Author Topic: Clark Canyon Ice (Read 5656 times)

ShoemakerBoys · « **on:** Jan 22, 2013, 01:46 PM »

Hey has anyone been to Clark Canyon lately? Curious whats the ice is like, and if there is snow on the ice or if its clear ice? Thanks, good luck fishin everyone!!!

rippinlips25 · « **Reply #1 on:** Jan 22, 2013, 02:24 PM »

Went there a couple weeks ago if i had to guess its 15 inches or better where i fished and not that much snow on the ice

Fishin Friesz · « **Reply #2 on:** Jan 22, 2013, 05:54 PM »

Almost 20 inches of good ice on the lake when I was there a couple days ago...not much snow either...makes those windy days fun

RugerRuby53 · « **Reply #3 on:** Jan 22, 2013, 07:36 PM »

I fish there frequently, and was just out there Sunday night. I was across the dam fishing around the corner from the marina, and there was about 16" of ice, and about 6-7 inches of snow on the ice. No wind though!

ShoemakerBoys · « **Reply #4 on:** Jan 22, 2013, 09:16 PM »

Thanks Guys, will we see any of you there this weekend for the Derby?

PikeDreams · « **Reply #5 on:** Jan 22, 2013, 09:46 PM »

I will be there what is doing well out there as far as fish and lures?

RugerRuby53 · « **Reply #6 on:** Jan 22, 2013, 11:57 PM »

I am pretty sure i will be out there friday night ling fishing. As far as Saturday, probably, unless it snows sometime between now and then... I would then have to take advantage and go to Maverick Mountain and get some snowboarding done!

untouchable · « **Reply #7 on:** Jan 24, 2013, 07:19 PM »

New to the Shanty but will definitely be down there tomorrow night through at least Saturday! Never fished Clark Canyon but I'm always anxious to try new places and meet good people. See y'all on the ice

RugerRuby53 · « **Reply #8 on:** Jan 27, 2013, 05:08 PM »

I was there all night Friday, and most the day Saturday for the derby. I did not do all that well, but had a great time and met some fellow Shanty members from Butte. I even spoke with some guys who came up from Salt Lake! I have never done well on derby day i think due to all the noise on the ice. For those wondering, the ice is in good shape plenty thick (about 18+ inches) edges are soft in places, but there were no shortage of places to get on. I do not trout fish much there, mainly prefer to go after the Ling. I have been fishing around the corner from the marina. I have never tried by the dam, or along the island, but am considering moving around some. Hope everyone that came down had a great time. The weather was wonderful!

ShoemakerBoys · « **Reply #9 on:** Jan 27, 2013, 08:24 PM »

It was a great weekend that is forsure, we caught a few ling. We did catch one that was 4.4lbs, it was fun to fish some where new. Might be heading back again trying a few new things that we've learned.

RugerRuby53 · « **Reply #10 on:** Jan 28, 2013, 11:36 PM »

Glad you had a good time! We had fun also. Could have done without all the noise on the ice (especially the guy racing the sled all over the lake) but on derby day thats to be expected. I saw a few ling get pulled up during the day. I will be back out there soon to give it another try.

RugerRuby53 · « **Reply #11 on:** Feb 02, 2013, 10:02 PM »

The boy and i were out Friday night for some night fishing. The ice conditions have changed some since the derby last weekend. Across the dam, and along the shoreline towards horse prairie, the ice is weak, and interesting to get on and off.. we managed to get our quad on and off, but it was a butt puckering experience! I also heard rumor on the streets that a guy dropped his quad through in about 5 feet of water over by the Lone tree access. Overall once on the ice, it was in good shape and still plenty thick.

Mtfishin · « **Reply #12 on:** Feb 05, 2013, 03:24 PM »

has anyone fished it recently? and any luck?

RugerRuby53 · « **Reply #13 on:** Feb 07, 2013, 08:25 PM »

Mtfish, i will be out there tomorrow after work till bout 10pm.. I will let ya know how things are. I am not sure if i will be able to even get on the ice.. Been pretty warm here all week.

Mtfishin · « **Reply #14 on:** Feb 09, 2013, 12:32 PM »

sounds good, thanks

The Rezerend · « **Reply #15 on:** Feb 09, 2013, 01:06 PM »

I'll be down tonight with family so hopefully we can get out. I'll let people know how the ice is tomorrow. Hope Ruger got out and more importantly, back in safely.

RugerRuby53 · « **Reply #16 on:** Feb 09, 2013, 09:35 PM »

Thanks guys! I made it on and off fine. Shoreline had stabilized since last weekend. The boy (my little fishin partner) had a middle school dance to go to, so i took the old dog out with me. He wasnt as good of luck as the boy, but we did manage to bring in one nice ling. Hope you guys had better luck than me!

Bigskyokie · « **Reply #17 on:** Feb 17, 2013, 12:54 PM »

We used to fish ling and trout at Clark Canyon all the time back in the 60's and 70's, before lack of a job forced us to move to Oklahoma. We tried all over the lake, except for near the warm springs. We could catch up to a hundred ling and put most back down the hole. Some guys would just throw them out on the ice to rot. But after the Fish and Wildlife netted them for transplanting, it was never the same. They filled their nets and left them in the shallows to await transportation the next day. The ling died and they filled their nets again. The numbers did not recover.
Our best spot for ling was in front of the cliffs below the lookout. You had to be in just the right spot to slay 'em. Best bait was frozen smelt that we got at Safeway's in Dillon. Other fish meat worked well also.
Other places that produced well included in front of the cliffs on the island and in front of the cuts on the east side. The east side was best for getting both ling and trout.
A secret for getting BIG browns is to use chicken liver. You will never get a cutbow, but you will get huge browns.
We really miss the ice fishing, but float tubing for crappie when you have to break ice to get to open water is probably a colder experience than fighting that Clark Canyon wind.
Wish we could be up there to fish and visit with you guys (y'all).

RugerRuby53 · « **Reply #18 on:** Feb 17, 2013, 04:38 PM »

Hey BigSky! Welcome! Yeah i am fishing right where you are describing i think... Across the dam and around the corner from the marina. The boy and I were out there Friday night and he had the hot holes! He landed a 30" fish and a few a little smaller than that, then he lost 2 others.. I had only one bite! Back when i was in college here, we use to catch 20 a night.. that was 13 years ago. It kinda seems that you either get a little action, or none. I do like fishing for them though! I never have to worry about the wind as for i prefer to bunker down in the shack! fish all night in a t-shirt!

On a different note, for those wondering the shore line was a little sloppy getting on and off the ice again with a quad. But easily done with a little looking around. Ice was still plenty thick.

RugerRuby53 · « **Reply #19 on:** Feb 17, 2013, 05:00 PM »

Here is Tanner's fish.. He was pretty stoked, as was I

Bigskyokie · « **Reply #20 on:** Feb 17, 2013, 10:16 PM »

Ruger,

That is one nice ling and a very happy-looking young man. My son Jon and I fished there every chance we got. He started when he was 4 (1975) and was one of the best fishermen out there. None of used shanties back then. Most of us just drove our vehicles to our spots. Jon would catch trout up to 8 pounds on 4 pound test. Our catch rate for trout went way up once we quit using jigs or weights. We would find the depth with a weight on the line and set our tiny sponge bobber so the hook would be about 6 inches off the bottom. Pull the line up by hand, take off the weight, put on the bait, drop back down, leave about two feet of slack line. Let the trout take it about 6 inches and set the hook.
We got up there in 2007, used that technique and were the only ones to tear 'em up every time. We met some very nice people and had as much fun visiting (my wife says that's the main reason I fish) as we did fishing. Several people offered to let us use their shanties or drill holes for us, as I only had my 40-year-old hand auger. (Forget the exercise machine. A couple of holes using that auger and you have all the exercise you want.)
For ling, we used heavier line, but the same technique and different baits. Worms, sucker meat, and several types of ocean fish fillets worked well, but smelt was the best.
If you want HUGE ling and can afford it, go to Lac La Ronge in Saskatchewan. We used Camp Kinisoo and their guides to find all of the best places for lake trout and walleyes. The trout holes in the summer have plenty of ling. Just put some belly meat from a pike on a big hair jig, drop to the bottom, and jig it. If you have a guide and he sees the ling (they call them dogfish), he will cut your line. The Indian guides think they are evil. We used Kinisoo's boats and kept the ling, but we weren't allowed to clean them in the fillet shack, as the owner said his Indian fillet women would quit him if they saw a dogfish in the shack. Again, this was in the 60's and 70's. The exciting part: We caught huge ling including a 40 pounder. The owner said they had seen them up to 60 pounds.
Take lots of crawlers if you want all the 6 to 8 pound walleyes you can catch.
If the temperature is up and the trout are in the deep holes, take some super heavy spoons, drop them to the bottom, crank up about a foot, then rip up as hard as you can, drop back, and rip again. Keep repeating. We just killed them that way. The owner said he had never seen anyone catch as many fish as we did.
Tight lines and have fun.

RugerRuby53 · « **Reply #21 on:** Feb 17, 2013, 10:31 PM »

Wow Bigsky! You sure seem to have it down when it comes to hammering fish! If you ever make it down this way again, it would be great to hit the ice sometime! The ling we been catching has been about 30-40 feet of water and using glowjigs with sucker meat. We have caught them dead sticking and jigging. We have not stayed out super late, usually fish from 5-midnight. Back in the day my college buddy and i would bring two cases of beer and end up staying the night! Oh those days were crazy fun! LOL

Bigskyokie · « **Reply #22 on:** Feb 17, 2013, 11:39 PM »

Ruger,

The word "crazy" in your post reminded me of my craziest moment there. We were planning to fish, but the weatherman said we were going to have a very unusual weather phenomenon. That night the temperature would drop to about 35 below and the wind would blow into the 30's. Usually it wouldn't get that cold except when radiational cooling occurred, which means no wind. The other guys said "forget that". When I got in my car, the radio DJ said wind chill was 102 degrees below. I went out wearing seven layers including my snowmobile suit, and three ski masks on my face. I pulled up, opened the door and thought my eyeballs were frozen. After about ten minutes in the car, I got out and kept my back to the wind, drilled a hole, and took forever getting the ice cleaned out. I used the toe of my rubber boot to break the constantly freezing ice. As soon as the smelt got down, a nice ling hit. When I pulled him out, he did half a wiggle and was frozen. Same thing with another ling. I came to my senses and drove back to Dillon. My buddies laughed and said I was lying about fishing. They went out,looked in the back of my rig, looked at each other, and declared me to be totally crazy. Looking back, they were right.

RugerRuby53 · « **Reply #23 on:** Feb 18, 2013, 12:32 AM »

LOL!! Oh man that is classic! Thank god for global warming! Speaking more about crazy, back in the college days while all of us were in a drunken stupor spinning brodies one night out on the ice in the wee hours of the morning, we rolled a truck out on the ice.... I was riding in the back! We got it flipped back over and realized it wouldnt start.. Opened up the hood fixed the loose battery cable and she fired right up! Man those days were wild... Glad i lived through them and settled down...... Some......

Bigskyokie · « **Reply #24 on:** Feb 18, 2013, 04:53 PM »

Glad you made it through also. Otherwise, I would not have seen that picture of Tanner and his fish. Reminds me of pictures with my sons and grandsons. Jon just sent me pictures of some big crappie that he caught yesterday with my hand-tied jigs. He said that of the 7 boats fishing in his part of Rend Lake, he was the only one catching good crappie. One other boat was catching some small fish.
Look forward to seeing you this summer. We come up to help my brother with his haying operations.

RugerRuby53 · « **Reply #25 on:** Feb 18, 2013, 08:22 PM »

Ya, im glad i grew out of the wild phase. Im extremely thankful i lived through it too! Ya i am looking forward to summer. I like to get the pontoon out on the lake and do some carp bowfishing. I also want to try and catch some ling from the boat. (never tried it before) The pontoon boat is great for fishing with all the kids. Its also just great to drop anchor and let them jump out and swim. We have a blast. I completely restored the pontoon a few winters ago. It was a 1968 Crestliner viking and needed a total makeover. A money pit, but now that its finished, it sure offers us a lot of adventures! It would be great to meet up this summer. Who is your brother that you help with the hay? We have 4 draft horses and go through the hay! I might know him!

Bigskyokie · « **Reply #26 on:** Feb 18, 2013, 10:32 PM »

Your posts ring a bell every time. My best friend Chris used to bowfish carp in the 60's. He got huge carp over near Twin. Also, one of my fishin' buddies down here is a bowfisher. He got 93 carp one day last spring at Ft. Cobb Lake. He and his friends eat a lot of carp. Jon (my son) says his best friend's mother scores the carp and then deep fries in super hot grease. He says it is absolutely super. Most people down here can them and make "salmon patties". I'd rather eat crappie or walleye. If I were up there, ling.
Ling from the boat is a lot tougher. Finding schools with electronics and a camera would probably be your best chance. We used to get them occasionally when slow trolling cowbells and a worm. It was funny to see someone who had never heard of a ling catch one and start yelling, "It's an eel!" or "Is that a snake?". We saw several people cut their lines. The first time one of my brothers saw one, he called the college and told them he had a prehistoric fish. They laughed and said he wasn't the first one to make that call.
My brother has a ski boat. He and his tribe do some skiing, but they mostly like to tube. He has video of some spectacular wrecks. He also races snowmobiles, plays king of the mountain, skis at Maverick etc., etc. When he has some free time (joke), he runs a haying business under Hansen Ranches (Craig).

RugerRuby53 · « **Reply #27 on:** Feb 19, 2013, 09:26 AM »

I know Craig, and his daughter Lisa! I am currently remodeling one of Lisa's rentals! I saw them all up at Maverick last Saturday! They are good people! As far as eating carp...... I will pass.... they might be good, who knows... but its just the thought... I tried mountain lion once, and it was actually really good, but i just couldnt get over the fact that i was eating a cat!

Bigskyokie · « **Reply #28 on:** Feb 19, 2013, 12:21 PM »

I heard about that trip. The little girls were beating him down the mountain, so he took the steeper last run down to the lodge. He....his version...had a binding break, causing him to roll down the mountain right in front of the lodge. It was reported that the crowd gave him very high scores for his acrobatic tumbling.
As to eating cats, dog and cat were very popular down here in the mid-eighties. Our daily paper did a poll and had a panel of "experts" rate the best BBQ places in the metro. Tom's BBQ, which was always packed, was the clear winner. A month or so later, the Health Department did an inspection and found that Tom's waste containers out back were full of cat and dog carcasses. Their license was suspended, but they never reopened. It seems that cat and dog are only popular with those who think it's something else.
Well, my float tube and I are going so see if we can find some crappie.

Bigskyokie · « **Reply #29 on:** Feb 22, 2013, 10:53 PM »

Ruger,

You mentioned fishing 30-40 fow. Go further around the corner and get into 80 feet. Just go out from the cliffs until you find the deepest spot. If I remember correctly, that's where the creek ran before the dam was built. Get some smelt from Safeway's. Sometimes we did better with that jig made by a guy there in Dillon. I don't remember a name on the package (got it at Uncle Bob's). It had a heavy glow head, holographic wings, and a double curly tail. We used the smelt on 2 rods with plain hooks and 2 rods with the heavy jigs.
If you don't have great luck, try in front of the cuts on the east side. Fish where those gullies come down between the cuts.
Good luck to you and Tanner.

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Author Topic: Clark Canyon Ice (Read 5656 times)