Only 1 Bass at Erskine Tonight (2/21)

 

3:30-7:00 PM 9' In the same holes as yesterday.

10-17℉, PC, 5-20mph NW

Visibility was a little worse than yesterday

I stopped at the GOMH briefly, took pictures, then headed to Erskine. There was only one truck on the lake. I went to my holes from yesterday and immediately saw a single small bass and a group of sunnies when I put the camera down.  By the time I got baits down, the bass and sunfish had left. Plenty of small perch. I tried various ways to call in predators, but had zero luck with that. I had a small bass come in and eat the Cubby about an hour into fishing. Not much was happening after I adjusted the camera angle, so I went out in search of "the 14' Hole" that I was supposed to be sitting in. I didn't find it. I went back inside the fish house. Sunfish had moved in. CO Drew came by, and we talked for maybe 5 minutes. After he left, the sunfish kicked around the camera for a bit. No crappies moved in, and I caught a few perch on the Demon/minnow. I think I had the car parked at a good angle because, even when it gusted, it wasn't that terrible. It was cold in that wind once the sun was down.

1Bass 

71YP 

Slower Evening on Erskine 2/19/26

 

High floating sunfish as it got dark

4:12-7:20 PM Erskine 6' and 7' Hole Sets

27-33℉, M Cloudy some sun and snow, 0-6mph N

Had to drill some holes out, others I just pushed through

I slept in late today because I crashed after I got home and ate last night. I didn't see anything, but perch in the 7' hole, so I went to the shallow set. I gave it a solid 45 minutes there and only saw some perch and a couple of small sunfish. I spent the rest of the night at the 7' Holes. Pretty quickly, a pike grabbed the sucker and broke me off because I didn't have the backreeling button pushed, doh! A then shook the Rippin Rap and had a pike come screaming in and stop. I tried a few bites, but couldn't get the fish to go. I put back down a Firetiger Rippin Rap and had a 1lb bass come in quickly, and decided to hit. I got it out of the hole, but then it came off, and back in the drink it went. I didn't even get to touch it. I had a small pod of crappie move in, and I got two of them to bite in quick succession, so I took a double picture. I had a couple more pike move through that didn't bite. I got a few perch and crappie as it got dark. Not a bad trip. A white truck was out on the ice again today in front of the outlet. They were there yesterday as well, and once again left about 45 minutes into my fishing. I forgot to turn at S Platte Lake Drive on my way home, so I had to pull into a driveway to pull a U-turn. And after I got home, I figured out that my Omnia App had my exact location shut off for some reason. I'm kind of an idiot for not figuring that out a few days ago.

1Bass 

5Crips 

1Pike 

2Sun 

17YP

Quick Afternoon On Erskine Lake

 

1:10-3:10 PM NW Flat 6' and 7'

44℉, PC, 2-4mph S

I just had a couple of hours to fish, so I redrilled my holes from yesterday. I started shallow. Perch had invaded the area. I brought up a few perch with the 3" Switch and had a pike send them scrambling to the bottom at Mach 6. The pike took two fast straffing runs. I put a minnow down, and it came in and looked. A pike or two kept the perch and a couple of small sunfish honest. I fished for about an hour and caught no bass, so I went to the deeper holes. Once again, mainly perch to start. I was just about to move back shallow after only perch, but then a pod of sunfish moved in, and a bass came on camera. I put down the Wonder Bread Switch, and it took it, but I had the drag set not quite tight enough, so the hook didn't penetrate. Bass 2 Me 0. I went back shallow for the final half hour and had a stalking pike. I caught perch at both spots. Many perch down there today. I played keep away and bitsies with them. As I came off the lake, King Charles was at the ramp with his owner.

1Bass 

42 Perch 

Valentine's Day On Erskine Lake

 

3:00-7:45 PM 6' 7' NW Weed Flat

31-47℉, PC, 0-4mph SW

Ice Depth 23-26"

I drove to the NW corner weed flat. There were no signs of anybody drilling holes in the immediate area. There were some tracks that went farther North. I should have taken a look, but I am an idiot. I parked and went NW toward the pad line, drilling the first holes a way out, and it was 6/7ish, with sunfish and green curly pond crap beginning to sprout. I wanted to find 9/10ish. I drilled and looked for an hour, as finding sunnies in the second-to-last set of holes 7/8ish. There were perch in most holes. I got tired of drilling, so I drilled a set in both sets where I saw sunfish. I started in the deeper set. I got the camera down and positioned it when I had a big school of crappies, sunnies, and a big bass move in.  I got a crappie on the Switch Wonder Bread and then saw the bass, so I put the Switch down immediately and got the bass to eat, but I didn't set the hook hard enough, and it spit it, doh. Sunfish stayed, and perch stayed, crappie and any bass left. I played with perch and sunfish for a good hour before trying the shallower holes. Had perch to start in the shallow holes. A good-sized pike moved in briefly. Some sunnies joined the perch. I got up to move back to the deeper set around sunset and turned the camera for one last look, and there was a bass right there. So I put a lure back down. Sunfish moved in, but I was intent on going back out. In hindsight, I should have stayed. Out deeper, I missed a couple of crappies, and there were sunnies and perch. I played with the camera angles, getting to the down view too late. When it gets dark, using the most extreme up view is the deal.  I did go back shallow after dark, and also jigged in the other holes as the Vex battery got low.

1Bass 

1Crip 

10Sun 

27YP 

Rock Lake Kind of Sucky Trip

 

4:3-6:15 PM Rock 12' and 17'

30-36℉, M Cloudy, 2-5mph W

I went to my shallow holes and drilled the deep ones as well. Put the camera down, and there was a school of sunfish that came to the camera. Put the Chicken Nugget down and got the camera centered. I was just about to put a Fathead down when a nicepike came on screen. I quickly grabbed the Chicken Rod and the Pike hit. I didn't get the best hookset, and the pike came off after about 7 seconds. The black truck guys drove through to my NE, and the noise scattered the sunfish. It was slow after that. I bailed for the deep holes. I changed the propane on the Little Buddy. I caught a couple of small crappies and had the Vex go wonky and quit. Thankfully, it seems that the battery went bad, not the Vex itself. When I brought it home, I almost didn't figure that out, as the Norsk Lithium was undercharged for some reason. The Vex website said to double-check the battery charge level to make sure it is 12 volts, so I did and found out it was mid-11s. I charged overnigh and the next day, I was good. I had a good battery in waiting. The Vex battery that died lasted a long time.

2Crip 

1Pike 

1Sun 

Slow Night on Rock

 

GPS must have been drunkI caught all my fish sitting in two spots.

4:15-8:40PM 12.5' next to the Caneand 17' NW of the Perm

20-22℉, Mostly Cloudy but visibility was better today, 0-4mph W

I spent a little bit of time with Bean and let Luca and Belle out into the field. I then headed over to Rock. There was a truck at the wheelhouse. I went to my area and drilled the first hole a tad deeper than I wanted. I drilled another one about a yard closer to the cane and called it good, and drilled four holes. I then went and drilled three holes out deep as a backup.  Visibility was a bit better today. I saw a few sunfish swim through and missed a crappie on a fathead. Then I missed a pike because I was screwing around getting the camera out of the hole. I got the camera back down and centered, then almost immediately had a fish blow it out of position. Then I missed a bite on a fathead that I think was a pike that I didn't set the hook hard enough on. While I was trying to get the camera back on track, a big pike swam by. I got the camera recentered, and by now it was getting hard to see the Booyah. I did see the little pike hit it, and I took its picture. I did get a couple of decent crappies on the glow demon/minnow and maybe one small guy, and missed a few bites. It wasn't happening shallow, so I bailed for the deeper holes. I did get into a short flurry after about 15 minutes without much, but then it went back to being slow, so I headed back shallow and ended the night there with a little housekeeping. My phone holder completely broke. I probably landed about 50% of my bites tonight.

12Crip 

1Pike 

Personal Best Ice Pike, Rock Lake

 

4:15-9:00 PM 14.4' jus tout from the Cane

0-20℉, PC, 0-4mph W

I drilled out my holes from yesterday, then drilled two sets of holes closer to the cane. I was a bit of a clown show and drilled the set of holes a littledeeper than I would have preferred in 15' of water. I set up in the set by the cane, and that was the only place I fished. Camera visibility wasn't good.  I could not see past the Chicken Jig. I did see some sunfish. After sundown,t I started getting some crappies. Action was slow, but it never stopped. I did a much better job of catching my bites tonight. I ran out of propane, went and scoped the other sets of holes for life with the Vex and a Trap. I didn't see anything that excited me. I went and got a new propane cylinder for the Little Buddy and got it fired up. I caught a crappie, then had a bit mark stare down the crappie minnow for a good minute before it bit. It was a big pike and put up a great fight, and so I landed my new ice fishing PB Pike, a very fat 29". I caught a few more crappies before calling it a night at 9:00 pm

19Crip 

1Pike 

Terrible Bite to Land Ratio On Rock Tonight

 

4:15-8:05PM 17' East of where I had been fishing by 10' 

18-24℉, Cloudy, 4-15mph NW

I almost didn't go because of a lack of motivation.I set up just a bit to the East of where I had previously set up. There was a wheelhouse SE of the Access, and a hub with a couple of trucks, about 100 yards to the East of me. I got set up, but it was dead and had little visibility. I eventually saw a few crappies move through on the camera. I had the Little Buddy run out of propane just before I caught my first fish of the evening. I started out terribly on landing bites. I missed my first bite, landed the second, then missed six straight bites. I think I missed 70% of my bites tonight. I had lines get tangled a couple of times, and I threw a Custom Jigs and Spins Glow Demon that was only attached to a minnowdown the hole. I had very few pods of fish move through, but once it got dark, I would get a bite every 5 to 10 minutes. It was windy on and off, and windy when I left.  Most fish were 9/10ish. I discovered I don't have to use the boat ramp to get on and off the lake, how novel. I'm an idiot for not having thought of using the south side of the ramp on my own.

19 Crips