Pineview 3/11 Report.

[MWScott72]

Fished the Narrows from 4:30 to 8:30 yesterday.  Perch were on fire from 4:30-5:45.  Crappie from 7-8:15.  Landed 17 perch - most in the 8.5-9" range.  All hens and full of eggs.  Interestingly caught the perch in 13 FOW.  Landed 5 Crappie and missed 2-3X that many.  Bite was light and inconsistent.  Crappie were in 41 FOW and suspended 5-10" off the bottom.

Ice conditions - 7-8" of cloudy ice over 6-7" of clear ice.Edges were good.  No plank needed, but they are definitely softening.  If you don't cross in the right spot, you can get wet.  I give it one more week and then it's going to get real iffy.

[wiperhunter2]

Fished the Narrows from 4:30 to 8:30 yesterday.  Perch were on fire from 4:30-5:45.  Crappie from 7-8:15.  Landed 17 perch - most in the 8.5-9" range.  All hens and full of eggs.  Interestingly caught the perch in 13 FOW.  Landed 5 Crappie and missed 2-3X that many.  Bite was light and inconsistent.  Crappie were in 41 FOW and suspended 5-10" off the bottom.

Ice conditions - 7-8" of cloudy ice over 6-7" of clear ice.Edges were good.  No plank needed, but they are definitely softening.  If you don't cross in the right spot, you can get wet.  I give it one more week and then it's going to get real iffy.

Great report, sounds like you had a good trip to PV. I'm really surprised that the ice there is holding up so well. The perch typically move shallow as they prepare to spawn. They are already spawning in Willard. Were the crappie the normal 7-8" size or did you get some bigger?

[Mark M]

I’m getting ready to drive over to PV and see what the conditions are . I will give a report.

You guys had to be the ones I saw in the narrows last night in the Eskimo hut ? I was solo and was going to go see if you minded some near company just Incase to be safe but decided to head home .

[MWScott72]

The crappie were just that 7-8". I did catch one pushing 9 or 9.5". I caught the crappie on the south side of the Narrows. No ice tent for me...although after dark they sure are nice!

So to update this, I went back with a couple friends on Sat to see if we could repeat. Perch are definitely moving shallow. We started in 12.5 FOW on the north side of the Narrows and never had to move. Action was great from 2:30-4:30 then it slowed but was fairly consistent until 6. My boy smoked me - I landed 27 and he iced 43. 99% of the hits were on yellow/green or green/yellow Halis tipped with crawler. Only caught a handful on the upper chartreuse teardrop jig.

Ice conditions were similar to Thurs although the edges were a little more sketchy. You can still get on without getting wet if you're careful, but I wouldn't take a machine out. Who needs to when the fish are only 30-40 yards off shore though?

[wiperhunter2]

The crappie were just that 7-8".  I did catch one pushing 9 or 9.5".  I caught the crappie on the south side of the Narrows.  No ice tent for me...although after dark they sure are nice!

So to update this, I went back with a couple friends on Sat to see if we could repeat.  Perch are definitely moving shallow.  We started in 12.5 FOW on the north side of the Narrows and never had to move.  Action was great from 2:30-4:30 then it slowed but was fairly consistent until 6.  My boy smoked me - I landed 27 and he iced 43.  99% of the hits were on yellow/green or green/yellow Halis tipped with crawler.  Only caught a handful on the upper chartreuse teardrop jig.

Ice conditions were similar to Thurs although the edges were a little more sketchy.  You can still get on without getting wet if you're careful, but I wouldn't take a machine out.  Who needs to when the fish are only 30-40 yards off shore though?

Great report and pics, you two must have been busy filleting that many perch but lots of good eats there. So Thurs you stayed after dark fishing with no tent, did you have some sort of light to see your rod tips?

[Cowboypirate]

That is sheck of a on that young buck. The old one too.

[MWScott72]

Wiperhunter- just a head lamp and a Coleman lantern. Good batteries on the headlamp are a must, and the lantern was fairly close to the hole. I only used one pole, but I've done it with two.

70 perch is way too many to clean, but yes, the end result at the table is worth it.