My son (Maghunter) and I ventured to Ririe Sat. and set up at about sun up. We were hoping to get on the spot that in past seasons has always produced good success but someone else had beat us to it so we set up about 50 yards away. We saw nothing on our flasher for the first hour and then the guys on the spot we hoped to get on started pulling fish in. They kept the school under them for about an hour and then the three of them left with 18 nice Kokes. Before leaving they called in some friends to come and fish their holes. We hung around our set up with no success. The 3 new guys who came over just kept pulling fish out. My son finally walked over and discovered that he knew 2 of them and they invited him to fish one of the holes they were not fishing. After icing 4 fish he convinced me to join them. We both had fast and furious action as did about 6 other people who came over. We had invited Jared Scott to come up with us and he arrived about the time the school moved out. We hug around to help Jared and his boys and a friend with some kids who had come along also. After an hour or so the school came back and everyone was catching fish. Jared got plenty of it on camera so you will probably see it on his show soon. The fish averaged 10-12" and were sooo delicious as always.
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Check with me next time, I already posted our report on the Ririe thread (old people can't figure out these new fangled computin machines). Just teasin, hopefully Ririe won't let us down this winter, it was a good start and a lot of fun. We need to get BigLew up there with us on the ice.
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That sounds like great fun. I plan on getting there at the end of this comming cold spell, too cold for the little kids when I am by myself. I need to get a new hub and pole for my shelter that somehow broke when it was -15 at Henrys. There were 5-6 groups there Sat evening when we went for a drive to check things out..
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That same spot that was producing well was calling to me when I walked in on Sat. I ignored my gut feeling and went to the other side of the island for no apparent reason. Then I saw those guys going crazy over there. Thats what I get for ignoring my first intuition.
Thanks for the report.
Windriver
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Just went out there this morning, some guys showed up and must've been in the spot because just as soon as they had their second line in the water they were getting hits. They soon had their limit, and as they were cleaning up I went and started to fish on that spot. In a matter of minutes I had my first and within another 6 or 7 had my limit. Incredible! What a blast.
I was down anywhere from 20' to just below the hole. Putting a lot of action on my lures. Started with a meal worm, but after the first two fish, they were just hitting the bare lure.
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Thinking I'll have to give it a try this afternoon after my kid gets out of preschool. He needs out of the house in the worst way. Hopefully they're still hanging around. I'll post what happens if I make it.
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I brought my little family out this morning to see if I could get my 3 yo into some fun crazy kokanee. After I got the shelter put up and the heater going to warm the family up we sat for about half an hour and then they came! It was fun and I was so proud that my 3 yo hooked and landed a fish all by himself. It was fun to get the family out and the wife even caught some.
Thanks to the guys who offered us to fish your holes. Didn't mean to be offensive by insisting I set up the ice shelter I had on our own spot, just wanted to warm the family up.
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we did make it out. arrived about 330 and had just gotten the rods and jigger totters set when a school came in. My buddy (who had never ice fished before) said the rod was doing something. Sure enough it was bobbing erratically. Then I noticed the flasher was lit up from about 15 ft to 30 ft. then all 5 jigger totters were going off. I'm shouting to my buddy and my 4 yr old to start setting hooks! I'm trying to set the hook on two rods in front of me. None of us are having much luck. I finally hook one solid! It fights for a few seconds before wrapping the line around my sons line which makes him think he has a BIG FISH on! Of course he tries to reel me in! In the end no fish were landed and the school never came back, but it sure was interesting. I did manage to hook and land a 14 inch cut on a green paddle bug at about 18 feet, but that was the only one.
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Just wanted to post a picture of this morning's catch. Seeing them in my sink ready to be cleaned was a good sight. The biggest one was just a hair over 13", the rest are around the 9-10". This is the first year I've ever caught Kokanee, and I can't get enough of it!
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Is The ice thick enough to ride a 4 wheeler on ? Curt G.
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[quote curt69]Is The ice thick enough to ride a 4 wheeler on ? Curt G.[/quote]
Been wondering the same thing. I hope by Friday it is. [
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I might see you there . I am hoping it won't be as crowded on a week day . i will be in a Sliver Dodge 4x4 4 door . I will be pulling my shanty with a Suzuki King Quad 300 and have a red coat on feel free to say hi . I would like to meet you . I really enjoy your posts . Curt G.
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I'm in idaho falls now just waiting for my buddy to wake up. Ill post how we do ill have my BFT FLAG if anyone's out also.
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When I was there yesterday, there was a group that had a four wheeler on the ice. Seemed to work out really well. Hope that helps.
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Thanks you have been a big help . That ramp is just too steep for this old boy to pull all my gear up by hand . Curt G.
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Get a wheelbarrow, or a rope tied to a snowmobile, and I'll venture up there. Or you could drop me in with a helicopter. Hope you won't mind the incessant whining when I get cold or bored, or can't hit that little hole with my fly. [
]Give me a holler, and I'll go get a license.
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I've got a general ice fishing question for you all. I'm new to it, so I'm still trying to learn. Does it really matter where you fish on the ice? I couldn't help but notice that "the Mags" and Windriver made mention of their favorite spots, leading me to think that fish tend to hold in certain locations more so than others. I know from my fly fishing experience that in rivers fish tend to hold in a hole or an area with structure, for example. However with ice fishing, I was under the impression that the fish would be constantly swimming around so it didn't matter where I set up camp. True or false?
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Current, ever so slight, stacks up plankton in various locations. While it may appear that the Kokanee are swimming willy nilly around Ririe they are actually locked in a feeding path that decides life or death during the winter. Even though these locations are much easier to detect during the summer, the fish remain pretty much in the same pattern all winter long. The downside to this it that schools of Kokanee once located, will be fished way down in numbers before the ice ever melts.
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Thanks for the information on the ice and 4-wheeler. I should be fine on Friday with these temps.
As far as finding fish when ice fishing, they do tend to hold by structures. But, the Kokes are different as they move almost continuously because they feed on plankton. They hang in schools as they cruise around and your best bet is to find a barrier that they have to go around. That is where you want to setup. They also tend to stay over a certain depth of water and suspended at a certain depth. This changes obviously with weather and pressure along with their food source.
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The short answer is location does matter... a lot. Each species is different. MMDon described the Kokanee situation well. Trout are a little different and Perch a little different still. Then you change factors according to the lake and that is the puzzle that you have to solve.
Lakes are every bit as complex as the river system.
Windriver
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