Gull lake

[smeltbuster]

smeltbuster thats not a half bad idea Jeff and I will have to try that next year doubt it will fly with the women, but worth a try none the less. as for lucky Bob and Ed,  I dont know how any of you caught any fish sounded like you were having way to much fun over there to be catching , although I watched Ed pulling them in left and right, maybe thats why we didnt do so great {to busy watch him instead of watching my pole}anyway had a great season this year , and enjoyed the time we spent together hope we meet again soon. happy fishing

Fishing w/ Bob, is just plain fun, because you know he is going to outfish you (usually 2X the #) . Him & Ed are so bad at lying to each other , it sounds REAL ! Bob is also an excellent cook, he bought out a huge platter of fried smelt,  & while we dropped our lines down, we would grab one & eat it real quick ! Bob always says "I'm just Lucky"!,  yeah right, your a good cook, great smelt fisherman, & a pretty good liar, ooopps, I almost forgot, one of the nicest guys around, as long as you don't spud him in   . icepick454, see ya on FB, & hoping to get together soon. 

[dutch3376]

Just curious if the ice is still holding up or did the last few days take its toll?

[smeltbuster]

Work permitting, I will try to check the ice on the lake, on Wed.,  It might be Thurs., if I don't get out early enough. Honestly, I believe, w/ the warm temps, we are done  chasing smelt , but I will still try to check it out. As of right now, work is getting in the way of fishing, but, as a retired scoutmaster, I will " Do my best", to get the ice conditions  on here .

[Able2fish]

I'll be checking the conditions tomorrow morning on gull.. Will post what I see out there. Hoping north end still accessible. If so it'll be the last trip till soft water. Seen guys out there today still

[dutch3376]

Thanks!  Any info would be appreciated.  Wouldn't mind trying one more night if it's feasible.

[marakey]

I'll be checking the conditions tomorrow morning on gull.. Will post what I see out there. Hoping north end still accessible. If so it'll be the last trip till soft water. Seen guys out there today still

Did you get a chance to check the ice, Thanks for any reports

[smeltbuster]

OK, so here is my report on what I found this afternoon, just before 5:00 pm,. It is not  looking good on the north end. I could not get to safe ice, w/ my knee boots, however, Smelt jr. said there were 3 guys out there, last night. You might be able to get to good ice w/ waders, but I'm not that crazy ! Baseline rd., I waded out to knee deep water , & my spud went through, about 4" of honeycombed ice, w/ 1 whack. I did see 3 people out in front of Ross Twp. park, several hundred yds. from shore. On south bay, there were guys on the ice, working on docks. At 2nd. bay, I seen a guy fishing at the north part of it, where it gets skinny. I walked out ,off the dock at the salon, & drilled a hole, there was about 10" of good hard ice. I did not go farther, because I was by myself. As of now, I am going to try to fish 2nd. bay, on Fri. night. My son also seen 2 guys on the bible conf. , yesterday. What ever you do, please be careful & use common sense. I am just sharing, what I found.

[dutch3376]

Thanks for the update smeltbuster.  Sounds like it's time for me to put my ice gear away 'til next season.  Stay safe if you go out.

[Smeltman]

Thanks Smeltbuster for  report    maybe I will head down there for one last outing  just don't want to be only one. Just wish northend was fishable.

[marakey]

Thanks Smeltbuster for  report    maybe I will head down there for one last outing  just don't want to be only one. Just wish northend was fishable.

I'm going tonight, I will report in the morning, Thanks to everyone that has given ice conditions

[icepick454]

going to have to start calling you smeltaholic instead of smeltbuster. be careful Phil 

[smeltbuster]

 

going to have to start calling you smeltaholic instead of smeltbuster. be careful Phil 

Well, I just got home, & its not even 7:00 p.m.. The ice was just too unstable for us to go out . Still about 8", but the top 5" was junk. Not worth taking a  chance on a polar plunge ! Icepick, that's what my family calls me  .  I am going to get the "Toon" out tommorrow , & get it ready to do some Icebreaking in a week or 2 , on the north end, & try that, for smelt.  I am really sorry if my report from last night caused some folks to make the drive to Gull, tonight. The last 24 hrs. have really messed things up.

[Smeltman]

Thanks again for phone call Smeltbuster letting me know not to come down  . I was pretty bummed out though was looking forward to last trip on the hard water, season ended way to soon  . I am liking the warmer temps. Just wish we could have both. . Just have to wait till next year i guess  . Just remembering had my truck out there 2 weeks ago how quick it turn to crap  . The guys at work are going to be bummed no more smelt dinners till next year. If you need someone to join you on the Toon to try and get some smelt let me know Smeltbuster  . I will be calling you to fish for the Coho's  . Take care all  . see you on the hard water next year.

[marakey]

Here's your report, fished the north basin last night, 8" of ice but just like smelt buster said, it is rotten, 3 cranks with the hand auger and through like butter, slayed the smelt, caught over 300, lots of doubles, I'm done until next year, it was a spooky walk in at 2:00 a.m.

[smeltbuster]

Way to go ! That ice was just to bad for me. Anyone else out there last night ?

[smeltbuster]

 Smeltman,  you will probably be in Florida, when I am tryin to bust rotten ice, w/ the "Toon" ! I will give ya  a call though.  Looking forward to some  spring coho trolling, W/ ya. Have not done that in a long time. Alaska, spoiled me, on eating  great lks. salmon. Hoping to get some, to smoke & grill . The smelt gear is not put away, just yet, so this thread may have some really weird posts about ice fishing on a pontoon  .  . Just have to see how everything works out. I am also going to work really hard at getting pics. of "The Run", in Prarieville  creek, in the next few weeks. Hoping Smelt jr. can help me out.

[matt93pgt]

What happened to the smelt factory, no listings on ebay anymore