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Took the 3.5 hour drive to Fish Lake. It was a cold one, especially when the breeze picks up, but the Catching was HOT! This is becoming one of my favorite places to ice fish! Perch as fast as you can get the line down (32 FOW), wide variety of trout (Lake, splake, rainbow), and plenty of catching! Took home two, 5 gal buckets of perch (yes, 2 hours of fillet time with 4 of us), and trout (most were put back into the Lake). It was a log day, but was it worth it! Great catching for a change, better than Echo, Mantua, and Pineview!
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Great report! Fish Lake is the first lake I fished on the ice and that's where I got hooked on ice fishing. How thick was the ice?
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I had to call in sick so I could go to Lake Powell!
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Glad to hear you made it the trip I know you were itching to go and it sounds like it was way worth it! Hope you enjoy all the perch! Thanks for the report.
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How thick was the ice?
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Solid 8-10" of clear good ice. Quads were on the ice. Clear enough that if you got the skiff of snow off the ice in your shelter you could see fish cruising in the top 5-6' of water no problem through it.
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Thanks for the report. Sounds like a fun day.
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[quote Bmarsh]Solid 8-10" of clear good ice. Quads were on the ice. Clear enough that if you got the skiff of snow off the ice in your shelter you could see fish cruising in the top 5-6' of water no problem through it.[/quote]
Now that's some clear ice.[cool]
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What were the size of the trout you were catching? And the lakers? Headed down for the first time to fish lake in a week or so.
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[quote IceBeast]What were the size of the trout you were catching? And the lakers? Headed down for the first time to fish lake in a week or so.[/quote]
Bows were right around 14-15, lakers were smaller 12-13 but I had some much larger fish that came through they just had zero interest in pimples, marabou jigs, ratfinkis, and rap jigs I tried.
That said it was my first time at fish lake and trying for lakers so I'm sure others more experienced up there have some advice.
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Thanks, We are heading down Tuesday. How was the parking? Were all the lots plowed? Great information.
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I was there yesterday and at least at the Southern end, where we were, the parking area was nicely plowed.
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Splake were 14"-15" and smaller, Rainbows were similar in size. Laker was 4 lbs, talked to a guy who caught a 10 lb laker in 40 FOW the day prior. We actually caught most trout about 12' down while fishing for perch (30 FOW), the laker took the perch bait on the way down for perch, imagine my surprise when I set the hook on that one an using a noodle rod to boot!
Ice was awesome, solid 8-9" where I was at. About 2" of light snow on top of totally clear ice! I don't clear the snow where I fish, I believe it spooks the fish with my movement on top, plus the snow adds insulation for my feet (I feel the ice is colder); these are just my opinions/experiences.
It was a long day but it was worth it!
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It was so fun to catch, catch, and catch! No real effort needed for a change! I don't like having to really work hard to catch perch. It was literally, count to 4, set the hook, improving to drop to the bottom, take out the slack and set the hook and reel in the fish! Trout were not finicky either, my daughter in law really slayed them... she is learning the joys of catch and release so she can keep catching!
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We were there as well Friday with similar results, lacking in the trout though. We fished in 20' of water and the perch were everywhere. We fished out at Joe's Bush. Just curious if on the next trip we need to try elsewhere for more trout of just move deeper.
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[quote Dawgden] Just curious if on the next trip we need to try elsewhere for more trout of just move deeper.[/quote]
As a rule, when you are in the perch zone, if you drop to the bottom, the perch will usually scarf up your offering before a trout can get it. If you suspend the bait about 5-6 feet off the bottom, you will catch fewer perch and many more trout. Going out to deeper water sometimes can help but all of the trout are still not deep. I will often fish with 2 rods there and keep one at only about 10 ft deep and pick off one rainbow after another (and some splake) while I'm jigging deeper for splake. A fishfinder will give you a better idea exactly what is happening under you and if your offerings are getting looks by fish.
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