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Got too busy to post last night but fished Hyrum on Saturday off swim beach on 5.5" of noisy popping great ice. A little slick and scary pops but other than the nephews sledding into a crack zone and going through a little so they got wet it's good to go. Got a ton of sub 8"er perch and a 12" bow but it was fast and fun but no quality dang it. I was catching perch on every drop. Even with taking care of four very greenhorns and letting the kids catch most everything I still got a dozen or so. Sooo if you want to catch fish but not big ones give it a shot. I did rig smaller so we'd get action versus quality so maybe a larger offering may add some quality. I was fishing in 20 FOW. Favorite jig of day is 1/32 oz gold tungsten bead. I like the Clam ones. Tipped with 1/3 meal worm. Good luck. J
PS tried Newton in afternoon while kids sledded and got skunked even though I watched fish all afternoon on the camera and finder. Nothing wanted to play. J
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I was probably within shouting distance of you...Blue Clam tent...great ice, good fishing!
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Great report I was looking to head up there on the beach coming this week, that's one of my favorite fishing spots to get the kids out on
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Yup that was us in the Clam Nanook flip. Did I come over and talk to ya just before the kids went swimming or were you the other guy that went further away? Fun morning for kids and I kind of liked it too. I love catching fish. I like those shallow fish so they can swim back down easy when you let them go. Over to Newton at 36' I have to use Pats decender to get them back down and some of the fish are big enough I need a heavier decender. Did you do okay after I got my noisy crew out of there? Sorry about those California kids that don't have a hunten or fishen dad to teach them to be a little more quiet. Uncle tries but I'm not very successful. Thanks for saying hello. Later J
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Hey welcome to Big Fish, hope you enjoy this forum. And yes I like Hyrum too, even though the fish are small the access is good and they usually bite. Oh one spot that is dangerous is getting on and off the ice. It's soooo slick and slopes down toward the lake so it's a spot just waiting to cause a fall. Be careful there. Hope you get up and have a great time. Later J
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That wasn’t me actually, maybe we didn’t quite overlap. We had a clam shelter out for a little while and put it away and we left shortly after the freezing rain started. Either way it sure did feel good to get out there!
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We were there on Friday 8-11 ish. Hadn't been hardly anyone on the ice before us. Seen a couple holes where I think folks were checking ice thickness but only one spot looked like anyone had fished before us. At least off the beach area anyway.
It is great to get out there. Went today on a me trip. I'm so selfish, but dang it was fun!!! I played with crappie today and it was slow going until a school swam by then I had a blast trying to hook those aggressive little buggers. Ended up getting a few 11"ers and few more from 8.5 to 9.5"ers. After the smaller fish lately, I really thought I had a fish when I got those 11"ers. Was disappointed when they only measured out at 11, wanted a 12+"er really bad. That contest really pushes me from quantity spots to slower more quality areas and it's fun when a good fish grabs a hold. But it was a long day with nothing till that few fish showed up.
Well I sure hope you have a great season. Looks like most of the ice is getting fairly safe now. I did see an area off the west end of swim beach that looked like it had frozen later and with the snow now you won't be able to tell that so it's still a good idea to check ice thickness as you go. Things didn't freeze very even at all this year. So be careful but have fun. Later J
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Thank you, i decided to go today and it was foggy but fun, thank you for the report again. Alot of catch and release and 1 keeper
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What is this decender you talk about.
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[#0000FF]I originally called these "perch savers"...because so many late season and under-ice perch come up from deep water and are unable to get back down with their distended air bladders. They are simple sinker rigs to attach to the lip of inflated deep water fish so you can send them back down to equalize the pressure. When they get back near the bottom you just give a jerk on the line to pull the descender free and the fish has a better chance to survive.
Here are a couple of pics.
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Glad you got a good trip. Can I ask what size your keeper was? I got a couple perch near 12” at Hyrum from the boat, but nothing close from the ice yet. I used to consider 8” as my keeper line, but this year I’m hoping for better ones. I’d like to see some hope showing up over there. Sure fun to have action though isn’t it? Thanks for the report. J
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I see Pat let ya know what I was talking about. They really helped get puffed up fish back down.
I ate a batch of perch from Newton and they had a fowl taste to them, so I’ve been letting all of them go now including some 11-12”ers and they have such big bladders I need to get a heavier weight to sink them. But even the size I have is enough to help them go down. Anyway Pat has a great idea to help save fish when you pull them up from down deep. Later J
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Hey thank you, it was a fun trip!!! Always like it when the fish are active. Thanks for the well wish. Later J
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Just a big bolt with some stainless wire and a swivel.
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Good idea, I just need to think ahead and have one ready to go with me... I get on the pond before I remember I'm going to have that problem.. I usually fish much shallower water so it's not a common deal for me... Thanks J
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Guess I should have kept the bolt I pulled out of the tire on the wife's car this morning. Was about that size.
Maybe see what I can do with a 4 or 6 ounce decoy weight.
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Bryce Lowder
I do what the voices in my wife's head tell me to.
