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OK, so at the risk of revealing my "Boomer" age I can't help but laugh at the news reports of the coldest windchill ever experienced by weather forecasters and local news reporters. May be it's true for them because they are so much younger than me. Seriously though in my lifetime have seen much colder Temps and windchill. Worst and coldest was while ice fishing Chamberlain Lake in the Allegash in late January 1980, standing temperature of -32 degrees Fahrenheit with 35-40 mph winds and windchill well below -70 degrees Fahrenheit. Coldest Temps ever experienced in my life. How about some of you old timers sharing some of your experiences with serious cold?
Striper nut, you're insane. How do the holes not just instantly freeze? And when your eyes are freezing crap, that's nature's way of telling you you done f'ed up!
Funny you should mention that the first spot I tried that day was a big pool on the Millers River that I had pulled some big holdover trout out of in early spring. So the ice was safe and I cut a couple of holes (6"-7" ) and start scooping out the shavings, and I kept scooping and scooping... I was never able to clear any of the holes in that pool as the river was freezing about 50 yds upstream where there was open water and it was a river of slush flowing under my feet! I was just going to jig that spot and never could get a jig through the slush to any open water that I assume was under there some were... The next spot I fished that day was below a dam and I did need to stay on top of the holes, but as I was not in a shelter it was easy enough. The first fish I got was a nice yellow perch that froze (the outside of it) in front of my eyes like it was a cartoon when I pulled it out of the water. The next fish was a nice smally (my first thru the ice) and I pulled it out and put it inside my coat as I unhooked it, then released it... Later I broke off a big fish on a tip-up, another first (most likely a pike). It was an interesting day of fishing and one that I would most likely not do again (without a shelter of some type). The ice on my eyes was because I had to ride a bike to work, you got to do what you got to do and I was fine otherwise...[/quoteAnd to this day, they say Striper was never quite the same.
On the ice this morning…
Quote from: TheCrittaC on Feb 03, 2023, 10:11 PMColdest I've fished was opening day in Maine in... 2018? The truck said - 28 when we got there and as soon as you stepped outside, the mucus on the inside of your nostrils froze. There wasn't any wind and we layered up so it wasn't too bad. We probably wouldn't have gone if the winds were as bad as they are now.
Coldest I've fished was opening day in Maine in... 2018? The truck said - 28 when we got there and as soon as you stepped outside, the mucus on the inside of your nostrils froze. There wasn't any wind and we layered up so it wasn't too bad. We probably wouldn't have gone if the winds were as bad as they are now.