On Thurs I went to a small back lake north of kingston managed to get out to about 20fow but the ice was a little thin out there, 2.5inches of black. I am very familar with this lake so I was somewhat comfortable but I didnt do much exploring. I wasn`t even willing to risk going the extra 50 ft to the the next drop off that I really wanted to fish. I got 3 fish in 3 hrs but nothing to brag about. No pics from this trip because my F$%&ing iphone battery got cold and crapped out on me. Note to self keep phone in inside pocket next time.
Went out to Battersea Bay today, lots more ice than last week however still some open water in the middle so we could only get out to about 8 fow. Rick,(board member Bigbassmon), and I punched a bunch of holes and checked for life from about 5 fow out to our final spot in 8 fow. We tried a bunch of baits and had set lines with minnow but the fish just werent there. We stumbled upon a few but not the hot first ice action I was hoping for. I think since the lakes still have some open water the fish arent in their winter pattern yet, the open water is warmer and that is probably where the bait is. (at least thats the excuse I am using today).
We walked from lower round lake road and went out about 600M finding a soild 4 inches of black ice with snow and a bit of slush on top. We could see areas that were still open and others that had obviously just frozen so lots of spudding and common sense kept us safe.
Rick managed a dink perch and a bluegill and I only had the one bite, decent perch and you can see in the second pic that he choked the jigging rap. This was my third trip out on the ice this season and although its nice to have 3 trips under my belt by Dec 12th I only have 4 fish to show for it, all perch. Time for the early ice bite to get going!
