01-17-2009, 04:13 AM
Fishing Daniels on New Years Day, my friend and I caught about a dozen fish, the biggest was about 18". We were fishing in about 10-15 feet of water and really didn't see all that many fish swimming by. It was a long day and in my opinion, slower than normal.
Three of us fished it last weekend and we caught 14 total. The biggest was 20", while the others were between 15-18". Once again, a long day and in my mind slow fishing. Not that many swimming through once again. Not as many as we've seen in years past.
The ice was plenty thick, solid 8 inches with very little snow on top. Even with what I call slow fishing, it's worth getting up there. This weekend should be fantastic weather-wise.
My best success has been using ice flies shoved into small glow tubes, white or semi-transparent white. Fishing is best if you have a hut and can close the windows. Watching down the hole in 10-15' of water will give you an amazing view at how smart these fish really are. Half of them will come up within inches of your jig and swim off. Others will bump it with their noses and swim off. Some give it a good taste and spit so fast that if you aren't paying attention, you miss them altogether. Watch down the hole and as soon as they put the jig in their mouth, yank! You'll hook them right on the lip. The size of the jigs wedge in perfectly (even de-barbed as they should be).
I don't mean to badmouth 12-14 fish on a day of ice fishing at Daniels by any means. I've just had much better luck in the past. [
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Three of us fished it last weekend and we caught 14 total. The biggest was 20", while the others were between 15-18". Once again, a long day and in my mind slow fishing. Not that many swimming through once again. Not as many as we've seen in years past.
The ice was plenty thick, solid 8 inches with very little snow on top. Even with what I call slow fishing, it's worth getting up there. This weekend should be fantastic weather-wise.
My best success has been using ice flies shoved into small glow tubes, white or semi-transparent white. Fishing is best if you have a hut and can close the windows. Watching down the hole in 10-15' of water will give you an amazing view at how smart these fish really are. Half of them will come up within inches of your jig and swim off. Others will bump it with their noses and swim off. Some give it a good taste and spit so fast that if you aren't paying attention, you miss them altogether. Watch down the hole and as soon as they put the jig in their mouth, yank! You'll hook them right on the lip. The size of the jigs wedge in perfectly (even de-barbed as they should be).
I don't mean to badmouth 12-14 fish on a day of ice fishing at Daniels by any means. I've just had much better luck in the past. [
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