My 2012 / 2013 Ice Fishing reports.

[Water Wolf]

Hi guys,
Here is my first 2 ice fishing reports for the season.
This action takes place on my own dugout I stocked last spring. A few days ago my uncle, a friend and I installed a wind mill and aerator in the dugout so now the fish should have a good chance to survive the winter.
While installing the aerator I checked different areas and found that the dugout has a flat mostly uniform bottom at 10 feet deep, but I find a slightly deep section at 12 feet and that's where I put the aerator stone.

Since this area is so handy for me, this might be my main fishing area this winter, but I will also try other areas off and on throughout the winter.

Day 1.
My first report takes place on Dec 9th. and my target species on this afternoon is the rainbow trout.
My uncle and I go for roughly an hour of fishing in some cold temps, - 21 deg C with lots of moisture in the air and a mix of sun and cloud. The strong winds also make the wind chill factor feel much colder.
The ice was 12" thick and there was 3" - 4" of snow on the ice.

Once we got all the gear onto the ice in roughly the middle of the dugout I drilled and cleaned a few holes and we got to ice fishing.
We decide to try with set lines and I am just starting to lower my line to the bottom when I feel a tap followed by the line moving sideways in the hole. I set the hook and hand line my first fish of the season, a healthy 10" rainbow trout, yeah.
This trout really spun my line and rig up and as I untangle it my uncle calls that he just had I bite, so I walk over and help him ice his trout, this action is all with in 5 min, not bad.

My uncle also get 2 more hits but they just nibble without taking the hook.  Half an hour before we leave I get a good hit on my set rod that pulls the stand right over. I see it fall and run for the rod as it moves towards the hole, (don't want to loose another rod, like I did a few winters ago). I fight the fish up and this is a not bad rainbow { for one season's growth} at 14".  Ten min later my uncle ices the last trout of the day. We keep the 4 fish that day, and make it home early enough to clean them for that night's supper. They were nice and mild with a light pink flesh and no muddy taste at all.

The fish that day went for double drop shot rigs on set rods with Berkley powerbait trout nuggets.
I was also testing the new HT ice rigger I purchased for the new hard water season and it worked like a charm. I set it on the lightest setting and the trout were able to trip the flag just like they show on the T.V. ice fishing shows, HT website and on youtube.

Here is a photo of the 4 rainbows that were kept.

It sure felt good to be out on the ice and get that tug on the end of the line again.

Day 2.
This second day of ice fishing took place on Dec 12th for another try at the trout.
We would not be keeping any today, but just wanted to see if they would bite.
The weather was again cold at -20 deg C, but this time there was no wind just snow falling softly and cloudy skies.
We fished for roughly an hour just before dark.

On this trip I caught 2 trout.
I could see them on the sonar move through the area from time to time, but most were not interested. The largest group had 8 in the school but they just inspected the lure and move on. The 2 trout I did hook went for the smallest PK flutter fish in the rainbow trout pattern.
I bounced it on the bottom to get their attention and then jiggled it a few feet off bottom, the fish would follow and I just stayed ahead of them, finally they really accelerated and hit the lure. They gave an OK fight on the 2 lb line I was using.

Here is a photo of the 2 rainbows.
The smaller one was hooked first.

It was missing a pectoral fin for some reason.

The next one was a bit larger.


Both fish went back this time, but I will have to take a few out. I also want to leave some to get bigger next spring and possibly spawn.
Some of the bigger female trout are already starting to get egg development in their first year. I am not sure if they will now spawn, the aerator stone does create current that trout need to spawn and there is a small shallow bay in the one corner. I guess I will see next spring.


I would also like to thank the Ice Shanty members for their trout tips and tricks, they have helped me already.

WW

[hesseltine32]

looks like a fun outing congrats

[just_a_beer_man]

Very nice

[BROOKIEGILLY]

nice bows

[GOOSE_EGG]

who makes those red swivels? i like em

[reddog11]

Excellent!

[Neptune]

The fin damage you see on those Bows is due to overcrowding in the stock weers at the hatchery...they literally wear their fins off rubbing on each other and the concrete...

Nice Fish!  I love catching bows through the ice!

Good Fishing

[Water Wolf]

Thanks guys, they are entertaining to catch.

GOOSE_EGG, those red snap swivels I have are made by Eagle Claw. I also have some red steel leaders made by HT enterprise.

Neptune, I agree I think that's probably the reason for the trout with fin damage.

Hi all,
Here is another fishing report from my fishing hole.
This report is from Dec 14th and I was fishing from 2:15pm - 5:00pm.

It was a nice day to be out.  The trees were covered in thick hoar frost, the temps were decent at -6 deg C and there was just a light breeze from the SW.

The trout were also cooperative on this afternoon and in that time I iced 8 fish and lost 2.
They seemed a bit more aggressive today and hit both jigging lures and the set rod.

I had my camera with me this time and enjoyed being able to see the fish. They were a bit shy of the camera but eventually they overcame the fear and went after the lures presented. It was interesting to see what fast swimmers they are, always darting in and out pecking at the lures and never stopping for a good look. I am more use to seeing the pike, walleye, perch and burbot who move in and usually study the lure before eating or ignoring it.  Not these guys. Sometimes they would fly in with their mouth open and if they hit the lure good, if not they would take a quick pass again, hyper fish ,lol, maybe it was the higher oxygen levels they are suddenly experiencing.

I tried to film them or at least take a still photo, but there was too much glare for it to work.

A few photos of some of the fish turned out.






This one would not hold still.



They were all released.
The larger ones were in 14"range.

I also had quite a surprise when a muskrat popped up the hole I was fishing in, not once, but twice. I knew they were in the dugout but it still startled me. I didn't see it on camera as they usually swim right below the ice and I was near the bottom. I am glad I didn't hook it, what a mess that would be.



The 2nd fishing report took place on Dec. 16th and on this day my uncle and I test the frozen waters of Fishing Lake.

On this day the weather was a mix of sun and low clouds, almost fog like, the trees were thick with a heavy hoar frost and there was a good wind and drifting snow that was whistling across the lake, filling in the ice holes in just a few min.  The temp - 13 deg C but it felt alot colder out there.

The ice in the area we were fishing was roughly 10" thick, but on top of it was a few inches of water and a few inches of snow. It made for a slushy walk and without good boots - wet feet!
There was a small ice heave right on the shoreline and I didn't see any truck track out there yet. It seems like most folks are just using snow machines to get around and leaving  their trucks on shore, or they just walk out like we did.

The fish were around our location as I saw 5 pike on camera that day but they were just a bit put off and were mostly lookers.  The very first fish was the exception. It came in fast, out of nowhere, nipped my lure and then swam around, eyed up the camera, and attacked it. The camera shook violently from side to side, at one point I could see right into it's mouth. The pike let go after 8 - 10 seconds  and I immediately checked it for damages, noting but a few scratches, luckily. This flurry of action occurred 15 min after setting up.
An hour later I hooked into a pike on my set rod and fought it through the ice, it was nice to have at least avoided the skunk that afternoon.


An hour before we leave I get another hit, this time on the jigging rod, this pike is also brought up, but not without a few good runs first.

We end the day with the 2 pike that I catch. I loose one pike and my uncle does the same.

The one other angler I chatted with told me that they had one small pike between the 2 of them.

We decide to keep both fish as they will provide more than enough for our family.
My uncle and I make it home in time to clean the fish and have them served to our family for supper that very night. They were really good.

A photo of the 2 fish.
The bigger of the 2 was 29" x 11" and the smaller was 27.5" x 11".


WW

[striper50trout]

Nice fish and reports.  Man...I need some ice down here.

[johnny-walleye]

Nice rainbows Water Wolf, I see that you like the PK lures.  Do you tip them anything?

[Water Wolf]

Thanks johnny-walleye & striper50trout.

striper50trout,I hope Santa gives you some cold weather to make ice out your way.
Our weather is plenty cold at the moment, burrrr.

johnny-walleye, for the pike and few walleye I have caught with the PK lures I haven't been tipping them at all, just jigging like they have told us, lift drop hold, lift drop hold with some bumps on the bottom from time to time and move up and away from them when they approach for a look.
I do the same jigging sequence for the trout when they are aggressive, but if they are neutral or negative I do add just a very small chunk of power nugget just for scent. I don't want it to affect the lures action if I can help it.
I think a spray on scent would be effective also.

WW

[johnny-walleye]

Water Wolf, thx for the tip 

[Water Wolf]

Thanks johnny-walleye.

I hope the tip works for you.


Hi guys,

It's been a while since my last post, so I have a few this time.

On Dec. 27th / 12, I fished from 3:30pm - 5:00pm on my dugout. The weather was cloudy and dull with a light breeze from the S, temps of -18 deg C and very thick hoar frost.

I have not see this thick a covering hoar frost for this long that I recall.  It's like living in a holiday card for most of Dec., very pretty.

The rainbow trout were quite active on this day and it didn't take too long before I encountered them. They were going for both an active jigging presentation and a set rod presentation.

The lure of choice for jigging was the new glow pink PK flutter fish and for the set rods the trout power nuggets on plain hooks or on a hail lure and Lindy slick jig.

In the time I was ice fishing I had a few taps and iced 6 trout. Most of them were in the usual 10" - 12" range but I did get 2 at the end that were 14".

I only kept one of the 12" trout this time.

Here are photos of 5 of the 6 trout. One of the fish slipped down the hole before I could take a photo of it.







The 2 14" trout came at the end.



The last fish of the year for me.



I now look forward to what this new year of fishing will bring.

　

The next bit of ice fishing is a 2 day event {Jan. 27th & 28th}.

Both days were spent at Fishing Lake and area.

Day 1 finds me back at my usual spot on the lake. This is the first time I have been there this season and I'm hoping for some action.

I start my fishing at 12:20pm and end it at 5:30pm. It's an average day for this time of year with temp of - 13 deg C. The sky has some continuous cloud and there is a light wind from the SE.

As I get set up and am lowering my camera down the hole I see a pike swim past the camera - at least there is one around. I set my other set line not too far away and I am able to see both lures on the camera at once, the water seems a bit more clear than it was last winter.

Over the time I fish I have pike coming by to check out my lure every 10 - 15 min.  I counted at least 15 pike.  One fish with a distinguishing mark on it came by at least 4 times to check my lures before it finally bit, but got off. The fish would even come in groups of 2 at times and one fish would always yield to the other who just moved in, even if they were the same size.

Despite all the fish going by, they for the most part, were just casually interested in what I had to offer and would eyeball any new lure I put down for a good while, only to swim off and flip me the tail.

I did finally get 2 of the more aggressive ones to bite and ended the day with 2 in the 25" inch range + 2 that go off just under the ice.

Here are the 2 that stayed.







　

Day 2 was nasty with freezing fog, colder temps and a biting wind from the NW. These conditions didn't look too promising, but I headed back out to the area I was the day before and hit the ice from 11:00am to 4:00pm.

I didn't have the underwater camera with me as it had not fully charged from the day before but, it didn't matter - the sonar would be the eyes beneath the ice today.

There seemed to be a lot less fish around and only seen a couple on sonar, but I did have 2 follow the lures up and bite, so again avoided the skunk.

Both little nippers went back.  They were probably only a 1.5 lbs or so.

Here is the first pike for Day 2.



The other fish looked the same size as this one.

The snow on the lake is quite heavy this year. It might be quite a challange for anyone venturing out in a vehicle even in 4 wheel drive. It seems most folks are just walking out, like I did or using a snow machine. The snow is soft enough and deep enough that even walking is a bit of a chore and I was constantly sinking past my mid calves in the snow. The snow gave me quite the workout just getting to where I wanted to fish.

The fish hit both jigging and set rods both days. The PK flutter fish and Northland rippin' shad got some fish by jigging and on the set rod they went for frozen bait and a quick strike-rig.

All in all it was an enjoyable 2 days and I was able to see some fish and catch a few to avoided the skunk.

WW

[Grim]

great posts, how big is your dug out? 

[IceRaider]

Nice trout and pike!

[Whopper Stopper]

Great report and some totally awesome pictures.

                    WS

[striper50trout]

The bows had beautiful colors.  Great report, thanks for sharing

[kolyan]

beautiful bows!

[Water Wolf]

Thanks Grim, IceRaider, Whopper Stopper, striper50trout & kolyan I am happy to share my photos and reports with you all.

Grim my dugout was dug by my RM for extra clay for the grid roads. As for it's size - probably there is a standard borrow pit size, but I'm not sure. It's not an overly big dugout though and is rectangular in shape save for a small bay in one corner.
The middle is just over 12 feet in the winter and 15 feet when it's at the max in the spring.


Hi guys,
Here is my fishing reports for the month of Feb.


The 1st report is from Feb. 4th and it takes place at Last Mountain Lake {LML}.
On this day the family and I set off to try our luck at LML. We have not been to this lake yet this year and hope to get in on some action. 

We start off a bit later than expected and thought we would try at the N end {Regional Park area}, but the road is completely blocked.  It looks like no one has tried the N end in quite some time, oh well, on to the next beach.
We head S to Arlington Beach, but that area is also quite blocked and looks to be no way on, so, further S we go to Canyon Beach. This area didn't look too promising either - there was a tractor stuck and abandoned along the road in toward the lake - looked like it had been there a while:P

The next spot was down the lake at what the local folks call the "mid way road". This access spot was heavy with snow and the only tracks out there were left by a guy who used chains on his tires.  We were not going to chance getting hopelessly stuck so would give it one last try at Collingwood. When we arrived we found this spot to be a a lot better looking than the other spots, so, with daylight fading, we though we would try it for a while and at least salvage the trip.  Despite the sun setting it was still a nice night on the lake with temps only in the - 3 deg C and some wind from the W. By this time we arrived there was no one on the lake so we didn't go too far out encase we got stuck.  We set up fairly close to shore and my uncle and I started some night ice fishing.

We fished for an hour, and in that time the set rods got 2 hits and half an hour before we left I caught a burbot, my first one of this ice fishing season. It was a nice one at 33" and a Master Angler Mark burbot here in SK. 

This fish gave a pretty good fight and it almost came off when it tied itself in a knot coming up the hole. The hook just popped out as I got it up( close one ). The hook was a PK flutter fish.



This fish was a good way to end the day and I hope to try this area again soon, with a bit more time before dark.


Report 2 found me back at Fishing Lake at my usual location and I ice fished from 5:10pm until 6:05pm on Feb 5th.

This evening was mostly cloudy with temps in the - 8 deg C range and a light breeze from the S.

Over the time I fished I saw 8 pike on camera, 2 of which were wrestled to the surface and 3 more who got off.
Both pike went back.




Not far from the lake I encountered 2 moose standing right on the road. They were not too eager to get off and stood watching me for some time, eventually one of the larger moose jumped into the ditch and promptly sank to it's shoulders with the other one jumping in almost right on top of the first. They both floundered in the deep snow until they got to the open field and slowly walked into the deep bush and were gone.  You know the snow is deep when the moose can't even get around.

Report 3 was Feb. 6th and it found me back at the same spot on Fishing Lake where I had the action, but this time earlier. This day I went from 12:30pm - 4:00pm.

It was again a cloudy day but this time the temps were a lot colder and with the windchill it was - 23 deg C, with a cold NW wind.

The fish were again present and it was not long before a pike came in to check out my offerings. This went on all afternoon with pike coming in as individuals or in groups of 2 every 15 - 20 min, must have been on a highway, lol. In the end I counted 15 pike.
For the most part, the fish were just mildly curious in my offering and would look them over like we do when window shopping. The 3 that I did ice, came in hard and fast and just crushed my lure right in front of the camera, they were hungry and nothing was stopping them from eating.
On this day I was looking for a few fish to keep and these 3 were it.






They weighted in at 2.3 lbs, 2.lbs. & the big one at 2.8.

Most of the fish on camera looked to be the same size as these. There were 3 who were a bit larger but they would not bite.



Report 4 took place at my usual spot on Fishing Lake on Feb. 8th.

I got to the lake at 1:10 pm and fished until 6:30pm.

This afternoon was not bad with temps around -8 deg C, a mix of sun and cloud and light wind from the SE.

The fish were around with 8 pike seen on camera, but most of them were just looking and that was it. I did have 3 that were more aggressive than the rest and was able to ice them.

Two of them hit right in front of the camera as I jigged and the other on a set rod. The fish were in the 2 - 2.5 lb range and all went back.







The 5th trip out was on Feb.9th in the same general area as before.

This was quite a nice day with sunny skies, a light wind and temps just at the freezing mark, not bad for early Feb.

Unfortunately for me the fish were also in a lazy mood and while I fished from 11:40am - 6:20pm I only saw 4 pike, I am not sure where they were that day as I moved around alot, but just could not locate them. A few min before I left, when the water was starting to get dark on the camera, I had a pike come in, nose up to the bait and grabbed it. This guy saved the day and I avoided the skunk once again, but it was close. 

The pike was in the 3lb range and also went back.

All in all it was a neat group of trips. I was happy to get that nice burbot at the start and find the pike along the way.

I also hope to get out again soon, so we will see what happens.



The 6th report is from LML and the Collingwood area on Feb 16th.

On this day the family and I made our way back to LML, with a good amount of time to fish as we fished from 1:30pm - 7:00pm

The weather was nice for this time of year with sunny skies, temps just below the freezing mark {-1 deg C} & a light wind from the S. No matter what the fishing was like it was

good to be out on the ice enjoying the nice weather.

We set up in 32 feet of water straight off the access spot between all the shack, most people were either S or N of us.

As soon as I dropped my camera down there were perch investigating the commotion on the bottom of the lake. They were seen on camera all afternoon checking out my lures in singles or small groups of 2 or 3 and seemed to be just roaming about. I also saw one not bad {but lumpy looking} walleye who checked out and even touched my lure and bait several times before swimming off, not to be seen again. Four tullibee/ cisco also swam through but, didn't stay for a bite.

In the end the fishing might be what you would call slow and by days end I caught 6 perch and my uncle caught the only tullibee.  I was happy though, as this it the first time I caught perch this winter.  It's also the first perch I have seen on camera and the 2 big ones I found were a bonus.

Up until now most of the perch I have found have been 6 - 8", but I found 2 bigger perch that afternoon.

The first bigger perch was 10"

The sun was a little bright,lol.

The second big one was a bit over 11" and this is now my new Personal Best for perch.




My uncle's tullibee.



We kept all the perch because of damage to their air bladders during the catch. Releasing them in that condidion would probably result in a slow death. They will be small but tasty.

I also did hook one nice sized pike, but it rolled off just under the ice and my uncle had 3 perch get off part way up or under the ice as well. I was hoping to get into some burbot action as well, but they eluded us that day and none were even seen on camera. We will be on the hunt for them now as March approaches.



The 7th report is the next day, Feb.17th.

We had planned to go back to LML, but with the weather reports of blizzard like conditions and strong winds around that area my uncle and I went N to Margo Lake.

This area was also cloudy, with falling and blowing snow, but still not as bad as it could have been. 

We drove to the lake shore and just walked out from there. There were a few trucks out but quite a few of them got stuck and had to shovel before they reached where they wanted to fish.    

On this day the nasty weather must have signalled the fish to start feeding.  They were very aggressive.

I set my uncle up first and then started setting up the rest of the set lines and camera, but I barely got the 1 line in the water when he had a fish on. He caught 2 more after that in short time before I iced my first fish of the day.  The action below the ice was also fast and furious. Over the time we fished from 3:30pm - 6:00pm I lost count of the number of pike and suckers I saw.

Both species were moving by in groups of usually 2 to 3 fish. I have never really seen pike move in groups but they seemed to that day. On one occasion I had a pike who was just going to strike my lure when a big sucker passed right in front of it's face and turned the pike off. The suckers were big, roughly the same size as the 2 -3 lb pike we were catching, so they had no fear and swam with confidence, knowing they would not be bothered.  In another incident I had 3 pike all staring at my lure at once in 3 corners of the screen. It was like watching an old cowboy shoot out and I could hear the familiar theme music from the move "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" playing in my head as each one sized up each other and the lure.  Finally one snapped, made a dash for the lure, was caught and iced.

A few photos of the action.




This one had such nice color and unique markings, I took 2 photos of it.



It was also the largest at 3.2 lbs.



This was one of my best days on the ice this season and in the end I iced 10 pike and my uncle 4 = 14 pike. Most of the pike went back and we only kept a few to feed the family back home. The pike fillets will now join the perch fillets for a feed of fish, probably tonight.

I hope this sudden jump in fish activity is a sign of good fishing days to come, and not a one day deal.



The 8th report is my last for this month and it takes place on Feb 24th. and the area was the N end of Last Mountain Lake {LML}.

On this day the family and I made our way onto the ice by 1:00pm and fished to dark.

It was an OK day temp wise with sunny skies, a wind from the W and - 8 deg C temps.

We found the trail onto the ice and set up a bit S from the others out fishing.

When I got my camera out I was surprised how cloudy and murky this area was.  It was nothing like the clear water further S at Collingwood. The visibility was only a foot or so and the water was like tea. If the fish were around they would have to rely on their lateral line and sense of smell to find food in this water. They would have to be very close to their food to see it.

There was no action until halfway through the afternoon when I felt a strong hit, and release. Whatever that was, I thought, might still be around, so, I dropped the lure back down and got a hit as it was sinking. That's when all heck broke loose. The first thing this fish did was head right for my camera and tangle around the cord. I called for my uncle to help me.  He lifted the camera up, freed the camera, and, slowly let the line back down. This caused one of many runs and was by far the strongest fish I faced all winter.  After quite a few min the fish finally tired enough to get it to the hole but something was wrong, it would not come up no mater how I maneuvered it.  I finally found the answer when I carefully lowered the camera below the ice, and viewed one very angry big pike pinned against the hole length wise and the lure hooked in its side near it's pelvic fins.  No wonder it put on such powerful runs and would not come up. What to do now?!

We tried to turn the head but, it would not work from that angle and we tried to hook it in the jaw and bring it up that way but that also didn't work. So,my one last try was to drill a hole next to the first hole and maybe get it up that way. I made it almost all the way through when the fish heard / felt the auger coming and bolted sending the line right into the spinning blade, you all probably know what happened next. The line cut and she was gone. She was easily my largest pike this winter, but I will never know her true size. So if any of you are out at the N end of LML and catch or see on camera a pike with a large rattle trap lure in the side of the fish, you will know it's story.

The only other action was my uncle getting a few nibbles and one stolen bait.

Just as the sun was setting and no too long before we left. I see one of the set rods, dip towards the ice and stay down. I walk over, feel for weight and set the hook. This one give a good fight also, and I ice the first fish of the trip a nice sized burbot.

It was 30" long and 9.3 lbs.


After that I try for another little while but, it seems that was the only fish around and there is no other action.


We leave as the moon rises in the E over the cabins.


On a different not we spot the first sign of spring flying over the lake, a Canada goose. I am not sure if this one was an early arrival or a late departure,lol.

All in all Feb. was a bit slow for the most part, but not dead and I was happy to get out on the lakes and try my luck. 
I hope that the ice fishing does pick up a bit in March. 

WW

[striper50trout]

Good stuff man!  Those burbot are awesome looking! Thanks for the report and pics as usual.

[Water Wolf]

Thanks striper50trout.
Burbot are quite a unique and very different looking.
When I first saw my first burbot I was quite little, and I though my friend had hooked the biggest salamander I had ever seen,lol.


Hi guys,
Here is my first report for the month of March and it's from the trout pond.

It's been some time since I have checked up on how the trout have been doing so on March 3rd my uncle and I decided to see how the fish were making out so far.

We fished from 2:30pm - 4:35pm in the afternoon with cloudy skies, strong NE winds, falling and blowing snow and a - 6 deg C temp, though with the wind chill, it felt colder.

There has been lots of snow accumulation since I was last there and we had to trudge through waste deep snow just to get to the ice. Once we got past the shoreline it was better walking on the ice, but still all the weight of the snow caused the holes to flood when drilled and we were walking in a few inches of water.

I am happy to say that it seems that the rainbows have survived well over the winter, and that they have actually continued to grow a bit.

While we were there we caught 4 trout, 3 for me and one for my uncle. My uncle and I actually got a double header on rainbows, first time for trout.

We also had the trout steal the bait or frozen minnow 7 time without being hooked, sneaky little guys.

A shot of the fish.




Double header action, yeah.

I caught the larger of the 2 fish and this one was the biggest trout I have caught so- far. This one was over 15".

It put up a good fight, keeping a curve in the light action rod the whole time and even peeling off some drag at one point.

In conclusion I am pleased to see they are doing OK and that the windmill is working fine giving them a good shot of oxygen. It was really spinning that day and the flowing water has opened the hole in the middle of the dugout so it doing it's job and the fish must still have a good food source. Before we left I gave them some trout food just to supplement.



The next set of fishing reports takes place from the weekend of March 9th & 10th where the family and I set our sites for some burbot, hopefully. :?

Our destination was Last Mountain Lake around Rowan's Ravine area.

On the first day the skies were sunny with a bit of a wind from the N, calming some in late afternoon and -11 deg C temps.

We ice fished from 1:10 pm - 7:20 pm.

There was a good crowd gathered at one spot so we decided we would try off by our selves away from the group, but close enough to still find the structure I felt would attract the fish.

I set up and it was not long until I saw the 1st burbot on camera. It made a half hearted attempt to nip at my bait and continued on it's way.

Over the afternoon I saw 3 burbot and 9 pike on camera + a few shiner minnows and 3 fish that stayed in the murky background, but kind of looked like white suckers.

I also got a nice surprise when I iced a good sized pike. I went to check on of the set rods and noticed the strike indicator was a lot lower than I set it. I checked the bait and found it to be still there but more cut up. As I lowered it to the bottom, half way down, the line ripped from my hands and takes off at an angle. I set the hook, but the line does not even slow down, now burbot are not really known for their blistering runs, preferring to bulldog just under the ice so this has to be a pike and by the feel a good one. It has the same fight as the other one I lost a few weeks ago at the N end of the lake. As I fight this fish I am hoping the outcome will be different this time. I gingerly play the fish to the hole and as I look down I see one piercing eye looking back followed by a long spotted body. Oh, boy, at least this one is hooked in the mouth and I have a chance to turn the head. The head turns towards the hole but the pike opens her mouth and completely fills my 8" hole blocking her head from going up, she does that 2 more time before she finally closes her mouth and is slid up the hole. My uncle is on hand to grab her as the head breaks the surface and there before me is my biggest pike I have caught ice fishing.

She is a good one with a few battle scars on her back, one looking like a fresh bite mark and a few nicks and scrapes here and there. The whole family admires her for just a few seconds we then get a photo + length and girth measurements and then I send her back on her way to hopefully spawn again this spring.
I felt pumped after that fish as redemption was mine.

That would not be the last fish of the day with me icing more pike and burbot. The final total was 4 burbot and 4 pike. I also lost 2 burbot and a pike.

Here are the photos from the days action.

The burbot:
First burbot goes to my uncle.







Most of them were around the 3- 4 lb range and were male, with one in the 6 lb range {last burbot on the bottom}.
These guys stayed with us.

The Pike:





These guys were nice healthy looking fish and averaged 5 - 6 lbs and all went back.

Here is the big girl of the day and my new Personal Best pike for ice fishing.

She was 37" x 15.75" probably making her in the 15 lb range.

We left the lake to the sounds of great horned owls hooting just a little ways up the beach.

I was very happy with how the day went and we decided that we would be back the next day to the same spot and see what happens.


The next day, as hoped, we were back at the same spot on Last Mountain Lake and we ice fished from 1:07 pm - 7:15pm.

This day was a lot different weather-wise. It was cloudy with colder temps and a biting wind whistling down the lake from the S. The wind-chill really made things nasty out there.

It was not long after I set up that one of the set rods bent down, so I walked over, set the hook, and iced the first fish of the day, this burbot.


I changed my camera location this day and set up on the edge of a steep drop off. The water at the top of the shelf was 4 - 6 feet, I was in 14 feet and just a few feet away it plunged to 24 feet. When looking though the camera towards the shallows all you could see was a gravel slope, off to the side, the shape of the slope is seen and turn again towards the depths and you see nothing but deep green water, no bottom or anything.

I noticed the day before that the burbot, although present, were not exhibiting typical spawning behavior, of one fish followed by a group of others, so I figured they were not in full spawning mode yet merely, checking out the area that they would use for their fun later on. This cliff seemed to be a highway and I noticed fish moving up and down the slope, both pike and burbot. In the end I counted 8 burbot and 4 pike in this location along with a few shiner minnows. Most of my fish on this day were caught by me jigging and it was neat to see the fish come trucking up or down the slope and do a turn or back up to find the bait and then suck it in. In one incident I had a pike slowly sneaking up to my lure, it was getting ready to strike the lure when a burbot appeared from the side swam right up sucked in the bait and kept on going all right under the pike's nose. I guess you have to be quicker than your neighbor if you want to eat down there. I set the hook, the burbot bolted and spooked the pike. The burbot was iced.

Despite the cold weather this was a good day for fishing and although my uncle didn't get any fish I did and I was able to ice 5 burbot and 1 pike.

The other anglers that set up a ways from us chatted with me and said they were in deep water where they were and had found 3 not bad perch and a pike.

The fish that day.






The 2nd big fish of the day.
29"


The big fish of the day.
30"


The pike again went back, but we kept these burbot also, with plans of a big fish feed later on this week for the whole family.

These burbot will probably be my focus from now to the end of the regular ice fishing season.

I hope the spawn is on when we go for them again, but what ever happens it's all good.

WW

[ran7ger]

 awesome fish ww, tho i can't see the picture of your large pike..

 i recently caught a nice burbot, 33".  after a feed of beer battered burbot i felt like something different so did up some bacon-wrapped burbot.  real easy, cut the burb into medallions and brush with butter and your choice of seasoning garlic salt/pepper/whatever and wrap with bacon, skewer with tooth picks and bake for about 20-25 minutes at 375, depending on how you like you fish cooked.  i like the bacon a little crispier so pan fry for a bit before wrapping the burbot...my lord it was delicious.  anyway, hope the burbs really start going down there and up here!

[Water Wolf]

Hi Ranger,
Thanks for letting me know about the photos I see my I left off a ] at the end. I think we should see it now.

We have tried burbot a few different ways and really like them alot no mater which way. So-far we have fried them in a pan with shake and bake, boiled them in oil and then dipped in buttery garlic for poor mans lobster and deep fried them with chips. All these ways of preparing them have been good, but your way will be a new one for us and it does sound mighty delicious.
When we get more burbot we will have to give it a go.

What lake do you have the best luck for burbot up that way?

WW

[ran7ger]

 no great shakes for burbot up here ww, just the odd one here and there out of just about every lake i fish.  have to get down to pelican point one of these springs...

[Grim]

On a different not we spot the first sign of spring flying over the lake, a Canada goose. I am not sure if this one was an early arrival or a late departure,lol.

That would be the first arrivals heading to the far north, we saw the same thing last february and read about it in a bird book.

[coldsteel]

looks like march has been a kind month to you for ice fishing great job!

[winnisquam guy]

hey water wolf, i enjoyed reading about your season. any lake trout areas up there?

[Water Wolf]

Thanks guys.
Yeah ran7ger, give LML lake a try sometime. If you can hit it right in the middle of the spawn you should have some big burbot action.

Hi Grim, probably one of the very early arrivals for sure, I have not seen any since, too darn cold, they turned around and went S again.

March has been good so far coldsteel I hope it will continue the last few trips out.

Hi winnisquam guy, good to hear you are enjoying my posts. We do have lake trout lakes, with some nice trout in them, but for the most part they are all a good ways away from me in the Central and Northern lake zones, real beautiful country up there.
I have never tried for lake trout before, but I intend to go for them some time.


Hi guys,
Here are my ice fishing reports for Sat. March 23rd & Sun. March 24th.

On the 23rd the family and I tried our luck at the N end of Good Spirit Lake where we fished from 2:00pm - 6:45pm.

I recently found out from another angler that there was an ice fishing derby there in late Feb. and that they had cleared the ice for the derby. With most of the lakes close to me blown in after this recent bout of blizzards and drifting snow this area seem to be our only chance to drive out that weekend. We made it to the lake and found that the cleared area has some snow on it but not as much as the rest of the lake. We made it out and to our first spot fairly easily and set set up.

It was a mostly cloudy afternoon with temps in the - 7 deg C and a fair wind from the N.E. With the windchill and temperature it was below seasonal for this time of year.

I also found that this area of Good Spirit Lake is quite shallow with depth of only a few inches to 4 to 2 feet of water under the ice.
This area was also very cloudy and I could only see a few inches on camera. 
We tried this area for most of the afternoon with out any luck, the only thing I managed to accomplish was to dull my blades in the sand that was froze into the ice. I will have to get them touched up in the off season.

About an hour and a half before we left we moved to a different spot where a few anglers were set up.
I was hoping this spot would be deeper and I could see better on camera.  It took me quite a while to chew a few holes for my uncle and I to fish out of but, after that was done I was happy to see that this spot was indeed deeper {7 feet} and a lot clear on the underwater camera. 

Not too long into into the fishing and one of our set rods has a hit, the fish half pulls off the minnow, but is not hooked. A few min later my uncle gets a tap, but again not enough to get a hook into it.  A few more min pass, and then I think I see the culprit a smaller pike. It slowly circles my lure a couple times, comes up to it once and then leaves, in the direction of yet another set line. Not long after this line also get a hit, but like the others the slippery little fish only succeeds in shredding my large smelt.  That would be it for quite a while, until 15 min before we pack up. The set rod with the minnow and jig get another tap, but this time the rod stays down and my strike indicator is pulled under the water. I walk over set the hook and ice the first fish of the day.

This little pike.


It appeared that this fish was indeed the culprit, after I released it I saw no other fish on camera, nor did any of the lines get hit.

The other anglers not far away from us said that they only had one small fish all afternoon, it was also a pike.

I am not sure where the big pike, walleye or burbot were that afternoon, but it was not in the North Shore area,lol, oh well, at least that little guy kept me from getting skunked and I am just happy we were able to get out at all this weekend after all the snow we have had recently.



On the 24th my uncle and I hit the trout pond for a bit of ice fishing from 2:30pm - 5:00pm.

This afternoon was a mix of sun and cloud with a bit of a breeze from the N.W gusting to a stronger wind at time and then back down again. The temps were still below normal at -8 deg C.

On this day the trout were a bit fussy and for most of the time we fished we just had the odd nibble off and on, nothing serious.
It was in the last 10 min of the trip when we finally had the trout bite. I caught 2 fish in rapid succession followed by just a small break in the action them my uncle iced one just before we packed up. 

We just wanted to see what shape they were in, check the water quality and ice depth.  From looking at the fish it appears that they are healthy indeed and were quite chunky. The water quality seemed really good, the water was very clear and had no odor to it at all, and the ice was still good and thick.

Here are the 3 trout.
2 for me.


This one was hooked before, you can see the little bump on the corner of it's mouth.



1 for my uncle & the big trout of the day.


The smaller first one was 10" but a real toad . The other 2 were longer at 12 & 13".

There was few inches of water that pushed up one of the holes and flooded a dip in the ice this made for a good live well to unhook and let the fish re cooperate in. Once they were swimming around the pool I maneuvered the them to the hole and they swam down it.

I caught my 2 trout jigging the smallest Lindy Foo Flyer and my uncle caught his on a set rod. Both both were baited with power nuggets.

I hope to get a few more trips in before the regular ice fishing season closes, we will see if it happens or not, stay tuned to find out.

WW

[winnisquam guy]

great looking trout sir, maybe some day i'll make up there!

[Water Wolf]

Thanks winnisquam guy. I hope you can make it up some time. It should be alot of fun.

Hi guys,
Here is my fishing report for my last 2 days of the regular ice fishing season.

Report 1 is on March 29th and the location is Rowan's Ravine on Last Mountain Lake.

We made the most of the afternoon and fished from 2:10pm - 8:00pm.

On this day the family and I made our way to LML to see what we could find.
Only my uncle and I actually fished, but my the other family came to enjoy the nice day with us.
This was indeed a nice day with temps in the + 3 deg C mark {first time it was normal temps for March}, sunny skies and no wind at all.  The great day attracted a lot of other anglers and there was a well beaten trail onto the ice with every man and his dog, literally, out fishing. It was quite crowded in the best fishing locations so we set up further away and would see what happened.

We set up in 4 feet of water and not too long into the trip my uncle iced the first fish of the day, a hammer handle pike.


When I put down my camera I found we were in a dense dead weed bed with only an inch or so of water between it and the bottom of the ice. Not the best location for my prime target the burbot, so after half an hour of no action we packed up and moved to a new location. This area was a lot better with deeper water and a nice sandy, gravely bottom.  '

The action was on and off all day with the fishing action coming in waves of activity followed by a bit of a lull and then a flurry of activity again. It seemed like this all around and I saw lots of anglers catching both pike and burbot.
The biggest fish I saw iced was a 20 lb pike by a group to the S of us.

The action was quite steady under the ice and I saw burbot and white fishing moving in and out of my location all afternoon.
I also saw 7 pike on camera. In fact the first fish I saw when I first placed my lure down the hole was a pike who came racing in hit the lure, but not the hook, turned sharply, and hit it again, getting hooked in the process.

It was a 3 lb pike.


I then hooked a burbot 2 min later.


Over the course of the afternoon we caught 3 pike and 10 burbot. The burbot were averaging around the 3 lb mark and were male.
The biggest burbot was 27" and was caught by my uncle.

The pike were 1lb, 3lbs and 6lbs.
The biggest pike was also caught by my uncle.


Here are the rest of the fish.



















My uncles big "pot belly" burbot.


The afternoon's final results.


On a different note, the signs of spring were all around this day and on the way up we saw many, many deer grazing on the few patches of bare ground. Along the way, and at the lake, the crows were retuning in good number as were a flock of 20 Canada Geese and 3 seagulls.

All in all it was very enjoyable day on the ice, temperature and ice fishing-wise and I was happy to be able to spend it with my family.  It was a "good Friday" for me.  The sun's rays even started to tan exposed skin.

We left the lake to the sound of coyotes howling all around and the Northern Lights dancing in the night sky.

On the way home I also saw the biggest meteorite / fireball I have every seen. It was bright white in the middle with a neon green edging. It streaked across the night's sky for 4 seconds or so before bursting just above the horizon. I wish I would have had a photo of it.
Did any one else see this meteorite?


The second trip was on March 30th and we all made our way back to the same spot as the day before on Last Mountain Lake with hopes to replicate our success of the previous day.

This day was a mix of sun and cloud, but it felt a lot colder with a +1 deg C temp and a strong N.W. - not spring like.

There were a few angler out that day, but not quite as many as the day before and we were able to get to the spot we were looking for. My uncle and I set up and it was probably only 10 min or so before I ice the first fish of the day a burbot.



The action on the camera was quite like the day before with burbot and one particular whitefish moving in and out of my location all afternoon. I could tell it was the same whitefish because of some unique notches out of it's dorsal fin. It would eat along the bottom in front of my camera until a burbot or pike would movie in an chase it off. Once the burbot left, the whitefish, along with a few others of it's kind returned. I think was right on top of some burbot eggs, and, the whitefish had an all you can eat buffet. In between burbot I tried to catch that whitefish and I used everything from tiny spoons, jigs and artificial plastic baits to frozen minnow hanging in it's face or lying on the bottom, but nothing would distract the whitefish from what they were feeding on. I even had 2 male burbot come in and release their milt right in front of the camera, very cool to see. Once they saw my lure jigging in their area they came over and aggressively hit it, and were iced.

About 2 hours left in the day a friend joined us on the ice for some fishing action.
They had some luck also and iced 3 burbot and lost 2.

My uncle and I had good luck again catching 2 pike and again 10 burbot.
My uncle's pike was a bit longer but thinner, mine was shorter but fatter, but both were 12 lbs and very healthy looking. Both pike went back.

I didn't get a photo of all of the fish this time, as the action was fairly steady, but did get most of them.





This one hit a big PK flutter fish.


This poor burbot had a large hole in the top of it's head right down to the skull. It had it's right eye missing and left eye badly damaged. There were fresh cuts and slashes all over it's head and face.

I think a big pike tried to make a meal of it but it got away. It must have been using it's sence of smell / taste and vibrations to find the bait, because I don't think it's one eye was working.

The 2 pike.


Pike on !

Got it!




On this day I found the big burbot of the day at 28".


All in all it was a good 2 days for my family and I and we were very pleased with the fishing action.
I am also happy with my ice fishing season this year, it was sure nice to be out there and keep busy during the long cold winter.

I would also like to thank everyone who took a peek at my report this ice fishing season, it was a lot of fun putting my reports together and sharing them with you all, I hope all of you had a fun and safe ice fishing season.

Although my regular ice fishing season is over for this year I hope to ice fish, at least a few times, on my own stocked trout pond, so this year for the first time, my ice fishing is going into April overtime.

Stay tuned guys, we will see what happens next.

WW