Sunny and Warm and Seasonaly slow at the Berry

[klam]

It was so nice to be able to drive into the marina on dry roads. There were slush pockets but they weren't so deep or crusty to be too scary. Wouldn't try it on anything with tires. Ice and edges were plenty good. The snow was just deep enough you will get enough of a workout that you can skip the gym. Stay on a old track and it should be no worries for man or machine. Fishing was slow and there weren't many fish coming through on the finder. It wasn't like we were missing catching the fish. It was the fish that were missing.

White or flaked tubes tipped with dirt worm, or wax, or meal worms all worked equally well. We were in 22 ft of water and caught the fish at 8 to 12 feet from the surface. All cuts. What a beautiful day. There were only 6 rigs in the parking lot.

Since the ice isn't as thick as usual I predict we will be fishing soft water at least 2 weeks earlier this year.

Talked with a fisherwoman who was fishing not far out from the ramp and she had only caught one with a few other bites.

[wiperhunter2]

It was so nice to be able to drive into the marina on dry roads. There were slush pockets but they weren't so deep or crusty to be too scary. Wouldn't try it on anything with tires. Ice and edges were plenty good. The snow was just deep enough you will get enough of a workout that you can skip the gym. Stay on a old track and it should be no worries for man or machine. Fishing was slow and there weren't many fish coming through on the finder. It wasn't like we were missing catching the fish. It was the fish that were missing.

White or flaked tubes tipped with dirt worm, or wax, or meal worms all worked equally well. We were in 22 ft of water and caught the fish at 8 to 12 feet from the surface. All cuts. What a beautiful day. There were only 6 rigs in the parking lot.

Since the ice isn't as thick as usual I predict we will be fishing soft water at least 2 weeks earlier this year.

Talked with a fisherwoman who was fishing not far out from the ramp and she had only caught one with a few other bites.

Great report, too bad fish were not as plentiful, but it seems others are reporting the same, even when they get far from the ramp. How far out do you think you walked to get in 22 FOW?

[klam]

We took sleds across the bay to the other side towards the tunnel. On that side we were maybe 40 yards from shore?

[wiperhunter2]

We took sleds across the bay to the other side towards the tunnel. On that side we were maybe 40 yards from shore?

OK, I thought you were walking, much easier using a sled, especially when going that far.

[AFDan52]

Was there any sign of slush starting on top yet, just curious .

[klam]

About 18 inches of good ice. About 3-4 inches of slush. About 7 inches of snow. There was enough snow to pack down where you fish so you stayed dry. More slush pockets in the middle of the bays. Near the edges less slush. If you look at the snowmobile trails it will give you a heads up of where the slush is. Since the slush wasn't very deep or under a layer of crust travel by snowmobile or walking was ok.
I'm nervous about this next storm. The added depth of the new snow on top of the layers already there will give the machines a little challenge.

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We took sleds across the bay to the other side towards the tunnel. On that side we were maybe 40 yards from shore?

OK, I thought you were walking, much easier using a sled, especially when going that far.

Yep I'm too old to walk that far.

[icerman]

Thank you for the report.  Was hoping to get out this weekend, but the storm and slow catching will likely change my plans!

[MWScott72]

I wonder if this storm though is what is needed to turn the catching around? Seems the high pressure has really slowed things a lot during the past 3 weeks or so. Maybe this low pressure will change the equation? I fished this same time last year, and in those trips did very well. Guess we’ll see…