Fishing Forum

I hit the area around the boat launch at Rockport this morning. Arrived 8:30 AM. 4-5 inches of clear ice and 1 inch grey on top. Ice was a non issue for me today, and IF it stays that way we will be OK for next week's party. Conditions were great. The fishing was good. The fish tended to be between 40-52 ft. down. I fished 62ft. first and got nothing, then moved in and got into the zone. I caught a limit of perch and 2 trout. (bows) From 8:30-10:00 was hot and then it slowed and made me work for them. Lots of people out there, and most guys were getting a few, some more than others. Size on the perch was 7-10 inches, no monsters (or dinks) today. Kastmaster and his scout troop was there and had a good time. I did best on small crawler pieces on a flasher and finkie. I talked to some guys on the way out that fished the 2nd outhouse, and they said it was hot for them and others, but the ice was only 3 inches there. Great day on the ice.

As an aside updates on DC and Jordanelle ice. 1) DC has ice at the dam, some open water at the state park and at the island but is mostly frozen in other areas. There were 3 boats at the island open water. Just a little colder weather and we might get to fish DC on the hard deck. The ice near the dam almost looked safe but I wouldn't try it. 2) As for lake X, fugeddaboutit. All open water except the extreme end of Rock cliffs and some bays. Boaters might do well there. Good luck this weekend.
[signature]

sounds like you had a good time today. glad to hear about the ice, hope it stays the way it is for next week.
[signature]

Coming home from Rockport, we went through Kamas so we passed Rock Cliff and saw 3-4 groups of anglers on the ice, mostly on the south side. It will be interesting to hear on how the fishing is over there.

As for the outing with my scouts, they had a good time. Since my son and I were the only ones who had icefished before and most have rarely or never caught fish, there were a lot of time spent on instruction on how to detect bites, set the hook, and taking care of tackle (mostly mine). We ended the day with one of the boys catching a 19.5" brown, so happy that he was able to bring it on deck and a short lesson on filleting fish. We mostly stayed in the 40-45 foot range. The edges by the boat ramp was a little soft by the time we left at around 1:45 pm. Fun day, great weather, and great experience for my son and his fellow scouts.
[signature]