Dawson Lake Ice Report

[lobhater]

Headed out last night after work to Dawson lake and fished from about 5-7:30. Really just wanted to check the ice and zone out for a little bit. Found 3-4" of really white, bad ice on top of about 4-5" of decent to good, clear ice. Kind of scary when you can jump and see cracks shooting out through the bad ice. Did a lot of testing and felt comfortable enough but am really glad the snow is off the lake and the next few nights should build a good foundation. Marked a lot of fish, not as aggressive as they had been and caught some small crappie. Missed a couple of flags, pretty sure they were state record saugeye messing with me but I cannot prove that (please let me think what I want!) Anyone else been out? Any reports?

[ratsotail]

Headed out last night after work to Dawson lake and fished from about 5-7:30. Really just wanted to check the ice and zone out for a little bit. Found 3-4" of really white, bad ice on top of about 4-5" of decent to good, clear ice. Kind of scary when you can jump and see cracks shooting out through the bad ice. Did a lot of testing and felt comfortable enough but am really glad the snow is off the lake and the next few nights should build a good foundation. Marked a lot of fish, not as aggressive as they had been and caught some small crappie. Missed a couple of flags, pretty sure they were state record saugeye messing with me but I cannot prove that (please let me think what I want!) Anyone else been out? Any reports?

Lobhater,

Thank you for the intel on the ice conditions for Dawson...much appreciated. With no real snow forecast for a while things should just get better. I am sure one of those missed flags had to be the saugeye to break Evergreen's record...no doubt  ! What section of the lake were you fishing...if I may be so bold? I am hoping to make the trek north for a weekend of fishing; I'm not sure what days as yet since Saturday looks to be a brutal day on the ice without a shelter (High of 10 and low -1).

tight lines,

Jeff

[lobhater]

Hey Jeff, I was fishing the south end of the lake near the levee. Marking a lot of fish when the sun went down and pulled up about 10 crappie but nothing to write home about (mostly 8-9"ers). I may try to venture out early Saturday morning as I have not been out in the AM yet this year but am going to wait until Friday to make the call. If you are interested, shoot me a message and we could possibly meet up out there this saturday or  some other time, I have an extra pop up shack that is easy to bring along and works well for 1 or 2 guys so even if I have someone with you would be welcome to use that.

Josh

[COPPERDOG]

Thanks for the ice report.

Brian

[ratsotail]

Hey Jeff, I was fishing the south end of the lake near the levee. Marking a lot of fish when the sun went down and pulled up about 10 crappie but nothing to write home about (mostly 8-9"ers). I may try to venture out early Saturday morning as I have not been out in the AM yet this year but am going to wait until Friday to make the call. If you are interested, shoot me a message and we could possibly meet up out there this saturday or  some other time, I have an extra pop up shack that is easy to bring along and works well for 1 or 2 guys so even if I have someone with you would be welcome to use that.

Josh

Josh,

That is an incredibly nice offer....much appreciated. In the interem I pleaded/groveled with one of my buddies who has a Scout and Scout Pro he wasn't using (Thanks Ken). He is letting me use the Scout so I'm good to go. I'm still leaning towards fishing Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday morning, but will make the final decision Friday based on weather outlook. I can't wait! Have you ever fished Evergreen or Bloomington with success?? I hope to see you Fatfenders and OneIcehole this weekend! I will be recognizable wearing a brand spanking new (black & blue) Ice Armour suit and lugging a borrowed Scout behind  !

Cheers,

Jeff

[spcsports]

Are you talking about Dawson lake at JESP?

[ratsotail]

I'm unfamiliar with what JESP means, but the lake I'm referring to is within Moraine View State Park. Hope that helps.

Jeff

[spcsports]

Thanks Jeff. I'm talking Dawson Lake at Jim Edgar State Park.

[grizzlyg2]

are there any bait shops around leroy?

[fatfenders]

He, Jeff. Can't tell if my private messages are going through. I should be able to join you Monday and maybe also Sunday evening if you decide to do some night fishing. Let me know!

Kevin
 

[ratsotail]

He, Jeff. Can't tell if my private messages are going through. I should be able to join you Monday and maybe also Sunday evening if you decide to do some night fishing. Let me know!

Kevin
 

Hey Kevin,

I got your PMs and responded (albeit late  ). I'll be up Saturday afternoon to get set up for some night Crappie off the dam. Then fishing Sunday, Monday and maybe even Tuesday morning. Several others from the board are considering an ad hoc meet and greet throughout those days. If anyone from the board wants to sync up, pop some holes, and swap stories this weekend on Dawson just look for a blue and black Ice Armor suit and a blue Scout shanty; I'd love to expand my network of addicted ice fisherman  !

Cheers,

Jeff

[DaWakoKid]

Dang! Wish I would have checked the board before heading out. Drove by Dawson (kind of) this morning with a couple buddies on our way out to my family's private lake. Ended up with 3 bites all morning and 2 fish landed. Still had a good time which is all that counts in my book. Ice was between 6 and 9 inches on the spots we fished. About 3 inches of clear stuff with the rest milky on top. How did you all do?

[ratsotail]

Fished Saturday night by the dam with fatfenders (in his Igloo)  and we had fun with some crappie at night. Got a late start Sunday morning and caught the tail end of a crappie and bluegill bite. Spent the rest of the day drilling through 10-12" of ice seeking fish. Early in the afternoon I had a big school of channel cats that kept me busy. Returned to some holes I fished earlier in the day before evening and caught some Crappie and one nice Yellow Perch, which was cool. Back at it tomorrow!

[DaWakoKid]

Sounds like a heck of a lot more fun than the 2 dink gills that we iced all morning.

[teamflannel]

are there any bait shops around leroy?

Ol' Joes in Dewitt would be straight east of Wapella and on your way to Dawson. The Casey's and gas station on rt.150 curve in LeRoy has wax worms in those little bait fridges, more often than not they are black, and a little fuzzy, but with all this ice are probably
long gone.

[fatfenders]

Wax worms are always a good choice but be prepared to go smaller. I split away from Jeff and Randy for a bit Monday to try the spot by the dam we fished Saturday night. Another fisherman set up about ten feet away in a shelter. He was using wax worms and Gulp 1" fry. Said he was getting skunked marking a lot of fish but they would just sniff. I had better luck landing several bluegill, bass and crappie. Nothing big enough to brag about, though. I was using the Gulp euro larvae on a small teardrop jig. It comes in five maggot sized sections you can pinch off. I will sometimes use three and rig it wacky style for some good action. But I was down to one section Monday. Your mileage may vary.

Good luck!

Kevin