04-06-2004, 03:11 PM
Read JigginJim's report of 50yds of open water all around the lake and decided to take half the day off yesterday and get my but over there in a hurry. For those of you that have never fished Scofield at ice-out, you are missing a real treat.
We didn't do quite as well as he did, but...
We arrived at the lake around 4:30. We fished the shore behind the island from the bank. We started with a bubble and a worm about 3.5 feet below it. I got one good bite but not much else. We noticed that the two guys down from us were just flat slaying the fish. I walked down and asked them if they would mind sharing the day's secret. They were glad to tell me that they were just sinking a worm to the bottom on a full bubble. I put on a slip sinker and a worm (basically a Carolina rig) and the fun began.
We ended up leaving about 7:30 with 13 fish caught. We kept 5 Bows from 15-18" and 1 Cutt that was about 18" and released the rest. I have a picture of the two biggest, but I forgot to grab the link cable for my camera, so I'll add that later.
The bite was very light and fast. The fish were just picking up the worm and moving with it until they felt weight and then dropping it. I only had one fish that was not hooked just in the corner of the mouth. You had to be quick. I had to have missed at least 10 hits. The fish were holding about 2/3 of a normal cast from shore. You know if you are too far out because of the grass and moss on your rig. Find the edge of the gunk, and you're on fish quick. Watch the ice that remains since it is moving in and out with the slightest breeze. We almost had to move as it moved in, but then it just moved back out again. While it was in, the fishing just got that much better.
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We didn't do quite as well as he did, but...
We arrived at the lake around 4:30. We fished the shore behind the island from the bank. We started with a bubble and a worm about 3.5 feet below it. I got one good bite but not much else. We noticed that the two guys down from us were just flat slaying the fish. I walked down and asked them if they would mind sharing the day's secret. They were glad to tell me that they were just sinking a worm to the bottom on a full bubble. I put on a slip sinker and a worm (basically a Carolina rig) and the fun began.
We ended up leaving about 7:30 with 13 fish caught. We kept 5 Bows from 15-18" and 1 Cutt that was about 18" and released the rest. I have a picture of the two biggest, but I forgot to grab the link cable for my camera, so I'll add that later.
The bite was very light and fast. The fish were just picking up the worm and moving with it until they felt weight and then dropping it. I only had one fish that was not hooked just in the corner of the mouth. You had to be quick. I had to have missed at least 10 hits. The fish were holding about 2/3 of a normal cast from shore. You know if you are too far out because of the grass and moss on your rig. Find the edge of the gunk, and you're on fish quick. Watch the ice that remains since it is moving in and out with the slightest breeze. We almost had to move as it moved in, but then it just moved back out again. While it was in, the fishing just got that much better.
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