Cascade Ice Report

[mooseymo]

coho do have a slight > in the tail a little less then koke and more then bows. best way to tell is just by the spots and color of the fish. cohos have spots and kokes have almost none. if your having a hard time telling the diff between a coho and a bow the best things is to rub the fish if you get alot of scales its a coho if not its a bow.  Nice picture that is a nice bunch of kokes

[BlacknTanMan1]

I think Im just going to go back to Blue Heron. I really should go try some where else but I had pretty good luck there. So judging by the picture I posted where those kokes or not? How big do you think that perch is in the picture of me holding it by the lips? Your probably right it wasnt as big as I thought but its defenetly the biggest one Ive ever scene. After cleaning it I was wishing Id of taken it some where to get weighed.

[Brentster7189]

That brings up a good point, and maybe it's my ignorance.  If you catch something and you think it's a record, where do you take it to get measured and weighed so it's official.  Does it have to be right away, or can you freeze it, then take it at your convenience?

[mooseymo]

it has to be a certified scale and you have to notify f&g that you caught a possible state record. most grocery stores have a cert scale.  I think it can be frozen although wouldnt recommend it the longer the fish is dead the less it will weigh in at.

[Iceflyer]

I went up on monday. Less slush then saturday. I dont know if the rain knocked down the snow causing less weight to be on the ice or what?
Fishing was slow for me. caught a couple nice ones...threw one into my sled...missed the sled and went down a hole! my rotten luck i guess.

Woodland.  Sorry to bring up a painful memory but I was the fella next to ya when that happened.  Anyways, I promised that I'd get on the board and become an active participant.  (no more lurking)  Anyways, I'm new to this so please be patient as I fumble my way in the dark.

[Iceflyer]

I went up to Cascade on 1/22/11.  Tackle Tom said that the ice was a lot better (no slush) but very slick.  Excited about this new bit of info I decided to try out by the boat ramp, since I've never fished there.  The ice was a dream to walk on especially when one considers how slushy it's been.  The ice was a clear, solid, 12" thick blanket of frozen heaven.  And as a bonus, there was 1/2 - 1" of snow lying on top for traction.  I still used my Yaktrax for walking, but the condition of the ice was a dream.  For the first time this year it was easy for me to be mobile with my sled.  I covered a lot of ground marking a few fish at 32 FOW but not much else.  I never drilled so many holes attempting to locate the perch.  Fishing was very slow.  Perch action was better at Poison Creek when I visited the week before.  Speaking of which.  I managed to check out the ice conditions there just before the sun went dark.  I'm pleased to report that the ice has set up much the same way as it was by the dock.  This is good news for me because I'm going up again this weekend.  I'm going to take my two youngest boys and camp out on the ice Friday night and fish all day Saturday.  It's going to be a serious day of fishing.  I can hardly wait!

[BlacknTanMan1]

So Ive got a stupid question. How to you get to Poison Creek?

[Iceflyer]

I'm coming from Boise but I head N. on 55 to Cascade.  Go through Cascade to Donnelly...about 10-15 miles.  There's a big sign at Donnelly that will direct you to Tamarak ski resort.  The signs are pretty clear.  Once you arrive at Tamarak there's a round about for cars.  Drive through the round about as if it wasn't there.  Just past the round about is a left hand turn into "Poison Creek"  Parking is $5.00 a day unless you have an annual pass.  Best of luck and let me know how you do.

[Zolar]

If you get to the circle at Tamarack you are there.

[jezzhuntin]

I'm going to take my two youngest boys and camp out on the ice Friday night and fish all day Saturday.  It's going to be a serious day of fishing.  I can hardly wait!

that is badazz, I have always wanted to take a wall tent out on the ice with wood stove and stay a weekend.  Sounds like an adventure, good luck.   

[Woodland]

interesting topic over on the michigan board...
http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=181174.msg1762284;topicseen#new
What do you guys think?

[mhfishing]

I've seen the same argument for bass and crappie, I started throwin the chubby crappie back in the spring, with bass I just catch and release all year anyways.

[Iceflyer]

Thanks Jezz.  I always appreciate a shot of encouragement.  I get some pics and let you know.

[BlacknTanMan1]

Well me and the wife went to Blue Heron this morning. Had a really good time, it was her first time.Managed to limit out on trout and catch 5 kokes and 3 ok perch. Meet two different people who look at the shanty website. The ice was good in my opinion and the weather wasnt to bad after the fog burned off. The sun even came out for an hour or so. Oh ya I also lost my new Berkley ice rod down a hole this am all day I was hoping to catch another fish that had an extra line hanging out of its mouth. LOL
Heres a picture of our haul.

[Parrothead]

Fished Blue Heron today.  Had a school of Kokanee come through and we ended up with 8.  We saw another group come through several hours later, about a foot or two off the bottom.  They were smarter this time and didn't take the bait.  The kokanee are biting extremely light, and just gently tugged on the bobbers.  Seemed to really enjoy the Powerbait the first trip through.  Fried some up tonight - better than any rainbow.  I was hoping to snag BlacknTans rod, but no luck. 

[BlacknTanMan1]

ParrotHead it was nice to meet you guys today. I was hoping someone would snag it, better then it just going to waste laying in the bottom of the lake with some poor fish attached to it.

[icehogger84]

Fished Poison Creek today. I am convinced that alot of movement is required to get any quantity of fish. Came home w/ my usual four nice perch and caught alot of dinks. In the evening I did catch 3 small perch between VanWyck and the dam. The ice is solid there 12" no slush. I imagine someone could drive a small rig onto it. But there were plenty of fish on the Marcum. 20'-25' of water. I think I might have done better had I started there a little earlier. Going to hit it hard there next time

Met up w/ iwantabuggy, zolar and iceflyer. Great to spend time on the ice w/ old and new friends.

Hogger

[Brentster7189]

Nice haul BlacknTanMan1.  Looks like the ice is about the same as it was last weekend?

[Zolar]

Jeez, looks like I should have gone to Blue Herron!  However, It was great meeting up with Iwantabuggy and Icehogger84.  I came home with 5 perch (one 12" and one 13") and one Coho. Very nice day, quite a few people on the ice.

[iwantabuggy]

Nothing more I can add.  I'd just echo the previous comments.  Nice to meet you Zolar and it was great to be on the ice again with Hogger.

[Iceflyer]

Iwannabuggy & Icehogger, thanks for swinging by and saying howdy, that was great.  By boys and I had a great time camping out on the ice Friday evening.  Made getting ready for the morning lots more efficient.  Though it wasn't a great day for numbers we had a wonderful time.  We each walked a way with a fish, mine being the smallest perch.  Ben (my son) hooked into a 24" Cutbow!   The bugger beat my record by an inch.  YeeHaw.

[Woodland]

Iceflyer, glad you had a good time! 24" nice fish

[Iceflyer]

OOPS!  Correction--that would be a 23" trout.  I'd hate to be caught telling a fish story.  So anyways, would you be willing to share some pictures of your sled, and how you set it up?  Thanks a ton.

[Brentster7189]

I'm curious, are there many that are fishing for perch that are using the camera, or the fish finders?

[Iceflyer]

I use a Humminbird Ice-55 Flasher.  (Toss up between HB and Vexilar)  I love the flasher...I will never go ice fishing without one.  A couple of weeks ago my buddy and I tried a camera (unsuccessfully) for the first time.  It was Cabellas Elite series camera that had a 7" color LCD screen and used white LED's for illumination.  I couldn't see a thing.  Lots of silt in Poison Creek and the white light reflected too much.  A neighbor said that he used the Marcum camera and loved it.  He had great success with it (meaning more clear).  I would like to try it out before I totally give up on the idea.  The Marcum was a bit more pricey but sounds like it's worth it.

Personally, I like to keep my gear to a lightweight minimum.  Trying to work a flasher and a camera required too much effort for my taste.  Let me know what ya end up doin.

Iceflyer.

[iwantabuggy]

I'm curious, are there many that are fishing for perch that are using the camera, or the fish finders?

I have a showdown.  It works well, except I have to keep it warm.  If it gets too cold it won't power up.  Other than that it works great.  Still hasn't seemed to help me get into the perch, though.

[Woodland]

OOPS!  Correction--that would be a 23" trout.  I'd hate to be caught telling a fish story.  So anyways, would you be willing to share some pictures of your sled, and how you set it up?  Thanks a ton.

Iceflyer,
you can see a picture of it on the cascade youth fishing thread. it is a link to the idaho sportsman...http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/01/19/1494727_a1494708/kids-enjoy-ice-fishing-at-lake.html
it has a wooden frame on the bottom that keeps the bucket from moving. the tubes in the bucket are drainage pipe. 5 total-4 hold tip ups and 1 holds 4 rods. each rod has a golf club divider thinging as a protector so the rods are well protected in that inverted position. i also have 4 tip down rods(the larger rods with the wooden and black plastic handles) to the sides. sitting in front is a rubbermaid container that has a wooden divider inside that forms separate compartments for bait, tackle, misc, coffee/camping stove and spare clothing. The wooden pieces you see to each side are the tipdown holders and a few rod holders. you can see a picture of my rod holders on another thread http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=17919.240 The auger handle fits around the bucket perfectly. I use a hook to hold the handle to the bucket and i have some velcro on the front of the rubbermaid to keep the auger from moving (you can see what i mean in the picture)
All in all it is a pretty sweet setup if i do say so myself
It is perfect for pulling when walking, but i think i want to get a wider sled for pulling behind my snowmobile. if you need more detailed pictures let me know and i can try to take some soon.

[Parrothead]

I have an Aqua Vu camera that we used last weekend.  Great picture - didn't seem to scare the fish.  Depending upon conditions, the viewing can be limited (silt).  At Blue Heron, I could easily see my bait through another hole 10' away.   I think a flasher would be an easier way to locate fish, as you have to finesse the camera cord to turn the camera.  However, it is definitely a plus to actually see the structure of the bottom, and see how the fish are reacting to bait.  I can see an issue with hooking a nice size fish and the camera cord getting tangled up.  My son was more interested in playing with the camera than actually fishing.

[icehogger84]

Hey Brentster,

I just picked up the Marcum VX-1 about a month ago. I absolutely love it! Like Iceflyer, doubt I'll ever ice fish w/o a flasher again if I can help it. I had a cabela's cam last year and did ok w/ it down between VanWyck boat ramp and the dam. Just had to be careful not to hit the bottom when lowering it down or would just have to leave it for a few minutes until all the silt settled.

Iwantabuggy has the Marcum showdown troller. Very nice handheld! If you go w/ a handheld unit don't get anything but the showdown troller. I would really like to have the marcum showdown 5.6 flasher but the VX-1 was more in my price range. I am not disappointed. Of all the units around $300-$350 the VX-1 is the only one w/ bottom zoom which I had never used before but really dig having now.

Flashers are sometimes a vital and necessary piece of equip. especially when fishing for Lakers (Macks).
You need to see when they are attracted to your lure and then you need to see when their chasing it up as you reel like heck.

Also, a flasher lets you know if a spot or holes has any fish or if your just dottin the ice. When I drill my first hole (using a hand auger I only start w/ one) I'll start w/some kind of an attraction lure and if I don't see any fish come in in 3-5mins, I move. Beats spending a whole day or even part just hoping something swims by.

Hogger

[Zolar]

After seeing Hogger's VX-1 pro I've got to be moving in that direction.  It allows for a quick hole and look, you can watch your jig descend and stop just off the bottom and see if anything reacts.  Better than putting the sounding weight on and scaring the fish on the bottom.  Not only that, you can see if fish are cruising mid level and rapidly move you jig there.  Thanks for showing me your device Hogger!  By the way folk, contact Hogger for those darn Jigger Totters he makes.  I've got rid of all my tip ups etc. and other rod holders.  those darn things are a winner!