I went to Silver Lake this morning, was on the ice at 7:30 and left at 11:00. The fish were being marked in water as shallow as 5 feet and as deep as 16 feet, mainly within a foot or so of the bottom with occasional fish suspended about 8 feet down in the deeper water, I would assume the suspended fish were crappie. The fish had lockjaw, I only caught one fish, and had 2 other small hits. A guy from work who always catches fish there only had 3 keepers when I left, I don't mind the cold but when its in the single digits,with gusting wind, no shelter for warmth, no fish to show, and on 2.5 hours of sleep, its just not the most comfortable or ideal conditions for me. Last year we killed the gills along with a bunch of crappie up there, but that was closer to late ice when we caught those. Will try back up there again using some info I obtained, hopefully next time the fish will cooperate.
By the way I parked at the little white church along with about a half dozen other vehicles, I really don't think they care if you park there as long as it isn't on a Sunday. I could see them getting upset if they come in for church Sunday morning and all 20 parking spots are taken up by people out fishing who have no affiliation with the church.
