11-06-2005, 05:07 AM
I took my dad and three kids out this morning at Strawberry. We hit the water around 7:15 after pondering whether my F-150 would make it back up the ramp with a 1/4 inch crust of ice on it. One guy did it before me and all was well, so I dropped in and went to fishing. Wind was the foul word of the day. Air temp hovered between 29 and 39 all day, and the early breeze of about 15 mph continually strengthened until we departed at about 1 PM with the wind blowing hard. We fished the southern end, the narrows and Jakes, trying to beat the wind somewhere - unsuccessfully. We ended up with around 25 cuts, most taken before 10 AM, and did get one at 25". I tried about all the tricks once today, white tubes, pointers, white rapalas, Krocs, and even an Optimum or two. Everything worked, but nothing worked well. We seemed to catch our fish in spurts, 5 in ten minutes, then nothing for 30-40 minutes. It was impossible to jig effectively, or fish tight in the shallows. We trolled from the southern end into the narrows and caught a few doing that, but the wind took the pleasure out of releasing the fish because your hands froze. Better than a day at work, and a good time with the kids who sat by the heater, but I've seen better fishing. Water temp at 46.4 all day, all algae gone, the water is starting to get clear like it does before the ice. Will hit it again next Wednesday - hopefully with no 'W'.
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