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Went to Hyrum this morning and got to swim beach about 6:45 ish and there were already a couple guys on the ice, this was an indicator of things to come... Before I got set up which didn't take long at all, the numbers had jumped to over a dozen groups and they just kept coming and coming and you know how that goes, maybe you were there too, if not you were one of the few that missed the packed house... Fishing started off good like it has been, I had 4 to 6 nice Perch before the marching armies started to move past my meager camp out just off the beach... But before long the fish started to get fewer and farther between and way more picky... By 10 ish I'd caught my last fish for the day, but for once I had time to stay, so I did, thinking I'd get more fish, well I moved several times and picked up a few extra fish on the first and second move to end up around 10-12 fish, but like I said after 10 ish the fish had gotten so skittish, they would come in and look at my offering and maybe suck on it, but never take it to where you could hook them and the fish were cruising through instead of the usual meander, they were moving quickly.. Well about 1:30 I gave up and went home like I should have around 11:00 after not catching fish for over a half hour.. Fish were 8-9.5" for me today, I know of several that did much better than I did, but most quit catching after 11:00... Glad I went, but wish it would have been fewer and farther between groups today... Guess that's what happens when word gets out that it had been fishing well... Now it's seen the Mantua pressure, so time to move on for me I guess... Later Jeff
PS... Eric and Alan was good to chat with you guys today...
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There definitely were a lot of fisher-folk out there today. A buddy and I arrived there in the afternoon just as the armies were beginning their retreat.
We headed to the SE corner and found some holes that were already drilled. Dropped down and the perch were on for my buddy. Not so much for me. The last few times we've gone to Hyrum the jig color didn't matter, but they seemed to prefer shrimp. Today that was not the case. I was marking fish, but even dropping right on their noses I was getting no takers. I finally switched jig colors and traded the shrimp for meal worms and started getting fish. It was hot until it was not. I decided to switch back to shrimp and then in was hot until it was not.
My buddy probably caught 40+ perch to my 20 something. The smallest were around 7 inches. Many of those went back down the hole. Some of the biggest were pushing 10 inches. They got invited home for dinner. I did manage one 14 inch rainbow, which is still swimming if anybody else wants to go find him.
Highlight of the trip was meeting a father/son duo that were still learning the game. We gave them some lures and some tips and the young man started pulling perch out of the hole left and right. Hopefully it helped create some fun memories for him.
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Glad it started out good, sorry it didn’t keep going. When I swung by to say hi there wasn’t any parking left in the lot and peeps were starting to stack up on the road. Still beat my day.
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]I plan on coming up on Tuesday with a buddy. I need to know if there were ANY OHVs on the ice today. Quads or snowmobiles. I want to bring my snowmobile and launch at the boat ramp and head down to the swim beach area. The ice on Dec 31 was 5 1/2" over 30 FOW. I would think it has grown thicker by now.
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Bob Hicks, from Utah
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Nice job with the assistance to those two. Glad you guys did well. It’s been a lot of fun this year and really good eats. Thanks for the report too. Later Jeff
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When I left there were still cars parked up top and walking down. I would sure have to lighten my load to do that. Or maybe be thirty years younger. Hope you got your shop a little closer to done, sorry my bullheadedness kept me trying to catch fish until I had to head home so I didn’t get a chance to drop by. Appreciate the invitation. Later Jeff
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Hey Bob there was snowmobile tracks in the frozen slush yesterday so some have been out and all the slush on top froze solid so there is well over 6” of ice now, but I didn’t see anyone with machines yesterday. I think you should be okay but I’d stick close to shore as you head east. The middle of the pond froze a day or two later so it might not be as thick out there. Good luck, I hope you can find them again. I was just in roaming bands of fish yesterday. No perch pile for me. Guess I needed to move out and east. Later Jeff
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I haven’t seen any machines on the ice when I have gone by, maybe Jeff saw some yesterday. Depending on what I get done today I’ll probably hit it on Tuesday also
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Had a good day, got about 2/3’s of the ceiling joists in
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Nice job that was a big day. Good luck on Tuesday. Later Jeff
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My friend and I were out there as well. We hit the ice at six and headed for the inlet. Didnt mark anything and ended up in front of bigtoe by the time the groups started hitting the ice. Caught two decent trout a piece before we jumped to the south side of the lake. Only found perch there and decided to fish the middle if the lake for fun. Every hole we drilled had fish in it and they were hungry till you pulled a handful of them through the hole then they would stop biting.
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Before social media corrupted the outdoor sports you would of had that lake mostly to yourself.
You would have had to be tipped off to good fishing by a friend, actually go to a sporting goods store and read their board, or heaven forbid actually go do the boot work yourself.
Jeez, I miss those days.
I look forward to the day computers and cell phones don’t work anymore.
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I have been wanting to fish there but now it sounds like a zoo on a Saturday. If you guys go on Tuesday would you mind if I tagged along? Never been there. I don't have a snowmobile but I can hike. I'd like to try for some bigger perch (so who doesn't?) and some LMB.
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Craig I’m on for Tuesday and your more then welcome to tag along with me and hopefully we will catch up with Bob, got what I needed done for the plumber to start his rough in.
I’ll be on foot also and plan on walking in from the day use area, right now I’m shooting for 7:30 in the parking lot
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]I (we) will be off the swim beach around 9:30. I'll launch at the boat ramp. [/size][/#800000][/font]
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Bob Hicks, from Utah
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Good deal, see you out there [cool]
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Ya but, there’s a lot of cool spots I’ve learned about on line that I might not have discovered on my own. I’m sort of a stick close to home type so it’s nice to expand horizons. So I think I’ll take the good with the bad and I realize that everything cycles and if people don’t keep numbers in balance then stunting or disease will. So I’ll share the good times and hope they don’t pass too soon. We all know that fishing gets tougher after the crowds arrive that’s why we fish stupid thin ice to get a few extra days before it’s blown up for the season. And it was a great early season this year, I’m glad I got to be part of it. Time to hunt out other areas. Later Jeff
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Hey I still have your flag, I need to run into you and hand it off. Then if you fly the flag I’ll know who to say hey to.
I guess I need to start moving further. Early ice you don’t have to go far, but now distance can be your friend. I think it’s almost time for the sled to pull the gear. I’m getting too much gear for my age to pull it back to the truck and the snowmobile sure helps that. Better get it licensed. Thanks Jeff
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yea noise makes a difference. Next time try walking down shore a few hundred yards. The beach access is the only place people can get on hyrum so if you setup there everyone has to walk right past you. The far side gets almost no pressure if you walk over there you will probably be rewarded.
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