02-02-2011, 12:39 AM
Great advice as always!
I need to go up and experience some northern exposure fishing.
Had some interesting trips last week. Tuesday through Thursday were the most productive. Finally got my limit of choice fish on Wednesday , combined with two from the day before and two from the day after, I got enough to make it worth smoking them. Friday was above sixty, so I went because of that. I planned a trip with a couple friends on Saturday and was really looking forward to it. I called beforehand to make sure they were letting people on the ice and they said a couple people decided not to go on it, but it sounded like we'd be able to, so we drove the hour to get there only to be told they weren't letting people on the ice! Very frustrating, unprofessional to say the least, some idiot that probably never ice fished in his life called the shot, out of ignorance or fear of liability I suppose. We went to the lake I frequent the most and found perfectly safe ice, maybe a little thin at the shore as always, but perfectly safe, probably five inches with an inch of slush. It was slow, I don't think anybody was having great luck, but my experience paid off and I got a couple decent trout, one released. I gave one to each of my friends as they both only got one of the small ones.
I took the following Sunday and Monday off. Today I went out, partly to use up my remaining worms and one large shiner and partly because I've fished all the extreme days this winter. With only two days in between its hard to believe it got so cold after being so warm. I was having lots of bites on the wax worms, unfortunately I only had three. I had one good bite on my minnow but it was too big to expect anything under twenty inches to get hooked. The first hour wasn't bad, as long as you stood against the wind, I don't want to know what the windchill was. The cold finally breached my layers and it got too uncomfortable, mainly my feet. Another hour and I'm sure I'd of got frost bite.
I have to say I'm a little disappointed with the ice fishing forum. It seems like its one of the least used.
I urge readers to expand on the topics discussed, add questions and tell your stories and experiences.
One thing I can't quite understand is the ice itself. How after two days of warm weather it seems the same as two days of extremely cold weather, It almost seemed like the ice was thinner today..
I know water is densest at 39.2 degrees, which is why it doesn't freeze to the bottom, and why it stratifies as it does.
[signature]
I need to go up and experience some northern exposure fishing.
Had some interesting trips last week. Tuesday through Thursday were the most productive. Finally got my limit of choice fish on Wednesday , combined with two from the day before and two from the day after, I got enough to make it worth smoking them. Friday was above sixty, so I went because of that. I planned a trip with a couple friends on Saturday and was really looking forward to it. I called beforehand to make sure they were letting people on the ice and they said a couple people decided not to go on it, but it sounded like we'd be able to, so we drove the hour to get there only to be told they weren't letting people on the ice! Very frustrating, unprofessional to say the least, some idiot that probably never ice fished in his life called the shot, out of ignorance or fear of liability I suppose. We went to the lake I frequent the most and found perfectly safe ice, maybe a little thin at the shore as always, but perfectly safe, probably five inches with an inch of slush. It was slow, I don't think anybody was having great luck, but my experience paid off and I got a couple decent trout, one released. I gave one to each of my friends as they both only got one of the small ones.
I took the following Sunday and Monday off. Today I went out, partly to use up my remaining worms and one large shiner and partly because I've fished all the extreme days this winter. With only two days in between its hard to believe it got so cold after being so warm. I was having lots of bites on the wax worms, unfortunately I only had three. I had one good bite on my minnow but it was too big to expect anything under twenty inches to get hooked. The first hour wasn't bad, as long as you stood against the wind, I don't want to know what the windchill was. The cold finally breached my layers and it got too uncomfortable, mainly my feet. Another hour and I'm sure I'd of got frost bite.
I have to say I'm a little disappointed with the ice fishing forum. It seems like its one of the least used.
I urge readers to expand on the topics discussed, add questions and tell your stories and experiences.
One thing I can't quite understand is the ice itself. How after two days of warm weather it seems the same as two days of extremely cold weather, It almost seemed like the ice was thinner today..
I know water is densest at 39.2 degrees, which is why it doesn't freeze to the bottom, and why it stratifies as it does.
[signature]