2nd to hit the ice!!!

[Fin-S-Fish]

Okay just got back from a quick ice fishing trip to good ole Mirror. Unlike the pics from last Sat, there is no more snow on the ice. The ice is slick with thickness of 1/4 to at most 2 inches. Ice thickness varys in an EXTREME way from open water in spots to the 2 inch max. If covered with a thin layer of snow it could get extremely treacherous. I chisled 3 holes from close to shore to almost the middle of the lake, staying on the 2inch thick layer. The fish were finicky, definitely out in the middle portion, none close to shore. Managed to land 8......1 rainbow 7 brooks. Ice cracked somewhat during some footsteps, but nothing I was worried about, since i'm used to 2 inches of ice as definitely safe. Sorry no pics, used a regular camera. It was fun to be out on the ice, but fishing was definitely slow. Pass lake is not ready. A rock easily broke through. Wow the hurricane force wind was cooooolllld!!!

[hashbaz]

You are a lot braver than I. Fishing on 2" had me very worried the whole time.

How were the roads up there?
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[Flycasting]

I couldn't do it.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]My, my. The things we do for recognition and adulation. Glad you didn't become a news item or a statistic.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Terminal masochism.[/#0000ff]
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[riverdog]

Sounds like a great time- bitter cold hurricane force winds and walking on thin ice[crazy].
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[BADFISH]

How was the snow cover on the ground around the area is there a lot? I plan on going up around Mill Hollow this sunday to cut my xmas tree and am wondering what gear to take, if there isnt much snow i will just need my regular boots and such i guess. I am going to take the family with me so its more important for keeping the kiddos warm and happy i guess. thanks for the good report gald to hear there is some hope of hard water soon.
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[FishingIsLife]

I'm with you! Can't wait to start the 07-08 ice fishing season either!

Have you (or anyone) tried ice fishing on Alexander Lake, by any chance? I'm wondering if those browns may be willing to try my lures...

[Fin-S-Fish]

OK, got lots of snow and road inquires. So here's the scoop. I traveled at mostly about 70 mph except for the curvy areas in a regular small car. The road was dry and salted except for where the turnoff goes into Mirror's parking area. There is a stretch of shade where the road has about 6 inches of hard packed snow. I was able to roll downward on the slope momentum with no problems. Going up I kept a steady pace so I wouldn't get stuck. But this snowpacked stretch is pretty short. As for ground snow, it was very sparse. At average of about a trace in sunny locations to 4 inches in shady spots with an occassional drift......very few and far in between of deeper stuff. That is at the 10,000+ elevation level. Anything lower and the ground is basically bare. I would say 92% of the mountain area in the vicinity is basically devoid of any snow whatsoever. Yes, I was kinda crazy to hit that ice, but it seemed pretty decent in comparison to some other ice I've hit before. Rather stable. Well, it depends on how one defines stable.....hahaha. I'm not too brave, lol, just been treading lots of thin ice over the years to hit the best fishing. I'm definitely more cautious now than before. In a masochistic way.[]