Fished the Strawberry Marina area yesterday with four other members of BFT. Walking across the ice was not difficult. The recent storm put about 3 inches of snow on the ice, but it had a crust on it so the sleds slid fine. There was maybe a foot of frozen slush and snow and then a layer of slush and then a layer of ice in most areas. Having an extension on the auger was almost a necessity. Interestingly, several places that we drilled did not have the slush layer at all. The top snow layer got soft by the afternoon, which made it a little more difficult to walk.
The first area we tried yielded a few fish, but was definitely on the slow side. We eventually ended up around 8/10 of a mile from The Strawberry Marina. Never really found great catching, but from time to time a small school seemed to pass through and it was fast and furious for a short time. The most productive depth was around 30'. Most fish were caught on the bottom but the suspended rods also picked up a few. Active jigging worked a little better than dead sticking. Tubes tipped with mealworms or cut bait both produced. A few were also caught on small jigs. One rainbow was landed and all the rest were cutts in the slot. It was a little breezy in the morning but otherwise was a gorgeous day. Nice to get out with several fellow BFTers.
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Sorry! our paths did not cross. I am sure they will eventually cross one of these days. Glad to hear you caught a few. Fishing was a little slow, but all and all a good day. Even a slow day on the ice, is better than being at home.
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It was a pleasure to be in the company of experienced fisherman. I definitely have a lot to learn. I also need to bring a lot more equipment apparently. My little sled compared to everyone elses made me look like I had never been before. None the less it was a great day for fishing and it made it out to be a great day for catching to. Here is the only picture I took to prove that yes we did catch a few.
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Were all the trout caught the standard Berry size fish or did any go over 22"?
Sounds like the ice will on well into May this year, you planning a few more trips up there.
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All the trout that I saw were around the standard size none over the 22 inch mark. For me it will be my last trip out this year. Wish it wasn't so but by the time I am ready to fish again at the end of April it will be bass up at the Nelle.
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Did you get checked by the snowmobile copper lady?
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Yes in fact she was the one who checked me. She did have her male partner with her though. Glad to know they are making a good presence up there.
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[quote wiperhunter2]Were all the trout caught the standard Berry size fish or did any go over 22"?
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"One rainbow was landed and all the rest were cutts in the slot."
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Sounds like the ice will on well into May this year, you planning a few more trips up there.
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I will likely hit it a few more times this year. Perhaps this Friday or maybe even fish it Friday afternoon into the night if there are any other crazy anglers willing to join me.
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We found the fishing to be generally slow as well. Finding active fish was tough, and enticing bites was even tougher. But we caught a few. Beautiful day on Saturday, however.
We still have plans to hit it again at least one more time . . .
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I was in this group and it was good to get out and fish with the excellent company. It was beautiful up there, with sunny blue skies and all, but it was cold at times with a little breeze. I was the only pansy that put up an ice shack for a while, everyone else manned up and braved the cold. It felt good to redeem myself as the last time I went to the Berry I got the goose-egg. I was shocked at how thick the ice was. In 5 years of ice fishing there I've never seen it that thick. We sometimes stop and fish at the Ladders with a boat on the way back from Pelican Lake the 2nd weekend or so of May...but I don't think the ice will be off by then this year. One other thing I noticed is that all the fish that were caught were all very healthy and fat. In years past I've caught quite a few skinny fish this time of the year. I'm looking forward to catching a lot of healthy fish out of that lake in the boat this year.
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