weeks ago. They wanted small movements, not aggressive jigging. Often once I coaxed them off the bottom I'd have to dead stick to get them committed to a bite. Just keep a close eye on your sonar. Slush wouldnt have been much of an issue if I wouldnt have worn plain work boots
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Conditions aren't the best right now...that ice will deteriorate if the temps stay this warm during the day. Worst thing we can have is a bunch of snow on top of that 3"-4" base.
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