Erskine Lake On The Day Depression Set In (2/26/26)

 

She dead!

First drop, only crip of the trip

3:30-6:30 PM 9' Holes and 6' Holes

33-41℉, PC, 0-6mph SSW

The trip started with the Aqua-Vu Micro giving up the ghost. I drilled shallow holes, then started in the 9-foot holes from yesterday. As soon as I had the rods out of the case, there was a good mark about 3' off the bottom, so I sent down the Cubby and the mark rose to meet it. It was a small crappie. The only one I would catch for the trip. There were perch and sunfish down there. I sight fished and tried line watching, but was too impatient. I went to the shallow holes. I got perch and saw sunfish. I also saw a bass that saw me and backed away. I had something hit the size 5 Rippin Rap and come off quickly. The area died, so I went back to the 9-foot  holes and finished the night there. I got a few perch and lost something quickly on the Rippin Rap. Depressing to not have the camera.

1Crip 

1Sun 

41YP 

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 

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 

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 

Last Trip of 2025, Rock Lake

 

2:30-7:00 PM NW Corner and My Area

28-34℉, Cloudy, 0-4mph S

I arrived at the lake a little after 2:30 PM. The Permanent Crew of 3 was heading off as I was just about underway. A fair number of people are fishing out from the sunken island. I headed to the NW corner to search with the Aqua-Vu. It was a bust. At about 3:50, I finally sighted a sunfish off the weedline and a couple of perch in the next hole. That wasn't going to cut it, so I headed for the holes I used last night. I drilled new holes because the wind was out of the south. It turned out that it was unnecessary as the wind died as it got dark. I got set up and had some little crappies move in. It wasn't happening, so I drilled a couple more holes to the North and checked them along with some other holes drilled today.  Not much, so I went back to where I was set up after drilling another three-set closer to the Perm. I caught a  22.5 pike on the Cubby and missed a bite or two. I went to the other Three Set and caught a sunfish and a small crappie there. The crappie looked forever, thought for sure it was going to be a sunfish. I missed a few other bites, with one being on the Glow Demon and a minnow. I would have stayed longer if it wasn't so dead. Everybody was off the lake by the time I was packing up.

4Crip 

1Pike 

1Sun 

Gator And Silver Bullheads

 

14" Cubby/minnow

Choked it

13" Demon/minnow

25.5 Swim Shad

Rock Dock Not In

6:30-7:45 AM GOMH SW

34℉, PC, 0-3mph NE

Water Low Falling

I got a bite in the current that got off. The very next cast was a small gator. I got one more 23" gator a while later. I think I had something pull down the bobber right before Dad called. Because of that, I ended up leaving a little later than planned. I did get the car back in time for Mom to get to her hair appointment in Pierz.

2 Gator

5:00-11:00PM SW NE GOMH, Rock & Bulldog, SW GOMH

48-53℉, PC, 0-3mph

First evening stop at the GOMH. Nobody came around. I got a 25.5" gator on my only bite on the SW side. I briefly fished the NE side and had a small gator swirl on me.

2 Gator

Rock & Bulldog

There was some really small baitfish shallow at Rock. Rock Dock is not in yet. A few swans flying around. I did briefly fish at Bulldog, before heading back to the GOMH. No life at Bulldog.

Back at the GOMH:

Nice pink sunset. I missed three hits on the dogfish tackle. I got out the lighted bobber and quickly caught a 14" Slabber Bullhead. A couple bullhead fishermen showed up and fished the N side. I was just about ready to head out at 9:45 pm when I finally got another bite. From that point on I got a bite every 5 to 10 minutes until I ran out of minnows. I got a 12.5" and a 13" going 3 for 8 on bites. I was a bit rusty.  Also, a bow fishing boat blinded me so I missed my final two hooksets. I could not get a bite on just a glow Cubby. When the Bow Fishing boat came around I put my sunglasses on. They headed back into Platte as I was packing up. I shined two golden bullheads on the Platte side and one bullhead in the rocks on the Sully side.

3 Slabber Bullheads

 

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