“SANDY POND “by Boggey

[nykonsdream]

Arkangel thanks for the tip heading there now

[New Old Guy]

Yo Guys & Gals

As promised , cut a few holes out of WigWam & Ontario Drive.
All holes were 5 inches of slushy snow over 6 inches of good ice. Semi hardened crust over slushy snow made for a very arduous trek out and back. The jet sled will pull easily , but every step is fraught with the potential sinking in. Especially hard for this old Geezer with a bum knee.

Met up with a father and son team from PA. Mike and Mike. They fished yesterday and today before going back to PA. They follow our thread and we’re thankful for the info. Good luck guys.

Yo ArkAngel, glad you met up with family and thanks for sharing the tips on LOTI.

Yo Pequod,
Thanks for the advise my friend. Looking forward to being whole again and considering doing the second knee 3 months later.

Boggey

[Birdslayer]

I fished the pond and Loti this weekend,

Sandy Pond.... I agree 5in of ice on the pond but there are LARGE separations in the ice, gas holes and large 10in auger holes that grew larger with runoff that have skimmed over and are now covered with crusty snow not freezing solid. I thought they would have frozen better with the cold but apparently, they are insulated enough for this to not be the case!! After the first large separation I found with the spud (at least 2' wide and at least 10' long) I had my 5 year old glued to my side the rest of the day! Unsettling to say the least when fishing with a little one! Not that I want to fall in any of them myself, but I worry about him more!! USE EXTREME CAUTION if fishing the pond, it's NOT what it seems!!!

LOTI.... Parking was good yesterday I agree, but that's the first time this year I have not had a problem parking. Some guys had trouble getting back up the hill in the parking lot with trailers and machines because the road is slippery.... not sure they even made it back up because they let us pass by after asking if they needed help. Snow drifts were BRUTAL for walking and not easy for our snow dog. We bogged down several times! Good thing it's light!! Bite was ok we kept about 12 good jumbos after sorting A LOT of dinks. Three toothy critters were taken as well to help save the Perch population and add to our fish fry!! Ice is a solid 12" but I did notice in multiple locations that people are cutting large sight holes that were covered in snow and not quite healed, I narrowly escaped one myself by only having my heal break through and was shocked at the size (2' x 3') when we uncover it. Again, a bit unsettling when you have kids with you. It's not illegal but I don't agree with it because it's dangerous and there are multiple out there!! Cutting Large holes this time of year to see better may seem like a good idea but please think about the potential death trap you are leaving behind for others!!

I'm posting this because I live in Pulaski and fish the pond a lot. I know it well. I cover a lot of ice and may see things others have not. Although I do believe Jim(oldnewguy) cautioned about the gaps, gas holes...ext. skimming over in a previous post. THEY ARE OUT THERE. As such I am traveling over an hour to find better ice like many others, and I feel obligated to warn people about potential problems with "greener pastures". Take it for what it's worth and be safe, even with 12" of ice like on LOTI there are hidden dangers!

[nykonsdream]

As much as everyone else, fished loti today. Even tho this isn’t the loti thread, I take hint to my elders to stay north. Met another Jim out there and showed me the art of tip downs out there. Came back to the cottage and Boggey gave me plenty of meat for the lack of what we caught, we have a plate full plus some now. Jason ordered catch and cook crumbs for fish online I’m hoping to have pictures soon. Thanks again Boggey for the assist


Pat

[New Old Guy]

Yo Birdslayer,

Great post my friend. “A cautionary tale “, well warranted.

Boggey

[WARRIOR_ON_ICE]

Wow, that is just terrible that certain people are so stupid and reckless as to cut 2' x 3' holes in the ice. There is not a good enough reason to justify doing that EVER, on any body of water in any kind of weather no matter how cold it might get the next day or whatever, and it is completely WRONG to do that, knowing that a tragedy could very well result from that. Thanks for letting others know about this. I am glad you and your grandson made it through the day of fishing ( and a successful one at that ) without going swimming.

[trapper2000]

i seen the  big holes  cut on big bay a few years ago .......my suggestion is if you see one  get the  gps  out and  post it here ...i'm not very technical  but others are and  could use it ......

i want to thank  boggy and  bird for  without saying  it letting people  know   the ice is  dangerous  on the  pond  ...use you head  me i read  between the  lines  well i have  no desire  to get wet thank you  gentlemen

[Pequod1]

Jim. One more thing about knee replacement and those pain killer pills I forgot to mention. 
Prune juice will be your best friend!
I’m sure others here will agree.

[basscott99]

Anyone know how the Wigwam area is after the wind last night?

[New Old Guy]

Yo Guys & Gals,

I got a PM from my good friend Oldtimer. Was a bit worried as I hadn’t heard from him all ice season. Joyfully he has been catching and releasing them big bass down in the sunny climbs of FL.

I’ve missed his tales and anecdotes on Oneida. He has assured me we will get together and catch some of those walleyes with shoulders this summer.😁

While on the subject of old friends, I will get to fish with my “friend of long standing”, Joe (the fireman) fisher this coming week. Always a joy and pleasure to fish with one of the true fishing gentleman and guru on Wellesley and St Lawrence river hot spots.

Last but not least is my friend Hunts2long from  Sacandaga  always a storehouse of knowledge, also capable of a tall tale or two. Still hoping to share a spot in my boat and learning some of his hotspots below Northville.


Boggey

[hunts2long]

Boggey, now that covid is somewhat of a thing of the past, you will get that chance to show me how it is done. I thinking early Summer once the warm water patterns set up and before it gets TOO hot, the weather not the catching. Good Luck with the knee....h2l

[New Old Guy]

Yo H2L

Yup, I will try to get all equipment in good running order. The boat, the trailer, the truck and the knee.👍👍😧

[New Old Guy]

Yo Guys & Gals,

Just got back from Goose Bay. I got an invite from my old Friend Dallas. Most kind and considerate. It was a beautiful day. A little cold in the morning, but warmed quickly due to the bright sun and mild wind.

It was one of those days filled with great promise. All my contacts were sayin “the bite is hot at Goose”. Well I am here to tell you that old fishing adage,
“ You should have been here yesterday” comes to mind.

While the weather was fine the conditions were fine, the spirited competition was there, someone forgot to tell the fish to bite hotly. Still, Dallas and I , being stalwart fishing professionals managed to save the day with friendly chatter, not so friendly digs and “my perch was bigger than yours” or “ I caught more than you”. “ Oh yeh, well blue gills don’t count”

Needless to say, I had to let him win. After all, he was my ride home.😚  The ride back home was made tolerable after agreeing the bluegills did count.
Score: Dallas 27 , Boggey 20. When he dropped me off back at camp , I requested a rematch with better definition of what constitutes “ a catch”. I’m not whining, just sayin.

Grateful to have such a good friend. Thanks Dallas

[CNYperchsearch]

Boggey - you may not get your coat back if bluegills don’t count. Just sayin’.

[nykonsdream]

Got my eye on goose bay this weekend I just hope I can do more then Boggey did lolololol

[New Old Guy]

Yo Nykonsdream

Don’t think you got a chance unless you drag me out with you so I don’t have to walk on my bad knee. Other than that, lessons are free. You know that old adage, “ Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. TEACH him how to fish and “ you get the idea? Just sayin.
Boggey

[hunts2long]

Yo H2L

Yup, I will try to get all equipment in good running order. The boat, the trailer, the truck and the knee.👍👍😧

Well, I have a boat and it knows where all the "hot" spots are. I just need you to show me how it is done. As we get closer we will talk more....h2l

[nykonsdream]

Yo Nykonsdream

Don’t think you got a chance unless you drag me out with you so I don’t have to walk on my bad knee. Other than that, lessons are free. You know that old adage, “ Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. TEACH him how to fish and “ you get the idea? Just sayin.
Boggey

Give a man a fish feed him for a day, teach a man to fish……….. and annoy his wife for a lifetime.

Give a man a fish feed him for a day, teach a man to fish………. Get skunked and ask Boggey for some!!!!

Give a man a fish feed him for the day, teach a man to fish…….. takes a loan out for a new boat

[New Old Guy]

Yo Nykonsdream

I like the last one best. New Boat…

Boggey

[New Old Guy]

Yo Guys & Gals
Had a chance to get back on the Pond yesterday. Wish I could give you a glowing report about my exploits, no such report forthcoming.

My younger cohorts texted me with glowing catch reports on Sunday and I, of course being a creature of habit, took the bait. Hook, line and sinker, as it were. Every pun intended.

With Dr. Appointments earl morning, never got on the ice till  noon. I accessed at OntarioDrive, me and about 7 others. The ramp is still in good shape. From here on the report takes a serious down turn.

The weather patterns , warming, snow and over night freezing had left a crusty 1” over 5”s of slush, over 4-5”s of hard ice.

I mentioned my right knee has pretty much given out on me and I have an impending surgery scheduled at the end of the month. That being said, every step had a 50% chance of staying on top or sinking in to the slush. Obviously this made for a very arduous trek out to the honey hole.

After cutting a few holes I settled into a area which turned to crust and slush, but I persevered and went through my normal procedure to assess the bait de jour. After deciding on fat heads as no bites were obtained by spikes, eyes or plastics, the minnow was observed to be the best. Movement or jigging was not appreciated by my wet prey. Just still wiggling fatheads on tipdowns seemed to work and pointedly , not a lot of interest in them as well.

With great persistence and patience , I hung in there for 3 hours to bring in a total of (6) perch and (1) 22” pickerel.
See that, no one scores a touchdown  every time out.

Well, let’s finish this short story. After an equally arduous walk back to the ramp. I conferred with 2 other ice anglers with similar results as I experienced. Hoping to either offer my catch to them or receive a gift from them to make up a full bag, I was disappointed as they threw their catches back and I was left with the chore of getting the cutting board and cleaning paraphernalia out to clean (6) perch. All is well that ends well.

Last nights freeze , 24 degrees, hopefully will be enough to tighten up that slush beneath that 1” of crush ice and let this old grizzly fisherman a less painful trek to and fro the happy honey hole.
Stay safe out there and spud spud spud.
Boggey

[filetandrelease]

 I also had a slow bite up north and all caught without movement

[Greenhornet73]

Just curious how you guys using tip-downs up north are keeping the dinks off? Seems like a lot of running back and forth for slim pickings. Are you using bass shiners instead?

[New Old Guy]

Yo Greenhornet73

Actually, the only time I use tipdowns is when I can’t stir up a bite come hell or high water.
After multiple attempts to jig them up , throwing every conceivable lure and fresh bait with zero attention to my offerings, then and only then do I get the tipdowns out. A weapon of last resort you might say.
Unless you are fishing with the grandkids or kids, depending on your age. Then the tipdowns becomes a primary tool. As you say, chasing them tipdowns is not a recommended method of fish catching for old geezers with bad knees such as me. For the youngins it is great exercise and an invaluable tool for training.

As to your original question, “how do you keep the dinks from biting”. Answer: you don’t. Fishing is a big crap shoot at best. You can move your tipdowns to a different spot if need be. Sometimes it works, some times it doesn’t. Just another tool in your arsenal my friend. No shiners just fat heads hooked behind their dorsal fin so they keep wiggling.
Good luck,
Boggey

[Greenhornet73]

Thank you Boggey, I’ll leave them home then and just have a dead stick in my second hole.  I’d rather sit in my shanty and throw those 3”-ers back without standing up

[New Old Guy]

Yo Guys & Gals,

Thanks Stu, Jigger, Ron, Old Timer and BigBuck for all the venison and Elk meat and best wishes. Thanks for the support. Old Boggey is getting a “knew knee “ tomorrow morning. Should keep me active for another 10 years at least.👍👍🙏🙏

[mr.clean]

 New Old Guy/Boggey may all go well with the knee surgery tomorrow and you have a good post surgery rehab and recovery. Enjoy the game meat .

     Steve

[filetandrelease]

 Speedy recovery jim ,

[wallyworld]

Wishing you a speedy complete recovery!!

[hunts2long]

I was thinking yesterday that the "big" day had to be close. Hope all goes well and look forward to seeing an update....Take care....h2l

[iceman260]

Speedy recovery with the new knee Boggey.