Is no one fishing?

[pjmcla]

NO!   Wind here has been "un-tollerable"   .
I know the big blues are cranking up and the white bass are bunching
below the dams and can't put the boat in the water.
All dressed up and no where to go sort of thing.
Have several baits to test - have time now - and Mother Nature is in a fickle mood. 
Did sneek out for a quick - get me some catfish trip - for an old friend and had to hug the south bank there; and back; and could only fish one spot that was sort of out of the wind.  Still was an uncomfortable trip for an old fat man.  Wind, waves, current, try to hold the boat still sort of deal.  Tough fishing.

[Dave]

Nope, had 120 mile an hour winds here. It tore out road signs and threw them into the prairie. I think I'll keep my boat in the garage where it is safe for the winter. I did go craw fishin for some dinner though and that was well worth it. LOL. I'm with you guys, I have a bunch of new colors to try and no where to try them out.

[ctom]

Here in SE Minnesoota this morning we are looking at another day of flag-snapping 30+ mph winds. I went fishing anyhow.

It was almost 50 degrees at 4:30 this morning so I drove down to the Mississippi River in Lake City and danced on the docks for about four hours. The bite before it got light was pretty good. The best action came on a light jighead and one of Keith's [microspins] custom numbers I have him make for me.

The action was pretty much shot by 9:30 so I pulled the plug and came home. I managed 8 crappies....2 in the 11-1/2 inch range, two in the 14 inch range and the rest at 12". Not a single sunfish or gill today.

[Jason]

Those are some nice Crappie.  Keith makes a beautiful bait.

Congrats!

[ctom]

Some people are finding ice to get out on that holds them and those people are doing well on crappies and sunfish. Others are not faring so well.

Ice anglers on Mille Lacs Lake are finding a tough go already this winter. A total of 5 ice rescues have been made to date with the latest coming on Tuesday of this week and involved 12 anglers who got startanded on a large piece of ice that got blown apart. Only a week ago another party with 2 kids involved had to be plucked from the ice for the same reason and 1 hoover craft was destroyed in getting them to safety. On the same lake, many of the large resorts have closed all of their accesses to any form of travel on the lake for the second time this season and reports of large areas of yet to freeze open water are bouncing around now.

In central Wisconsin a 69 year old man went thru bad ice and drowned on Weds of this week.

Here in the southern part of the state we had another day in the mid-40's yesterday and it was still 38 at 10:30 during the weather report last night. 27 degrees right now with the temps sliding downhill all day is the suggestion made by weather officials. We'll wait and see.

Aside from the ice fishing, anglers who are putting boats in on the Mississippi River's pool 4 are doing real well on walleyes and sauger. The anglers with crappie savie are also picking up some dandy slabs too. I have my boat ready and after these holidays pass I'll be slipping it into pool 4 a few times before we get the real cold coming to visit. If its 20 degrees on the ice, its only twenty degrees on the open water too and I'd rather have the liquid mobility than walking on something that I can't trust entirely.

[Denny Welch]

"...and I'd rather have the liquid mobility than walking on something that I can't trust entirely."

Good advice, Tom.

[ctom]

One thing I have found out in my old age is that the boat, while sitting in water, is a lot drier than any form of fishing on the ice. Dry = warm.

[Dave]

  LOL, I am with you guy's on the Ice fishing, especially Tom. Back in the 90's I fell threw the Ice hunting, after experiencing that, there ain't no chance you would ever find me on an Ice patch.

[ctom]

I've been thru the ice 3 times. One just about killed me with the temps at around minus 15 and a mile walk out. Of course this was before cell phones, not that mine would have worked.

On an entirely different path, just hold onto the thought that spring is only 88 days away. 

[Dave]

Great point Tom, 88 days and now counting!

[pjmcla]

Ice of any form -  and me walking on it - are mutually exclusive.  My body mass, knees, back, and behind convinced my brain not to several years ago.  I will take my hat off to those that SAFELY brave the cold and fish when it is below 20 degrees.  Neat way to keep the fish fresh though; just slide them out on the ice.     

[firetiger]

Falling through the ice!  Temperatures with a minus sign in front of them? 

It's 67 degrees and sunny over here.  Only ice is in my glass of tea!   

[ctom]

Neat way to keep the fish fresh though; just slide them out on the ice.     

Nada. If I fish ice at all I use an Ice Well. I just drill an extra hole, slip the mess well into that hole and the fish swim in there until its time to heady on out. If I decide I am not going to want fich to clean I can simply invert the well in the hole and off they go unharmed. I use this same well while fishing docks, shore spots and in my canoe. 

www.Today'sTackle.com will show you the ice well. They come in ( and 7 inch versions. The 7 inch fits snuggly into an 8 inch hole. the 9" model goes in a 10" hole. They are slick.

[Dave]

Tom, it sounds like you've got that ice fish'in figured out. I would of never thought about drilling another one to keep them fresh.

[ctom]

Nothing on this earth is worse than thawing half-frozen fish and then trying to fillet them with all that slime that seems to continue making itself after you wash the fish off. The water temp right under the ice will usually be hoovering right around 34/35 degrees. Kept at this temp while you fish really firms thos fish up but they are still alive, breathing, and healthy as heck. I've seen people drill a hole part way thru and then fill it up with lake water to hold fish on nicer days when that water won't freeze.

Some call ice fishing an art. Some insist that you have to have all the new technology at hand to successfully ice fish. I've been on the ice long enough to know that nothing on the planet can beat experience.

If you came up here for a week during the winter to fish you'd see some interesting adaptations people have come up with to get the job done.