12-27-2019, 10:29 PM
We got out on Hyrum again today, but didn't get there until after 11, so we headed a little bit west from the swim beach. Given the late start, we just set to fishing and I didn't take the time to look for fellow members.
I tried out the new ice tent for the first time today, and I am a convert. It was amazing how light the water actually is, and how deep we could see down the hole. We didn't have a heater, but it was significantly warmer in the tent. With 4 of us fishing, ages 21, 16 and 8, it was very nice to have the shelter especially when the 8 yo got tired of fishing. She could then just watch down the hole as we brought fish up.
As to the fishing, we cut 5 holes, 3 to where the tent would sit, and two just outside. No sooner did we get the holes cut than Josh was fishing. He iced his first fish before we figured out how to get the tent set up. Just to show the girls how we were catching them, I then dropped a line and caught one in short order. The 8 yo was excited to try the short, very soft ice rod, so I handed it over and she caught a fish very quickly. Within short order, all 4 of us were catching with very few lulls in the action. most of the fish seemed to be between ~8.5 inches, with a few bigger or smaller with no great outlier on the high side.
I did visit with a gentleman who was headed in as we left yesterday, but he was there on our both our arrival and departure today. He hadn't caught anything on his baits, so I shared a night crawler with him and started getting bites. He even watched a large trout under his rod toying with his bait for a bit, though he never did hook up with it. While I was talking to him before leaving he was getting aggressive bites, though he didn't hook up.
I am grateful to have this week off for vacation. I have already fished 4 days since last Saturday, and we have caught fish every time. The kids seem to be developing an appreciation for fish meat, and it has been good bonding time with my children. The new tent, fish finder and state parks pass have made the activity even more enjoyable. Thanks for all the advice and camaraderie on this site. It has been a good year and 2020 looks promising.
Happy New year one and all!
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I tried out the new ice tent for the first time today, and I am a convert. It was amazing how light the water actually is, and how deep we could see down the hole. We didn't have a heater, but it was significantly warmer in the tent. With 4 of us fishing, ages 21, 16 and 8, it was very nice to have the shelter especially when the 8 yo got tired of fishing. She could then just watch down the hole as we brought fish up.
As to the fishing, we cut 5 holes, 3 to where the tent would sit, and two just outside. No sooner did we get the holes cut than Josh was fishing. He iced his first fish before we figured out how to get the tent set up. Just to show the girls how we were catching them, I then dropped a line and caught one in short order. The 8 yo was excited to try the short, very soft ice rod, so I handed it over and she caught a fish very quickly. Within short order, all 4 of us were catching with very few lulls in the action. most of the fish seemed to be between ~8.5 inches, with a few bigger or smaller with no great outlier on the high side.
I did visit with a gentleman who was headed in as we left yesterday, but he was there on our both our arrival and departure today. He hadn't caught anything on his baits, so I shared a night crawler with him and started getting bites. He even watched a large trout under his rod toying with his bait for a bit, though he never did hook up with it. While I was talking to him before leaving he was getting aggressive bites, though he didn't hook up.
I am grateful to have this week off for vacation. I have already fished 4 days since last Saturday, and we have caught fish every time. The kids seem to be developing an appreciation for fish meat, and it has been good bonding time with my children. The new tent, fish finder and state parks pass have made the activity even more enjoyable. Thanks for all the advice and camaraderie on this site. It has been a good year and 2020 looks promising.
Happy New year one and all!
[signature]