First time in 20 years!

[fish_a_holic]

crappiehunter convinced me to go ice fishing with him today...this marks the first time in 20 years I've gone back out on the ice.

We started the day out at Flint Lake in Valparaiso...it took awhile for them to convince me to venture out, but I did. I was a little tentative at the beginning, but got braver as the morning wore on. We fished several locations from 8a.m. until almost NOON - without a single fish. The guy fishing next to me caught a 14" bass and a couple crappies, but none of em were on our lines.


[#4040ff]ABOVE: crappiehunter enjoying a cup of java, while patiently waiting for the fish to bite at Horseshoe Bend...[/#4040ff]
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At NOON, we decided to go for broke and took a ride out to our honeyhole at Horseshoe Bend off the Kankakee River. Nervousness ensued again, as you could see the ice had dropped four feet from where it originally froze. The ice near shore was doing a lot of cracking and groaning, but still, we ventured out. Eventually we got brave enough to cut some holes near our honeyhole...I managed one small crappie and had several good hits just before we packed up to leave...probably a late afternoon or early evening bite is on. I was using a little ice rod with 4lb. test line and a 1/64 oz. spinner jig tipped with 2 red spikes, Mike was using a rod with a fancy jig and had some tip-ups out with big minnows on them.


[#4040ff]ABOVE: here you can see how far the water level of the bayou had dropped by the time we got out there to do a little fishing. The exposed slabs of ice were 4-5 inches thick and the ice we cut holes in was 6 - 8 inches thick.[/#4040ff]
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We still had a great time, well except for the part where Mike accidentally bopped me in the head with his ice auger...I only saw stars for a few seconds.


[#4040ff]ABOVE: Here's the one fish that kept me from getting Skunked![/#4040ff]

Thanks for convincing me to come out ice fishing with you Mike...as always, it was great to spend the afternoon with you.
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[davetclown]

Good to see ya taking on the eliments,,,

I dont know if I could handle that kind of drop again, last time I experienced a 12 inch drop was when I was sitting out on lake st clare michigan, before I knew it, a fault in the ice lifted and my bucket was strattled half and half on the falt line,

end result, I fell flat on my back. all the other anglers sitting around just busted out laughing, asked me if I needed training wheels on my bucket..[angelic]

pride a little brused I moved back in twards shore another mile.

today I hit the lake just as soon as I started moving this morning, about noon. fished till dark. caught 25 gills and crappie.

click on the photo to see the conditions I fished in today, that white wall is what was going on less than a hundred yards away...

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what were you using as bait today? me I was using a mousie on a glo tear drop.
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[fish_a_holic]

I was using a 1/64 oz. gold jig with a willow leaf spinner on it and tipped the jig with multicolored spikes.
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[davetclown]

I bought a box of them things, they call them uro worms here,

before I got to use them, they all turned to crystalist.
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[fish_a_holic]

they have to be refrigerated...they'll last a long time as long as you keep them cold.
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[davetclown]

gives new meaning to the term hot pockets.[]

I wonder how long it will take for them flies to hatch, would be nice to have something new to try []

If I knew where there was a bees nest to raid I would be on it... they make excilent bait... especialy the black wasp. you dont want to let them get loose in your pocket..[shocked]
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