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[#0000FF]The title is "Chillin"...not drillin'. No auger needed but it was about as close to ice fishing as you can get without a hard deck. Ice was forming out from the south edge of the inside of the harbor, but it is still thin. Might not be long with this cold inversion.
I was hoping to get in a last shot at the perch at the north marina before iceup. I gave up ice fishing a couple of years ago...although conditions today were not much different. Cold and foggy at 8:30 launch. But at least it was calm...except for a while when a light north breeze cut right through all my layers for a while. Air temp 22 and water temp 38.
Worked a variety of baits and lures...including several sizes and colors of fligs. The heavy fog must have hindered me seeing anything on sonar or fish seeing my offerings. Nothing but a few stray individual small fish on my screen...and nary a sniff on anything I sent down to entice them. But at least I got my annual Willard skunk out of the way.
After seeing nothing on sonar...and catching about as much on my line for over an hour...I brought in the lines and started making big S turns with my electric motor. I covered all the areas and best spots from times past. Nada, zip, zilch. Only a few single fish...and no married ones.
I stopped and fished a while at several previously productive spots. No love. I finally motored back into the harbor and did the search routine there. Same thing. Clean bottom with no fishies to mess up the nice flat line.
Can't believe I stuck it out as long as I did. Sure did violate my rule that I fish for enjoyment...not endurance. Also puts an end to my being able to say "My mama drowned all the dumb ones." I think she missed one.
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Well that's too bad Pat but you can't say you didn't give it a try. Sounds like brutal condition but it is almost the middle of Dec. Was this the latest date you have ever fished Willard from a tube?
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Thanks for the report. I have a few skunks on Willard this year... You are a brave young man! better luck next time.
humpy
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Way to give it the old College try, Pat.
That weather looks downright depressing if you ask me.[:/]
I went fishing today also and had the same results as you on Huntington North. The only difference was I enjoyed a beautiful, calm, and sunny day.
Thanks for the report and the usual good story to go with it.[  ]
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[#0000FF]It is probably the latest I have fished Willard from a tube without the lake having frozen and then partially thawed. Most years a big storm rolls in by the first of December and the deep freeze follows.
I'm guessing that the temperature-sensitive shad have migrated to the deeper spots on the west side and all the predators have followed the groceries.
I did find some dead shad both on the surface of the water (if not picked up by terns) and on the ramp inside the harbor. They were the smallest size...about 2" (see pic) so that tells me they were a late spawn and did not grow enough to switch food sources before it got too cold.
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[quote humpy]Thanks for the report. I have a few skunks on Willard this year... You are a brave young man! better luck next time.
humpy[/quote]
[#0000FF]Are you a politician? You sure know how to use the wrong adjectives. Brave? More like foolish. Young? Compared to Methuselah maybe. But thanks for the immoral support.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Thanks for the words of encouragement. Sounds like with both better join AA...Anglers Anonymous. That's where you go fishing and nobody knows who you are. They got a great 12 cast program.
I'm guessing that was my last hurrah in the tube for this year. Gotta get ready for next year. It ain't far off now...if only Mama Nature will be nice about it.
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Pat, you made me feel better about my Dr appointment this morning.
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Should have come up to the valley. It was 50 degrees as I was heading to work this afternoon.
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[#0000FF]Glad my trip was not a complete waste. Happy to make you happy.
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[quote a_bow_nut]Should have come up to the valley. It was 50 degrees as I was heading to work this afternoon.[/quote]
[#0000FF]Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Inversions have their downside...literally.
Do the neener-neener thing the next time you guys get a major snow dump and zero degrees...while we bask in the 30s here down below.
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Hey Pat that took you all year to get skunked, I do it early and often. Sad to hear your weekly trips will be put on ice till spring. Can you do a weekly project update to carry us over till spring? Later J
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Thanks for sharing and I'm glad you survived the ordeal. My experience is that I often work harder on the trips where I am trying to get the skunk off. I won't comment on what that says about common sense or sanity, I'll take the high road and say it builds character[ ]
The pictures were great! Really showed what you were up against and the almost winter wonderland of a cold foggy morning on the water. I used to bow hunt for Elk and I would spend a lot of the summer chasing them with a camera. People said I was crazy, and I always responded it was just as much fun to find them and shoot them with a camera AND there was no gutting, skinning, butchering or packing out to do!
So you got out on the water, got some nice pictures and you didn't have to clean fish in cold!
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[#0000FF]Oh I am sure there will still be plenty of blue writing over the next two or three months...even though I won't be including pics of my red ride.
I do miss ice fishing...sometimes. But it has been going downhill the past few years compared to better former times. All I have to do is read some of my past log entries to verify that my decision to stay off the ice is for my own good...and my legs too.
In the meantime I can get back to my evil angling laboratory and conjure up some new diabolical goodies. Bwa ha ha ha haaaaa.
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"So you got out on the water, got some nice pictures and you didn't have to clean fish in cold!"
[#0000FF]YOU NAILED IT!
I have long believed in the old adage "You gotta taste the bitter to appreciate the sweet." I am properly grateful for all the good trips I enjoy, so I am able to accept the occasional whiff. Keeps ya humble.
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Pat,
Your suspicions about the shad locations are accurate. I was itching to get my new boat on the water this fall and play with the trinkets, so I launched out of the south marina on the 11th. Saw lots of shad schools over by the west side and almost every one of them had a couple predator fish on the fringes chowing down.
I marked a ton of fish on the sonar, but they were completely not interested in any of my treats either.
Ken
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How do you like that Hummingbird Helix 5 Pat? I'm looking upgrade my "Buddy" fish finder that I use on Kickboat and have been trying to decide what to get.
Mark
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[#0000FF]Thanks for corroborating my guesstimates. Actually, that has been kinda standard most years. The shad are temperature motivated...even though they can tolerate colder water than their smaller cousins, the threadfin shad. They do stress and have some winter kill in Willard...seeking out the deepest (warmest) spots to spend the winters. And of course the predators follow the groceries...like teenage boys.
You had problems enticing hits because the bigger fish were well fed. My problem was that all the fish were somewhere else. As I am fond of saying: "Ya cain't ketch 'em where they ain't."
Hopefully there will be more hungry predators by spring...when the shad have either grown too large for them or died from winter kill. I predict pretty good fishing for wipers and walleyes at least during May and June. After that it will depend on the success of the shad spawn and how fast the babies grow to munchin' size.
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[quote MBM1969]How do you like that Hummingbird Helix 5 Pat? I'm looking upgrade my "Buddy" fish finder that I use on Kickboat and have been trying to decide what to get.
Mark[/quote]
[#0000FF]As with all tackle and components, sonars are really a subjective thing. Depends a lot on what you want and what you think you want. I like the Helix 5. It is a "bare bones" model...without speed or GPS. Don't need speed readings with a tube but GPS would be nice for nice.
I found that I like the color even better than I thought I would. Once you get used to the readouts and how to interpret them you can really appreciate the info provided.
In short, it serves me well for the fishing I do from my tube. One of the things I really like...compared to some of the previous models...is the readings you can get in fairly shallow water. Had other units that went whacko at depths less than about 5 or 6 feet. The Helix does not.
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Well if you get missing the hard deck too much let me know. Got plenty of gear to take ya along. It's looking like a good perch year so if ya want to catch a basket let me know I can put ya over them if you can makem bite. Some of them are even big enough to be worth keeping. Been finding fair numbers of 10"+ this year. Later J
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