02-08-2012, 02:54 AM
[cool][#0000ff]Neither TubeBabe or I had been ice fishing this season. Lots of excuses...no good reasons. Figured today would be our best shot at maybe first and last ice trips of the year.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Air temp minus 14 as we went by Strawberry. TDC. It was a positive 14 at Bunny Gulch on Starvation. Dang near shorts weather. But we dressed up for our formal occasion. Lotsa layers.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Edges looked like they have suffered a bit during warmer weather...but they were plenty solid for us to walk right onto the ice. You could look a bit to the north and see open water from the middle of the channel out to the open lake. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]My Showdown earned its keep today. Before we drilled any holes I kept shooting through the ice to check for depth and fishies. Made several stops on the way to the channel edge...from 11', to 15', to 18' and 20'. Absolutely no bliperoonies in any of those test shoots.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Finally did a shoot in about 22 feet and the Showie lit up. Lots of lines. Turned on the electric auger and stealth drilled a couple of holes for TubeBabe to get started. Wouldn't you know it? Before I got my first holes drilled and filled she was bendo on a big bow. So much for courtesy waiting. Turned out to be our biggest steelie of the day...at 19". Put a nice
on the Babe's face. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]And then, just as I was dropping my first jig down a hole she goes bendo again...on an 18" bow this time. Sheesh. After that I took the lures off her lines and began fishing. But bad karma. All I could entice were dinkster perchies. And she didn't catch any more trout for the rest of the day either.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We both caught at least a grundle and a half of perch under 9". Kept about a dozen between us for some scampi perch on noodles. Yum.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We had to make a short day of it so we were planning to leave not long after noon. Howsomever, the bendo dietiesd upon me about 12:30 and I brung in a 17" bowski. Bent my stick and stretched my sting it did. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I might mention that the fishing died off in our first spot late in the morning. So I picked up the trust showdown and my jug of warm water and went on a perch search. Dribbled and shot through the ice clear out to over 40 feet deep. No perch and no detectable trout at mid depth. Gradually worked around in a big circle through many depths and bottom contours. Like a desert on the bottom. Finally found some flickers on the sonar in a spot about 19 feet deep...not too far from where we had set up our first ice station. Moved everything over to the second spot and abused some more perchlets. I actually went back to the first spot to catch the only rainbow I got for the day.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Coming off the ice was okay but the shallow edges were thin enough that we broke through ankle deep. A few warmer days and it is either plank or swim. Air temp was up to 36 as we packed up. Drove up on the hill to shoot down on the open water. See last pic.[/#0000ff]
[signature]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Air temp minus 14 as we went by Strawberry. TDC. It was a positive 14 at Bunny Gulch on Starvation. Dang near shorts weather. But we dressed up for our formal occasion. Lotsa layers.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Edges looked like they have suffered a bit during warmer weather...but they were plenty solid for us to walk right onto the ice. You could look a bit to the north and see open water from the middle of the channel out to the open lake. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]My Showdown earned its keep today. Before we drilled any holes I kept shooting through the ice to check for depth and fishies. Made several stops on the way to the channel edge...from 11', to 15', to 18' and 20'. Absolutely no bliperoonies in any of those test shoots.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Finally did a shoot in about 22 feet and the Showie lit up. Lots of lines. Turned on the electric auger and stealth drilled a couple of holes for TubeBabe to get started. Wouldn't you know it? Before I got my first holes drilled and filled she was bendo on a big bow. So much for courtesy waiting. Turned out to be our biggest steelie of the day...at 19". Put a nice
on the Babe's face. [/#0000ff][#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]And then, just as I was dropping my first jig down a hole she goes bendo again...on an 18" bow this time. Sheesh. After that I took the lures off her lines and began fishing. But bad karma. All I could entice were dinkster perchies. And she didn't catch any more trout for the rest of the day either.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We both caught at least a grundle and a half of perch under 9". Kept about a dozen between us for some scampi perch on noodles. Yum.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We had to make a short day of it so we were planning to leave not long after noon. Howsomever, the bendo dieties
d upon me about 12:30 and I brung in a 17" bowski. Bent my stick and stretched my sting it did. [/#0000ff][#0000ff]I might mention that the fishing died off in our first spot late in the morning. So I picked up the trust showdown and my jug of warm water and went on a perch search. Dribbled and shot through the ice clear out to over 40 feet deep. No perch and no detectable trout at mid depth. Gradually worked around in a big circle through many depths and bottom contours. Like a desert on the bottom. Finally found some flickers on the sonar in a spot about 19 feet deep...not too far from where we had set up our first ice station. Moved everything over to the second spot and abused some more perchlets. I actually went back to the first spot to catch the only rainbow I got for the day.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Coming off the ice was okay but the shallow edges were thin enough that we broke through ankle deep. A few warmer days and it is either plank or swim. Air temp was up to 36 as we packed up. Drove up on the hill to shoot down on the open water. See last pic.[/#0000ff]
[signature]