12-07-2008, 01:01 AM
[cool] [#0000ff]I was planning a trip to Bear Lake, for some whitefish...but TubeBabe left town and my only potential ride share fell through. Also, the forecast for extreme chill and breezes cinched the deal. I headed to Willard all by my lonesome.
Didn't figure I would do much, but wanted to put it to bed for the year...tubingwise. 25 degree air temp at 8 AM. Water temp at launch was 37 inside the marina and 39 outside. There was skim ice on the south side of the north marina...some up to 1/2 inch thick. I actually had to break out though some thin stuff leaving the channel.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Water was like glass. Not a ripple until the first boat came out. He looked colder than me. Just before the sun came over the mountain it created a "cloudbow"...a rainbow in the ice crystals of the high clouds. Cool. The attached pic does not really capture the beauty.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Saw nothing much on sonar until I passed 11 feet of depth. Then, not much. No serious schools or even anything more than a few singles and doubles. Probably mostly carpkind.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Played the usual game. Dragged minnows on one rod while throwing every size, shape and color of plastic jig knowed to fisherfolk. Had one whack on a small white plastic and almost got about a 20 inch walleye to the net. Almost. That was the last bite on plastic all day.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Once the sun hit the water the cool cats came out to play. Starting about 9:15 I began getting "pop and drops". That progressed to bait stealing short runs. Once I figured out how to hook the minnows and when to go for the hookset, I started whacking the kitties. Got lots of bites but only brought about 10 to the tube. Kept 7...from 15 to 17 inches. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Just before 11, the cold westerly breezes started moving across the water. I had to put my gloves back on and blow on my fingertips once in a while. Didn't have much else to do. Once that breeze came up, the fishies quit calling. Hit the ramp and made an early return home. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Water temp was still just a notch over 40 when I beached my tube. A few cold nights without too much wind and at least the marina will ice over. Might be longer for any part of the lake.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Saw several boats head out to the north dike and the west side, but none of them came back in for me to check their results.[/#0000ff]
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[signature]
Didn't figure I would do much, but wanted to put it to bed for the year...tubingwise. 25 degree air temp at 8 AM. Water temp at launch was 37 inside the marina and 39 outside. There was skim ice on the south side of the north marina...some up to 1/2 inch thick. I actually had to break out though some thin stuff leaving the channel.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Water was like glass. Not a ripple until the first boat came out. He looked colder than me. Just before the sun came over the mountain it created a "cloudbow"...a rainbow in the ice crystals of the high clouds. Cool. The attached pic does not really capture the beauty.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Saw nothing much on sonar until I passed 11 feet of depth. Then, not much. No serious schools or even anything more than a few singles and doubles. Probably mostly carpkind.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Played the usual game. Dragged minnows on one rod while throwing every size, shape and color of plastic jig knowed to fisherfolk. Had one whack on a small white plastic and almost got about a 20 inch walleye to the net. Almost. That was the last bite on plastic all day.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Once the sun hit the water the cool cats came out to play. Starting about 9:15 I began getting "pop and drops". That progressed to bait stealing short runs. Once I figured out how to hook the minnows and when to go for the hookset, I started whacking the kitties. Got lots of bites but only brought about 10 to the tube. Kept 7...from 15 to 17 inches. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Just before 11, the cold westerly breezes started moving across the water. I had to put my gloves back on and blow on my fingertips once in a while. Didn't have much else to do. Once that breeze came up, the fishies quit calling. Hit the ramp and made an early return home. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Water temp was still just a notch over 40 when I beached my tube. A few cold nights without too much wind and at least the marina will ice over. Might be longer for any part of the lake.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Saw several boats head out to the north dike and the west side, but none of them came back in for me to check their results.[/#0000ff]
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42794"][#63626b]LOOKIN GOOD.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (156 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42795"][#63626b]BIRD INVASION.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (141 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42796"][#63626b]ICE INSIDE MARINA.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (155 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42797"][#63626b]SUNRISE RAINBOW CLOUDS.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (76.4 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42798"][#63626b]WALL TO WALL GLASS.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (132 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42799"][#63626b]FIRST COOL COOKIE.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (171 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42800"][#63626b]COOKIE ON GLASS.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (178 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42801"][#63626b]MELLOW YELLOW.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (205 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42802"][#63626b]COOL CATS.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (365 KB)[signature]
