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02-22-2023, 02:42 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-22-2023, 02:43 AM by joatmon.)
I’ll have a niece, her boyfriend, my wife, and a couple of daughters going with me this weekend. First icefishing trip for most of them. Ordinarily, I would take them to some place like Mantua, but reports indicate it has been super slow. Same with many other waters. I would like to give them a reasonable chance at catching something without an ordeal to get there. Preferably within 1.5 hours of my house, so Mantua, Echo, Rockport, Strawberry, Scofield, etc. We are all in decent shape for getting on and off the ice. We’ll probably go to Strawberry one of the days, so looking for a panfish option for the other day.
Any thoughts, current reports, etc. welcomed. Please PM me if that works better.
PS - I did a similar trip in early February to Strawberry with some neighbors. Very slow, but most caught one or two and the
s were priceless!
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j.o.a.t.m.o.n.
jack of all tackle, master of none
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I'd pick RP. I have fished mantua quite a bit with not much luck this year for panfish. I did hit rockport once a couple weeks ago and did pretty well.
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I took a couple of neighbors to pineview over the last few weeks and did really well both times. They were both new to the ice, but we got into the crappie with a couple of bonus bluegills and small perch.
Fished in the narrows in 38 and 43 FOW
The walk back up the hill is a beast. I recommend some boot spikes.
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I have done the best at Pineview this year. Tried for Perch, only caught 2. Caught crappie in my perch spots! Have done the best with crappie early in the morning, though the past 2 trips, I did best between 8-9:30 a.m. at Pineview. Very light bite, may be difficult for newcomers. Froze by butt off on Sat, was above Freezing on Monday! Did by best catching at 40 feet, fishing 45-50 FOW. Did best with a gold tungsten, 5mm. Hali did OK. I have not tried Rockport yet. I did poorly at Mantua, Echo and East Canyon.
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Take them to bountiful pond and bring meal worms. Good times
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I would do Rockport. I think it has fished better then it has in years. I've had beginners out a couple times this year and they caught fish and were happy. We've tried mainly for trout in shallower water but have caught perch too. Trout are decent size. Plenty of 14 to 16 inch fish.
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02-24-2023, 06:17 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-24-2023, 06:18 AM by MWScott72.)
I'll vote for Rockport too. Fish the upper end of the lake in 20-25 FOW. Newbies should be able to catch some perch on the bottom or no more than 2 cranks off the bottom. Tungsten tear drop jigs, rat finkies, Hali's. I seem to do best with chartreuse, green or gold. Use spikes or wax worms to catch your first perch, then use the eyeballs for bait. Don't be afraid to move if you're not catching in 15-20 mins.
