Last Ice Fishing Trip Of 23/24

Last fish in the last hole

 

Finally a fish

7:10 AM-1:45 PM: Rock Lake 17', 12'

24-47℉, PC, 0-8mph SSW

Water clarity poor to start and the ice made noise until 9AM

I got started loading the car about 10 minutes late and it took me 50 minutes before I was ready to leave the driveway. I had to go get the Fish Trap first. When I got to the access I should have repositioned the car before unloading, which was a slow clown show. I turned my headlamp off after parking the car. The ice was cracking and groaning, which kept on until about 9AM. As I came around the corner to the PRO Bay there were a bunch of swans swimming and on the ice. I couldn't make out where my old holes were, but I had the Garmin 7 with so I was close. I was a rust bucket at first and visibility was terrible. I only got two crappies and only saw 3. Sunfish and perch were around. I saw 3 pike in the first set of holes. At 9AM I drilled a second set on the maidencane drop, right next to my previous holes. A pike came in quickly and bit the minnow, but I pooched the hookset. I then fished my way back to the access spying two pike, catching one in the last hole. The northern half of the access had standing water and the ice was getting soft. This will be my last trip of the 23/24 ice season.

5Crip 

6Pike 

30Sun 

12YP 

Fairly Good Morning To Afternoon At Rock

 

Double

8" VMC Fly/Maggie

10" BT Glow Demon/minnow

6:45 am - 1 pm Rock Lake 8' to 17' of water

35-45℉, PC, 0-4mph S

I headed out even though I didn't feel much like fishing after last night. I didn't mark much or have a bite in the first 45 minutes. The crappies did move in as the sun came up and I had a pretty good bite for about 35 minutes. Then sunfish with a few perch moved in. Only a couple of pike showed up. The second of which I saw after I had just set the hook on a sunfish; It flew into frame crushing the Gem-N-Eye. It was just a hammer handle and the only pike I caught. I got one 8' sunfish and saw maybe a couple of others.  Eventually, I decided to switch holes. I dropped right on a pike that inspected my offerings but never went for them. There is not much in these holes. I fished my holes on the Maidencane break. A few perch and sunfish. I decided to fish my way back to the access along the reed weedline break hoping to find some bass. Didn't see anything in the first three holes. I think the 5th one had a nice pike take some shots but not hook up. I was sightfishing that guy with my eyes looking down the hole. I caught a bunch of perch in the final hole hoping a pike or bass might show up. It was a wet sloppy mess as I came in. I was the only person on Rock today. There were a couple of trucks at Bulldog. I also stopped at the GOMH.

20 Crip 

5 Pike 

43 Sun 

19 Perch

Another Fun Morning Trip

10" THE Jig

 

The bigger of the two bit, thankfully

Finally started biting

1st Pike was totally lethargic 

1st bite of the morning

6:30 AM- 1:30 PM Rock Lake, 15-16' Used 3 different sets of holes this trip.

27-41℉, Cloudy/Fog, MC, 2-10mph SW switching WNW

I was slower getting out than planned. I had to drill out holes which was unexpected and made one new set as well. Total turtle time. Fishing was slow for the first half hour, and fish were small/missing bites. I had to re-rig to a Glow Demon and busted my line lowering a jig again. Eventually, the fish got active, and when I put the camera down, crappies were everywhere. That bite lasted until about 8 AM, then slowed down considerably. I did much better at landing fish than last trip, but still a lot of room for improvement.I switched back to the Gem-N-Eye after the first pike loitered through. It left and I actually got a crappie on the Gem. Saw two pike swim through. Not as many sunnies or perch around today. Finally, around 9:30 the pike started biting. I got the first couple on the Gem, then one dropping the Switch to an immediate attack. Things slowed. I went to the new set of holes I drilled. I got a pike fairly quickly as well as a few sunnies. Saw a pair of pike for the second time and caught the bigger one (25"). I went to a third set of holes, not much there and the wind came up so I called it a day. Less sunfish but better size. I was often unprepared for those bigger gills as they came through. Fun trip. No bass.

44 Crip 

33 Sun 

10 Pike 

8 Perch 

Sullivan with Pete

3:30-8:00PM 6'-26' Out from the NE Access On Sullivan

41-53℉, Sunny, 2-9mph S

Pete didn't want to listen to my plan. I should have shown him what I thought on the Navionics app. We drilled our way to where I wanted to go. I first saw a sunfish in 24' of water. We wasted a bunch of time out deep with perch. Finally, we reached the flat. I spotted a walleye and had a pike come through a couple of different times. Pete went to the South and caught a nice crappie and called me over to the area. Saw a pike down in a tuft of weeds and a sunfish. Hole hoped for awhile seeing a few sunfish and one last pike. Pete hole hoped getting a few gills, mostly little guys. I set up shop far too late and caught the one gill. Pete found some bigger gills and called me as it was getting dark. He kept the one crappie and four gills. I was done fishing at about 7:45PM. 

 

Saw Tullibee AM/Got A LMB PM @ Rock

1st Bass of 2021

 

6:00-9:00AM 26' (5 Tul Hole) Sullivan

27-33℉, Sunny, 0-4mph NE

I was the first one at the NE access this morning, but not by much. Talked for a minute with a sunfish fisherman. Headed out didn't mark anything the first hour. Should have got the camera down soon as something came and inspected my waxies. Put the camera down. Saw tullibee come through 5 different times, all loners no groups. Had one guy bite at my spoon, but it missed it. They wanted that flashing spoon this morning. I packed up at 9AM. GOMH pics are from this afternoon.

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19" Slab Rap (Perch)

9.5" Glow Demon/minnow

5:30PM-8:30PM 7-10' In front of the Reeds

32-45℉, Sunny, 2-7mph  ESE

Went to the hole I saw the sunnies in yesterday. Put a minnow down. Started collecting weeds with the Slab Rap. Had a pike steal the Glow Demon and Minnow. Got a new one tied up. Resumed collecting weeds. On one of the drops after collecting weeds I spooked a small bass. Just looked at the camera on time to see it. I raised and lowered the Slab Rap a couple of times and a big momma came out of nowhere and crushed it like a freight train. Got her in. She was hooked in the side of the mouth where the upper and lower jaw meets making removing the hooks a little more difficult than I would have preferred. I ended up forgetting to get a weight. I don't think it was a 4lb, but close. I had a sunfish come through but wasn't interested. Had a couple more pike and bass come through. Then some crappies showed up. I saw more than I caught. When it got too dark for the camera I pulled up stakes and went to the drop-off. Caught 3 or 4 more and missed 6 or 7. They were sniffing and light biting.

7 Crappie

1 LMB

 

Almost a Great Night On Rock

10" THE Jig (O/C)

 

6:30-9:00PM 6-10' In front of the Reeds at Rock

31-34℉, MC, 0-4mph SSE

Stopped at the GOMH on the way out. Almost saw an otter and some swans get in a scuffle. When I arrived at Rock a guy was just getting loaded up. He had gotten a couple of bass but didn't find any crappie or sunfish of any size. I told him about my lack of even seeing a bass this winter. I got unloaded and looked down a few of his holes in front of the reeds. In the shallowest one, I spotted some sunfish in the weeds. I down viewed and didn't drill any more holes. Had a few small sunnies come in and nip at me. Then a nice size bass came in and took THE Jig before I realized that is what it was, could have been a doggy but I don't think so. I set the hook and immediately broke off. Fiddled with a few sunfish with the pink VMC Fly/Polli. Had a slab come in and grab the fly. She was flopping back and forth in the hole. I couldn't get her lip and she came off. I tried to scoop her in, but she slid out of my hand and down the hole. That fish might have been my personal best, had to be pushing 14-inches. I blew it. I caught a 10' several minutes later than it kind of died. I sent the camera down a hole that was in 10' over the break and there were shiners and perch all over the place. I drilled a couple more holes and moved shop. The glow Demon was hot for about 20 minutes, then things slowed down. They loved tiny minnows. One of my lanterns came off the hook and was behind the orange bucket. I thought it went down the hole. I fished until 9:00PM.  One of my lanterns came off the hook and was behind the orange bucket. I thought it went down the hole and only found it while I was packing up to leave.