03-05-2007, 04:13 PM
We headed up to Buckboard, early Saturday morning. It was pretty cold (3 degrees at 7:00am) and the edges were firm. With the recent winds, the ice is pretty slick in areas, and cleats are almost a necessity. We headed out straight from the marina, and punched several holes. We finally found fish in 58-60 ft of water, near the main channel break. Ice was about 18 inches.
Action was quick on the first drop. We iced 2 lakers and lost one in the first 15 minutes. Throughout the remainder of the day, fish came through occasionally and we had some opportunities. We lost 6 lakers right at the hole and missed a couple more. We only brought home 3 lakers, 18-22 inches, but it was enough for good meal. We were using 3-inch tube jigs with a 3/8 oz. head, tipped with sucker meat. The bites were soft, much harder to detect in the wind, which picked up about 1:30pm.
Watching some of the anglers around us, the bite seemed to be slow to fair at times. We spoke with one angler, and got the typical "You should have been here earlier this week." Apparently the bite has been excellent at times, and anglers have been getting limits of lakers in a matter of a hour while fishing between Big Bend and the Confluence.
As cold as it was, areas of open water were pretty apparent. Steam rising from these areas, shows water coming out of pressure ridges and open expanses up and down the reservoir. Take caution when zipping across the ice on machines.
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Action was quick on the first drop. We iced 2 lakers and lost one in the first 15 minutes. Throughout the remainder of the day, fish came through occasionally and we had some opportunities. We lost 6 lakers right at the hole and missed a couple more. We only brought home 3 lakers, 18-22 inches, but it was enough for good meal. We were using 3-inch tube jigs with a 3/8 oz. head, tipped with sucker meat. The bites were soft, much harder to detect in the wind, which picked up about 1:30pm.
Watching some of the anglers around us, the bite seemed to be slow to fair at times. We spoke with one angler, and got the typical "You should have been here earlier this week." Apparently the bite has been excellent at times, and anglers have been getting limits of lakers in a matter of a hour while fishing between Big Bend and the Confluence.
As cold as it was, areas of open water were pretty apparent. Steam rising from these areas, shows water coming out of pressure ridges and open expanses up and down the reservoir. Take caution when zipping across the ice on machines.
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