Willard Ice?

[SkunkedAgain]

Sorry been scattered all over the last two weeks and haven't been paying very good attention to the forum. Did Willard ever lock up with ice? Just looking for an ice report if anyone has one? Thanks Jeff
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[Cowboypirate]

My last check was about 5 days ago (hope memory on date is right) at that time N Marian 3/4 of surface cap but thin. Nobody was on it. A few fishing through holes off the boat docks.

That day wind was eroding ice and it had less than my check a few days before, but a lot can happen in 5 days of winter.

My South marina check is even older by a few days. It was fully capped then, but thin. A person went through testing it thickness. A few hardy souls were on it
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[SkunkedAgain]

Thank you, I haven’t been down to work all week so I haven’t been able to do a drive by. Thanks Jeff
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[Cowboypirate]

Jeff, I took a quick peek this morning as I was headed to a meeting.

The North Marina - ice has now pushed past the boat ramp with all docks capped in again. Cap is pretty sketchy, with areas still showing some water. Still nobody on it when I looked, but I would not be suprised to see people try it. I did not test thickness but was told nothing to a couple inches. A few fishing the long dock on the south side. And one headed out on the dock on the north.

South. I did not look myself, but sharing what one angler told me, who was fishing the North. He said the south inlet is capped and people are on it. They are catching perch with off and on bites.

Cheers - maybe we will catch up to each other on the ice this weekend. Not sure what our plans are yet.
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[SkunkedAgain]

Sounds good I'm really hoping to get out tomorrow... Thought I would today, but family stayed a day longer than they planned so fishing is delayed a day longer as well... Soon though I hope... Good luck and thanks so much for the great update... I'm trying to figure out where that 13.5" perch came from and Willard is my best guess, but I'm not sure how he's fishing it unless maybe it is the south marina... Thanks a bunch... Later Jeff
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[Jig-fisher]

Jeff, I was wondering and thinking the same thing about that great perch. You and I were thinking the same place.
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[dwayneb]

Whether these big fish are coming out of Echo, willard, Rockport, or else you guys understand they exist due to the fact people were never blabbing over the internet or taking videos and posting etc....I guarantee they are in all of these waters...the consequence of social media lies far beyond today's discussion.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]C'mon Dwayne. We know you have been getting your toad perch from Bountiful Pond. Aren't you glad you heard about it on BookFace?
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[dwayneb]

Yes sir....thanks for sharing my honey hole Pat...hahahha
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[Jig-fisher]

I understand that we all have a right to post or not to post our fishing adventures. One of the reasons I enjoy this site so much is due to many great fishermen who have shared their adventures. Some are more detailed than others, including depth, speed, lures or bait, time of day etc. Those with pictures are even more enjoyable. I do not, and will not, get upset if someone doesn't divulge where they went and how they caught their fish. But it is fun to speculate! Thanks to those who share, even if it is just a picture.
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[SkunkedAgain]

I don’t think he’s had time to hit Cascade but it sure looks like one of them beauties. I’m sure there are big fish in most ponds that have perch but I’m looking for places with higher than normal amounts. 13.5” will be really hard to beat that’s for sure. Later Jeff
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[Cowboypirate]

dwayneb

Please take my response in the sincere and heartfelt manner in which I intended it - not to provoke anything more that thoughtful pondering and a gentleman's conversation.


Been thinking a lot about your comments this afternoon, and I have certainly heard similar concerns by others in different settings. I am, for sure, one of those who give you pause about the future of our pasttime as i am active on social media (this and others) and not shy about sharing . You are right, of course, the impact of social media and how people, like me, use it will impact the future. There is no doubt that when the news papers elected to post fishing reports or photos many years ago, that pressure changed at bodies of water in conjunction with that reporting. I know when the paper reported a big brown, many years ago on the Weber, that a lot of extra fisherman became Weber aficionados and showed up on our farm. There can be no debate that Doug Millers show altered peoples vacation plans. And, there can be no doubt the decision of the DWR or places like Sportsmans to have a hot spot boards has also had similar impacts.

Of course social media has the ability to reach many, many, more people. For better or worse, this impact of social media, I can not possibly predict, I am simply not that smart. But, I understand that this concerns people and I respect their concern. I too love my solitude and keep a few honey holes to myself.

So people, like me, have to ask themselves why they do it? What is the motivation and its is in keeping some moral standard that makes sense, at least to us? I also cant answer this for anyone else but me.

But, I can, sorta, answer why, at least why, I, do it....

1- I have a handicap son. My wife and i had a goal to find ways to keep him active in the outdoors. As we pursued that goal over the years, we felt we could share some of our activities with the hope that others with disabilities might find an idea or inspiration to stay active in the outdoors

2- somewhere along that journey with my son, we learned that my wife had progressive MS. Now we were looking for ways to keep her active and thought again that perhaps by sharing we might provide others with ideas, locations, ext to help them

3- this morphed, when asked by families with young kids about how to catch their first fish, into how do we share a place or way for a young family to have that great experience


Now I freely admit this has snowballed, as I entered the realm of social media, as it was much more controlled when I simply shared it with personal friends or work relations. It has snowballed somewhat due to the fact that I personally have enjoyed the aspect of filming the experience and social media has become the way to share it.

Is what we/I do right? Frankly, I have no idea. But, I hope at least my motivation is sincere and my intent understood even if not appreciated by all.

One things is for certain - social media is here and something else will come after and it will always impact us in someway. Change is the only certainty.

I may add as a final note - I do not make money with this, My youtube channel is not monetized, does not accept adds and we are not sponsored. I hold no ill will to those who go down this path either. And maybe one day I will too, but its just not part of my goals right now. My goals now are to enjoy my family, film some adventure, and share it with hopes to inspire, teach, educated or simply entertain. I am ok with this.

Kindest regards and my sincere hope to spend some time on the water with you one day (I wont bring my camera)
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[dwayneb]

You missed my point by a mile. Your 1000 words of wisdom make a mute point. So I'll keep this elementary for your consumption. All these waters have big perch...get out there, put in work, and figure it out.
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[Cowboypirate]

I am guessing this post was actually for me, not Bob.

One thing I excel at is missing the point. Guilty as charged.

The other thing i excel at is writing a dissertation to make a point I could have made with a sentence.

Anywho, back to fishing

Cheers
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[dwayneb]

Nope...your good man...it was for Bob as seems full of assumptions...either way I'm done with this conversation.
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[dubob]

[quote dwayneb]You missed my point by a mile. Your 1000 words of wisdom make a mute point. So I'll keep this elementary for your consumption. All these waters have big perch...get out there, put in work, and figure it out.[/quote][size 4][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Thank you ever so much for that condescending post. And I didn't miss anything in your previous post. Your point was very well defined - anybody that posts information about fishing on a social media venue is destroying the resource. MY point was/is that sharing information is NOT new. It has been around much longer than you or I have been alive. And some folks have been complaining about that for as many years. Your belittling of folks that don't seek out their own information ([#000000]"get out there, put in work, and figure it out."[/#]) is quite clear. And it is also disrespectful IMHO. Your incoherent posts are hard to decipher (e.g., [#000000]"Whether these big fish are coming out of Echo, willard, Rockport, or else you guys understand they exist due to the fact people were never blabbing over the internet or taking videos and posting etc"[/#]). If there was a point there, I couldn't determine it. And for the record, the CORRECT terminology for an inconsequential or irrelevant point is MOOT, not mute. Carry on.[/#][/font][/size]
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[Ticklestick]

Checked it today, 2.5" at south marina and it was sketchy walking out LOL.

Didn't fish it because it was cracking as I was walking on it, left and went
to Pineview.
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[SkunkedAgain]

Thank you!!! I’ve got to go to work so maybe later in the week we’ll be able to try it. Thanks for the info. Jeff
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