MyFishFinder.com Just like iceshanty but warmer
A local fisherman just stopped by and reported good action on homemade tip ups in the back of Boardman Creek today. The party of 3 iced 10 pike between 28 and 35 inches. They also had several hits that took line but were missed. Smelt and live chubs were used with the live chubs outfishing frozen bait by about 3 to 1. With todays extreme winds the back of Boardman Creek was likely the only possible fishing option. Given todays weather these guys earned every hit they got. Regardless of wind, if pike on Merritt were my goal I would still recommend that area. Thankfully the weekend forecast calls for much more moderate winds and pleasant temperatures.
Recent high winds did cause some open areas on the main lake at Merritt. Reports from the Boardman Creek arm consistently say good ice and no open water. Anglers going up the Snake arm Friday reported good (14") ice with no pressure ridges at that time. Some drove up the trail while others put ATV's on at the Snake Ramp and drove up on the ice. I would guess we may have lost a couple inches since then but should still be good to go. Fishing in the upper snake was also reported to be good with decent numbers of 1-1.25 pound crappies with a few perch mixed in.I did hear of some patches of open water on Hackberry. I did not get reports on other refuge lakes but one might assume similar conditions.Forecast lows through Thursday should stabilize and even add some ice.
Thanks for your reports. We are still planning on coming up to fish there again this winter but work seems to keep getting in the way! I do appreciate getting the business, even though it sometimes keeps me home. By your timely updating of the reports, It keeps us that are a longer distance away abreast of the conditions to make planning easier for when it does work out to get away. Thanks! Regards, D. Hutt
Was a stressful change of venue but the right call. Unreal fish that Tom and tc produced while being surrounded no less. I wish I could get back the three days spent watching fish on the camera at alkali. Maybe I learned something though. Predator prey is extremely unbalanced in that lake. Saw more pike than perch. One year ago you could view a dozen perch in one screen with half the water clarity as this year. No carp were seen by me under 3 lbs. the crappies were few and far between and clung in tight groups on small areas of stained water with uneven bottom. Fearing for their life I presume. Until the pike get thinned down severely or an expansive brush project happens the stocking of anything fingerling in alkali will resemble feeding time at cabelas.
Big Alkali is 850 acres of water. If you could add enough "brush" to cover 85 acres, and that would be a lot of "brush", it still would not make a $0.05-worth of difference in terms of fish production. Brush piles function as fish attractors that concentrate fish making them easy to find and catch. In all but the smallest waters brush piles and similar cover projects provide little in terms of real habitat benefits.Fish populations are dynamic. The crappie, perch, pike and carp populations in Big Alkali have been through several cycles of ups and downs. They will again.Daryl B.