Winchester

[mungo544]

Last time at Winchester I got all my fish while jigging. Today I got all but one fish on tip-ups. Go figure.  Got these plus 2 decent pickerel and a short largemouth. Started at 10 left at about 3:30 when it started to snow. 6" TO 8" OF ICE. Checked out Bantam on the way home. Guys fishing near Litchfield boat launch. Most areas on Bantam should be good for the weekend. 

[MartyMarPlv]

Nice, looks like a good day  Thanks for the report, I’m hoping to hit bantam this year. I’d like to land one of those big pike!

[Hooking]

Thanks for the report, Mungo. I’m heading out for Sunday sunrise so it’s great to hear these spots seem safe. Nice haul today.

[mungo544]

Thanks. There were some bad edges here and there but by Sunday I would guess you will be able to fish anywhere on the lake.

[Hooking]

Good ice on Winchester early Sunday morning with ~5 groups out at any given time. Got skunked unfortunately on small & large minnows, about 100 yards off the boat launch. Lots of wind and wind flags, to the point where I was just resetting flags at the end without giving tugs.  Turns out one of them may have been a bite because when I was packing up, the line was snagged, and after the leader busted off, I reeled in maybe 30 more feet of line than I had put out, so seems like something took it for a ride and got it tangled up. My two takeaways from fishing Winchester in 12-16 degrees plus wind, and 10" of ice, were that a shelter and an auger drill bit are my next buys.

[Dickeymodo]

Had a great day out today. 6 perch and one largie, all jigging on a glow-in-the-dark bibit  I measured 15" of ice, but the top 5" were crappy white ice. Finally got the skunk out of the tent!

[eiderz]

Enjoyed the pics until the last one. Looks like sasquatch just broke in.  

[eddied]

nice

[Ranger275]

Spent the day on Winchester lake today. Probably drilled 20 holes. Hard to tell how much black ice there was. Holes were about 20 inches deep, 6 inches of white/gray ice on top of black ice. At no time did it seem unsafe. Only 4 people on the lake, 1 guy was on a quad. Not a bad day out, 4 crappies and 3 pickerel on minnows in about 8 feet of water. If I didn't have to work I would be back out there this weekend. Hope this helps someone. This time of year bring a spud and check as you go. Be smart and safe!