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My ice fishing reports for 2020 / 2021

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Water Wolf:
Hi Guys,
Well, here we are into March, with warmer days, and, signs of spring showing up weekly.
In my area, the Canada geese came a bit earlier than usual.  My first sighting was on March 6th.
The crows were a bit early as well, arriving back to my yard on March 11th.  I spotted a merlin on the way to the lake on the 13th, and a ground squirrel / gopher on the 17th. Hawks and bald eagles showed up at the end of the month.

Here are my ice fishing reports for the month of March.
I had more trips out ice fishing this month than any other. ;D


March 6th.
My first trip out this month finds me back at Fishing Lake.

As I drive to my intended spot, I pass 2 anglers fishing.  From a safe distance, I inquire how their fishing has been.
One answers, "nothing today so far", and the other said, "terrible, worst winter for me yet".
Well, that's not good news, but, the slow fishing this winter is a common response from all of the anglers who have spoken with me. I wished the 2 of them luck and continued on, hoping things might improved later in the day.

I find a promising looking area further down from the 2 anglers, get set up, and ice fish from 3:25 pm - 6:40 pm.

There area a dozen other vehicles spread out over the ice as far as I could see. Most were trucks, but a few were snow machines.

It's overcast and misty, with some wind from the S that picked up near dark. The temp was +4 deg C / 39 deg F.

I only saw 2 pike on camera this time out. The first pike came ripping by the camera and lure I was jigging, and, hit the set rod a few feet away. It just kept going with the bait in it's mouth. I gave it a bit of line before stopping it with a hook set. After a few runs the fish was iced.
It was one of my larger pike this season. ;D

It went back after the photo.

As the water began to darken and details on the screen faded, I had another pike come in.  It eyed the camera for a few seconds, then, turned and attacked it. After a few shakes, it let the camera go, making a quick circle and sliding up to my lure.  After assessing the lure for a short time, it struck! The fight was on.  I can see it now, just at the bottom of the hole.  As I maneuver it to turn upward, toward the surface, 1 of the trebles hooked into the edge of the ice and it rolled free, and was gone...  :P

That would be the action for the day, but, at least I was not skunked.


March 8th.
I am back at Fishing Lake, but, in a new spot this time fishing from 3:30 pm - 6:00 pm.

Its a sunny afternoon with some wind from the NW and periods of calm with + 4 deg C / 39 deg F temps.

I count 8 other vehicles out on the ice to the S of me.

I go to set up my camera, but, find it has no life in it. Oh no!  Oh well, I pack it back up, and fish old school, without electronics.  This will work just fine, but is not my choice.  With the camera, at least if I'm not catching, I have something to watch and console myself in knowing there are fish down there. :-\

At 5:00 pm I hook into a walleye with a jig and a minnow. ;)

I decide to keep this one. Good thing too, as that was it for the action that day.

In the end, it was not too bad a day on the ice.

Once at home, I recharge the battery, and, the camera was up and running, for the next trip out.
Last time I used the camera, I forgot to take the clips off the battery and must have left the power button on, thus, no battery power. A problem easily solved. Note to self, always make sure the camera is disconnected from the battery when not in use. :whistle:



March 13th.
I am on Fishing Lake again, in search of walleye.  This time, in a bit deeper water.

I set up on a deeper flat and fish from 3:20 pm - 7:00 pm.

It's another nice sunny afternoon with + 5 deg C / 41 deg F temps and a very lite wind from the E to no wind at all at times.

Lots of folks were out this time, possibly the most I have seen all season.  I count 18 other vehicles, mostly trucks and, a few quads, spread out all over, a good distance apart.

Over the afternoon I saw 5 pike on  camera. I did get 2 of them to strike for me, but, lost 1 just under the ice, and, the other came off when the bail on my rod slipped a bit during the hook set, creating a freeing slack in the line, sheesh. :P

Finally near the end of the day, the set rod registers a hit. I walk over and ice a walleye. :)

It was a slower day for me and as far as I could tell, it appeared my fellow anglers found it the same.  Didn't hear or see any real catch excitement around me.

The set rod got 1 more hit, but, it was just a lite tap behind the hook.

A few Canada geese were flying around announcing their arrival and scouting for their next ideal nesting location.

With weather like we were enjoying, fish were a bonus.  The sun was strong enough to start to feel pretty warm against your skin. 


March 14th.
Back to Fishing Lake for another day. Pike hunting in shallower water this time.

I found an area that should work and set up, ice fishing from 3:15 pm - 7:20 pm.

It was a sunny afternoon with wind from the E to SE, slowing down near dark.  After that, it began to feel damp.
The temp was + 6 deg C / 46 deg F. I am enjoying these days above freezing.

There were 8 other trucks out on the ice, 4 of which were in my general area.
2 folks were busy removing their shacks.  It's getting that time again.  Everyone had left before 4:00 pm.
I never noticed anyone ice a fish in that time.

Not until the sun began to dip in the sky, and, the shadows grew long, did I have any fish action. The first fish hit at 6:05 and then for 45 min all the action exploded at once. In that time I caught 4 pike and had 2 that rolled off just under the ice. :)

Pike 1
[

Pike 2


Pike 3


This is pike 1 and 4, which I kept.


The 2nd pike I caught, was the only fish I actually ever seen on the camera this day.
I was walking back from unhooking my first fish of the day, when I saw a pike on camera staring intently at the lure I had been jigging. It then slowly began to move closer, and when I gave the lure one small twitch it struck fast and hard. I set the hook and watched the fight play out on camera. When I saw the fish pointing upwards moving up the hole, I looked down and guided it the rest of the way to be iced.

Not sure why the fish took that long to bite, but, was a great end to the day, tying my best day this ice fishing season. Here's to more days like that! ;D




March 17th (St. Patrick's Day).


Top O' the mornin' to ya all.
Today is St. Patrick's Day and I though I would see if the luck of the Irish was with me today.
I did this by visiting the spot on Fishing Lake where I had the luck before.

It was a fine afternoon with with sunny skies, + 3 deg C / 37 deg F temp, and calm most of the time, with just an occasional lite breeze from the W.

I found the spot where I was before, and, set up, ice fishing from 2:30 pm - 6:15 pm.

There was 1 other angler in my general area and 5 other vehicles further out over the deeper water.

Not too long into the fishing, myself, and, the other angler, were paid a visit by the conservation officer.  Everything checked out fine.  The officer chatted for a bit ( from a safe distance), and said that everyone he has spoken with this winter has been reporting slower than normal fishing days, with most having no luck at all. After our chat, he wished us both good fishing and carried on.

It was a slower day than last time out. I seen 1 pike on camera who just circled the lure twice and swam away. I had 3 very lite taps on the set rod. All they did was give the bait a nip and tug where there were no hook, but, that was it.

The angler fishing beside me grew tired of the slow action, and decided to leave just a few min before 6:00 p.m. 
He had no sooner left when, at exactly at 6:00 pm, I get 1 more hit on the set rod.  I feed it a bit of line and, this time, was able to set the hooks. A brief fight occurred, and, I made sure I could see the pike clearly before I tried bringing it up the hole.  I wanted to avoid any more jaw hooking or hooks digging into the ice this time.  I had 1 on, and, was trying to keep it that way. It worked, and, the pike was iced.  After a photo it went back. @)


Considering how the day was looking, I am happy to have had that wee bit of luck after all. :tipup:

I hope everyone had a healthy and happy St. Paddy's Day.




March 28th.
It's been a while since I have been out, but, today I return to Fishing Lake, hoping for some fishing action.

Right beside the lake I spot a young bald eagle flying along the road.  Interesting to see - I have heard that sighting one is supposed to be good luck - well, lets hope. ;)

It's a nice sunny day with a few lite clouds, however near dark the clouds did roll in.
The wind was strong from the SE, but, it was + 8 deg C /46 deg F, so it was still pleasant out.

The ice was still nice and thick (3.5 feet or so), with no signs of rot yet.  I would guess about 20 other angler were out enjoying the fine day as well. 

I drove out with the vehicle, but,  stayed close to shore in shallow water ( 7 - 8 feet), just to be on the safe side. I set up and fished from 2:20 pm - 7:00 pm.

Fish were around.  The walleye were the first to show up, in the bright sunny part of the day, and, the pike came in later on, when it got a bit cloudier and darker. That seemed a bit unusual, the walleye were behaving like pike, coming out in the sun, and the pike were behaving like walleye, showing up when it got darker.

Over the afternoon I saw 4 walleye and 6 pike.

The first walleye to come through, was the most aggressive. It came in, and, 4 times, slowly circled the jig and minnow. Then, without being hooked, neatly picked the minnow off the jig. I could still see the same fish, lurking in murky background, so, I quickly re-baited with a fresh minnow.  This drew it in again, and, it bumped the bait. I thumped the jig and minnow on the lake bottom trying to entice a bite. Slowly it reconsidered the presentation and turned around.  It crept in along the bottom, and, sucked in the whole lot. I could see the walleye swimming away chewing on the minnow, so I set the hook, and, the fight was on. After a brief, but, spirited fight the fish is finally iced.

It was chunky walleye, built like a little football, probably full of eggs, so, after 1 photo it went back to spawn this spring. @)


Later on, the pike showed up, sometimes coming in 2 at a time. I had a pair of fair sized pike hang around my area for at least 20 min. They were only really interested in the larger herring I presented them. They would both come in, bump the bait and give it a real good look. The 1 pike with a ripped lip was the more aggressive of the 2, and, it even nipped the bait once, but, just behind where I had the hooks positioned. Eventually, they both move off and other pike came by.

The last pike to come in was the largest I had seen on camera this season. She was a big one.  She made everything else I had seen all season look small. She came in, out of the murk, and, did a fast strike at the lipless rattle bait, turned around and bolted off. Then, I'm guessing, what she must have done, was lined up the lure again, off camera, and, in an instant, my lure just vanished in a blur from the right. We fought for a bit, and, I witnessed some of it on camera.  She was twisting and twirling with purpose. She wrapped herself up in the line, and, somehow, was able to tear the hooks free. My last image was that of her shooting off into the gloom, away from the camera, and me, holding a slack line, Nooooooo! :o  :'(
It was a bit of a downer for sure to lose a big one like that, but, that's why they call it "Fishing" and not "Catching". That's how those fish get big, they are cagey old fighters who know all the tricks. :flex:

As I am packing up near dark, I snap a photo of the rising full "Worm" moon.

It was not visible long before it was hidden behind thick clouds.

In the end, it was a nice day, weather-wise. I was not skunked, I did find one of this season's largest walleyes, and I tangled with the biggest Pike I had the pleasure of encountering this ice fishing season as well, so I can't complain. ;)

Hope to be out for the last day of the season. We shall see if the weather cooperates.


March 31st, (Last day of the ice fishing season).
I am out for one last ice fishing adventure, and I thought I will end it were I started, Fishing Lake.

I am happy to be out again after 2 very nasty days, (March 29th & 30th), of winter weather.
There was nothing spring-like about that.  We got whiteout winter conditions, winds over 100 km/h hour, in some areas, with cold temps and power outages. March certainly went out like a lion here. :blink:

As I get to the lake, I see there had been freezing rain. Oh goodie, now there will be slippery conditions to deal with. I was about to find out how slippery when I tried to walk out onto the ice. The snow on the lake had melted the last day I was out, so, there was some water pooling in places, and now, with the extra cold, freezing rain, and high winds, what existed was a highly polished ice surface to try to navigate.  Skates may have been a better choice of footwear than the boots I was wearing. It made hauling my gear in a sleigh in 1 hand with the ice auger in the other very challenging. After some fancy footwork, I managed to stay upright and settled on my choice spot for the day.
I was back to the spot where I had seen the fish last time. I was not too far from shore, but, it still took quite some time to safely arrive. I was really wishing I had my ice cleats with me.  :wacko:
I get set up and stay put - no running and gunning today.

I ice fished from 3:15 pm - 7:30 pm.

There were 5 other vehicles out on the ice. Not too long after I set up, they all left. 1 other angler sets up out in the same general area a bit later. He started out on the far side of the lake, drove right across the middle and set up. Not sure how they did, they left just a little while before I did.

The weather was mainly sunny with + 1 deg C / 34 deg F temps. The fair wind from the S kept things on the cool side.

Over the afternoon I saw 4 walleye on camera, but, only 1 of the 4 really checked out the bait before moving on.
I am sure 1 of them gave me the fin, as it was leaving.

No pike were seen at all this time.

I did have some action however, and I was able to ice 2 pike.  ;D
They both hit one of my own tied Y / predator rigs with a smelt for bait.

Pike 1.


Pike 2.


They looked like twins, same size and everything.
After a photo they both went back to hopefully spawn this spring. :)

That would be all the action I had for the afternoon and as the sun began to to sink in the western sky
I had that song "The Final Countdown", going through my head. :whistle:


And so, as the sun slowly sank on the final day of the hard water season, I was happy to be out to experience it one last time and not be skunked.  :thumbsup:
I will not be going for stocked trout even though it's still open in April.
I am now eagerly looking forward to what the new open water season will bring. ;D

I would also like to thank all of you for coming along with me this season. I have enjoyed preparing each report. :icefish:
I hope to see you all again on MyFishFinder in May, until then, be safe and have fun. ;)2

Water Wolf signing out!

Raquettedacker:
Love your stories and pictures.  You had a great season.  Congratulations on all..   👍

filetandrelease:

 Thanks for sharing , Water Wolf 👍

mr.clean:
Water Wolf congratulations on your ice fishing season. :clap: :thumbsup: Thank you for sharing the trip reports and photos.
 Steve

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