To whet my appetite for tomorrow (when I will be exploring a new lake), I snatched a few hours of icefishing on North Pond in the Savoy State Forest this afternoon.
I had the place to myself.
Sunny, blue skies, temps around 30, with a fairly steady stiff (15 mph) wind.
There were knee deep drifts of snow getting from the shore to the Pond, but the Pond itself had been scoured relatively clear of snow. Some spots were nearly bare, while others had from 1" to 4" of snow on top, with higher drifts toward the shore opposite and toward the left of the boat launch/beach.
The ice itself was of variable quality. There was a thin coat on top of about 6" of slush, with another 12" of soft ice underneath. In some areas, you could walk and the top coat would hold your weight, and in others you'd drop down into ankle deep slush.
I set up three dead sticks and two jigs toward the shore opposite the boat launch, but didn't have any flags or strikes in the nearly 3 hours that I was there.
The wind was a bit of a pain because it kept blowing snow into the holes I cut, turning them into a slushy mess that I would have to periodically clear.
To pass the time, I strapped on my skiis and made a few circuits around the Pond, and watched the dust devils (snow devils) created by the wind..
(The skiis were nice because they displaced my weight enough so that I wouldn't drop down into the slush in the soft spots).
Here's hoping for better luck tomorrow.
