CJ

[66birdman]

Doesnt really matter now.  I was out at CJ today and from the looks of it there is 1 maybe 2 days of access left on that ice.  Its goin away fast.

[Lifesgood]

This message is mostly for 66birdman and the others who are upset about the 4-wheelers breaking up the ice on the 8th. I and my party of 5 others were the ones with the 2 atv's. There was one other atv out there but I do not know who they were.
I just want to apologize to you guys for screwing up a good thing. I have ice fished some but this was the first time out this year and the first time ever on cj on hard water. Two of our guys were brand new to anything outdoors and one could not have physically walked out there.
I have fished magic and cascade quite a bit in years past and always saw snow mobiles and atvs out and so never even gave it a thought that it would be an issue. For that I am sorry. I am going to try to go one more time to cj if the ice holds but we will not take the atvs. I respect your opinions and want to keep a good thing going as long as nature allows without being the reason you all can't get out there.
I have not been called an idiot, stupid or lazy very often in my life but the one that really got me was being called "middle aged". Oh its true, but life really sneaks up on you doesn't it?    Hey guys, great fishing and thanks for the heads up. Maybe I'll see you out there and say hey!
If ice is good I want to try again Thursday but I'll make sure I bring walkers.
Doug

[icehogger84]

Hey Lifesgood,

Major kudos to you!!!

It takes a real man to be accountable for their actions especially when they inadvertently cause issues with others. You, my friend, are a very class act in my book. Sometimes things happen that we don't expect. But for you to come on this very public forum and make apologies is outstanding.

We can really work through nearly all these kinds of things if we are just willing to express then listen. That was kinda the message I was trying to convey in my post. Unless we know unequivocally that someone is totally disrespectful of others around them, and it does happen, we need to reign in our emotions in search of honest answers....

Thanks again for the admirable apology,
Hogger

[Woodland]

Went to cottonwood. Ice is down to 4" had the wife and dog with me so we didn't risk it. The 4" ice is sketchy... Cracking, which don't get me wrong I am down for when it is early ice but late ice not so much. Guys were fishing off the dock. There was a tent out by the narrows where it is shady so I think the ice is still good there...

[PACKFAN-UT]

Kudos to you as well "LifesGood". I don't have a problem with ATVs on the ice as I have used mine on occasion depending on conditions such as distance to be traveled or load. I did have a little concern over an individual that seemed to be traveling way too fast a week ago last Friday at the Cottonwoods in the fog with two kids on his machine, we had quite a few fisherman on the ice that morning scattered about in the thick morning fog fishing. He made several trips back and forth thru the fishermen packing his friend, their gear and another young one on the machine. I didn't see any helmets on the kids which were all pretty young but that may not be a requirement in Idaho. My concern was him hitting someone if he would have had to stop or make a turn in a hurry which on that slick ice he would have just slid. Like 66Birdman said it doesn't make much difference now as the ice is about gone, we may not see it there strong enough to fish on for another decade or so. 

[66birdman]

I would also like to apologize for kinda flying off the handle.  I kinda fell victem to posting under the influance of alcohol.  I understand that some folks arent as mobile or energetic as others.  I think anybody that knows me persinally will tell you im not that trouble maker you saw.  All in all it was a wonderful season on the ice at CJ and I am sad it ended so soon.  See yall out there inthe boats shortly.

[Riverwanderer]

Hey Lifesgood,

Major kudos to you!!!

It takes a real man to be accountable for their actions especially when they inadvertently cause issues with others. You, my friend, are a very class act in my book. Sometimes things happen that we don't expect. But for you to come on this very public forum and make apologies is outstanding.

We can really work through nearly all these kinds of things if we are just willing to express then listen. That was kinda the message I was trying to convey in my post. Unless we know unequivocally that someone is totally disrespectful of others around them, and it does happen, we need to reign in our emotions in search of honest answers....

Thanks again for the admirable apology,
Hogger

X 10... CLASS ACT Lifesgood !!!

[onelastdrift]

we fished c j on saturday in the big wind. as far as 4 wheelers, after they broke the ice at cottonwood on thursday,there was still a good spot at the side to walk on. didnt stop any sleds.the warm weather and wind opened up a large open spot at the mouth of the cottonwood boat ramp. we had to detour down towards the dam to get off. this would have happened with or without 4 wheelers. i took my 80 year old uncle out a couple of weeks ago. probably our last ice fishing trip together. 4 wheelers have there place on the ice and in the hills. we as outdoor people have a lot more to worry about besides other sportsman. i commend lifesgood for admitting his mistake. i am thankful no one was drowned. its been a fantastic perch fishery this year,my personal best ever. hope its not another 10 years before its available again. thanks to everyone who shared info, cut bait, funny stories and a few lies out on the ice this year. we are a brotherhood.  good luck and be safe.

[Lifesgood]

Thanks guys for the kind words. Hogger you're the one with that's a class act. When I read your original common sense post about this I knew I had to let you guys know I was not trying to be malicious about getting that crew out there to fish. That being said I'm glad 66birdman wrote about it because I will be well aware next time. Sorry to hear the ice is going. I am going to take a group of kids and their dad's out on the 23rd, does anyone know if horsethief is fishing well for trout?  Large or small is ok, kids just like catching, and is the road plowed?
Doug

[idtrout]

You sound like a class act and a person of responsibilty, it would have so easy for you to not say or do anything but you were accountable for you actions and i along with everyone respect that.

[icehogger84]

Hey Lifes,

Horsethief is usually always good for trout. It was where I got my feet wet....well cold on my first ice trip and it was that  trip that hooked me. It can be slow, but slow usually means catch 7-10 and miss a few more. Not sure what everyone else does, but I use yellow mallows w/ crawler. Good luck, be safe and have fun....

Hogger

p.s. not sure about the the road in though. Hopefully some of these other nuts on here can help you with that...LOL

[croghmag]

Road was plowed last Tues, me and my dad caught 5 nice trout fishing right off the bottom. We were there about  4 hours . Fished by the dam . I think they are building something past horse thief so i think they should keep the road open.

[Lifesgood]

Thanks Hogger,
Your wet feet story reminded me.
Funny story about the newbie on the cj trip. I had taken extra clothes just in case for him and with the wind it was a good thing but I didn't think to put in packs. sure enough we we got out on the ice noticed he only had rubber irrigating boots with a couple prs of socks. Of coarse he froze his feet. after a couple of hours we took an atv back to the truck ( I think that's when the ice broke) and got some fleece slippers for him. He put those on with some hand warmer pads and still couldn't get warm. after we got done the warmer pads had actually melted into the fleece. It was crazy. His feet were still cold. I don't know why he doesn't want to go again, he caught two of the 60 or so fish we caught. pretty good day for a newbie I thought.

Thanks for the bait tip, I've used night crawlers but not the mellows. We'll try it.
fishing a pleasure, catching a bonus, have fun.

Thanks croghmag for the road report
Doug

[chummin]

We had a small group on HT on Sunday. Had about a dozen rods out, some on the bottom and some about half way down. Brought home ten nice trout, released about 4-6 more, and missed at least another half dozen. This was 200 yards out from the boat ramp where that bay meets the main lake. The ice was really talking all day but there was a good ~10inches of ice under an inch or two of crusty snow. The road is plowed/packed down to the point that you could get in with any vehicle without a problem (as of Sunday). As for bait we normally have good luck with plain old ice jigs or lead heads tipped with a crawler. This last weekend we were having equal luck jigging and letting them hit a dead stick.