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Author Topic: Hog Island Report 3-5-22  (Read 1071 times)

Offline jbritch

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Hog Island Report 3-5-22
« on: Mar 05, 2022, 01:33 PM »
Boy, I've sure been able to pick some good days; warm and no wind at all.  Heard they weren't going to be biting today 'cause of the high pressure, but that guy was wrong, had one of the best days ever!  Drove past the parking lot on Rt. 78 just before the Alburg bridge and it was packed.  Some guys out in the middle south of there but not as many as north of the bridge.

Got some bait at the Hog Island Market but the Mrs. doesn't give an extra half cup like the Mr. does so I started with a disadvantage.  Got on the ice at 8:00 and saw that there were some deep ruts off shore a ways, even though the ramp was clear and not icy at all.  The guy in the white pickup bottomed out in the ruts and struggled to get through, sounded like he was going through to slush but I don't think so.  See:



After awhile he came and parked next to me:



There's at least 30 inches of hard ice with not much snow on top once you get away from shore.  The bite started right out on the first minnow again and was steady all day until 1:30 when I ran out of bait.  I knew I would be short so began using eyeballs but that brought the little ones.  A full third of the ones I caught were too small to bother cleaning.  It was like two keepers and a dink for the last hour and a half which was kinda frustrating and I almost gave up but decided to have a snack of kippered herring, chips and a beer when it slowed down and holstered my jig stick.  Then I thought it probably slowed down 'cause there were some big fish down there and then BAM!  I got three nice big perch in a row and then BAM again I hooked a northern.  I was only in ten feet of water and couldn't get her up the hole and lost her at the bottom of the ice.  All that on a tiny pinhead, too.  A minute later and the bite came back furious as ever and a couple of minutes after that BAM again.  This time she came right up through no problem even though her open mouth was as wide at my 8 inch hole but when she saw me in the daylight she thrashed like crazy and ping, my line snapped; she went back down the hole with my little number six hook in her lip.  I almost thrust my arm down the hole to catch her but thought better of the idea.  Good reason to carry the gaff all the time, I guess.

Anyway, ended up with a good mess and will have three hours of cleaning ahead of me.  I took this picture about 10:30 so I ended up with a lot more.





Offline Bob G.

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Re: Hog Island Report 3-5-22
« Reply #1 on: Mar 05, 2022, 03:24 PM »
Nice write up.

What size do you consider a keeper? I was keeping 8” and over but find the 8 inchers are a pain to clean.

Offline jbritch

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Re: Hog Island Report 3-5-22
« Reply #2 on: Mar 05, 2022, 04:48 PM »
The same as you.  They gotta be 8" to make the effort worth it.  Sometimes, though, I make Poor Man's Shrimp and the little ones are the best for that.

Offline ISLAND STORM

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Re: Hog Island Report 3-5-22
« Reply #3 on: Mar 05, 2022, 07:19 PM »
Great day jbritch….thanks for the report.
My Biggest worry is that when I'm dead and gone, my wife will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it.

Tight lines and be safe.

Offline fishingidjit

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Re: Hog Island Report 3-5-22
« Reply #4 on: Mar 06, 2022, 08:32 AM »
Another good day!  :thumbsup:

 



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