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I hopped over to Lincoln Beach first spring area to try out my new Nils hand auger and get in a couple of hours fishing this afternoon. The open area has expanded and a few fishermen were catching fish there, probably white bass as far as I could tell but some may have been crappie. One fisher was out on the ice a little way in a tent. I asked where it was safe and if I could set up close to him. I drilled three holes and the auger worked fine but was not as fast as I thought it would be--probably because of my technique. It didn't take much energy, though.There was just 4" of ice and there was a big pressure ridge a little further out. Ron was seeing a lot of different species of fish on his camera and was steadily catching white bass. He was using a very large Jigging Rap and a Heddon Sonar. I couldn't hook up on anything with the different things I tried. Ron invited me to fish in one of his holes near his camera which was positioned outside his tent. He could see fish come over to my jigging but nothing would bite. Eventually I got into a white bass but when I got him iced I saw that I had snagged him in the side. Nothing more so Ron offered me one of his lures that he had been catching on, a yellow and white Sonar. Still nothing, even when I sweetened it with a strip of bass belly meat. When it was just about time to start packing up I finally got a hit and hooked up. My little rod bent double and I could tell it was a big one. He came up just under the ice a couple of times and we see that he was indeed a big one. Ron saw gold and thought it was a carp, but I saw cream and thought it might be a catfish instead. He went around and around my hole, sawing the lightweight line against the edges of the hole. Unfortunately I had a cheap old reel on--after all I had just been using it for little panfish. I had discovered last week that the drag could only be adjusted to either full off or full on. Since the 8" perch were pulling line out easily I put the drag to full on. Even so, this fish was pulling line off and I could hold my own against him though I wished I could lighten it a bit. You know what happened: eventually he broke off. Man, if I had landed him I would have gotten to #1 in the Other category in the Challenge. I normally would have felt big pangs of disappointment but I only had a few little twinges. C'est la vie. It was inevitable. Next time, and there will be a next time, I'll be armed with a lake trout outfit.
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Oh, It always happens that way....The big ones get away. So sorry. I've got a tuna rod and reel you can borrow, but you will need a big truck to transport it.
Thanks for the report. Steve
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Thanks for the report! I was thinking of heading over to check it out. I've never ice fished over there (UT Lake), but looks to be the closest thing to me (Looks like I live just south of you.) Any problems getting on the ice? thanks
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How deep was the water where you were fishing? I’m thinking about trying there tomorrow. Too bad about the one that got away, thanks for the report.
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If you find where the first spring is it is dead easy. Go tp the left of the harbor.There is a little peninsula on the near side of the channel that runs out from the spring. You can drive right down there and out onto that area. You will probably need 4wd. I backed right out to the point and only had to drag my sled about ten feet on the rocks to get to the ice.You don't have to go far out--look for where all the holes are. Good luck and have fun.
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I fished in five feet of water--chin high.
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Big fish dont just break line ,
they also break hearts.
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That must have been you guys I saw, when I drove over to check things out.
ice looked ify to me. It was good?
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Reading your story, I'm wondering if it wasn't a pike? Too bad it didn't come top side so you could know. No matter what it was, it would've been fun to catch. I've definitely had those days before though!
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Replace that reel!!! 🤪
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Saw you there yesterday as I was leaving the area. I took a little ride out that way to see the action. The open water was still producing whites pretty consistently but they appeared to be smaller than they were on previous occasions.
Decided to ride out early this a.m. and try for a few. Lots of wb and carp working up close to the spring outlet. The wb were doing a lot of surface slurping... must be some kind of mini-bug hatch that draws the fish to that area, then again, it could just be the warmer water. Got there about 7:30ish and fished for an hour or so. No other fishermen observed but did have to dodge a few bbs from nearby duck hunters. Lots of wb action but very few 9 to 11 inch wb. Most of them were about 6 inches long and took my RCK on almost every cast. I kept a dozen small ones for future use and relaeased 30-40 fish.
The open water has expanded considerably in the last few days. The ice looked very iffy and is probably getting thinner with the mild temps... not thick enough for me to feel safe on.
Can't help but wonder how many wb have been taken from that area so far this year?? Gotta be in the thousands... seems like the supply never ends. I guess I'm ok with it as long as those that catch them by truck loads do not waste them. Also, if thinning the herd will increase the average size as the DWR has suggested, might be a good thing.
Ice go away!
BLK
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When you snag white bass like that, it's usually because they took a swipe at your lure and didn't glup it, but you set the hook on the bump.
So I say it counts.
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Thanks for the report and the fish story[  ] It sounds like the bite has slowed a bit, on the ice at least. Might be a good thing with the warmer weather and ice quality becoming questionable. How late in the afternoon were you fishing?
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2:30-4:30 No melt when I arrived, just a little when I left.
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Based on the time of day and the fight you described, I'm going to agree with REPETER, it was probably a pike if it wasn't a carp. They get a few pike through the ice in that area when the whites are in.
The (very few) cats I have caught with ice still on the lake only pulled half heartedly a couple of times and then just rolled over and over in the water. They are pretty lethargic about now. Still catchable though.
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I bet it was a carp. I thought I had pike on too till I landed several of these line breaking fish. I was disappointed to see gold lol. Btw, I use 12lb to 14lb trilene xl line to ice fish, plus a regular open water 5ft light rod heavy number 4 reel. It ices anything from perch and blues to bass and tiger muskie and does double duty for open water. Light line is not an asset except for distance casting.
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The lakes are full of big fish, and the mountains full of big deer. They are all the ones that get away from me.
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Sounds like fun Craig, sorry that auger didn't go better, put the drill on it, you'll love it with the power attachment... Those convertibles don't seem to be as good as a hand auger as they are as a power auger... I use my other Nils as a hand auger once in a while, but prefer to put them on the drill, they are so nice.... I totally love the set up with the Milwaukee Fuel hammer drill... We just fished Flaming Gorge and you can use 6 rods down there and with a move or two in there I punched a bunch of holes and the drill never hesitated at all... Hope it will work okay for you... Later Jeff
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Oh, the auger worked just fine. I watched yesterday as someone tried to drill a hole with a regular old hand auger. They couldn't even get a hole started and they were trying hard. Made my shoulders ache to watch.
About the Milwaukee Fuel drill: can you check and tell me exactly which model number I should get? I think it's the one that ends with 22.
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