Rockport Report 02/28

[Ramen4Breakfast]

Went out to the west side of Rockport on the 28th. Edges were solid but you could tell they were soft not long ago and the ice was 18+ inches. I punched holes range from 20-50 FOW, but only had success at 50 FOW. Action was really good from 8-12 and then it slowed a little but the fish were still biting, just more softly. They were biting on tungsten with scud plastics on tipped with meal worm and spoons. Ending up catching 1 Rainbow, 1 Brown, and ~50 perch. Average perch was 8-10 inches, with one nearing a foot long.

Edit: I should mention that the Perch and Brown Trout were at 50 FOW, the Rainbow was ~15 FOW and hit as my lure was going down. I also wouldn't normally fish for Perch that deep as mortality is higher, but I planned on stocking my freezer so no fish were wasted. I did notice that the perch had a mix of inflated and deflated swim bladders, smaller ones with deflated bladder were released.

[Zeroid]

That is a good day. How big were the trout?
Thanks!

[TheOtherSide]

Interesting you were having success so deep. My last two and only outings on Rockport had success at mostly 30' with only perch caught. Caught quite a few at 11" but most were 9-10" and some smaller. I'm thinking of one last trip before it gets too hot this weekend, but 50 feet seems pretty deep.

[Mildog]

Good report. Does seem deeper than most have been hitting them. Was up yesterday just for a drive. Talked to a few anglers. Heard 20 and 30 feet had been good. May run up this morning before it gets to warm later this week and works the ice over

[Springbuck1]

Interesting you were having success so deep. My last two and only outings on Rockport had success at mostly 30' with only perch caught. Caught quite a few at 11" but most were 9-10" and some smaller. I'm thinking of one last trip before it gets too hot this weekend, but 50 feet seems pretty deep.

 The depth IS interesting. My M.O. these days is just to drill holes in a zig-zag, deeper and deeper as I go. I raely need o be deeper than 35' at PV, Rockport, or Hyrum.

My first or second ice-fishing seasons ever, off Cemetery Point, catching 8" perch, I saw an old-timer farther out, catching more and bigger perch, so I went over to beg information.  He claimed the secret was fishing deep and moving around a lot.  I rushed out to 50 feet to try this new wisdom, and immediately caught three 11" and two 9.5" perch immediately out of two holes.  Well, THAT sold me, and for the next couple of years, I almost always fished deep.  Of course, I eventually figured out that it only worked sometimes. 

Also early on, fishing Rockport on a slow day where most of us were picking up a few trout here and there, I saw a guy just hauling in large perch several hundred yards away. My partners around me all expressed surprise, saying RP used to be great for perch, but hadn't been in years (this might have been around 2002). When he left we went over to his hole and dropped a line, and he had been catching those perch in over 90 feet of water. 

So, what I really wish is to I could learn WHY.  I deeply covet the ability to walk up to  a lake, test the breeze, sniff the air, feel the temperature, humidity, and pressure, photo-period, time of year, time of day, and say, "They are going to be medium deep, over rocky bottoms, probably feeding lightly on scuds..."etc. and have even a decent chance of being right.

[Ramen4Breakfast]

That is a good day.  How big were the trout?
Thanks!

I didn't get an exact measurement, but 13 for the Rainbow, 11 for the Brown.

[wiperhunter2]

So, what I really wish is to I could learn WHY.  I deeply covet the ability to walk up to  a lake, test the breeze, sniff the air, feel the temperature, humidity, and pressure, photo-period, time of year, time of day, and say, "They are going to be medium deep, over rocky bottoms, probably feeding lightly on scuds..."etc. and have even a decent chance of being right.

 I have a theory about the bigger perch and it seems to hold true, for us at least, at the beginning of ice fishing season the perch are spread out and you can catch them at many depths but as the season winds down the bigger perch move shallow as they prepare to spawn. Over the years it comes down to experience and going back to the same locations where I have caught them before. I can't say I have ever caught good numbers of perch around any sort of structure, they are found on pretty flat bottoms in my experience.