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Well, I broke down and got an auger. I had a short time today to try things out, so I thought I would check it out on the new Edson F pond in Pocatello while I was in town.
That is a nice little pond, but there was no way I was going to try my auger out on it. With all of the exposed soil from it not being landscaped yet, the ice is heavily mixed with sand. Anyway it didn't look like a good idea to drill there to me.
So when I was done in town, I headed on down to Hawkins and tried it out there.
[inline "Hawkins ice.jpg"]
The ice was about 13 or 14 inches thick. It still was moaning and popping ever so often. Kind of a weird spooky sound, like a drum being stretched.
I didn't have a fish finder with me, so I have no idea if there were any fish in the neighborhood or not. I didn't catch any, but it was fun drilling holes and trying things out. I only had about an hour, but it was a new adventure.
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Hawkins has been super hard to catch anything the past few winters. I think because it gets hit so hard during the summer and fall. Any way try twinlakes it always does good well guess i cant say always but usualy. And if you do get out there take some ice cleats because it is super slick out there unless it has some snow since my last outing.
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Congratulations, Hope to head your way someday and you can drill some holes for me, wada think[  ][cool]you drill I'll catch[fishin]
I hope you enjoy ice fishin as much as I do.
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Welcome to the club. What auger did you get? Hope to see you on the ice sometime.
Windriver
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It's funny to see what wanting to be outside will make a person do. Good for you. If you get to the Preston area and want to go fishing. My wife and I would like the company.
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Idahopanfish, Rightttt.... I don't think so! I am not very coordinated at drilling yet. That is why I went to some place small and DESERTED for my first attempts! [shocked][blush] So far I have only one pole so I don't need many holes .... hopefully! It would be fun fishing with you. You'll probably still do the catching though. [  ]
WindRiver, I got the Nils 6 inch. I am a wimp at heart, so I went a bit more money for the one with lots of votes for ease of use. I like exercise ..... but in moderation! I don't have any other experience to compare it to, but it sure didn't take much effort to go through 13 or 14 inches of ice. Not nearly as much work as I thought it would be. I am impressed and pleased.
I have been tying a few flies to use and am getting excited to try some new things out. Unfortunately it looks like the weather is not going to be nice for a while.
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Welcome to another fishing addiction! I think I like ice fishing just as much as I do fly fishing now. This year I found myself counting down the days til the lakes would be frozen.
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welcome aboard im sure you will have a ball with it [cool]
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If you're not addited yet, you could still sell the auger. I'm sure you'd find a buyer on here..... LOL.
Glad to see another person trying something new. I've tried a lot of different kinds of fishing and ice fishing is my favorite. I hope it will at least be high on your list at some point. It sure beats sitting around on a couch. I look forward to hearing about your adventures.
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Welcome to the club cpierce! [fishin]
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I didn't think I would be reading this! Way to dive in head first.
We are heading North Friday and Poky wants US meaning me as the Hubby just won't do it, to ice fish and we are both asking about your turf...rivers.
I know what I am doing on rivers, LOL
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Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I will probably be pestering quite a few of you for your expertise.
I year or two ago I would have said there wasn't much chance of my ice fishing, but I had a different idea of what ice fishing was, or rather what you could do with the techniques. Plus I had other winter activities that kept me busy then. I need something more now to keep the "shack nasties" away! [ ][blush]
Anyway I went out fly fishing and looking at the rivers around here the other day, and there was only one place that I could fish. All of the other places had slush and ice chunks floating down. I will still be out on the rivers and streams that are open in the warmer days to come, but I needed a change of pace and the more I looked at ice fishing the more I realized it is just deep nymphing with limited access points. [laugh] I know that it won't replace dry fly fishing for me, but I can see a lot of ways to use this technique on those days that are colder, but I still want to get out somewhere.
The rod maybe smaller and the line all mono, but it is still using flies and nymphs. It is fun figuring out what will be attractive to fish that are under 12 inches of ice with no hatches coming off. I don't know how well some of them will work, but I'm excited to try.
So far I sure don't know what I am doing ice fishing, but I think it is going to be fun learning. Different, but interesting and fun. Thanks to all for the informative posts on here! [cool]
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Welcome to the wonderfull world of ice fishing . The number 1 tip I give to all new ice fishermen and women is Dress warm , layer your clothes and have a good hat and boots . If you are cold you will not enjoy yourself . Good Luck . Curt G.
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Glad you're giving it a go. It can be a blast and quite challenging. I got to take a newbie out this week. One of Avery's chums stayed with a few days so we ran up to the cabin. Never tried ice fishing the Lowman Ponds before but decided to give it a go. My old spoon style auger gave me a workout getting through the 16" of clear ice. So they only got one hole to share. LOL Don't think they cared because they caught 39 planters out of that hole in under 2 hours. Kept a few limits to eat and they fried up great, big difference from the summer. Avery's friend went home with a few more bruises but all he keep saying was "When we are going to do that again"
PS - Sent the wife down to Cabela's to get me a new "6 Nils today. Hope they have it in stock. [  ]
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AA,
That seems like a great place to take a kid or a newbie. My brother I fished there as the ice was forming. We couldn't get on the ice because it was too thin, so we threw rocks to break the ice. When we casted into the holes, we rarely had to wait more than about 10 seconds before getting a bite. Once, a fish jumped out of the hole and then fell back down. Kind of funny. Wish I had the cameral rolling when that happened. I caught a similar occurance on camera a few weeks later at Payette lake.
Video of the same ponds: [url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St3wBiUGwho"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St3wBiUGwho[/url]
Video of fish jumping out of hole:
[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtK1lV7rhXs"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtK1lV7rhXs[/url]
I shared these once before, but it seemed like it might be okay to share them again. Hope no one minds.
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[indent][/indent]
Great photos. It looks like you had the pond to yourself? I bought a 6" Nils from the Boise Cabelas a few weeks ago and it was their last one. You might call first in case you have to order it, especially with the conditions of roads today. It is one of the best fishing investments I've ever made - about 30 seconds per hole compared to 5 minutes with my crappy HT which got real dull real quick.
CPierce, you are going to enjoy ice fishing. I was introduced by a member of this forum and am completely addicted. It is much funner than I ever imagined plus they have accessories with cool names like jigger trotter, jaw jacker and swedish pimples. Say goodbye to all that coffee can money you've saved up.
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[quote cpierce]Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.
. . . keep the "shack nasties" away! [:p][blush]
. . . the more I looked at ice fishing the more I realized it is just deep nymphing with limited access points. [/quote]
There you go Joni! The flies have it! Just what you've been supposing - nothing more than deep nymphing!
You being funny Mrs Pierce? Warm welcome indeed!
But seriously - you're in the shoes I wore last year. Except I wasn't a devoted fly-fisher turned ice angler, just a "wanna-be" angler of ANY kind! And got the ice-fishing bug.
I know it's led me to yet another source of $$TOYZ$$ to aquire. But also brings some great outings, quality family time, good visits with friends - old and new.
Plus I've got "ON" more fish than any shore or float trip. Cuz you are LITERALLY ON them - something special about seeing that fish come up the ice hole.
And dude-arina - one thing you HAVE to have - is a JawJacker!
My firstest ever ice-hole. Lower part of screen, on my backyard pond. Pup is testing for thickness.
[inline "First Ice Hole.jpg"]
A REAL ice fly!
[inline "ICE FLY.jpg"]
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AA, that looks like the kids are having a great time! If one hole will do, then why not!
The ice I was on, was clear and solid as a rock. The Nil's really surprised me, by how it cut through it. I was expecting a lot more work. After all, don't they sell a ton of power augers? [ ]
I am seeing ice fishing as a bit like cold weather camping where you just happen to have a line in the hole by your feet. [laugh][laugh] At least it is an excuse to be out and enjoy the lakes and fish again. I will be back out there to actually try and catch some fish as soon as these storms pass through.
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