GOOD TIMES THIS LAST SUN

[BojiHawk]

So, in my quest for deer and pheasant, I stumbled across a VERY large beaver damn...double decker (2 pools) one about 5 feet higher than the creek (small river) and one about 3 feet.  So on Sunday after seeing no shooters in the AM, I grabbed my ultra light rod and and some salmon eggs and fished these pools.  They are chocked full of huge creek chubs, redhorse, and suckers - up to 10".  Kind of fun to catch them.  I'm thinking these pools will freeze and I can harvest them through the ice with light light tackle.  Does anyone ever do this??  I know it seems goofy sitting on a beaver pond ice fishing, but the quality of the bait was fantastic.  and free!! -  other than about 20 salmon eggs for bait.  And I can drive right to it through a picked bean field.  Since chubs are so hard to keep alive, has anyone here ever built a chub "cage"??  Something you could toss them into and keep at the creek and then use a large dip net to take out a few dozen at a time.  I know I could have caught 200+ in 2 hours if I would have had a cane pole.  You can't keep them off your hook.  If anyone out there has attempted this with success (or failure) let me know.  Would like to not reinvent the wheel and don't have much experience with long term bait keeping.  The sight of me fishing down on a creek with a cane pole is kind of a funny thought...but as expensive as those large chubs are...I don't mind.

[hardh2ofish]

hey there bojihawk,   good to see you on here.  Great that you have a good supply of creek chubs.   Great bait there.   Hope you catch a big ol' toothy critter on em this season.   Who knows maybe we'll get a time worked out and i'll get you up to our lakes up here a day or two.  If not  heres to a long succesfull safe and happy ice season

[jayswimmer09]

actually they arnt too hard to keep alive for long periods of time, you should give it a shot

[BojiHawk]

Hey h2o and jay....I'm getting a little bit antsy to say the least.  Liking the feel of the mornings now...little more frosty.  The windy warm afternoons can get outta here.  You guys got any first ice plans (whenever it will be)?  Boji isn't looking good.  I think it was 3 years ago that the had a Christmas Eve ride on the Queen (big double decker boat) around west lake.  Hope that isn't the case this year but....who knows.  I have gas money and a compass...north can't be hard to find.  I'm hoping that little lake over by Monroe is going to be rebounded...sure should be.  Looks like they have been really pumping the fish into that thing for the past 4 years.  Incredible...find it hard to believe that won't be a mecca for a tip-up / pannie festival.  Only lake with no walleyes that I really get pumped to fish.  PM me if you wanna meet there some weekend.

The chub thing is half funny half fun.  Felt like a little kid but nothing wrong with that.  Little kid with a windsor coke to be more accurate.  So I found my rig for the chubs.  Its a nice sized tank with a 110VAC - 110 ac/dc aerator.  I have an inverter and a deep cycle but I never really had probs keeping a couple 3 dozen alive in a nice sized cooler.  So i'm hoping to use the big boy at home and set up a holding cage.  Found a nice sized mesh for the thing.  Now it's a matter of ambition for that part.  Got a free Sunday so anything is possible.

Brother in law called me...mountain lion spotted from combine on Monday right behind the beaver dam.     I always assumed I was on the top of the food chain standing in that little river.  Gonna have to stop wearing that raccoon hat when I wade    PM me sometime...I know some pretty good spots if you like filling buckets with gills and crappies.

[hardh2ofish]

I tried keeping them in three mineral tubs.  Worked good as long as I kept an old storm windo over the top of them.  Wild little buggers sure liked to jump out.  I needed more aeration though.  I only had one aerator which  split off three ways.  Never did work quite right  lost a lot of chubs.  On a high note though the ones that did survive all got eaten by toothy slime rockets which in turn ended up on our tables