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Boy what a day on the ice!
We made it on the ice and fishing by about 8:30 am. There were three of us and we drilled our holes and dropped our bait down, it was so fast and furious, you didn't have time to try and set up a second rod. It was every drop for a while. We didn't catch a fish on every drop, but it wasn't because they weren't there, we just missed a lot.
Then around 11:00 am, it shutoff. We threw everything at them but the kitchen sink, no fish. From 11:00 am until 5:00 pm, between the three of us, we caught about 15 fish. A couple of rainbows and the rest cutts.
The cutts we caught today were fat. Most were 20er's. The biggest was 22 and the smallest was 18.
I caught one that had that whirling disease. One poor ugly fish.
The snow is far too deep for 4 wheelers, the snow mobiles were struggling a bit to pull the sleds through the deep snow.
When the fishing got slow, we played on the snowmobiles. That powder was great!!!!
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Thanks for the report. Can you give a couple more details on what was working. Also, what were the ice conditions like? Ice depth, slush layer, etc. I have yet to make it out this year (dating life has me tied up a bit) but I'm really itching to go. I think I'll have to drag her out on the ice and show her what real fun is. [cool]
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Sounds like you guys really had a great time! I need to get back up there. Thanks for the report.
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Playas44 where abouts were you up there? I also was up there, on the ice at 7:00 am until 2:00 pm and didn't get a single bite. The ice was over 24" thick with about 18" of snow on top of that.
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When the fish were biting, I don't think it matter what you had on, they were going to bite it.
I caught most of my fish on small jigs tipped with pieces of minnow. I used mostly a small glow in the dark tube jig. I use 1/8 and 1/16 oz jigs. I did use some white and some green.
I caught a few with the same jigs tipped with meal worms.
The other two guys I was with used foxy jigs. They used meal worms all day. They rigged up far different than I do. They used a double jig setup with one jig on the bottom and a second about three foot above.
While I caught everything on the bottom, they both caught fish on both jigs. The last fish I caught was my biggest, not the biggest of the trip, but was my biggest and it was on a whole minnow. It was a 21.5" cutt.
We were in water that ranged from 8 ft to 30 ft. Most of the fish were caught in the holes where the depth was 23 ft. When the fishing was frantic, the fish finder was almost black at times. When it was slow, the fish finder was blank.
We went out a long ways, we were out in the area I think is called the meadows. We were the farthest people south that I saw.
We watched some groups a little north of us, they seemed to be catching fish at the same times that we were and slowed down at the same times.
From reports lately, it seems the bite is fast early and then just shuts off.
I don't know for sure, but I would bet that even if you go somewhere close, but get there early, you should do real well. If you get into a bite like we had yesterday morning, she will be hooked for life.
The ice is very thick, with a power auger, we were at the top of auger before breaking through. There wasn't any slush, but there was over a foot of snow on the ice.
I hope this helps and good luck.
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Where were you fishing at? How deep was the water?
Were you seeing anything on the fish finder?
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I was about 300 yards out from the boat ramp. The water depth was about 45 to 50 ft. deep. NO Fish finder. [pirate][pirate][pirate] Did you see those two air boats?? That looked fun.
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Those two air boats covered us with a snow cloud when they left the parking lot in the AM. They fished a few hundred yards north of us.
We used their tracks on the way back to make the ride much smoother.
I don't know about fun, they did look like a safe way to navigate a lake. If you did happen to hit open water, no big deal, just keep on trucking.
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Sounds like an awesome day. Those are the days that keep you coming back again and again. Sounds like the meadows is the place to be if you have sleds! I fished today not too far from the marina in a place that we did well 2 weeks ago but it was less than stellar today and a lot of work getting there even with snowshoes. The snow is deep off the beeten path. Great report!
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