Ice season done

[FreshwaterPhil]

Was hoping to catch the tail end of the season after a short trip to Florida couple weeks ago, but record setting heat wave followed by lots of rain got rid of what little ice we had left. I'll leave you with some shore fishing pics from sunshine state instead...







This was my shortest season in over a decade, only ended up doing 8 ice outings, when I normally reach about 20 or so by the end of March. Mainly due to lack of ice, and busy schedule.

Looking forward to some float tube fishing and carping to end the month. Hope you all have a great open water season, see y'all next fall.

[SLAYERFISH]

Nice shark, Dude!  Did ya pet it?

[FreshwaterPhil]

Nice shark, Dude!  Did ya pet it?

Ya, but no kiss this time.

[backwoodswalker]

Glad you got to do some fishing. It's been done for me for awhile. Ice just too bad. Some lakes wide open. Went to Florida a few times when I was otr. My feet just don't fit that ground. I love winter. Think I will start getting boat ready this weekend. Sunny and 63 right now. Unbelievable
 Steve

[FreshwaterPhil]

Glad you got to do some fishing. It's been done for me for awhile. Ice just too bad. Some lakes wide open. Went to Florida a few times when I was otr. My feet just don't fit that ground. I love winter. Think I will start getting boat ready this weekend. Sunny and 63 right now. Unbelievable
 Steve

South Florida is great from December to early May. I can't stand intense heat, but when you have so many crazy fishing options in both fresh and saltwater side by side, it's hard to beat. My daughter lives in North Miami beach, so I have a a place to stay within short driving distance of just about all the open water fishing I can think of.

Back to reality here, did a coupe open water outings, one in waders, and another on my float tube today. Some small pike and bass. Hope to get out for some carping next week, possibly troll Champlain for lakers if weather permits and my friend with suitable boat is up to it.

[DowneastPescador]

Some nice fish. 8 is about how many times I get out a season these days as well.

[FreshwaterPhil]

Some nice fish. 8 is about how many times I get out a season these days as well.

Yes, glad my shore fishing themed trip worked out. First time in a while I've been to Florida without getting out on a boat. Exploring a freshwater canals near my daughter's place on foot was tough, but ended up paying off on my last day. Those 2 freshwater pics were back to back fish, after a few days of getting mainly smaller ones.

[Raquettedacker]

Nice job Phil ✌️✌️✌️

[mr.clean]

 FreshwaterPhil, thank you for sharing the photos , I maybe wrong but it looks like you are holding a peacock Bass in the one photo. I did not know that there was a population of the species in the United States.

May you have a good open water fishing season.
  steve

[FreshwaterPhil]

FreshwaterPhil, thank you for sharing the photos , I maybe wrong but it looks like you are holding a peacock Bass in the one photo. I did not know that there was a population of the species in the United States.

May you have a good open water fishing season.
  steve

Yes, peacock bass. Mayan Cichilds got into many South Florida waterways, and I believe the peacocks were put in to control the population. Pretty much every freshwater canal in the Miami area has them now. Saved me a trip to the Amazon rainforest

They also have a huge explosion of snakeheads a bit further North and into everglades, as well as iguanas and pythons, to the point where the state is paying bounties on them to try to eradicate them. One of my backup "retirement plans".

[mr.clean]

Freshwaterphil thank you for answering my question . learned something did not know Florida had invasive fish problem to go along with the lizard's and pythons.

  Steve

[FreshwaterPhil]

Freshwaterphil thank you for answering my question . learned something did not know Florida had invasive fish problem to go along with the lizard's and pythons.

  Steve

Personally, I think peacock bass is a good problem to have Ditto for snakeheads, but most purists will disagree.
Some states try to eradicate muskies and pike, others hate bass. Go figure.

[mr.clean]

 Yes it is interesting to see what different states consider invasive species and treats to their fisheries .

 Steve

[FreshwaterPhil]

Yes it is interesting to see what different states consider invasive species and treats to their fisheries .

 Steve

My in laws had a place in the rockies in Southwest Colorado. State killed off a couple of nearby lakes, one was overrun by small bass, the other had all sorts of trout, and they turned it into a cutthroat only lake. I think Maine has something about not releasing muskies, and I know California has killed off some trout lakes that had pike introduced.

[RuralMT]

My in laws had a place in the rockies in Southwest Colorado. State killed off a couple of nearby lakes

This is common practice in the Rockies, Montana included. If there are hybrid cut-bows in a system, they try and eradicate them with rotenone to allow for pure cutthroat to reestablish themselves. While I agree with the goal behind such endeavors (preserving strongholds for pure genetics) it can get frustrating. There's a lake up Hungry Horse Reservoir that pumped out 20" + grayling and cutbows with regularity. They poisoned it several years back