Just got back from Rockport. We were first on the ice at 6:00 am. It was a cold night and the ice is forming nicely. We started catching fish right away small perch in 15 ft of water, moved out a little deeper and started catching better perch on the bottom at 18ft and nice 17" rainbows. We used, ratfinkes, shrimpos.ants tube jigs, but the best lure for trout was aa black wolly bugger under a kastmaster. Great day, I tried to call out several times to BFT's but no answer came back. Let's see what Doug does this Monday .
[signature]
Posts: 2,775
Threads: 0
Joined: Oct 2002
Reputation:
0
Were you in a ice shack ? I got there about 6:45 and headed for my gps spot and fished close to there all day . My biggest perch went 10.5 and 10 with about 30 under 9 . Nailed about 5 nice bows and about 10 dinks . Perch were hitting a 3" glow grub on a 1/8 glow jig head / with perch meat strip . Also caught others on a Genz worm and rat finkee . Wh2 and Wslayer show up too today and fished close by . Ice is getting real close to the dam but I wouldn't go there for a while . About 90% cover in ice when I left . I know it was forming today while I was fishing . Burrrrrr !!!! Action was hot before the sun come up and stayed hot till about 11:00 am , about 10 to 12 per hour . Still caught fish after but not so many per hour , maybe 6 per hour . Still good fishing at Rockport . Damn snowmobiles keep flying by me today so I'm sure the browns went some where else . Lots of people there today If you wanted close parking you need to get there before 7:00am .I was about the 4th vehicle there but 3rd on the ice I believe .
[signature]
Posts: 33,963
Threads: 445
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
36
Good to see you again HA69 and I can't agree with you more about those snowmobiles, they are as bad as jet skies and water skiers when your fishing in a boat. Instead of going slow when going through a bunch of people that were ice fishing, they would go full blast, and not just once, they must have made 10 trips back and forth at full speed. I heard someone call out on channel 12 twice today but they would not respond when I answered, if that was you PescadorUtah your batteries must be low.
We got there at 7:30am and the parking lot was already packed, so we had to park on the road, I'm surprised we didn't get a ticket. We headed to our hot spot from a few days ago and saw HA69 sitting near by, he still had his head lamp going from fishing in the dark. We drilled our holes a few yards away and started catching fish. When the hot action died off we moved around a little but never found any fast action but all in all it was a good day. We ended the day with over 70 trout and well over 40 perch, biggest perch 10 inches, biggest trout 16 inches. I think the snowmobiles scared the browns away. WH2
[signature]
Thanks for the input we fished 100yrs closer to the parking lot than your mark. There was a group of 4 of us fishing. We did not bring our shack because all four wouldn't fit and it was my first time to Rockport. Were you close to the guy with the two dogs?
That guy with the snowmobile was just out on a pleasure ride all day. When the noise reached a high with all the augers and equipment it shut down for the nice fish.
WH2 I checked my radio and I had the radio volume almost off. We had a great day sorry we missed you.
[signature]
Posts: 2,775
Threads: 0
Joined: Oct 2002
Reputation:
0
I was south to southeast of the snowmobilers fishing area . I got a jet sled with BFT stickers on both sides it but you need to be close to see them . I seen the dogs but didn't pay attention where they were .
[signature]
Posts: 386
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2003
Reputation:
0
My son and I got there about 7:30 and took the last parking place on the south end. Several vehicles came in just behind us. We fished in the same area as we did on new years day. Hot fishing all day. We were just north and west of the guy with the dogs. We caught 216 fish today. Best day ever on the ice. My son ended up with 61 and I ended up with 155. Green Ratfinkies with wax worm or night crawler worked well. The Vexlar was the difference between me and my son. At one time for about 1/2 hour the bottom 15 feet of the screen was solid red with fish. We caught fish with every drop all day long. The bigger trout would cruise by at 10-15 feet. Somethimes in big schools. Quit fishing at 4. Depth was 24 feet, ice was 5-6 inches thick, temp was 70+ in the tent. We never moved once after we setup. Did it snow today? Most around us was catching limits of everything. Walked over to 3 guys fishing just north of us. One of them hadn't caught anything in 2 hours. I brought over the Vexlar and showed them the fish were there... he caught 3 in five minutes. I made a believer out of him. I heard the snowmobiles, but they didn't come by us. Caught a good mix of all sizes of perch and rainbows, with several in the 15 to 17 inch length. For a few hours, all we caught was trout, then a mix, then nothing but perch. Took home 0 fish today.
[signature]
Posts: 5,856
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2003
Reputation:
0
That is great kj. Glad you guys could have such a stellar day on the ice. Did many of the trout have the anchor worm problem?
[signature]
Posts: 386
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2003
Reputation:
0
Didn't notice any. But we were too busy unhooking them and getting back into the water to really take notice. One I brought home on thrusday looks like it has one. Cut them out or what?
[signature]
Posts: 33,963
Threads: 445
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
36
We were walking across the road when you pulled up in your vehicle this morning, you parked right beside Hellsangler69's truck, if you parked by the guard rail. The only area that is 22 ft deep is close to the cliff, I think that is the same area that IFG, P4L BLM and others fished a few days ago, is that the same area you fished today? That Vexlar is one killer ice fishing machine, it sounds like it helped you guys have a great day on the ice. WH2
[signature]
Posts: 389
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2003
Reputation:
0
Hit Rockport again today. Sounds like there was a crowd fo BFT folks there again. Took the wife and kids with me. Had a blast. Fished right next to where Petty and crew were yesterday. Vexilar constantly showed fish and at times would show red for 5-6 feet off the bottom. Caught fish steady till 12:30, then we headed down to the Spring Chicken Inn at Wanship for some lunch. Hope the North end freezes before next week. I want to try up by the dam.
[signature]
Posts: 33,963
Threads: 445
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
36
Have you had your Vexilar Long? I was wondering if they make a suction cup adaptor for using it on a boat, I think it would be great for jigging at Bear lake and the Gorge. It is suppose to be cold this coming week, I would be surprised if the rest of the lake isn't frozen by next weekend. WH2
[signature]
Posts: 389
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2003
Reputation:
0
Got it for my son for Christmas. It was the only thing on earth that he wanted, and he asked for it all year. The package he got was just for ice, but I believe there are interchangeable transducers that can be purchased from Vexilar for the bottom of boats ect. Check out Vexilar.com it gives a pretty good run down of what you can purchase. The FL-18 has a bottom lock feature. Supposed to lock onto the bottom as your boat moves. Claims that you can see fish on the bottom at 40 mph. Don't believe my son can row his pontoon that fast, so the ice setup should cover his needs.
As far as jigging goes, it is great. It has an auto zoom (AZ) feature. Gives the entire water column on the right side of the dial (12 oclock to 5 oclock) and the left side (12 oclock to 7 oclock) shows the bottom six feet. Pretty slick, lets you watch the entire column for suspended/cruising fish, and still shows a closeup/expanded view of the bottom six feet.
I have been reading about Marcum units. They are Vexilar's nearest competitor. They have a unit the will zoom in on different subsections of the water column. That sounds interesting. Alot of longtime Vex users are making the switch to Marcum. I don't know of any distrubutors of Marcum in Utah, but I haven't looked much either. Just read a little. I am pretty new to sonar/electronics. There are probably guys on here who have forgotten more than I know...and just as many opinions LCD vs Flasher... High vs Lower power...
Hope this helps.
[signature]
Posts: 2,775
Threads: 0
Joined: Oct 2002
Reputation:
0
I have seen the MarCum flashers at Sportsman and the Vexilar there also . I just got a Lowrance X-91 on order off Ebay , and hope to have it by next weekend . It was cheaper than all the Vexilars but it should be fun to use too . My fishing Buddy 2 doesn't have the zoom feature , which is something I wanted to have .
[signature]
Posts: 386
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2003
Reputation:
0
This is my third season with the vexilar. I have the FL8. The FL18 with the zoom feature came out after I bought mine. I haven't seen an 18 work, so I have no opinion on it's worth. I only ice fish. Hunt and shoot archery when the ice is off. I have thought about jiging from a pontoon or float tube, but since I really don't fish in the summer, I haven't tried it. I'm sure it would work well.
Wiper...We were parked on the south by the guard rail. I remember seeing someone walking across the street while we were getting the gear out of the truck. I did fish by the cliffs. Same area I was at on the 1st. We have the big green Eskimo flip lll ice tent. Heavy to carry up the hill, wonderful to sit in. We've learned to carry 100 or so feet of rope. Makes it real easy to get the tent up a hill. I also have a smaller 2 man tent. Can't remember the brand, starts with an S. Shapero or something like that. It is too small for 2 people very comfortably, great for 1. It has been retired the last few trips. A single 3,000 BTU coleman heater keeps it toasty, the big tent takes a 10,000 BTU heater.
[signature]
Posts: 89
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2004
Reputation:
0
Re: Rockport. It sounds like the west side is fishing better than the east. To avoid crowds and all the commotion, we hit the east side Sat. morning. While the trout bite was good, the perch, which were there a couple days earlier, must have moved to greener pastures. We caught a few, but it was far from fast. Did see a couple toad rainbows at about 4 lbs. come throught the ice. Unfortunately, it wasn't through my hole. Can't wait for the entire reservoir to freeze to comfortably explore deeper waters for the perch. There was still open water at the boat ramp on 12/31. The temps the last couple of days should help with freezing the entire lake.
Re: Flashers. Great tools for fishing through the ice. Not as accurate for detecting fish or reading a vertical fished jig in a boat, as you lose the stationary positioning. Too much rock and roll. The bottom lock feature on the new Vexilar FL-18 should help, though. I've been using flashers on the ice for about 20 years. Started out with a Lowrance on an original wood Genz box. I graduated to Vexilar about 6 years ago, when the Lowrance unit bit the dust. Once you learn to read a flasher, they can't be beat on the ice. At least you know when to put the rod down and pour a cup of coffee. As noted previously, the Vexilar web site contains info on accessories. Galyon's also used to carry a few Vexilar accessories.
[signature]
Posts: 2,011
Threads: 0
Joined: Jun 2003
Reputation:
0
PescadorUtah are you goinmg to be hitting Rockport with Dan on the 17th?
[signature]
Posts: 15,600
Threads: 1,324
Joined: Feb 2002
Reputation:
15
Kevin, your other tent is a Shappell, which isn't as roomy as an Eskimo; however, it is still a nice shack in its own right.
[signature]
Yes, I plan on going I just started a new job today and will try to work it out.
[signature]
|
