DNR Report for 3 mile and 12 mile ice thickness...

[BojiHawk]

They are saying there are spots on 12 mile that are 6" thick???  As of 1-22-09???    Can this possibly be correct...I did a history of temp for Des Moines from 1-1-09...assuming it was OPEN WATER on 1-1-09....I find this baffling at best...any feedback??  Should I leave my Strikelite at home and bring the spud bar??? 

[Ice_Ninja]

They are saying there are spots on 12 mile that are 6" thick???  As of 1-22-09???    Can this possibly be correct...I did a history of temp for Des Moines from 1-1-09...assuming it was OPEN WATER on 1-1-09....I find this baffling at best...any feedback??  Should I leave my Strikelite at home and bring the spud bar??? 

This is not correct. There is at least 16 inches of ice.  It may be thinner in some areas but last weekend there were trucks driving on it.  The DNR fishing report is not always accurate from my knowledge.  I have seen the same report in a number of cases where it has been the same from week to week.  The fisheries biologist doesnt get the contacts to update the fishing report so they use the same one as the week before.  You are good to go on 12 mile lake for ice thickness. Good LUck

[cubby]

Yeah, I was down there at the end of December and the DNR's ice report was not accurate at all.  You should be fine.  Good luck, 

[BojiHawk]

Thank you gentlemen...hope I'm not wasting gas.  Well..it's never a waste I guess.  I did check out the topo maps and these are very interesting bodies of water.  It will be fun to play the game...

[cubby]

Hey Boji Hawk, I caught a 4+ pound bass on 12 Mile using the chubby darter drop shot rig that you talked about earlier.  It was pretty amazing that he bit the hook with a waxie and not the chubby darter.  It was a great fight, I caught him in about 30 feet of water. We did well on gills and one nice walleye.  Caught some crappie but they were not keepers.  Healthy fish in that lake.  Good luck!

[BojiHawk]

Nice man!  Those dropper rigs are the bomb...but don't confuse them with drop-shot rigs...2 different things.


Happy to hear you had success...I've been trying a new technique...I use chunk of Berkleys "alive" Gulp bait....I just shape it in a very very thin disk...just enough to cover the hook tips so it won't foul, but thin enough to allow easy hooksets.  Amazing how effective it is and you can't jig the bait off the hook...so you can really pump that darter...I'm sold on that rig...for any species.

[icerod]

I was on 12 mile on Saturday,  The ice was at least 16 inches thick.  Many trucks were on the ice.  My brother-n-law and I brought home 42 sunnies all 9 inches.  We had to sort but it was fun, caught one walleye, but lost 2 under the ice. It was a good day.  Little red geo worked well in getting around on the ice.  That was my first trip to 12 mile and I was impressed by clearity of water and fish size.  Thanks for the tip guys.

[whfishman]

Willing to give up any general locations?  Would  like to make it down there this weekend, haven't been down for several weeks now.  Had been fishing the road bed between the 2 middle boat ramps. 

[icerod]

 Sure, we caught them in 25 feet of water,  not to far from the access by the water plant.  We couldn't find fish next to any structure we tried by most all of the trees and stumps. Good luck next week.  Oh ya, they were right on the bottom. I also posted results on the Trip Report  post.

[whfishman]

Thanks for the info Icerod!

[icerod]

Hey no problem, I maybe heading that way again this weekend if wife don't have plans for me   funny on how  that happens a lot LOL.  But any ways good luck down there and maybe see ya guys on Rock Creek on the 14th.