10-12-2005, 10:58 AM
[cool][#0000ff]Hey Ocean, did you replace that "auger" you used last year? You know, the pile of rocks? I seem to recall we gave you a lot of flak for tossing rocks on the ice where they would trash our augers later.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I did make a couple of exploratories last year, but the times I hit it were early in the ice season and the ice was still thin enough to make my nether regions pucker, so I did not really work it over like I wanted to.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The water was rising rapidly and the off and on winds kept big cracks forming in the ice and tended to stack up big ice drifts along the shoreline. Even when the ice was thick enough to fish, there were open areas around the edge that made things iffy at best.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I did venture out near the dam and along the north shore on one trip. You can see my auger and gear laying on the ice in one of the attached pics. I drilled holes and checked with sonar from shallow out to about 40 feet deep. That's about all I could brave when it only took a few turns of the auger to reach water. I did not meter any fish in that area.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Fish are in that area during open water because the breezes blow their food chain up against the shore and the dam. Once the lake is covered with ice, the fish have several other areas around the lake that they tend to frequent more, because of underwater contours and structure.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There has been some modifications and structure added during the low water periods of the drought. Also, there are many areas around the lake that now contain flooded brush and weeds. Until that eventually rots and disappears, those areas will gather fish too. It will take some time and some "prospecting" to get a feel for the "new" Yuba.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also, in years past, the big attraction was the toad perch, with an occasional walleye or northern in the mix. Trout were rare. For the next couple of years at least, the trout will be the main draw, with a few perch (which still must be released). With the size of those trout, however, it is worth a trip if we can locate their wintering areas and figure out what they want under the ice.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe and I are codgertatin' about a tubin' trip down there on Saturday the 22'nd, maybe a combo shot with Lincoln Beach as a stop before or after Yuba.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I did make a couple of exploratories last year, but the times I hit it were early in the ice season and the ice was still thin enough to make my nether regions pucker, so I did not really work it over like I wanted to.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The water was rising rapidly and the off and on winds kept big cracks forming in the ice and tended to stack up big ice drifts along the shoreline. Even when the ice was thick enough to fish, there were open areas around the edge that made things iffy at best.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I did venture out near the dam and along the north shore on one trip. You can see my auger and gear laying on the ice in one of the attached pics. I drilled holes and checked with sonar from shallow out to about 40 feet deep. That's about all I could brave when it only took a few turns of the auger to reach water. I did not meter any fish in that area.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Fish are in that area during open water because the breezes blow their food chain up against the shore and the dam. Once the lake is covered with ice, the fish have several other areas around the lake that they tend to frequent more, because of underwater contours and structure.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There has been some modifications and structure added during the low water periods of the drought. Also, there are many areas around the lake that now contain flooded brush and weeds. Until that eventually rots and disappears, those areas will gather fish too. It will take some time and some "prospecting" to get a feel for the "new" Yuba.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Also, in years past, the big attraction was the toad perch, with an occasional walleye or northern in the mix. Trout were rare. For the next couple of years at least, the trout will be the main draw, with a few perch (which still must be released). With the size of those trout, however, it is worth a trip if we can locate their wintering areas and figure out what they want under the ice.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]TubeBabe and I are codgertatin' about a tubin' trip down there on Saturday the 22'nd, maybe a combo shot with Lincoln Beach as a stop before or after Yuba.[/#0000ff]
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