I took my new knee ice fishing to Strawberry

[MrShane]

I had a knee replaced just before Christmas and have been dying to hit the ice for first time since surgery.
Today was the day.
I was still a little nervous to be on ice and wanted plenty of light so did not leave my house until close to 7am (in hind sight I should have left an hour earlier).
I had gear unloaded and drove to my spot and had first line in water at 9:45.
Immediate hit but I missed it, and missed the second hit not long after that.
Fishing at ‘first hole’ was not red hot but good enough to keep me from moving anywhere else for duration of my trip.
Lots of lookers, and had to work them pretty good to commit.
I ended up putting 11 slots on the top of the ice, lost just about as many just under the ice, and missed at least 15 quick hits.
At 2 pm action slowed considerably so I threw in the towel at 2:45pm and started to pack up.
Beautiful day, hardly any wind.
Ice was froze pretty good on trip out to ice, quite a few slush pockets on way back in.
Glad I wasn’t walking!
Best lure was ice fly under Swedish Pimple, next best was green Atomic Teaser.
Everything tipped with Mealworms.
Super glad I went and did not chicken out (which I almost did when I remembered my quad was not registered) on my way up the canyon.







It was worth the risk!

[wiperhunter2]

Way to go Shane, glad you were able to get out before the ice is gone and it turned out to be such a nice day, My guess is the catching was a bonus after that rehab. Thanks for the report and pics. Just looking at that fish in the hole, it looks like a monster or is it just a small auger hole, maybe a 6 inch hole, or is it smaller than that?

[SkunkedAgain]

Congrats Shane glad you were able to get out... You ended up beating me to Strawberry... Afraid I'm about to give up and get the boat going soon... Glad the knee works for you... Hopefully it will keep getting stronger and better for you... You picked a great year to get that maintenance work done, didn't miss much this year... So you getting ready to put in for some hunts this fall? Think it's getting time to do that isn't it? I need to look up the rules for this year... Anyway thanks for the report... Jeff

[MrShane]

Way to go Shane, glad you were able to get out before the ice is gone and it turned out to be such a nice day, My guess is the catching was a bonus after that rehab. Thanks for the report and pics. Just looking at that fish in the hole, it looks like a monster or is it just a small auger hole, maybe a 6 inch hole, or is it smaller than that?

Thanks Curt!
I do use a smaller auger because I really am a Perch guy, plus I lose less tools down a smaller ice hole!
It is a 4.5” hole, which is really nice for Perch fishing because I can drill gobs of 4.5” holes and never kill my battery.
It does make me lose a lot of bigger fish under the ice, especially when hook is in back of jaw.
The physics just make it tough to get them turned vertical, especially when ice is that thick.
Take care, Shane

---

Congrats Shane glad you were able to get out... You ended up beating me to Strawberry... Afraid I'm about to give up and get the boat going soon... Glad the knee works for you... Hopefully it will keep getting stronger and better for you... You picked a great year to get that maintenance work done, didn't miss much this year...  So you getting ready to put in for some hunts this fall?  Think it's getting time to do that isn't it?  I need to look up the rules for this year... Anyway thanks for the report... Jeff

Thanks Jeff.
I am putting away all ice gear today and will get boat out next killer day.
With ice off RP, those female Perch will be loaded with eggs and put a better bend in the pole.
Is Echo ice free yet, rumors are the Perch there are a bit bigger.
I have 22 LE Deer points and 24 Moose points but will only buy points for those two specie this year.
I really need to kill a bull Elk with an arrow for my bucket list and that will be my main focus this year. I am wearing out prematurely and the Elk archery hunt is the hardest hunt on me so I really need to check that one off sooner than later.
Take care, Shane

[brookie]

So here is the important question - how thick was the ice. You mentioned putting the ice gear away - I don't even get my ice gear out anymore. We have been boat fishing Jordanelle all winter and hoping for another venue sooner than later. As we get the warm temps, ice can come off fairly quick. Trying to get an idea on Soldier Creek ice off.

[MrShane]

So here is the important question - how thick was the ice. You mentioned putting the ice gear away - I don't even get my ice gear out anymore. We have been boat fishing Jordanelle all winter and hoping for another venue sooner than later. As we get the warm temps, ice can come off fairly quick. Trying to get an idea on Soldier Creek ice off.

Hey Brookie,
My auger is just a smidge over 24” to the stop plate I made for it.
The plate was just an inch or so from the top of ice.
So 23-23” where I was, maybe 3/4 mile or so out from the Laddders.

[SkunkedAgain]

Sounds good on the hunts, I went and bought a 70 lb bow ten or fifteen years ago and now I don't think I'm man enough to pull it back, let alone shoot it straight.. I need to go back to my 50-60 lb bow so I can still hunt... I haven't hunted archery since the year after I got that new bow and I've really missed that hunt, but was getting to be too many people where I wanted to be and it took so many days in the field to make things line up that I guess I just didn't have time for it... Wishing you all the luck you need to stick a big one... That will be probably the toughest hunt on your list, so hope it comes around for you... Later Jeff

[brookie]

So here is the important question - how thick was the ice. You mentioned putting the ice gear away - I don't even get my ice gear out anymore. We have been boat fishing Jordanelle all winter and hoping for another venue sooner than later. As we get the warm temps, ice can come off fairly quick. Trying to get an idea on Soldier Creek ice off.

Hey Brookie,
My auger is just a smidge over 24” to the stop plate I made for it.
The plate was just an inch or so from the top of ice.
So 23-23” where I was, maybe 3/4 mile or so out from the Laddders.

Thanks for the information. If we can get some nice temps, shouldn't be more than 2-3 weeks till soft water on SC. Third week in April is about average ice off at SC, Strawberry about 2 weeks later. I know about those new knees - had mine done in 2003, still going great.