IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
IceShanty Main => General Ice Fishing Chit Chat => Topic started by: Barleydog on Nov 01, 2003, 06:23 PM
-
Well everyone, it was time for the first day of ice fishing today! I had awaken before the alarm sounded with the excitement of a child at Christmas. Cruised down to one of the local lakes and met up with a buddy from work. We drilled four holes and started jigging enjoying the first rays of sunlight. Within 10 minutes the first fish tore through our lines and the excitment of the season had begun! ;D We had caught and released about 20+ fish, in about 2 1/2 hours. Everything from Rainbows (12-17"), Arctic Char (12-15"), and some landlocked Coho (the size of a good sized cuban cigar.) I had only kept 4 fish for dinner, (all the bleeders that grabbed the jig while I was sippin' coffee) and released the rest for another day. I often wonder "why" I get so wound up prior to the opening of ice fishing, well I think that question was answered today ;D You gotta love this sport! I hope these pictures are a little incouragement for you all in the lower 48! Get excited, because the start of season is just around the corner! ;) - Barleydog in Alaska
First photo is a 17" Rainbow
Second is a typical Arctic Char
Third is a rainbow doing a "turn and burn" just under the ice
(http://www.sharemation.com/barleydog/opener9.jpg)
(http://www.sharemation.com/barleydog/openchar.jpg)
(http://www.sharemation.com/barleydog/turnburn.jpg)
-
Very nice BD :o I am so GREEN Love that shot of the fish in the hole, really get's me pumped for the season to get under way. :'(
-Scott
-
Sounds like an awsome day, unfortunetly it was like 70 today. :o Oh well Bring on the hardwater. Flaggg!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Evan
-
Way to go Barleydog!!!!!! What a awesome day on the ice!! Nice pics.
We are getting closer, here in Mn, 18 degrees this morning, never got above 30.
-
Whos up for a ROADTRIP! Are those char landlocked or is this a reservoir? I always thought they were a pelagic(my mom would be so proud of me) species. Or are they anadromous(geez, is my mom missing out)?
-
Yeah, rub it in BD! :P
Hard to tell from the picture, so how thick is that ice?
-
BD, You're killing me I tell you, killing me!!!
-
Thanks for the pics Barleydog! Fire's me up big time... 2 months is a long time but like you said, it's well worth it when you finally get out. I'm going to the Buffalo NY area next weekend for some steelies, browns, salmon and lakers (C&R of course), open water fishing. If I wasn't pumped about that, then knowing hardwater is right around the corner would get me pumped as well. Hard to believe though because in MD we had temps near 80 today... ugh...
-
Folks, Thanks for the complements! Going out again this afternoon for the night bite. :'(
Mr. Seaguar, The local char have been planted by the state. They are reared in a hatchery and planted in the summer. We have both anadromous and pelagic char, but the travel for the ocean go'ers is quite a distance! I have caught quite a few big Char in some of the local lakes. We boated 2 Char over 13 lbs. this summer, and quite a few over 10 lbs., (state trophy certificates are given out for fish over 10 lbs. or catch and release of 31".) The fish are actually BEAUTIFUL in the fall, beginning in August. Most have bright orange bellies, dark green tops with pink dots, and "usually" the males are hooknosed with orange colaration. Anyways, the state informed me that the larger char do spawn and reproduce in some of the state lakes. The state does an excellent job managing the char population and we are pretty thankful. ;D
Here is a couple fish my son and I caught last summer. These were the last fish we had kept, we now pursue catch and release trophy certificates instead.
(http://www.sharemation.com/barleydog/chars.jpg)
-
BD- the picture of you and you son is what it is all about.What a great shot. My oldest is a freshman in collage this year and I miss him already. My only comment is the hat. If you need me to send you a Bears hat I would be more than willing to help you out! LOL.
-
Nice fish barleydog you "DOG" like just about everyone else. Here in Ma. it will be a while. MId Dec. at the earlyest.
-
barleydog, boy are you making me turn green. I passed by a fishing hole on the way to church to day (there was some ice on the edges)99.999999% open water. hope that changes soon ;D
-
Barleydog,
By JDM, " My only comment is the hat." I agree! ;D What a Great Hat! 8) When you look at 90% of my fish pics it's a Green Bay Packer hat. 8) The pics look great, keep the fever goin.
Mike
-
Great pics Barleydog. Glad too see someone out on the ice so soon! :) Those are some nice fish. Keep em' coming.
P.S. Your hat sucks..............go Bucs. ;)
-
Dat name should be "LUCKY DOG" were still a long way from ice here is southern Mich. Thanks for sharing it sure looks great! That smile on your little boy's face say's it all!
-
Awesome Picks!!! Got a Mulie doe on Friday so my hunting season is finished and I'm ready for the hardwater. We are having some great cold weather here in Alberta so hopefully all going well we'll be walking on hard water in about two weeks (Knock on wood!)
Keep the pics coming.
-
Nice fish barley,still a good month or so for M.A. ice,but seeing pics like that has definitly got me pumped and ready to go. :'(
-
Looks like the weather here took a turn for the worse! :( It was 38 today and yesterday with light rain. May cool down by Saturday?
JDM- Kids are great company out on the water. Funny thing watching them grow soooo fast in front of you! My youngest is a die hard! Oldest likes the snacks we bring out and telling stories to other fishermen on the shore, (kind of like his dad eh!)
Panfish2- the ice "was" 5 inches
Mike- Ah yeah, the Packers are my team. You know if your born and raised in Wisconsin, your either a Packer fan or you don't follow football at all. Ya gotta like the way the Packers handeled the Vikes on Sunday night. The intro to the game was right on the money. The Packer fans hackin' on the Vike-queen fans and visa versa! I loved that introduction, well done!! Hope the Vikings owners don't move the team to L.A., just to great a rivalry ;)
-
Barleydog What untel next Mon nite you'll want a Green Eagles hat. (LOL). Is that a 90 HP auger in the back ground of that one pict. Nice fish. ;D
-
Barley Dog,
Yeah, that intro was right on target, I like the fact that the rooks didn't see the big deal. That was such a big win and it was in the Dome too. I got cheese in my veins. On another note, don't feel too bad about your warmup, it was 79* here in Philly yesterday. Love the pics and keep them kids fishn, they will always remember those good times outdoors with their dad, I do!!!
Mike
-
Barley Dog, Glad to hear you have "broken the ice" on the season. I gotta tell ya, I am very envious of you! Thanks for the tease.
-
Finally got through the ice today. It was only for a couple hours, and it wasn't nearly as productive as Barleydog's first day(nice pics Barley), nevertheless I finally got out. Here was what I was doing only a couple short hours ago...
(http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid87/p32fa8d1842942fd6c11bbcf53dca8f09/faa49299.jpg)
(http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid87/p3383f83b0a257a2cf59eb5dfd16cfc43/faa49298.jpg)
(http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid87/pc905a59097434d5c01be17b7fb7cdb1d/faa49297.jpg)
-
i hate you Trevor!!! ;) ;) Our resevoirs are still wide open down here and we have had 10 days of solid -20 can you believe that? Good on ya bud!!
-
That's odd, we only had about 6 days of -12 and three inches of ice. Can't wait for the larger lakes to freeze.
Vancouver you are still luckier than most of the guys, you are only a few hours away. Give it a week you'll be through the ice...
-
Yeah but Van doesn't that get ya fired up! I can't wait and these guys aren't making it any easier...but keep the pics coming anyways;D
-
BarleyDog,
Those pretzels are makin me thirsty!!!!!
Looks like you had a great day. Not too far away from "walkin on water" here in Montana as well.
Thanks for the encouragement...and jealousy!!! :)