Slow Cold Evening On Rock

 

4:14-6:45 PM 17' NE of where I fished last night.

2-6℉, PC/Cloudy, 3-8mph NNW

I got out a little later than yesterday. There was one truck in the public access lot with a trailer and one in my area, closer to the cane. I went right to where I intended to fish and got set up as quickly as I could. The ice is over 20" thick now. Visibility on the camera wasn't great, and I only had a few small pods of crappies swim through before the camera was useless. I only had a few pods of crappies swim through period, and they got small once it got dark. I missed a few more bites tonight than last night. The guys toward the cane were still fishing when I left.

13 Crips 

Another Cold Day On Rock Lake

 

24.5" Glow Demon/Minnow

3:50-7:00PM 17' I was a little to the W of where I fished two days ago

6℉- -1℉, Sunny, 0-6mph NW

I had to cool off in the driveway before heading out in the car. Dad had just gotten back from Pierz, and I was sweating by the time I was completely dressed for the cold. When I got to the lake, there was a truck fishing on the southwest side of the lake, up by the shore. I went NW of where I fished two days ago. When I was getting set up I had a solid mark go through about 10' down, but it was gone by the time I got the Switch down to it. I put the camera down. Got the camera down, spied the Nugget, and got a Glow Demon/Minnow Down. I got the Heater started and saw a pike just as it took the minnow. As soon as the bobber went under, I hit the fish. I almost didn't get the Shimano anti-reverse off. I went to reel up the Nugget line, but the lines had crossed. The heater ran out of propane, and I decided to land the pike with the nugget rod because the pike seemed wrapped pretty well on the braid. I landed the fish. 24.5". It took me a while to get untangled. I did see a couple of crappies on the camera. Action was slow only had a few small pods of crappies move through. I landed most of my bites, so that shows just how slow it was. Toward the end, I put the VMC Fly with a maggie down and caught four quick, smaller crappies. It was cold, but thankfully, I had the wind blocked pretty well, and it got calm toward dark.

11Crip
1Pike 

An Hour of Fishing Tonight On Rock Lake

 

4:30-5:30PM Rock My Area 17'  of water

11℉, Cloudy, 5-13mph SSW WNW

I would have liked to have gotten out sooner, but whatchagonna do, I wanted to go to Onamia. I did not look at the wind direction forecast, figuring it would stay the same. I drove out and parked North of the past couple of times I went out and parked to block the wind out of the SSW. The ice has to be 18-20". I drilled my set and got set up. I was marking fish slightly higher than normal. I put down a switch and missed a couple of bites. I then put down the camera and spotted numerous crappies. I couldn't get the top of the bobber onto the Aqua-Vu cord, eventually I gave up. I got a minnow down and got bit quickly. Same thing on my next drop with the same minnow. I put the same minnow down a third time. The fish moved off for 5 minutes, and I caught a couple of the Wonder Bread Switch when they came back. I put a new minnow on. I caught fish on both, with more on the Glow Demon Minnow. Wind switched out of the WNW. The light level under the water and in the fish house went down. I put those rechargeable lights up and wasn't impressed with them when it was still light outside. My feet were getting cold, and I didn't feel like drilling new holes, so I called it a night at 5:30. There was one truck on the ice. The crappies tonight were 9/10ish except the last one, which was 8."

14Crips 

Tough Night On Rock

 

3:30-6:00PM Rock Lake my area to the SW of where I had been the two previous days.

3-10℉, PC, 2-5mph NW

I parked 35" South and 15" to the West of where I fished the past two days. The sun came out as I was on my way to the lake. I picked up a half scoop of crappie minnows and fatheads. The wind wasn't bad tonight for the most part. I'm not sure if the fish were just off or if I parked in a bad spot. I had a pike come through right away, but it did not stay long. I would occasionally have a couple of sunfish or crappie swim through. I got my first bite on a minnow at 4:30. Then it got slow. I had a bit of a bite window around 5 PM, but it shut down fast with the cracking ice. Fish just weren't active, so I called it quits at 6 PM. It was around 0 and blowing about 10mph, so it was cold loading the car. Not a great trip. There was one truck at the landing as I came in. There were two there when I arrived, and one out on the ice.

5 Crips 

Rock Lake, Battery Bag Almost Lost

3:00-6:00 PM Rock Lake 17', same area as yesterday in my area.

20-29℉, Cloudy, some snow, 5-10mph NW

The tailgate didn't lock, and I did not notice it until I was at the lake. The Ion Bag with the auger battery and Aqua-Vu fell out the back into the road when I pulled out of the driveway. Thankfully, it was still there about 15 minutes later. So I was discombobulated to start. I got back out to Rock. I was the only one there. I set up just a little NW of the permanent. A little farther to the North and West of where I was last night. I was marking sunfish right away. I had a pike come in and look at the Chicken Nugget. It spooked when I put down a Rippin Rap. I caught my first crappie. The pike came back when I was jigging the Switch and hung around for maybe 5 minutes. Crappies moved in when I lost visibility on the camera, and they were bigger than average for the most part; they were going for minnows, so that is what I fished primarily. I did have a few bites on the Switch that didn't hook up. Propane went out. It was windy and cold. I used the car for a wind break and put on my sweatshirt around 4:30 pm. The bite died at 5:30 pm. Bite was definitely better than yesterday, and I was way more efficient landing bites today. It was snowing when I packed up, and there was a car to the South of the Access just sitting there with lights on, not sure when they drove out.

20 Crips 

 

Rock Lake 1st Trip Out With Car

 

4:15-6:45 PM Rock Lake SW of the Perm and my area 17'  NW of the Perm

22-30℉, Cloudy, 5-10mph S

Nobody was at the lake, and I drove out and parked a bit to the south of the Perm Shack. I tried the area SE of the Perm. There were a few sunfish there. I went and drilled a set of holes to the NW of the Perm Shack. Nothing was going on at the first set of holes, so I moved NW. The bite wasn't great, but I did get a few Rock Lake Special Crappies. I missed a good 2/3rds of the bites. Too rushed, too rusty. Frustrating trip. It was a bit windy.

9 Crips 

Fairly Good Trip On Rock

 

5:00-8:00PM 17' My Area NW of the Perm

20-26℉, Cloudy, 4-9mpn NW

Not really sure why I got off to a late start. Nobody was at the access. I should have parked on the ice. I went just NW of the permanent. I drilled my three-hole set and got ready to fish. I was marking something before I had lines down. I had several bites on the Powerbait Switch, but never hooked anything. As it turned dark, I started getting bit on minnows. I listened to the Rams/Carolina game until I got a call from Pete. The action picked up for most of the phone call, including the pike. Things slowed down in the final 20 minutes. The Rams won the game. At 8 PM, we ended the call, and I began getting ready to leave. I did not find the Packer/Bears game on iHeart until I got home. I was able to catch a good portion of the 2nd Half. Da Bears! Bears 31 Cheese 27

17Crips 1Pike 

Srrait Out From The Access Again On Rock Lake

 

4:30-8:00PM 17' NW of the E Point

33-26℉, Cloudy, 4-8mph N

I probably could have gotten out at least 30 minutes sooner. Because of the overcast and my getting out so late, the camera was almost useless. There was only one truck at the access. I went straight to where I fished yesterday. I drilled a few new holes because the wind was out of the NW. I put the camera down first and immediately spotted a pike, so I put down a red tail and jigged the Chicken Nugget. I was never able to see either in the camera.  First fish was a nice crappie on the Switch. I missed several bites on the Switch. I went to two minnows down, and the dead stick was the preference. I was just about to pack up as 7 pm approached, but then I got some action on the VMC Fly w/Maggots. I ended up not packing up until almost 8 PM. I caught fish from 4" to 11".

16 Crips 

Rock Lake For the First Trip of 2026

 

1st Fish of 2026

4:00-7:30PM Rock Lake

32-40℉, PC, 2-4mph S

When I arrived, there were several trucks in the parking lot. A couple of guys were out where I planned to fish beyond the permanent. There were a couple of guys fishing NE of the permanent and a hub out from the Sunkin Island and a wheeler SE of them. I followed a track out to the NW of the Point. I think I drilled 6 holes in a circle around the first hole I drilled.  I then took the rods out of the rod case and sent the Chicken Nugget down. One or two marks showed themselves in the first hole. I then went to the next hole to the North. A number of marks came to the Chicken Nugget, so I put down the camera, and it was sunfish. The bright sun made for fairly good visibility. Nothing in the next hole, which was in 15', next hole, a couple of marks which I verified at Sunfish. I don't think I marked anything in the next hole, and marked a couple in the last hole. I then went and drilled my hole sets. And set up in the hole with all the sunfish. I wish I had just set up there immediately rather than checking all the holes. I burned too much daylight. I put a red tail down and then jigged with a Cubby and PB Switch. I missed a number of bites before I finally got my first fish of 2026 on the green pumpkin Switch. I think I fired up the Little Buddy around 4:15, and it ran for maybe 20 minutes before it ran out of propane. It took me 20 to 25 minutes to relight it. I finally took off the red tail, and that is when my fortunes switched around somewhat, as crappies liked the Glow Demon/crappie minnow. But I switched too late, and the action didn't last long. Things got slow, so I called it a night.

9 Crips