WORST SEASON EVER

[rabbittrapper]

This was the worst icefishing season ever. I only caught a 28inch northern and a 6 inch perch. Last year I caught my panfish limit in one day no problem. I caught about 200 perch last year. I know summer isn't going to be like this. I know next weekend I'll be on the lake ,but after thaat I don't know if Im going to be able to icefish the rest of the season. Ill be going to different lakes next ice season. I have been fishing on a lake that I been fishing both summer and winter for 10 years. It was never been this bad sice I started fishing on it.

[pastaboy]

Is your "Go to lake" heavily pressured or over fished? I have a favorite lake that I like to hit in the winter and it is a hit or a miss sometimes and this winter it was all a miss. Maybe it has to do with the brutal winter we had? After several misses I gave up on it and started hitting other lakes that are productive for me. I would suggest maybe a different lake for you as well. That is a bummer your season was a wash. You will have to see how your lake does this summer. I hope you have better luck next time out and tight lines my friend.

[SnoHam13]

I was just happy to get out twice this year [first time sense 2010]
1 eye on gratiot lake [12'' and back down the hole]
Thursday the end of season pike outing on rice lake, the gang landed 20 and kept 5
great food and people to hang with [Thank you]

SnoHam13

 

[rabbittrapper]

Is your "Go to lake" heavily pressured or over fished? I have a favorite lake that I like to hit in the winter and it is a hit or a miss sometimes and this winter it was all a miss. Maybe it has to do with the brutal winter we had? After several misses I gave up on it and started hitting other lakes that are productive for me. I would suggest maybe a different lake for you as well. That is a bummer your season was a wash. You will have to see how your lake does this summer. I hope you have better luck next time out and tight lines my friend.

Its not heavily pressure or overfished. Everyone but one person was saying that they don't want to bite. The one person that I was talking about in the other sentence he was catching crappie, walleyes, and northerns like crazy.

[ice dawg]

Bad year for me also. It seems every time I had good weather to get on the ice someone in the family would be sick so I stayed home. Now is a great time to be on the ice but my wife isn't well and is having surgery next Thursday. Maybe next year will be better.

[DFresh75]

Brutal this year.  Plenty of folks around here got Skunked often.

Even up in pristine low pressure wilderness just hard to find em.

[Oldbear]

Your not alone.  I thionk its weather related but I don't know what else to call it.  I went out plenty and usually caught 2 or 3 but had zilch days also.  Early I had a little better luck but for some time now they have been lookers but wouldn't bite??

[Whopper Stopper]

Now is a great time to be on the ice but my wife isn't well and is having surgery next Thursday. Maybe next year will be better.

Hope all works out well ice Dawg

          WS

[pastaboy]

Good luck with your wife's surgery Ice Dawg, I hope it helps whatever is ailing her. Surgery is never any fun, I have had a couple MAJOR ones myself. Good wishes to you and her!

[ThisGuy]

My season definitely wasn't as productive as last year. Didn't go out as much either. Some guys say it was a good year with good ice. These are the guys that have the time to put into it. With all the reports this year, it looks like we aren't alone. Good luck ice dawg.

[J_Edwards]

My least favorite season of all time.

I caught a lot of fish, but not many species I enjoy. Rainbows and Dolley Varden, yawn.  If I had a good laker lake near by I'd of enjoyed it more.

[Ross Lake Camps]

My least favorite season of all time.

I caught a lot of fish, but not many species I enjoy. Rainbows and Dolley Varden, yawn.  If I had a good laker lake near by I'd of enjoyed it more.

Interesting how things are relative to location!  I'd love to catch Bow's and Dolley Varden's, but our lake is loaded with nice Lake Trout. We'll have to try a body swap for a week!

[3300]

day time fishing is all but done. night time is where its at now.
i fish only two lakes and the day time bite is a big joke at best. they did provide great fishing for a short time in the day and you could limit in less than 1 hour

so switch up and go near dark and be set up when its fully dark and get in some of the sun setting fish time too

i predrill my holes and fish shallows until sunset and work out to deep water. been catching in 17' deep over 40' bottoms and into 30' bottoms

[Swift]

Had a decent season, weather sucked causing most of my problems. Just needed to go back to some older tactics since we fished much longer than has been the recent average. Last few years was ice in/ice out on a weekly basis, weeds didn't die off all that bad and it was easy pickings if you could get where you needed to be. Actually had a midwinter stretch which is a favorite and it baffled most of the newer fisherman. Numerous complaints of no fish or they're closed mouth which wasn't true, they simply had moved and changed feeding habits/times and many just wouldn't open their minds, explore options or even ask/listen if we crossed paths on the ice. Learn more from failures than easy success. Understanding light, the food chain and O2 levels solves most problems, the fish will feed all winter just need to put all of it together

[ice dawg]

Hope all works out well ice Dawg

          WS

Thanks. Year before last she had  her Gall Bladder removed, last year we both fell on the ice and we're laid up for a while and this year more surgery for her. One think we both know is we have it pretty nice compared to some. Another thing we know is old farts don't bounce like we used to.

[thomasthepikehunter]

I had a great season, possibly my best so far. It was often a total miss however. One day I would go out and nail all kinds of fish, the next I couldn't even jig up a perch.

[nocod]

I blame the cold weather on a poor season,great ice and travel conditions helped but finding and catching was tough

[Pickeralpicker91]

My season definitely wasn't as productive as last year. Didn't go out as much either. Some guys say it was a good year with good ice. These are the guys that have the time to put into it. With all the reports this year, it looks like we aren't alone. Good luck ice dawg.

Judging by your location i'm shrewd fish a lot of the same lakes.  I can report the same thing as you though.  I did decent early on but when the ice started to build I did progressively worse.

[Bucket Brigade]

Hmmm...I had a banner year from start to...well I'm not finished yet!  Hang in there OP

[Glowjigger]

Dang sorry to hear that your having a bad season. I hope you get out a few more times and get into em!

[lefty2053]

My ice year has been a little better then last year but both have been terrible compared to three years ago. We went through a drought and the main reservoir I fish dropped 66 Feet last year and it went up 10 feet this year. Hoping next year with all this snow it will get even better.41,972 Acres of Water 20 miles long and to be down  66 Feet is a lot of water.

[ice dawg]

My ice year has been a little better then last year but both have been terrible compared to three years ago. We went through a drought and the main reservoir I fish dropped 66 Feet last year and it went up 10 feet this year. Hoping next year with all this snow it will get even better.41,972 Acres of Water 20 miles long and to be down  66 Feet is a lot of water.

I remember when I used to fish Carter Lake near Loveland. I used to park my camper about 8' from the water in spring and in the fall it was 1,200 feet to the water's edge from the same location. Ice fishing wasn't allowed on Carter.

[DFresh75]

@IceDawg - Get healthy!  We want to see you and the missus out soon

[J_Edwards]

Interesting how things are relative to location!  I'd love to catch Bow's and Dolley Varden's, but our lake is loaded with nice Lake Trout. We'll have to try a body swap for a week!

I enjoy all types of fishing, but I'm not real enthusiastic about any trout or char fishing.

I'd prefer to be back in the ice belt chasing walleyes, perch and pan fish.. Put that up for trade and maybe we could work something out 

[PerchAssault]

Interesting how things are relative to location!  I'd love to catch Bow's and Dolley Varden's, but our lake is loaded with nice Lake Trout. We'll have to try a body swap for a week!

New "reality" TV show...ICE swap...the wife swap one is pretty popular, why not? 

[husb0023]

Other than access issues I had a pretty banner year every time I managed to get out.  I always managed to get enough fryers for a family meal.

[ice dawg]

@IceDawg - Get healthy!  We want to see you and the missus out soon

Thanks. I hope the surgery works for her. She says she wouldn't go on the ice if it froze all the way to the bottom. lol I think she would be easy to hook if I got her into some fish in a warm wheelhouse.

[lefty2053]

I remember when I used to fish Carter Lake near Loveland. I used to park my camper about 8' from the water in spring and in the fall it was 1,200 feet to the water's edge from the same location. Ice fishing wasn't allowed on Carter.

I almost wish I lived over in the Denver area,A lot more lakes and variety. That was almost. I love the Western Slope(Near Hotchkiss is where I live.) Up the road1/8 mile from my house I drive straight up to the back side of the Grand Mesa. 

[ice dawg]

I almost wish I lived over in the Denver area,A lot more lakes and variety. That was almost. I love the Western Slope(Near Hotchkiss is where I live.) Up the road1/8 mile from my house I drive straight up to the back side of the Grand Mesa.

We loved the mountains, but when everything started getting too crowded for we moved to SD. That was in 1977. I can't imagine what it would be like now.

[hnd]

we had so much ice here short of farm ponds the bite totally dropped off the last 6 weeks.  the fish are so stressed from this ice.  many bodies of water are experiencing winter kill offs.  it seems like the farm ponds i know of have survived.  public waters around here are just dead when it comes to a bite. ice is all but gone at this point though.