Otter creek 12/30

[gnorth]

Well the ice itch just got to much to bear. Once I heard there was 3 inches I knew it was time. I called up the only one of my fishing buddies as crazy enough to go with on that little ice and with all four of my boys and he was all in.

This morning I got a call from my buddy and his daughter was sick so he had to stay home. When I looked out the window it was snowing pretty hard but hey I was up and so were the kids and we were ready to go.

Once we made it to the lake it was not really snowing. I had the boys wait by the bank to make sure the ice was going to hold me. I walked out and drilled sure enough 3 inches will hold me. The more I thought about this I should have sent one of my oldest out to see how thick the ice was but It worked out any way.

I drilled a few holes and dropped some lines. We got the new flasher out and gave it a try as well. After about 15 min with out a bite we thought we could see fish on the finder but heck I have never used one before so I was not sure. I made the call that we were going to move. I was on my way to another point when I am hollering for my two youngest to get going and they start yelling back for me to come help because they have a fish. I run back over and sure enough a nice fat rainbow. We decided to stay at this spot now. A few min later my littlest is fighting a very nice fish. With a little finness he was able to get it on the ice. After that if died of for over an hour so we moved.

Once we moved We drilled a few more holes and the catching was a little better with the help of the flasher. We had figured it out by this point and iced a few more. Not real hot but still not bad.

The thickest ice we found was 4 inches. We kept 4 nice fat fish for dinner and let the rest swim we caught 10 between us all.

Good luck to all and be safe out there
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[Kent]

Thanks for the report. What depth did you find most productive?
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[fish_or_die]

Thanks for the fun report!
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[gnorth]

around 12 to 16 feet
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[albinotrout]

Great report thanks for sharing!
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[utfishguy31]

Mod note: rememberpr board rules, ifthe OP does not give the location you cannot ask for it.
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[TyeDyeTwins]

Man I wish I could have caught fish like that when I was a young-un. Way to go dad![cool]
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[Wasatch801]

Thanks for the report. But why would you bring young children if you thought there was a risk of someone punching through the ice? I can understand the urge to get fishing. But some risks are just not worth taking. Glad you guys ended up having a successful, and safe, fishing trip.
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[Charina]

Man there seems to be a lot of pearl clutchers posting as of late. I've gone in, at night, almost a mile from the vehicle, wind blowing hard, way below freezing . And I'm more confident than ever about venturing onto unknown or early ice, as I know what reality of falling through is. I'm sure I'm many times more likely to be hurt or die driving to and from my location than from falling in. It sucks, hard, but its not as some portray - a life or death proposition. Yes, you can be killed by it, no doubt about it. But that is not a given. Many go though each year, but few are killed. Just don't be casual about it.
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[americanforkdude]

Nice fish, the picture made me laugh. You kids all look so much alike it's crazy. They could all pass for twins probably at the same age. Always fun to get the young ones out on the ice.
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[ifishinxs]

Thank you for the great report.
I'll be there Saturday morning myself.
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[MR.PIKE]

Good trip. Your kids look happy, I'm sure they had fun.

HEY MODS, if a guy doesn't want to tell, then a guy doesn't have to answer. RIGHT!? Ya gotta love all the "mothers little helpers".
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[Wasatch801]

Charina, call me what you will. I too am pretty confident about judging ice conditions. I'm also quite aware of the reality of icefishing and the dangers involved. Yes, I think the dangers can be overblown. I do believe that it is, in fact, a very safe activity for the whole family, when good judgement is used. But when I see a guy write that he should have sent his young son out to check the UNSURE ice conditions INSTEAD of himself, I question his judgement. I've been out on 2" of ice, once. Was it smart? Probably not for somebody pushing 220. So I don't make it a common practice. But I only risked myself... Not kids that rely on an adult for their safety. Kids, and even inexperienced adult icefishers, change the game for me. Early ice is likely thin ice. So I will be clutching my pearls for a couple more days... The fish will be there still!
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[wagdog]

Man those fish look flash frozen. Glad yall had a good time.
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[gnorth]

think what you will about my judgment. I feel I have a good grasp on ice conditions and would not have sent any of my kids out if I felt they were in danger any more then I would have gone out. Yes I questioned the ice but I do that every time I go out regardless of weather it is 2 or 20 inches. If you want to get more reports on ice and conditions quit questioning there judgment there is a reason we have far more lurkers and not many comments. I appreciate the concern I feel safe on three solid inches of ice I know not everyone does.
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[gmanhunter]

I fished the lake on tuesday. I was there between 9 am and 1:30 pm. Fishing was off and on, but we iced 20 fish between 3 of us. It was cold with the wind blowing. Try fishing shallower. I fish between 3' and 8' of water. Fish closer to the shore. The fish will be spawning in a few weeks and the fish will be closer to shore. We brought home a few 1.5 to 3 pound fish.
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